Mark 1:16-18
Now as he walked by the sea of
Galilee, he saw Simon and
Andrew, his brother, casting a
net into the sea: For they
were fishers. And Jesus
said unto them, "Come ye after
me and I will make you fishers
of men."
The part of this scripture
that I want us to give our
attention to today is in verse
17, and it is one line.
"Come after me, and I will
make you fishers of men".
And I want to concentrate on
one part of this that Jesus
said. "Come after me and
I will make you".
I have talked to people and
have heard them say, "I don’t
think I can live a Christian
life." "I don’t think I
can do it." "I don’t
know if I can be what I ought
to be."
Friend, Jesus said, "I will
make you."
But I am getting ahead of
myself, but it excites me to
see that as Jesus begins his
ministry and is gathering
disciples, where does he go?
Did he go to the local
synagogue? Did he look
for the brightest young
prospects at the local Jewish
schools? Did he search
for the most pious and
religious; the ones most
doctrinally correct?
NO! He went down to the
boat docks. He went to
the people with calloused
hands and dirt under their
fingernails. People who
knew something about hard
labor, who knew about being
faithful. People who
understood that some days the
nets return to the ship full,
but some days the wind blows
and the waves rock the boat
and the nets are empty, but we
must try again. If a man
succeeds at fishing for a
living, he must fish every
day, in good conditions and in
bad.
Paul said think of where you
were when you were called.
Not many were wise, by human
standards, not many of us were
rich or influential. Not
many were of a noble birth,
but Jesus said, "Follow me and
I will make you."
Many times in my own ministry
I have even turned to my wife
and said, "I can’t do this
thing. I don’t even know
how to start. I have
went to the Lord and said,
"Lord this is way over my
head. I don’t think I
can do it, but the answer is:
Jesus said, "Follow after me,
I will make you."
Discipleship is not about our
potential or power, but it is
about the promise and the
presence of Jesus Christ in
our life. (Read Hebrews
13:20-21) God is not
looking for people with great
ability, but he is looking for
obedience and willingness.
He has all the ability.
Some people hold back from
following Jesus because there
is an element of the unknown
when we follow Christ.
Where will he lead me?
He may lead you to a rest home
somewhere or to the sick and
the lonely. He may lead
you to your neighbor’s kitchen
table to comfort one whose
marriage has been torn by the
sins of the world. He
may lead you to the lunch room
at work where a fellow worker
will lay their heart in your
hands. He may lead you
to the hospital where life and
death hang in the balance.
Follow me, Jesus cries.
Follow me by faith. Follow me
and as we walk through the
uncertainty of this world, I
will make you.
What will he make you?
He may make you a friend to
the friendless. He will
make you a light in darkness.
He may make you a comforter to
the lonely. He will make
you powerful in prayer.
He may make you a talented
teacher and spiritual
councilor.
Follow me Jesus cries, and I
will make you what you need to
be.
Where will Jesus lead us?
He will lead us in the paths
of righteousness. He
will lead us into all truth.
He will lead us through every
storm. He will lead us
to Heaven. Amen.
You may be saying, I would
like to be a Christian, but I
don’t think I can.
Jesus says, "Follow me.
I will make you." God
told Jeremiah in chapter 1
verse 5: "Before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee.
And before thou camest forth
out of the womb, I sanctified
thee and I ordained thee a
prophet unto the nations.
And Jeremiah said, "I can’t
speak, I am a child."
And the Lord told him "Don’t
say that. I will send thee and
I’ll command your speech."
Friend, our ability is not in
ourselves, but in Christ.
II Corinthians 5:17 -
Therefore if any man be in
Christ he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away.
Behold all things are become
new.
The message I bring is from
the Lord Jesus, and he says
"Come ye after me and I will
make you what you need to be.
Jesus is speaking to someone
who may be saying in their
heart, "I can’t", and Jesus is
saying "I can".
Turn to Jeremiah 18:1-6.
The Word which came to
Jeremiah from the Lord,
saying, "Arise, and go down to
the potter’s house, and there
I will cause thee to hear my
words. Then I went down
to the potter’s house, and,
behold, he wrought a work on
the wheels. And the
vessel that he made of clay
was marred in the hand of the
potter: so he made it again
another vessel, as seemed good
to the potter to make it. Then
the word of the Lord came to
me, saying, O house of Israel,
cannot I do with you as this
potter? saith the Lord.
Behold, as the clay is in the
potter’s hand, so are you in
My hand, O House of Israel".
Perhaps you feel like your
life has been marred.
Maybe you feel like you have
failed in the past, and the
devil has said, "No use to try
again". He is a liar!
Jesus has said, "Just follow
me. I’ll make all things
new again."
David Dailey
http://www.daileyfamilyministries.com
and
Sermon Central
http://www.sermoncentral.com/