Matthew 4:12-25

I might be living a good life but is Jesus calling me to something else? Something more?  I've been thinking lately that if the accounts of Jesus are true (and I believe they are) then that changes my life. My big move?  Say yes to him.

Transcript

Tempo: 120.0

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What are your expectations? Maybe expectations is too strong of a word. What do you hope will happen when you carve out time to spend with God? I actually think that's a pretty healthy and important exercise for all of us to do. It doesn't need to take long, but for us to take a moment and maybe just write down and think clearly about what we're anticipating. And I think when we acknowledge to ourselves what those things are, like they might be, I'm hoping to just learn more of Scripture to gain a greater understanding. Or it might be I really want to feel the presence and the warmth of God. Or if I'm honest and you wouldn't admit this to anybody, but I'm really hoping for those goosebump kinds of moments. By the way, all three of those things and more, all of those things can and do happen. But if we're honest and we kind of take a moment, they don't happen all of the time. And there are times when we open up the scriptures and we're like, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take from this. And one of the reasons I started this particular podcast is just a recognition that sometimes we just need somebody else to kind of be there in the word with us. And just to remind us that the experiences that we're going through are quite common, normal, and and yet there is this anticipation that we're here to meet with God. And that is an absolutely phenomenal, miraculous thing. That because of the Spirit of God, we can commune with Him. And yes, we can learn and develop those ear muscles, right? Those spiritual ears to listen well to Him and to anticipate the way that God will continue to speak to us. So if you find yourself in that place where you're like, man, I just I don't know what I'm supposed to get out of my time with Him, just maybe it's time for you to like acknowledge to yourself what you're anticipating. And sometimes if we're anticipating maybe the wrong thing or we're we're dreading it because somebody told us that we should be doing this and we're being urged and we feel like we're a bad believer if for some reason we miss a couple of days or whatever. Like all of that stuff, all of that that shame that comes our way when that sort of thing happens, that's just that's not from God. I've really, really come to this conviction that that God not only loves us, but he likes us and he wants to spend time with us. And you may notice that when I pray at the beginning, it's usually pretty simple, partly because of time, but but mostly because I'm like, well, Jesus, I'm just kind of here to meet with you. Would you would you just talk to me? And and it really is that simple and that good. And I'm sure that you all have people that you're like, man, I just I just want to talk to that person. I just I need to hear their voice. And and that's that's so true, and I think that's the same with us in the Lord. All right, let's get into our time here together. By the way, happy Tuesday. We're in Matthew today, chapter four, verses twelve through twenty-five. Go ahead and open up your copy of God's Word, and before we read it, let's pray. Jesus, we're here and we're learning a little bit more about what we're hoping for today. So would you meet with us? We're here to meet with you. Just show us a little bit more of who you are and what you desire in us. Amen. All right, Matthew chapter four, starting at verse twelve. When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. Land of Zebulun and Nand of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. From that time on Jesus began to preach, repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebede, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Assyria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. Let's go ahead and take a moment to make a few observations. You probably noticed that there are three kind of distinct portions in the verses we read today, and we're just going to make some quick observations about each of those sections, and I think that will be helpful for us. So the first section there, verses twelve through seventeen, where we see Jesus begins to preach. I wanted to point out Matthew's recognition of Isaiah's prophecy, and then also that it was fulfilled in Jesus. That was his understanding. We just see those dots being connected for us and that appreciation and reverence, that honor for the prophetic word in the Old Testament to see the good news represented there as Matthew's recording his account of Jesus' life. He recognizes that need to help his own people, the Jewish people, to recognize that this is, in fact, the promised one. Look, here it is. It was prophesied in Isaiah, and because of what Jesus did, we can see those things are being fulfilled. And then we see this message that Jesus preaches. It says he preached it or he taught it from that point forward. And it's it's very simple, repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. And it seems like it's a continuation of John the Baptist's message, at least generally. And and the big message here is change, right? That's a maybe a good word for repentance. Change. Change your mind, right? Change your mind about who Jesus is, change your choices, change your actions. And that's really how we we can appreciate and understand