Where and How It All Began, Part 3

Today on Insight for living from Chuck's window. Some of you are right at the crossroads of your life right there mending nets testing that's to be doing that rest of your life. No, not very sensitively listen to his voice. Call how did public ministry convince a salty crew of fishermen to drop their nets on the shore and follow him.

That dramatic scene is described for us in the fourth chapter of Matthew today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll will help us see the magnitude pivotal moment for each of the disciples as relevance to our lives today. Maybe you like Peter, Andrew, James and John began to hear God calling you to a new adventure check title today's message where and how it all began. Jesus knew that his message predatory the maximum number of people he needed to go were it was dark. Many people are called to serve places of gross darkness, we should faithfully remember them in prayer doesn't mean they're not modern places. It doesn't mean there are not a lot of people.

It means there is little spiritual truth, a gathering like the size of this church would be unheard of in those places of darkness. The truth would not be taught would not be preach would not be proclaimed in some places you would be killed for declaring a truth that would differ from those who are in the leadership of the darkness he's led to those places because it was there that would be the most response to his message and you notice is message verse 17 change your mind regarding sin.

The word repent metal, not at all has to do with the change of the mind, turn your thinking around you been moving in one direction turn around as you trust in me and going the other direction change your mind, change the direction of your life, repent of your sins, turn to God.

The kingdom of heaven.

Maybe there were those who climbed out of the darkness and said I been waiting all my life to hear of something like this. I long to know what it is to have peace within, to have the assurance of eternal life.

I long to know what it is to be a part of the kingdom of heaven to have a kingdom life lived on this earth, so that I could please the one that I'm worshiping going by his grace as accepted me into his family. What a privilege. Jesus said, don't miss the fact that we read in verse 17 Jesus began to preach, familiar to all of us, not to them that I never heard preaching like this in their life that set through the monotonous lectures of the scribes and the demands of legalism of the Pharisees that God, through the schools of the synagogue and been bored through much of that but now there listening to an individual who has a magnetic supernatural appeal. We read in Matthew 729 that Jesus spoke with authority not as the scribes. Preaching has an arresting quality to it. It goes far beyond the personality of the preacher you find yourself unable to go to sleep you find yourself riveted to the truth as it's revealed in the print on the page of the Scripture. And you wonder what it is that memory they like it there in Galilee, for they had been on a shroud of darkness and in the grip of sin and here comes one who says there's a better way to live than that and he preaches the good news to know this fascinating when you get to verse 18 is in the midst of this itinerary preaching where he goes from one place to another. There is no church warned there is no pulpit.

He does all of his work for the most part, outside, except when he preaches in the synagogue there.

He's teaching. There's a difference when you preacher preach to the will for the purpose of bringing a change in the mind and heart of the listener. When you teacher giving information to feed the mind, so that there is an understanding of what the truth mean but now he comes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We've already seen on our map and he's walking along the shoreline and he sees two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew you're reading John's Gospel. You'll read where they first encountered Jesus so this this is not the first they've heard him before but never offered this invitation before, look at the calling imagine it they were throwing their net into the water for the fish for living. That's the way they pushed back.

He sees them with their nets and he takes advantage of that visual by saying follow me and I will show you how to fish for people.

Your good fishing for fish. I want to cultivate within you and understanding of how to attract people into the nest of salvation.

Please observe the left their nets at once and followed know about you but I find that fascinating. That's their occupation.

They make a living there family is living nearby town of Capernaum were one of the villages there. The shoreline Jesus is I'm going to begin a work and I want you to be a part of that special band and he extends a call.

Notice the next couple of men.

Verse 21 a little farther up the shore. He saw two other brothers, James and John sitting in the boat with their father Zebedee in this case there repairing their nets often snagged on the bottom of the body of water, and I have to repair them and they're there now mending the nets and he says to them, he called and then immediately followed him, leaving the boat with their father the boat and their father behind. That's quite a statement on a journey here with you. With a little imagination.

I want you to remember when someone offered you salvation the message of salvation. In my case it was my mother. I remember her telling me of Jesus when I was a little boy. I didn't sense any call to ministry.

All I heard was that Jesus died for me and in their paid the complete penalty for my sin and I could trust him and have eternal life. You may have heard about it from some classmate at school. Maybe some college ministry that was going on the campus. Maybe some preacher you listen to is you were a visitor at a church maybe a crusade led by Billy Graham or some other event. All callings are different but they had that quality that arresting quality that says follow me. Trust me rely on me. You know it's interesting here. There is no pension plan that Jesus often there is and there is no insurance. I mean this isn't a resume for them to get another job. They're not hired following the cold. No one is hired into the family of God. Your call to serve Christ.

