The call to walk with Jesus Christ

 

Date of Sermon Delivery: 31. December. 2023

Place of sermon Delivery:  Delhi, India

Sunday Worship Service 

Speaker: Brother Jatin

Title: The call to walk with Jesus Christ 

Bible: Matthew 4:18-22

18 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. 

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 

20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 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 Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 

22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

 

 

Praise the lord. 

Welcome to all in the beautiful house of the Lord.

I appreciate that all of you worked together for humanitarian aid, and I believe that God blessed many people through that work.

Somewhere, the Lord must have opened your hearts to the fact that there are many people whose problems and whose sorrow are much greater than the problems of our lives. We are all called to pray for such people so that we can pray for them and carry new hope for them, which is Jesus Christ.

It’s a great privilege for me to stand in front of you with the living word of God. I am very thankful to all of you for your prayers and for the grace of God that He gives you and me.

 

Let's move on to today's Bible. I hope you all have your Bibles. Let's look at Matthew 4:18–22.

Let us pray.

Lord, your word says John 15:26 But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Lord, we now ask this spirit to come among us and help me and all the people who listen to your words. Lord, after listening to the words with the help of the Holy Spirit, we may apply them in our hearts, in our spiritual lives, and in our faith. So that we may be close to you and be with you always.

Thank you, Lord, for everything we pray for in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen!!

 

Today morning, I want to focus your attention on Matthew 4:18–22. We have heard this scripture many times, and among us many are familiar with it, but I want to encourage you to keep your focus on it because God wants to speak with you about some new things, even though this text is very familiar to you.

 

I want to ask you: do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Do you believe that, through your believe you have been baptised by the Holy Spirit?

Then how is the fire burning in your heart for the Lord and for his kingdom?

Do you really have that fire alive in your heart for the kingdom of God, or is it getting extinguished somewhere while you are rarely achieving the successes of your life?

 

If you all believe that God has called you into the light and that He has a much bigger plan for your life, but to see that plan it is necessary that we all walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we can see in today's words, Jesus called some of the people to be His disciples and appealed to them to follow Him.

 

Do you believe that you are walking with Jesus? If you say yes, then God bless you more, but still, I want to encourage you to see into today's verses what it means to walk with Jesus.

Today we will see four aspects of walking with Jesus.

Let us read again Matthew 4:18-22.

18 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. 

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 

20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 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 Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 

22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

 

1. Walking with Jesus means active lifestyle – When Jesus was in the earthly ministry, he walked about 3150 miles (more than 5000km). that is equal to the distance from Delhi to Kanyakumari and from Kanyakumari to Delhi.

If you read the gospels, you will see that Jesus led a very active lifestyle. He was constantly teaching, healing, praying, and spending time in gospel sharing.

Mark the bible says Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

Jesus was so busy serving other people that he did not even have time to eat.

In Luke 9:58, Jesus replied. Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.

Jesus did not come to live a life of comfort or luxury; Jesus did not stay in 5-star hotels, Jesus did not go to sea side for relax and He did not even have a proper place to lay his head.

When Jesus called these four fishermen, (Peter, Andrew, James, and John), He called them to live a life of action, and join him. These travel were not going to be easy. These were men already accustomed (habituated) to hard work, but the life to which Jesus was calling them was more difficult.

He did not say follow me and you will have a life of ease; he did not say follow me and you will have a luxury life; he did not say follow me and your money will be double, He did not say follow me and watch while I do all the work.

But they were going to be involved, as they were with Jesus, they would share in his hardships. He would give them many responsibilities. As he had no place to lay his head, they would not.

Therefore, walking with Jesus means an active lifestyle, as the word "walk" is mentioned in the Bible more than 400 times, which gives a clear hint that Christian life is to be an active one; it is not just for resting and relaxing.

Hebrew 4:9–11: So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Here we can see sabbath as a rest, in revelation as we learned about Jesus’ second coming, and there will be our real rest.

Dear brothers and sisters:.

Are you living an active Christian life?

Disciple got out and walked great distances in order to be with Jesus and minister with Jesus.

In the present time, we can see people like to be in online service; they want to get everything online. Even many churches have replaced their physical church with an online church, which is very passive and relaxing. They can wake up and, from their comfortable beds, turn on Zoom, screen off, and listen to the message.

How helpful is that spiritual life? It is easy, but easy does not give us any spiritual growth.

In the first century, when the church was growing like wildfire, it was because of their active fellowship with the centre of Jesus Christ, and they had to provide accountability, encouragement, and stimulate growth.

Ask yourself, Which helps you grow more—staying home and sleeping, skipping the Lord’s Day, undisciplined in spiritual activities or coming into a bible study, coming into the Lord's Day, coming into fellowship with God?

The Bible says that we reap what we sow; therefore, the more you invest in your spiritual growth, the more results you will see.

 

2. walking with Jesus means going in the same direction: The Bible says that when Jesus said, fellow me, they immediately left their nets and followed him.

Jesus had already begun his ministry, his path, and his vision. Then he called the disciples to join him; that meant they had to change direction; they had to give up their plan, path, idea, and thought and join with him.

Therefore, walking with Jesus required a change of direction. They were fishermen; now they would go and be fishers of men. I want to tell you, if you believe in Jesus, you are also a fisher of men.

Disciples were in their own comfort zone, doing whatever they wanted and living their lives as they wanted.

Going with Jesus means giving up something.

What do you need to give up in order to walk with him or be under his leadership?

a. Sin: many times, people put one foot in God’s kingdom and one foot in this world. They like to feel the peace of being part of God’s family, joining church, participating in church activities, and thinking they have eternal life, but at the same time, they like to keep their own lifestyle and some things in their lives that they do not want to give up because they want to enjoy the world too.

Does Jesus welcome all kinds of people to walk with him?

"Yes.” Jesus welcomes all kinds of people; no matter what kind of sinner you are, Jesus will welcome you. No matter what sin you have done, Jesus welcomed tax-collectors, prostitutes, and all the lowest sinners in society to become his followers, but he did not welcome their sin, he did not allow them to follow him without changing their lives, To walk with Jesus, we must repent of sin and change direction.

 

b. Your way of life: all the disciples knew was fishing; it was their job. They grew up next to the Sea of Galilee. They learned fishing from their own fathers. Fishing was the way that they took care of their families. For them to give up fishing and pursue a different career would be unimaginable. Fishing was part of their identity. But they were willing to give it up to follow Jesus; that changed their identity, and they began being surrounded by people instead of being surrounded by water and nature.

What part of your life do you need to give up in order to follow Jesus?

Is Jesus the first place in your life or something as?

Do you need to turn down some job offers in order to make sure God is taking the priority in your life that he should? You need to say “no to taking jobs on Sunday so that you can spend that time worshipping the Lord. You need to say "no" to profitable opportunities that make you far from God.

As you walk with Jesus, you need to consider if he is in the lead or if you are in the lead.

If one person is going north and the other is going south, it is not going to work. If one is going to the north and the other is going east from the north, maybe they walk together for a while, but sooner or later they will have to split.

Walking with Jesus means that we have to agree with his direction; we have to submit everything we have to Him—our plans, our careers, our relationships—and we have to say, Lord, your way is best.

Does your life need a change of direction?

Are you walking with Jesus or going your own way and then asking him to come along and bless you and prosper your plans?

 

3. walking with Jesus means fellowship with him – Disciples lived with Jesus; Jesus ate with them; Jesus talked with them; Jesus corrected them; and Jesus travelled with them.

They spent lots of time together and much of time away from the crowds.

John 6:3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

Mark 4:34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable, but when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Matthew 12:49 Jesus stretched out his hand towards his disciple. He said, Behold my mother and my brothers.

In John 15:15, Jesus called his disciples friends.

Walking with Jesus means deep and personal fellowship with Jesus.

This year may be difficult for you, or it may be easy, but Jesus wants to walk with you through this year.

Going on a walk with someone is a time to talk, it is a time to share, You open up about your life, struggles, good news, bad news, you laugh, you joke and tell stories.

Talk with Jesus like you would a friend.

Do not wait for Jesus to read your Instagram or Facebook to know what is going on in your life. But tell him directly; talk to him about what you are facing, how you feel, successes, failures, and temptations.

Whenever I am in my roof room, I talk with him like friends, Jesus is sitting at the side of me like friends sit and talk.

The Christian life is not complicated; it is not flying, not roller skating, or no juggling.

It is walking; do not walk alone, but walk shoulder to shoulder with Jesus, and as we walk, talk with him.

Dear brothers and sisters, have you been talking with Jesus?

Have you been including him in every part of your life?

If not, then God wants that you have personal fellowship with him on a daily basis.

 

4. Walking with Jesus means walking step by step with Him. When Jesus called the disciples, he said, “Follow me.” They were going with Jesus side by side. 
He gave them responsibilities, they became friends, and they fellowshipped together.

but some time they want to set the pace for Jesus, and sometimes disciples do not conform to Jesus’ plans.

Matthew 16:22-23 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Peter tried to push forward his own plans, but Jesus gave him response get behind me, Satan.

How would you feel if you invited someone for a walk and he or she walked by themselves the whole time? You probably won't enjoy walking as much. And if the path they choose is a bad one, you'll enjoy it even less. On the other hand, if you invite someone for a walk and the whole time they walk far behind, ignore your directions, get lost, and wander off the path you've set for them, you may not enjoy it as much either.

 

So, we must walk with Jesus’ step by step. He is encouraging us, strengthening us, and befriending us, but at the same time, we should not forget that he is leading us.

Walking with Jesus means that we are in step with him. We do not just lead ahead and tell him to bless it. Instead, we humbly seek to follow him and submit ourselves to his leadership.

 

Conclusion 

Dear brothers and sisters:.

When we walk with Jesus, our lives will be changed.

Disciples were not well educated; they did not have much influence; often they argued about who was greater; many times they asked very silly questions; they were not a brave group; and when Jesus was arrested, most of them ran off. Peter, who vowed to give his life, denied him three times.

But as they walked with Jesus, observing his model, his life, his prayer, and his teachings, their lives were transformed, and these same ordinary people became pillars of the church.

Acts 4:13 says

13 Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

What changed them? What made them brave?

Being with Jesus and spending time with Jesus transformed them. It transformed them to the point that they were accused of turning the world upside down. (Acts 17:6)

What do you do when you go on a walk with someone? Before you go on a walk with someone, you invite them.

There is an invitation and a response. Jesus gave an invitation to the disciples.

He said to follow me.

Today, Jesus is giving us the same invitation. He is inviting us to let him into our lives and walk with him. which means he is asking us to have an active Christian lifestyle, he is asking us to change our direction and give up something, and he is asking us to fellowship with us and to talk.

Exodus 33:15 says, and he said to him, If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

Today, will you accept the invitation of Jesus? If you want to walk with Jesus in the remaining days of your life and want to make a promise with him right now,.

Please stand up and pray.

Let’s sing a song. Christ is enough for me.