what repentance is all about. So was Jesus' content different than John's? Well, yeah, of course it was. He's revealing himself as the anointed one and ushering in God's way, God's governance, so to speak. We'll get to Jesus' teaching here at beginning next week, where he he starts with the Sermon on the Mount, and in that Sermon on the Mount we'll come across what we usually refer to as the Lord's Prayer, and in that he talks about this idea that let your kingdom come, let your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven, that whole idea is consistent with us following his way and surrendering, submitting to God's plans instead of ours. And so while this call to change, and when I kind of wrote it in my notes, I used all caps for that part. That call to change, to repent, is consistent with John the Baptist and it continues. The essence, essence, that's such a funny word. What am I selling oils here? I don't know. The core, right? The core of Jesus' identity is vastly different than John's. And so because of that reason, because he is distinctly different from any other person, including John the Baptist, the message is therefore different, and he's ushering in something that's very new. We look at verses 18 through 22, and what I just notice here, again, it's pretty straightforward, but I I it's important to me. Jesus calls four men out of a good occupation, a good life, into something much greater. And, you know, their life was pretty simple. I'm sure it had its ups and downs being fishermen, but it was a good life. It was a noble life. It was a it was a good way to bring in income for their families and for themselves. And Jesus goes and he meets them there and he calls them into something bigger than what they were experiencing. You're no longer going to be fishing for fish, right? You're going to be fishing for men or for people. And that was something greater. The common for the uncommon, the ordinary called into the extraordinary. And then finally we have that last portion in verses 23 through 25. And I just, for me, again, just two really, really simple things. Jesus heals so many people from so many things. And he continues to preach that message. And you can just see it there. Matthew's description there is very, very short, but you you get this sense that he's he's just simply trying to say, hey, look, a whole bunch of stuff happened, and word got around about Jesus real quick and in a really significant way. So Jesus is out there, he's teaching, and he's healing people, Jesus doing Jesus things. And the crowds get big. The crowds absolutely get big. So let's process this for ourselves. I have three kind of points of personal reflection, things that I've been thinking about, and they might be helpful to you as well. And the first one is kind of moving into that middle section a little bit, responding kind of for myself, that story of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew and James and John into this new life. And I was thinking about this, I I might be living a good life. But is Jesus calling me to something else or something more? And I I don't know. I I don't know kind of what your assessment of your current situation is. My my hope for you is that it's good, that the life that you're living right now is a good life. That you find yourself surrounding yourself with with good people, that that things are well with you in your home. By the way, if those things aren't true, then then just know that that I am praying for you, that I want good things for you. But whatever the case, is Jesus calling you to something else? Something that maybe you hadn't thought of before? And that might mean something drastic, like leaving your career or or something of that nature, but it might be something simpler than that. Just that simple question. Is Jesus calling me to something else, to something more? The second one is definitely in that category of meddling. Do I need to make a purposeful change in my life based on scripture or based on prayer? Do I need to repent? And that is an ongoing question for each and every one of us. Have we allowed something to enter into our lives that we we know? Like we're not confused, we're not ignorant. We know that it doesn't belong. It's not consistent with God's will for our life. It might be flat out, sinful. If that's present, then we need to make that change. And sometimes we just need to be told, hey, make that change. Do this thing a new way because God's way is better. You know, when we ask Jesus to bless us when we choose our own way instead of his, that's a pretty large request. It usually works out much better if we're willing to fully surrender and and ask him to lead us in in all of that. And then finally, I was connecting here with with the crowds. And without knowing their stories or kind of what they were totally going through, we just know their ailments. We know a little bit of where they were from. But I found myself asking this what do I want Jesus to do in my own life? The crowds knew. The crowds knew. What do I want Jesus to do in my own life? And am I willing to to invite him into that space? And am I willing to go out and seek him? That's just food for thought. I hope that you're encouraged today. I know I am. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for today. Thank you that you are so faithful that you continue to seek us out. Thank you for seeing us as so much more than people who are flawed or needy or whatever else. Thank you for understanding us. Thank you for changing us. Be with us throughout the day. Amen.