I remembered them in my case I'm in the Marine Corps.

I'm a thousand miles from home and family and thanks to the ministry of man a Bob Newkirk with the navigators.

He and I are involved in all kinds of activities and I remember one time he put me on the back of a flatbed truck and eyelid songs and he did the preaching and next time we met, I did the preaching and he led the singing. It was better the first time around. By the way he was a better preacher by far. Anyway, I remember thinking after all this was over. I would love to do. I would love to do that.

I told Bob that he said you may be called to do that and I thought, not a chance beat up old people and over time I realized I was and I remember writing Cynthia back home in our Savior. You're not going to believe this but when the amount I want to one of find a way to get to Dallas seminary begin their… It no no I'm kidding she did not say she said I will that's great.

Never once asked what are we going to make you go. What's the insured's plan would gonna principle we have never once she said let's do we pack up that we had all of $75 in our great bank account.

We moved to Dallas mood to dilute campus apartments hot and cold running rats all the benefits of home then good as they destroyed it. When they built the library there on top of the back then it was a place where we live. Little tiny. Never once did we fuss about how small it was never once lived one living room. That was a living room, bedroom, dining room altogether room study room had a little room off of that for them the baby when we began our family and that little kitchen and little tiny tiny bathroom you go outside to change your mind. I mean it was really little sitting on the toilet got up 20 feet are probably should go and all that but anyway you really really small.

Sorry honey I I got carried away. But you know what it was fabulous.

Why you recall, it was a calling. It was a fraud and one faculty member. Not one knew me under a handful of classmates and for the most part was the cave in Houston where I come from. I did know you have any idea what is get into no idea this of the number of books that I be reading.

No idea of the direction would be going but I was called, had no clue as to my future was called Mike Peter, Andrew J John, I was qualified to do that.

I look back on that and I just shake my head thinking gracious God's to do that life he had visions that I never had a plan. They never told me about this one day, week, month to the next Siu walk with one place to another and before you get all impressive. These disciples limit, bring it down a notch. Robert Coleman written a wonderful book called the master planning evangelism which you really need to read if you want to study how Jesus put his 12 together in the book he says was most revealing about them in this at the first is that they don't impress SB as being key men for the most part their common laboring man probably having no professional training beyond the rudiments of knowledge necessary for their vocation. None of them could have been considered wealthy and no academic degrees in the arts and philosophies of their day erasing the poor section of the country around Galilee. They would surely be considered a rather ragged aggregation so they were impulsive, temperamental, easily offended and had all the prejudices of the Galilean environment. Yet Jesus on the simple man the potential of leadership for the kingdom. Current.

They were indeed unlearned and ignorant. According to the world standard, but they were teachable. They were honest, willing to confess their need. Their hearts were big. What is perhaps most significant about them was there sincere yearning for God and the realities of his life. The superficiality of the religious life about them had not obsessed their hope for the Messiah. They were fed up with hypocrisy fed up with the ruling aristocracies, some of them it already joined the revival movement of John the baptizer. These men were looking for someone to lead them. Jesus can use anyone who wants to be first. That's the thing that makes this book so exciting you're right here on the page you're right there. Your name isn't there. My name is there, but in principle that's where we are not fishing you're not casting that you're not mending nets or working in some area of life that your profession or maybe your occupation, you have no idea what his plan for your life is, he steps into your life in a number of different ways and he reaches you with the message.

It's called your calling and you're drawn to him. And you cannot say no I don't. Amanda left a very excellent engineering profession and went into ministry. I don't know what his salary must've been one half of one third of 14.

Never once complained about the change in salary when you call the money doesn't matter is not significant when you're called a response of people doesn't matter is insignificant.

All you know is that the use of Christ's spreads in the lives and you have the privilege of communicating. It, in this case news. Verse 24 spread around about Jesus and look at this, along with the prep message he preached and taught. He heals all of those who, with every kind of sickness or disease.

Those who were demon oppressed or epileptic, paralyzed. He healed them all large crowds followed him wherever he went. Now admittedly, there were some that lingered in the crowd that was just curiosity seek, but not all.

Can you imagine the eyes of Peter and Andrew, James and John as they stood in the shadows. What's the master they were following do his work of healing, no gimmickry, no money exchanged.

No big signs, no big gathering just people from coming all around out in the open and they bring all these who were sick and we read at the end of verse 24 he healed them all. People from Galilee from the capitalists Jerusalem, Judea, east of the Jordan look at a few weeks before is nobody even heard of it a few days before there weren't even close followers but now there's a small band.

