Readings: Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-23
Preached at Beckley Presbyterian Church on January
23rd 2005
If someone asks you to follow them it’s reasonable to ask, “Where are you going?” As Jesus walked
by the sea
of Galilee He saw Simon and Andrew and asked them to follow. They didn’t ask questions.
Neither, a little while later, did James nor John when He called them.
It’s
a strange thing. When people hear the call of Jesus Christ to follow, they don’t ask “Where are you going?” When we encounter Jesus, that question is turned around and we are the ones challenged
to ask ourselves where our lives will be heading if we refuse to respond to His invitation.
It’s a fair question isn’t it? Where are we going? What
paths are we following? Right now, on January
23rd 2005, as we sit here in the company of each other and in the presence
of God, what are we about? The last couple of weeks our bible stories have addressed
the questions “Why are we here?” and “What do we want?” This text asks “Where are we going?”
Could
be someone here is thinking, “Where am I going? Quite soon I hope to be
going for lunch. And if the preacher hurries up, we might even beat the Baptists to a good table!” Maybe someone’s
here looking forward to something happening this afternoon, or meeting someone tonight, or anticipating some event later in
the week. Once church is over with, and this is over with, and that is over with, then we’ll get to the good stuff.
There
are people who spend their whole lives so concerned about getting to the next thing, or so concerned about getting this
and that thing done or over with, that they really never stop long enough to hear the call of Jesus to follow or to ask themselves
where their life may be headed.
It
is possible to be so task orientated that you never discover the joy of savoring the moment. Life is just a series of
appointments, and the spaces in between are times traveling between appointments. Modern life positively encourages
that way of being - instant answers, fast food, drive-through everythings.
You
know how the church is here, how you can drive right around? Maybe we could introduce a drive-through service.
We could mount a loudspeaker and intercom at the entrance to the driveway, and you could stop the car and confess your sins
as you drive in. A little mechanical voice could say, "Do you want to supersize
that! For your assurance of pardon please drop off your tithes and offerings
at the first window." So you drop in your offering then move on to the next window,
pick up a copy of the sermon and a tape of the hymns, and "Vroom," you’re away, church over and done with in two minutes.
Forget
this having to fellowship with people, or sing, or find a place to sit, or standing up and reading prayers and all the rest
of it. None of this having to consider where you’re going, because you're
on the way and haven't got time for wasteful contemplation.
The
frightening thing about the concept of a consumer orientated drive-through church is that some people genuinely think it would
be a good idea. They don't seem to pick up on the message of Jesus - that we are to love each other as He loved us,
and that we can't do such a thing by relating only to ourselves.
One of the things I sometimes had the opportunity of doing when I was pastor in Fayetteville was speaking to the Middle School kids
at a lunch-time group. One time I was talking about this text which has Jesus
calling to follow, and I shared an example that appeared in one of the Youth Study Bibles of Li Tsang, a girl in Beijing, the capital of China.
Li
was brought up to believe in the non-existence of God. The only religion she knew was the worship and veneration of
her ancestors around the family shrine. She found that this strange mixture of superstition and atheism didn't meet
her spiritual need. In an old library near her home she discovered amongst the discarded books an old copy of the Bible.
As she became accustomed to the gospel story she decided that she would like to be a follower of Christ.
Her
family was less than sympathetic. They just didn't understand. So Li had to make a choice. Did she listen
to the voice of those around her or listen to the Word of God? She made her choice and decided to give up the beliefs
of her nation, her family, and her friends and to embrace the way of Christ. This was not an easy choice to make, but
one which God honored.
Eventually her faith journey led her to a theological college in Europe, and she was able to train in the work of ministry and return to her homeland where now she helps
others to be disciples. In her own way her life became a picture of our gospel reading. She heard the call to
follow and became a fisher of people.
After
sharing this story I asked some of the young people what they felt they could give up in order to follow Christ. One
of them immediately replied, "Nothing." Giving up in order to follow was
something that only first disciples and foreigners had to do. If you live in
a Christian country with Christian parents and go to church now and again, then you are following Christ. So what on earth is there to give up?
Observers note that America, the richest of all nations, has bred a form of consumer Christianity that disciples of the early
church would have a hard time identifying with. The growth of Mega-Churches and Television has created worship experiences
where the attendee is more of a spectator than a participant. Religion as entertainment,
as a commodity to be consumed in order that salvation in the hereafter and prosperity on earth can be obtained, is certainly
a marketable philosophy. But does it have anything to do with the Kingdom way
of life about which the Scriptures talk?
The
bottom line for many people involved in churches is, "What can this church do for me?" That
is totally the opposite of the questions necessary for genuine discipleship, which are: "How can I serve Christ in His church?
Are these the people God is calling me to have a special love for? Are these the ones in whose tears and laughter I
will discover Your presence, oh God?"
When
Jesus wanted to teach the disciples what discipleship was, He didn't preach a sermon and give an altar call. He took a bowl and washed their dirty feet. He shared with them in a fellowship meal and broke bread
and drank wine. He told them to love each other as much as He loved them.
He laid down His life for them.
He laid down His life for us, and that is why when we hear this invitation to "Follow" it should raise deep questions
in our hearts about where our lives may be going. In as much as we follow after
other things, then we are not following Christ.
Do you have a phone with
“Call Waiting?” Do you put people on hold to talk with someone else? With Jesus there is no “Call
Waiting.” You don’t put following Him on hold. You either follow
Him or go your own way. And if you go your own way, where is it leading? To your own personal Paradise? To
some imaginary safe place where the concerns of life won’t weigh you down? Or
perhaps to a highway to hell?
We
don’t know exactly what it was that produced an immediate response in those fishermen disciples. We do know that
there was something about the presence of Jesus which assured them that following Him was doing the right thing, that what
they were being called to do was something far greater than anything they were being called to leave behind.
The
Presence of Christ, which makes “No” feel like the wrong thing to say to His invitation, is available to us all.
As we worship together, as we hear and apply His Word to our lives, as we rethink our values in relation to the values of
His Kingdom, something can change in us.
It’s
a matter of grace. It’s a matter of allowing God’s Holy Spirit time
and room to move. It’s a matter of getting off the treadmill and asking
where, if anywhere, the things you follow are leading you.
Someone
asked me, “Was it hard for you to leave your home and family behind and come to another country?” You bet
it was! And sometimes it’s still hard to be thousands of miles away from
those loved ones who nurtured your life and whom you call family and friends. But I have no regrets about the decision.
It was made in the Presence of Jesus. It was His call to follow that I listened
to. It was another step in a journey that has so far led me to all kinds of places and experiences and joys and challenges
that life would have otherwise not held for me. No regrets…only new blessings.
That
means that right now, on January 23rd 2005, as we sit here in the company of each other and the presence of God, I am
in a position where I can say to you with full assurance of faith, “Listen for the call of Jesus that says ‘Follow
me’, and do what ever it takes to be obedient to that call.” Whatever Jesus calls you to leave behind is
dull and empty in comparison to where He wants to take you. You’re right! It
is a matter of faith and of trust. But the fact that you are here this morning shows you know enough about trusting
God to trust Him a little bit more.
“God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.”
So get excited. Get with the program.
Get into the Word so that the Word’s getting into you.
Hear Christ calling to you,
“Follow
me. Help me catch others up in my Kingdom.”
Do whatever it takes
to make it happen!
Adrian Pratt
