Gone Fishing!

Sermon Summary:

What does it mean to truly follow Jesus in the middle of everyday life? That question sits at the heart of this message, which opens with the Lord’s Supper and moves into a powerful exploration of what it means to be called, committed, and sent. Drawing from Mark 1, we are taken back to the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, where he walks beside the Sea of Galilee and issues a simple but world-altering invitation: come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people. The men he called were not religious elites. They were ordinary workers, standing on the bank with nets in their hands. Yet the moment Jesus spoke, something happened that defied explanation. They left everything, immediately and unconditionally, and followed him. That kind of response challenges us to examine our own level of commitment. Are we following Jesus with that same immediacy, or are we holding back parts of our lives that we have not yet surrendered? The message reminds us that discipleship is not a self-improvement plan or a strategy for a more comfortable life. It is a lifetime of obedience, surrender, and active participation in the mission of God. The kingdom of God is not a distant concept. It arrived in the person of Jesus, and we are invited to live inside of it right now.

Watch The Service Here

Sermon Points:

Key Takeaways:

• The Lord’s Supper is a proclamation of Christ’s death until he returns, rooted in the body and blood of Jesus offered as a sacrifice for sin
• Jesus arrived at the kairos moment, the divinely full and meaningful time, signaling the inauguration of the kingdom of God
• The kingdom of God is not an abstract concept but a present reality embodied in the person and ministry of Jesus
• The call of Jesus is personal, powerful, and purposeful, demanding an immediate and unconditional response
• Genuine discipleship begins with repentance and belief, which are non-negotiable starting points for every person regardless of background
• Discipleship is not a self-improvement plan or a search for one’s best life; it is a lifetime of obedience and surrender to Christ’s mission
• Fishing for people is a communal endeavor requiring every believer to play a role, just as ancient fishermen worked together with nets
• The mission field is local; lost people surround believers in everyday life and do not require travel to distant places to be reached
• The congregation is called to pray weekly for God to place a specific person on their heart who needs to hear the gospel

Watch other Sermons Here

Scripture References:

Sermon Transcript:

Well, thank you, worship team. Good morning, church. It’s good to see you this morning. We’re glad you’re here today for this day of worship. We’ve had a great time in worship at our first service, and grateful for this time we can share together.

We’re going to share the Lord’s Supper today, so I’m going to invite our ministers, our deacons to come forward and take their places who are going to assist us in the Lord’s Supper today. And we want you to know you’re invited to this table as when you think about what the Lord has done for us, God’s power at work within us, and how he’s been at work in the church. Jesus, of course, lived a perfect life here on this earth, and he lived a sinless life in his body. He offered up his body as a sacrifice for our sin, and he gave us an example. But he also gave us some tools so that we can represent him and proclaim Him.

One of the tools that he gave us is baptism, where we do proclaim who he is and what he’s done for us. And we’ve seen that already this morning. Another one of those tools that he’s given to us, if you will, instrument is the Lord’s Supper. In fact, the Apostle Paul, when he was reflecting upon the Lord’s Supper theologically, Paul said, this is one of the ways we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. And so that’s what we will do today.

And we come to this table humbly and gratefully. We’re humbled because we know that we’re sinners and we are unworthy to sit at this table. But we’ve been invited by the Lord himself. And so if you know the Lord Jesus, you’ve given your life to him. And in your tradition, you’ve been baptized.

Well, then you are welcome to participate with us. And here in a moment, these deacons are going to serve you. And when the you may be new to us, so when the tray passes in front of you, you’ll notice that there are cups stacked one on top of the other. And if you’ll just take one of those stacks, one cup will have the bread, one will have the juice. If you’ll separate those, I will guide us so that we all together can take the elements together.

But we believe these elements point to something greater, to actually a greater reality. This bread points to the actual body of Jesus in which he did live that perfect life. This juice points to the blood of Jesus that was offered up as A sacrifice for our salvation. And so we’re blessed to be at this table. We’re grateful for what the Lord has done for us and we invite you to participate today, humbly in the tray itself.

Some of you need gluten free bread that’s available in the middle of each tray that will make its way past. But let’s pray together, prepare ourselves, ask God’s blessing upon this time.

Lord, as we reflect upon who you are and what you’ve done for us, we’re reminded of the proclamation of Jesus that the time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. And so, Father, we thank you for your calendar and that at some point you decided the time had come and that Jesus brought your kingdom on this earth in a fresh, new, powerful way. And we repent and we believe so that we can participate in your kingdom. That’s what allows us to be at this table.

We’ve repented. We believe. And Lord, we ask for your grace because we know we need your forgiveness. And so we ask, Lord, you cleanse us as we prepare to receive these elements. And that you will accept our confession and that your grace will be sufficient and that your cleansing will truly refresh us.

And we ask your blessing upon this bread which points us to the body of Jesus, this juice that points us to the blood of Jesus. May we be mindful of the cost of our salvation today. And we pray that in Jesus name, amen.

As our deacons made their way throughout our congregation this morning, I’m grateful today for our staff that serves our church so well. They serve the Lord so well. I’m honored to work alongside them and grateful for our deacons. They serve all across the life of our church. They teach Bible studies and they lead all kind of ministries.

They serve the Lord’s Supper, they serve in our worship ministry. Some of them are in our orchestra choir. And right now, some of them are in a prayer room praying for this entire service. And they’re truly servants. And I’m grateful for you because all of us together, that’s what comprises this community that comes to a table and we share fellowship and union together.

This some traditions refer to this celebration as Communion. It’s where we celebrate what we have in common. Sometimes it’s called the Eucharist, which means to give thanks. And we usually refer to it as the Lord’s Supper because it came from that last supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples, because it’s on that night. The Bible tells us that Jesus took the bread he Gave thanks.

He broke it and he said, this is my body. Take and eat.

That same night, the Bible says he took the cup and he said, this is the blood of the new covenant. Drink it and all God’s people said amen. Amen. Well, it is good to be here with you this morning. Y’ all know Kurt may have mentioned this.

I was meeting with some folks when Kurt was given the welcome. But y’ all know that we have about 130 of our church members at Riverbend at Glen Rose for the family getaway. I don’t know if they’re watching this worship service or not. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but let’s just pretend they are and let’s greet all of them. Can we just say that we’re glad y’ all are here?

We love y’, all and we hope that all goes well this weekend. On this Labor Day weekend for you. Well, I have to tell you, Cindy and I, we flew in late last night. We were at the Baylor Auburn game. So we’re a little hungover today.

But I’ll be honest with y’, all, though. We’re not really hungover from that. We’re. We’re hungover from last weekend. What an incredible celebration for our 25 years here at First Baptist Arlington.

And I don’t really have the. The words to say thank you, but that sounds almost trite to say thank you. But those, I think you understand, they communicate a depth of appreciation that is beyond our ability to share it. And so can I just say to y’, all, on behalf of me and Cindy, thank you and our family, thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for being the church to us. We love you.

You know, it wasn’t just the celebration last weekend. It is that. It’s just 25 years of life together. You’ve made a life for us is really what’s happened. And you’ve enriched our lives in ways that you’ll never probably understand or me either.

It’s just very deep in us. And we’re grateful. And we have. We sit at our table right now and we’re trying to read every note that y’ all wrote us. And it’s taken a while because when we’re reading one of those notes, we can’t help but think about you and what we know about your life and what we’ve shared in 25 years.

And so it gives us a chance to pray and laugh and cry and just be grateful for what the Lord has done. So our hearts are just so full from it all and we will treasure it from now on. So why don’t we go ahead and start the next 25 years? Is that okay with y’? All?

Let’s just see about that. And that’s what I would say. So. But I do want to read this to y’, all, if I may. Y’ all know many of you know our story when we were in England some 25 years ago and we ran into Arlington Baptist Church in Bybury, England, y’, all, many of y’ all remember that story.

So I wrote Arlington Baptist Church in England to tell them about our story and about our celebration. And the pastor wrote me back. And I would like to read this to y’, all, if I may. Her name is Sharon Pecci. And Sharon says, dear Dennis, what a wonderful story and hard to read in our present circumstances.

We have a membership of three now who are also trustees, and one of them is moving away, soon to be married and will be down to two. So the church is down to two members. Please pray for us to be able to find a way to stay open and to grow. We have a fantastic community here in Bybre, but they don’t have many folks who are coming to their church. Arlington, the area is known as Arlington.

The village is Byberry. She said it would mean a lot to us if First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas would pray for the future of our Baptist church here in Arlington Byberry. So we can commit to pray for Arlington Baptist Church, can’t we? In England says, we’re financially okay, it’s people we need. Then she asks this question.

She says, do you know if there’s any connection between Arlington, Texas and Bybree other than this example you’ve given about God speaking? I guess you all know the 370 year story linking Arlington Byberry to Virginia, USA in the 17th century, Henry Custis and his wife Joanna lived in Byberry Parish village of Arlington, which was where the workers of the area lived at the time they migrated to the Netherlands. And from there their son John Custis moved to Virginia. In 1649, John Custis obtained a large tract of land in Northampton County. It was one of the largest plantations in the area and we guess, sadly, most probably involved with the slave trade.

Around 1670, he built a mansion on his estate and he named it Arlington, after his family’s birthplace, England. John Custis died in 1749, passing the House onto his son Daniel, who married a young heiress named Martha Dandridge. Sadly, after seven years, Daniel died tragically, leaving Martha a young widow with two children. Martha soon caught the eye of a young man named George Washington, who married her and adopted her children and raised them as her own. One of those children, the heir John Parke Custis, in 1778 bought another Northern Virginia property looking over the Pontiac River.

He named it Arlington, in honor of his family’s home in Bybury, England. When John Park Curtis died, the property went to his daughter Mary, who married a man named Robert E. Lee.

Did y’ all know this Arlington bibbery is connected to George Washington and Robert E. Lee? And more famously, Dennis Miles. That’s what I want. That’s how. That’s how I read it.

I don’t know if that’s the right way to read it or not, but that’s the point. I got out of it. But anyway, they just asked if we would be faithful enough to pray for them. So can we just stop right now and do that? Is that okay?

Let’s pray for our sister church, the other side of the world. Father, we love you and we’re so thankful. Lord, you put Arlington Baptist Church on this earth and for the encounter that Cindy and Josiah, Hannah and I had years ago. And, Lord, you know this church better than we. And so we do pray right now for this dear Pastor, and for the heart that Sharon has shared with us.

And we pray for this church, God, that you would bring revival and renewal in that community and that this church would have the opportunity to communicate this gospel, this good news in a powerful way. We ask your favor to rest upon it and upon First Baptist, Arlington, Texas, as well, that we might be faithful to share the good news of Jesus. We thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. So thank you all for letting me share that with y’.

All. What an interesting story, right? So with that said, we’re turning a page on our calendar as a church, and we’re launching the fall. And the theme for this fall is Gone Fishing. And here’s what I want you to imagine in your mind every time you leave home.

I want you to imagine that you’re hanging a sign on your front door that says gone fishing. That that’s what you’re doing. That you’re out somewhere in your life and you’re serving the interests of the kingdom of God. With that said, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to study as a church family the book of Jonah.

The entire fall now in the book of Jonah, Gone Fishing means something very different than what we’re talking about, if you know that story. But we’re going to read that story the first week in our daily Bible readings. This last week, I have been at Baylor every day teaching at Truitt Seminary. Started last Friday a week ago and went all the way through this past week. And I was teaching a doctoral seminar on proclaiming the kingdom through the Book of Isaiah to a group of doctoral students along with Dr. Rebecca Pohays at Baylor.

And we’re going to. After we finish reading Jonah, the first week of our Dr. Daily Bible readings, we’re going to read through the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah is a monumental task when you it’s an undertaking to read it because the ministry of Isaiah spans so much of history, the history of Judah and Israel. When Isaiah begins his ministry, Israel, the tribes to the north, that was a different nation at the time, Judah, the two tribes to the south were known as Judah. The northern tribes, Israel and Israel was invaded by Assyria and conquered, and those ten tribes were lost.

Isaiah was prophesying during that time, challenging the king of Judah to be faithful to God. And then in that was 722 B.C. in 586 B.C. judah was attacked by the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar’s army defeated Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and took many of the Jews back to Babylon. It was a long walk.

It’s like walking from here to the Atlantic. It was a long walk to Babylon. And then Isaiah, his message spoke to the Jews who were in exile. That’s what that period is known in Israel’s history, the exile. And then the latter part of Isaiah addresses what was happening to Jews once Cyrus, king of Persia, Persians conquered the Babylonians and Cyrus allowed the Jews who wanted to to go back home.

So they made the long journey back home. The latter part of Isaiah addresses conditions in the life of Judah after they had returned home. So it’s a massive book and it covers a very extensive period in the history of Israel. That’s very crucial to us because when the first century emerges and Jesus arrives, the exile is probably the most influential thing that’s happened to the Jews. You and I, when we read the Old Testament, the Exodus is the big story.

But in the minds of the Jews in the first century, it’s the exile. As a matter of fact, they were still living in exile, even though they lived in the land of Israel. They no longer had a king, they didn’t have an army, they weren’t in charge of their economy. And so they were living in the land but with a great deal of uncertainty. That’s the Israel that Jesus stepped into.

And it’s A pivotal time of history. And so we’re going to take some time this fall to learn about that period in Israel’s history and how it provides the context for the entire New Testament. So with that said, I want us to look at what happened when Jesus arrives and Mark shares the story about Jesus. So if you have your New Testament, I’ve entitled the message Gone Fishing. Mark is going to serve today as our text.

The very first page of Mark. We’re going to begin in verse 16 and read just a few verses. After Jesus has announced his public ministry, he’s been baptized and he has now announced that his ministry begins. Mark records. The first thing he does is he calls disciples.

So I invite you to stand with me if you’re able, as we hear reading from the Gospel and honor the Lord Jesus.

Mark 1, verse 16. Mark shares these words. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew 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.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat preparing their nets. Without delay, he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Thank you. You can be seated.

So let’s begin this morning by setting the context of what occurred in this account in Mark’s Gospel, and really set in the context for our conversation. For the Fall. The setting for the calling of the disciples was the initiation of the earthly ministry of Jesus. The time had come to establish the kingdom of God on earth. It called for a response, repentance, believe.

So if you’ll keep your Bibles open and look with me at Mark 1, here’s how Mark begins. If you’ll notice verse one, Mark just says, this is the beginning of the good news. Our word is normally gospel. It’s about Jesus. He’s the Christ.

He’s the Messiah, he’s the Son of God, he says. And then Mark says, but this is not just some random story. I’m going to tell you. This is not just something that happened. This is actually a part of the big story.

And he connects what’s going to happen in the life of Jesus with the prophetic pronouncements that you and I find in our Old Testament. And you’ll notice he says there in verse two, Isaiah, the prophet shared this. Well, when you look at this text, it’s actually a conflation of Isaiah, Exodus, and Malachi. It’s a reflection of the prophetic pronouncement about this particular era in history. And it is found in both Isaiah and Malachi, as well as in Exodus.

And the point is, what Mark is communicating is Israel has lived in exile. Israel is now returning back home. And they’ve been here for a season. And now the time has finally come. The age of fulfillment is here.

Mark’s story is connected to God’s promises of old. It’s the continuation of God’s plan of redemption. Because, you see, Mark knew that the prophets in the Old Testament are preachers. Sometimes you and I, when we hear the word prophet, we assume what that means is these are people that predicted the future. That’s usually what we call prophets.

But more exactly and more interpretively correct, Biblically, the prophets were preachers. Their primary audience would have been the people they lived with. They preached to their own generation. Now, occasionally, God allowed them to lift their gaze, scan the horizon, and he would give them a glimpse of a day to come. And we know that we have some of that in our Old Testament.

And when those prophets looked at that age to come, many times, they would just call it the day, the day of the Lord. And when they used that phrase, that phrase, day of the Lord, for them just meant this time, this season, this era, this epoch that’s going to belong to God. And it offered them a glimpse into this brand new day. Mark is telling us that day has arrived. That day that Israel longed for while they were in exile, when they returned home.

Now, they have been experiencing Roman rule for all these years, and they’re looking for something. And Mark is saying, finally, here, now, I want you to notice how different Mark is than Luke, okay? So again, if you have your Bibles, look at verse 15. Okay? You get one little note.

Verse 14. So when did it happen? When did all this take place? Luke says, well, it’s when Caesar Augustus was emperor and Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Mark said, look at verse 15.

Mark says, just the right time, he’s got a heavenly calendar. He’s not all that interested in the earthly calendar. When did all this happen? It just happened at the right time. Look at verse 15.

Here’s what’s interesting. Mark wrote this in Greek. And so in Greek, Mark used. There’s several words for time in Greek in the New Testament, there’s the word chronos. That’s this kind of time, y’, all.

The kind of time you hope I know how to tell right this the one on your watch. We get our word chronology from that word. And then there’s the word eschatos, that’s the end time. And then there’s the word kairos, which just means the time is right. Meaningful time, fulfilled time, that’s the word here.

The meaningful time has arrived. And then he says, actually, it’s interesting. Verse 15, the time has arrived. Mark actually uses the word pleroma, which means full. So in other words, Jesus said, the day, the time, it’s now full.

It has arrived, if you will, and the kingdom of God has now come near to you. The reign of God. God is at work, accomplishing his mission. And his purpose is the message. And Jesus is going to explain it.

Jesus is going to embody it. He’s going to help us understand this new era known as the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, Dr. Garland, David Garland, who used to be the dean at Truitt Seminary, when he his commentary on Mark, he says, the kingdom of God is so real, you can touch it in Jesus. Jesus is going to embody it. And the kingdom has come near.

Now you need to do something because of that. Jesus says, repent and believe. Turn from your way and follow this way and take all of your belief and your trust that you have in yourself and whatever else it is you believe in. And put that in me. He says, that’s the invitation.

So with that said, look at the calling of these disciples, this original calling that Mark records for us. Jesus issued an invitation to these men to become his disciples. I noticed at least three aspects of the calling. Let me just walk you through them, if I may, because Jesus is creating a brand new community. First of all, I’d say the calling is personal.

Notice what Jesus says. Verse 17, Come, follow me. He says, there’s the invitation. So that makes Jesus unique. Because the prophets of old, when you read them, they never say, come, follow me.

The prophets always say, come, follow God. Return to God. The rabbis in Jesus Day, the teachers in Jesus Day never said, come, follow me. They would say, come, learn about the Torah and I will teach you. Jesus says, come, follow me.

Because you see, the invitation from Jesus is always personal. That’s the calling. Jesus asks the question, who do you say that I am? Second, the calling of Jesus is powerful. I want you to notice the force of the call from Jesus compelled these men to immediately unconditionally follow him.

Do you notice that these men responded? So look again at verse 16. Jesus is walking around beside the sea. Simon. Now he’s not Peter yet.

His name hadn’t been changed. His brother Andrew. And notice they’re bank fishermen. They’re just fishing in the sea. It’s interesting.

The poorer fishermen in Jesus day fish from the bank. The wealthier fisherman fished fish from the boat. So Simon and his brother, for whatever reason, maybe they had a boat, but right now they’re just on the bank fishing. And Jesus says, come, follow me. I want you to look at verse 18.

Euthous is the Greek word. It means just like that. Mark uses that word almost 40 times in his gospel. Mark’s gospel is the gospel of action. You’re going to see that phrase at once.

Just then, immediately Mark uses that word over and over. So just like that, these men were compelled to follow Jesus. Verse 20, without delay, same thing. Immediately these men said, yes. You know, sometimes you read about these military victories, and the victor will demand an immediate and unconditional surrender.

That’s what this is. And these men responded. It was powerful. And then I want you to notice also it’s purposeful. Jesus called these men to join him in establishing the kingdom of God on earth.

I believe these are good men. They’re fishermen, they’re Jews. They’re living as God’s people in Israel in the first century. Now they’re still in exile, though theologically, because they have no king, they have a Roman rule over them. And they’re waiting.

They’re waiting for the day. They’re longing for the day the prophets spoke about. They can’t wait for the day of the Lord to arrive. They would even talk about it. Well, when the Messiah comes, it won’t be like this anymore.

We have records of those kinds of stories when the Messiah comes. And what was really fascinating was as they longed for the Messianic age, as they were hopeful for the day of the Lord, their leaders were divided over how they were supposed to live right now. When they asked the question, what are we supposed to do about the Romans? Well, the answer to that question depended on who you asked, because some of the leaders said, we just need to go along to get along. Just do what the Romans say, it’ll all be fine.

You had other leaders in Israel at that time who said, no, we’ve got to stay pure. We’ve got to be faithful to what our law teaches us and be faithful to what God says, regardless of what the Romans do. So here’s what you do when it comes to Romans. You just give them what you have to and nothing else. Just, just.

I mean, the bare minimum. You had others who said, what we need to do is get enough of us to overthrow them. And they develop little bands, men who carried daggers under their cloaks just in case they had the chance to attack the Romans. Those guys were called Zealots. They were dagger carriers.

One of them became a follower of Jesus and he’s a disciple. Y’ all remember Simon the Zealot? I love him, man. He was a. He’s a disciple carrying a dagger.

Don’t you love that? I mean, he’s on the lookout. Then you had another group of them who said, you know what, you can’t have anything to do with the Romans. This era is corrupt. We can’t even live among them.

You can’t talk to them. So they completely withdrew from society. They became known as the Essenes. They live in the wilderness. So you’ve got all these differing opinions about what to do about these Romans, and Jesus steps into that moment and says, the time is now full.

The kingdom of God has come right here. So you leave whatever it is you’re doing, leave whatever teaching you’re following, leave your expectations behind and you now come and follow me. And I’m going to lead you to fish for people. And you know what? These guys did it, didn’t they?

They did it. And you know what? Billions of people know these boys names. You know that we know who Peter is, we know who James is, we know who John is. Can you imagine if you’d have walked down and on the Sea of Galilee that day and you saw Andrew and Simon Peterson?

Hey, dude, let me tell you something. One of these days they’re going to have statues made of you, dude. I mean, y’ all are going to be famous. They’re going to call y’ all saints. I can see Andrew saying, you met my brother Simon.

You think he’s going to be famous? Seriously, you ever heard him talk? They were obedient and they did become famous for the right reason. They became the disciples and are examples to us. So why?

Well, because they were committed. They made a commitment. You see, that’s what the calling of Jesus demands, is commitment. These men were invited by Jesus to join him in his mission. The invitation called for a holistic commitment to Jesus.

And they did it. They left their nets. Follow them. As a matter of fact, years later, Simon Peter is going to look at Jesus and say, we left everything to follow you. And Jesus said, you’re right, you did.

It’s going to cost them their lives.

It’s not an easy life. It’s not the call of Jesus, but it’s a meaningful life. So here’s what I want. Are y’ all still with me? Alright, so let me do this real quick.

What do we learn about discipleship? Here’s the conclusion. Let’s look at what we learn about discipleship. I’m going to give you four quick lessons. Let’s do them quickly.

First of all, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Savior, Son of God. If you want to be a disciple, you have to believe that you and I have to believe that Jesus really is the fulfillment of prophecy. He really is the Christ. He is the One who was to come. He’s the Son of God.

He’s divine. He’s like us and not like us at the same time. He’s God’s Son and He really is the Savior of the world. And so if you want to follow God, what that means is you follow Jesus. Okay?

Second, we must repent and believe the Gospel. Because here’s the thing, y’, all, you cannot become a disciple without repenting. What is repentance? The word repentance means you’re walking this way and all of a sudden you change your mind and you turn around and you change your life and you walk in the opposite direction. That’s repentance.

In other words, you choose to leave your way and follow the Jesus way, and you put your faith in Him. Jesus says, repent and believe. Every person that wants to be a disciple of Jesus has to do this right here. Doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter what language you speak. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are.

It doesn’t matter where you live, doesn’t matter what your station of life is. It doesn’t matter what your education level is. It doesn’t matter what your family background is. It doesn’t matter what your last name is. None of that matters.

Every single human being who’s going to be a disciple of Jesus has to start in the very same place. You repent of your sin and you believe Jesus is the Son of God and you give your life to him. That’s how this all starts. Whoo. Y’.

All. That could be an amen back where I’m from, but it’s okay, you know, I’m with you, so I’m just saying that’s where we all start. Okay, third then. But that’s not enough. Then.

We must surrender in obedience to the calling of Jesus on our own life. Because he thank you. Because he’s calling you beyond your own life. That’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to offer you a life that is greater than any life you have ever imagined for yourself.

It’s an abundant life. It’s an eternal life. It’s a life that matters. Now let me tell you what he’s not doing. And this is where we as Americans have to be careful.

In particular, the calling of Jesus to be a disciple is not a self improvement plan.

That’s not what this is. This is not a development project so that you can just be a little bit better of a person. That’s not discipleship. The calling of Jesus is not to help you find your best life. Now that’s not what this is.

The calling from Jesus is the calling of a lifetime of obedience and surrender service to Him. This is you accepting his best life for you. That’s what the discipleship. That’s what discipleship is. It means you surrender to his will.

And you take your will and your way and you put it on an altar and you sacrifice it to him, trusting that his will and his way is better than anything you would ever dream up on your own. That’s discipleship. You got to trust and obey. And then finally we must join him in his mission, you see, because that’s what matters. We must join him in his mission.

And so here’s what he says. Follow me and I’m going to make you fishers of people. In other words, I’m going to expand your perspective. I’m going to deepen your purpose and, and I’m going to give you something real to do. I’m going to let you walk alongside me and we’re going to go fishing.

And we’re going to fish for the whole world. Now I want you to think about that. There’s something for everybody to do in that. It’s for all of us. So we’re going to learn this as we go through this series because here’s what you and I think of when we think of fishing.

So I want you all to look at me real quick, okay? Here’s what we think of when we fish. Here’s what we do right, just by ourselves, right? We just. This is how we fish.

That’s not how they fished. That’s not how they work. That’s not how it worked. Now, I’m not much of a fisherman. I’m gonna let y’ all know a little bit about that as we get further in this series.

That’s not how they fish. They fish together as teams and groups. They cast nets. Everybody had a job to do. Your job was different than my job.

But if you don’t do your job, doesn’t matter about my job. In other words, we’re all together. They put nets out in the water, and guess what? You can catch a whole lot more fish doing that if you do it together than just that one. There’s nothing wrong doing this.

It’s kind of fun doing this one. Y’ all know what I mean. It is, but that’s not what fishing is in the New Testament. There’s something for everybody to do, and it’s everybody’s job. So here’s what we can’t do.

We can’t say, well, I want the salvation. I just don’t want the service.

I want the heaven part, but I’m going to be in charge of the earth part. So you can go ahead and die for me and give me eternal life, but it’s okay. You can leave me alone. I’ll be fine until I see you in heaven, because I got my own little life to live. No, y’, all, that ain’t how it works.

No, when you surrender to Jesus, that means you’re joining him in his mission. That’s what a disciple is. It’s a person who’s following Jesus. We’re being formed by. By following Jesus in the fulfillment of his mission.

That means this is not an option. All of us are involved because the world is so lost, and the world needs Jesus, and so all of us are in on it. So you and I got to figure out what part of the net we’re responsible for and do our job. So we’re going to talk about that directly over these next few weeks, okay? And we’re going to learn together so that we can get good at it.

Okay? Now, here’s the good news. You don’t have to go and get on a boat and go to Nineveh like Jonah did. You don’t have to. That’s the good news.

You can. Sometimes we’re called to that. But you don’t have to do that because God has moved Nineveh to Arlington.

Nineveh is lost people. That’s what Nineveh is. And guess what? Arlington’s full of lost people. The whole metroplex.

The good news is lost people are everywhere. You don’t even have to go hunting for them. They’re fish in a barrel. They’re everywhere. I spent this whole week driving to Waco, where I spent over.

I put over a thousand miles on my car driving back and forth to Waco the last seven days. I’m just going to tell y’, all, right? Now, there’s a bunch of lost people on i35 tell you that right now. And the temptation is to act like him when you’re driving. And I want to go ahead and confess to y’, all, I did that a few times, okay?

I did. But if y’ all have been with me, it’s perfectly justified. And you would have. You would have applauded me in it and not blame me one bit, okay? I am sorry, Lord, for cutting that lady off.

But the bottom line is, you don’t get in this lane when you know good and well that lane’s running out. So don’t think. Think I’m going to let you in, okay? I’m sorry. There was a sign.

Backyard. That’s why I got in this lane. I saw the sign. I got sense enough to know it’s going to run out. And there is no grace in me.

When you get up there thinking you going to get. You ain’t getting in, okay? You just ain’t. I’m sorry, y’. All.

I’m sorry. That’s why I don’t have one of those Jesus stickers on my car. I’m afraid somebody will, you know? You just don’t know. Anyway, mine says Psalm 1.

I’m an old Testament Christian when I’m driving. So. Anyway. But bottom line is, lost. People are everywhere, okay?

The Lord has brought them to us. Praise God. Now, some of us have to go yonder. Of course we do. But all you got to do is go to work, go to school, go home, go to the grocery store.

They’re everywhere. So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to pray, and we’re going to ask God to show us what to do, okay? So every week, y’ all know we have a prayer for the church all the way up to Advent. So here’s our prayer for this week.

And I want you to pray this all week. And let’s give God a chance to bring people into our lives, okay? So let’s go ahead and start by praying it this morning. Let’s pray this out loud together. Father, place someone on my heart who needs to hear the good news of Jesus.

Give me the opportunity to share with them. Amen and Amen. May it be. So let’s pray together. God, we love you and we thank you for this good news, the gospel.

That’s what it is. It’s good news. And thank you, Lord, that you sent your son for us. And we know, Lord, that you love everybody, even the people in Nineveh. You love them and they’re worthy to hear this message.

So, Lord, wherever we go, we pray that you will use us to share this good news, this hope, with people who need you so desperately. And we thank you for loving all of us. And that those of us who know you were able to confess it. I once was lost, but now I’ve been found. May you use us to find others.

And we pray in Jesus name, amen.