There's a gathering of those who will make up the team that will turn the world upside down.

The call is disciples people who had been called to do a unique work. We will miss the point of all of this. If we leave today thinking calling is something that occurred only in the days of Jesus, but still goes on. Some of you are resisting the call you're more concerned about the stuff of life and you are the substance of the call.

Osgood's book the call is a marvelous work to read a couple of chapters of it yesterday and then early this morning. I think it should be required reading. He writes there's more to God's call than simply sending us out.

Certainly advanced by sending us out but he begins by singling us out singling us out. We are called by name and he continues by sending us as we respond to the call of our creator, we rise to our feet, not only physically but also in every sense of the word to be the people he alone knows were capable of being God's call resonates in us at depths.

No other call can read and draws us all in and out enough to heights nor the call can scale see. Then he asked do you long to rise to the full stature to which you were created to be be your utmost for his highest listen to Jesus of Nazareth answered his call. I will testify to this. When you do you will wonder how you could have ever ever considered doing anything else. Many of you should remain exactly where you are but not all.

Some of you are right at the crossroads of your life right there mending nets and testing nets you think you will be doing that. The rest of your life.

No, not if you very sensitively listen to his voice you will hear his call. It will be audible. You will just know in your heart.

I cannot keep doing what I've been doing all my life I now must carry out his work, and I must do it from here on for his glory wherever he may choose to use me is remarkable what God is done since 1998 in this church know what is more surprised than I same guy that walked in the hallway of that country club thinking that was another group or another group for another group of people not realizing that was all part of this plan had no strategy had no written guidelines for how to begin. It gets messy. It's exhausting. There are days you wonder if you can keep going. There were times when I decided this. This is enough. I quit remember saying that laying in bed one Saturday night.

Times were tough difficult occasion, things were happening. I set up in bed and I said tomorrow resign synthesis lie back down nonserious. Tomorrow I'm quitting know you're not that you have no idea and I began to cry. She put her hand on my back. She said his lie back down settled two words for you okay shut up ocean sediment with compassion is that you're not quitting God didn't start this to witness our quitting were not quitting the grateful I am. I realized you can't click call we got is begun here complete like you to bow your heads like you to close your eyes like you to meet with the Lord very quietly for the next few moments you sure you know Jesus you absolutely sure you change directions you sure that he's the one who is enthroned in your life, not yourself. If you're not sure a this is the moment trust him just telling you trust when given your life to do with it whatever he may wish to do. Maybe you do know the Lord, but you been fighting his plan is you can't figure it all out. You can't get all the ducks in a row, you're thinking. Well, it can't be as plan. God doesn't spell it all out in the front end he asked you to trust him to take the first step you take it to the next and the next, so right where you're sitting answer that call. Take his offer trust free us from fear. Our father take away that longing within us for tangible security drive far from us any interest in leaning on our own understanding and bring us face-to-face with the joy of serving you.

Wherever you lead us honor your name father for those today trusting your son and those who accept the call set them apart for special work lead clearly in the way they should go pray in the name of Jesus saying everyone's email where and how it all began. That's the title Chuck Swindoll assigned to our study in Matthew chapter 4.

This is insight for living and in the event you missed any program in this brand-new study of Matthew.

Remember, you can catch up by streaming the audio directly from the Insight for living website find all the information it insight world.org with much of our world in turmoil over the global pandemic of fragile economy and political unrest. Nothing seems more timely than a study about Jesus, the King of Kings. This series which is a celebration of Israel's long-awaited king will take us through the entire book of Matthew and in the coming weeks and months, Chuck will guide our audience through Matthew's account of Jesus entire ministry on earth right through his parting words commonly known as the great commission along with the daily program insight for living ministries has prepared a number of additional resources for you and each one is designed to help you fall more in love with Jesus. For example, checks written a very popular devotional book called perfect trust no matter what fears are standing in your way right now. Chuck's insightful book will help you overcome those barriers to knowing God's best to purchase a copy of perfect trust, go to insight.org/offer filing along with the release of this brand-new series daily program. Chuck has recently completed his verse by verse commentary on the book of Matthew was well comes into hardbound volumes alongside the verses in Matthew access to charts and maps, photos, course. Chuck's practical observations to purchase Windows living inside commentary on Matthew Collins listening in the US, call 1-800-772-8888 that's 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/offer. Be sure to listen again tomorrow. Chuck Swindoll describes the sermon of all sermon right here on insight for living.

The preceding message.

Where and how it all began was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles Parson talking all rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited