Come And See His Disciples

The mission of Jesus on earth had many components of the Lord knew that after his sacrificial death.

There would be a need for people to carry on his ministry and carry forth his message of the kingdom of God. So he called 12 men from different walks of life to be his followers and when he called.

They immediately dropped what they were doing from Chicago. This is The Moody Church. Our weekly service of worship and teaching with pastor Erwin Blitzer. Today we continue our series on come and see Jesus pictures of the Savior that teach us about his time on earth later in our broadcast Erwin Blitzer will speak on. Come and see his disciples. Pastor Blitzer comes now to open our service.

We do invite you to take your hymnals and turn to number 12 number 12 holy God we praise thy name and then the course number five the exalted of God and also 35, the majesty and glory of your name or Scripture reading today is by Pastor Mark.

Who is our Dir. of Christian education, pastor of Christian education here at The Moody Church. You'll notice also that our children's chorus is singing organ have a marvelous morning as we think about God's grace and worshiping him. Let's pray and then praise father in the name of Jesus as we sing this song he'd made this be a credit to you because our hearts have been brought in harmony with you and your work in Jesus name. Our text is Isaiah 6 verses 1 to 3 Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 3.

Please join with me on the bold print in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted in the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying and they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord on my the whole earth is full of his be seated and the were going to pray together now and I know that there are many needs that we have personally and nationally were going to commit these to the Lord their father. Today we want to thank you that in grace he reached down to save us. Thank you father for the children that you've entrusted to us.

Thank you for our commitment to them to families, to all those whatever their age may be an thank you that time you've raised up Moody Church to touch this neighborhood.

This community in the city and ultimately through our missionaries. The world then there are many personal needs. Some people have come here today with fear in their heart fear because of decisions or events or or feared because of physical, emotional and spiritual struggles father again, we turn to you. The choir sang just a few moments ago that we must behold you even as Isaiah did our great need Lord is to see you and we pray that whatever concerns and burdens we have brought with us today that these might be conveniently and confidently laid at your feet. We give it all to you, Lord Jesus in your name. Amen.

Today I begin with a story on a dangerous seacoast worship wrecks were frequent crude little lifesaving station was built. The building was just a hot and there was only one boat, but the few devoted crewmen kept a constant watch over the sea with no thought for themselves. They went out, day or night tirelessly, searching for any who might need help. Many lives were saved by their devoted efforts.

After a while, the station became famous. Some of those who were saved, as well as others in the surrounding area wanted to become a part of the work they gave time and money for its support.

New boats were bought additional crews were trained and the station grew some of the members became unhappy that the building was so crude they felt that a larger nicer place would be more appropriate as the first refuge of those saved from the sea, so they replaced the emergency cots with hospital beds, but better furniture in the enlarged building.

Soon the station became a popular gathering place for its members to discuss work and to visit with one another. They continue to remodel and decorate until the station more and more took on the look and character of a club. Fewer members were interested in going out on lifesaving mission, so they hired professional crews to do the work on their behalf. The lifesaving motif still prevailed on the club emblems and stationary and it was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club held its initiations.

One day a large ship was wrecked off the coast and the hired crews brought in many boatloads of cold, wet, half drowned people. They were dirty, bruised and sick and some had black or yellow skin. The beautiful new club was terribly messed up and so the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside with a ship wrecked victims could be cleaned up before coming inside at the next meeting there was a split in the club membership.

Most of the members wanted to stop the clubs lifesaving's activities altogether because they were so unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the some members insisted on keeping the lifesaving as their primary purpose, and pointed out that after all they were still called a lifesaving station. Those members were voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives. They could begin their own station somewhere down along the coast.

As the years went by the new station gradually face the same problems.

The other one had experienced it to became a club and its lifesaving work became less and less of a priority, but few members who remained dedicated themselves to lifesaving. They in turn then began another station history continue to repeat itself and if you visit the coast today.

You'll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown. Well, as you know, that story is the story of the church were to be a lifesaving station and it could be very easily that we've turned into a club and we have forgotten our primary purpose.

The Bible says that Jesus, knowing that he was to die chose 12 disciples and the reason that he chose those disciples is that he was. He had to convince them that they could carry on his work and he had to equip them for the task they were to be the life saving station. They were to be reaching out to those who were drowning and you and I need to know that the same Lord who called them calls us to a similar task to similar responsibilities and what I want to do this morning is to convince you that you can do God's work and also hopefully to even equip you. That's the agenda. The passage of Scripture is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew Matthew chapter 4 and the verses are few and so I showed read them.

Matthew chapter 4 where Jesus called two sets of brothers, two sets of brothers chapter 4 verse 18 while walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea and he said to then follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Immediately they left their nets and followed him and going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in a boat with Zebedee. Their father, mending their nets and he called them, and he immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. One of the steps that Jesus took to equip people as series. Actually I should say 12 men, one of whom is a rebel to continue his work after his death.

First of all, he called them he called them 90 to point out that there really three callings that they experienced.

The first was the call to salvation when we read a passage like this, we think to ourselves. I mean how could Jesus just be walking along and see two people and they quit everything that they're doing and follow him. Remember this. This is not the first time they met. We had time we turn to John chapter 1 where we discovered that Andrew comes to Jesus and he brings his brother Simon, and he says to Simon, who is Peter Peter.

We have found him of whom the prophets spoke.

We have found the Messiah is called the Christ, and he brings them to Jesus.

That's the call of the gospel that's given to everyone and if you're listening here today we say to our Jewish friends. The first call the first call is the call to see Jesus as Messiah as Christ as Lord. There's a second call and that is the call to to be a disciple to be a learner.

And for that group.

Jesus had quite a large number infected.

One time he sent out 75 went out to buy two, which means that they have 35 different teams going house to house. And then there was also though this specific call to be a disciple.

The 12 Matthew chapter 10 verse two says that Jesus called the 12 disciples to them and then it says, and the names of the apostles are and it lists them as apostles, and Luke says he called the 12 whom he also called apostles. They were a unique they were going to spend full time with him.

They are the ones who were going to follow him around would be with him in Galilee and in Jerusalem.

And wherever this rabbi went. That's where those disciples were going to be so he called our Jewish head struck with the fact whom he didn't call he didn't call the Pharisees. He didn't call the Sadducees. He didn't call the elite as I looked into this. I was astounded once again at the ordinariness of the men that Jesus called annually were slow learners.

They were hardhearted. One day a multitude comes in. They say to Jesus will send the multitude away so that they can buy their own bread. And Jesus said no you give them to eat.

And Jesus wanted them to be to be the ones who would see the miracle but but they were quite hardhearted. One day, people were bringing little children to Jesus so that he could touch them and bless them and they said what you know he's busy and they tried to hinder the people from doing it.

And Jesus said no invite the little children to come to me and then this really astounds me. They had several arguments as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Can't you just imagine that happening would not be something of among the pastoral staff at Moody Church there would be an argument as to who is the greatest.

When the elders if they heard about it, fire all of us and start over again, I think so and and here you have you have disciples who are petty, poor, self-willed, and who are calloused and this is the group upon which Jesus put this responsibility and these are the ones who are going to carry on after his death, while a friend of mine says that Jesus doesn't call the equipped equips those who are called the first of all I want you to know that he called them. Secondly, he challenged them. The call was follow me the challenges and become fishers of men. Now notice how Jesus takes their vocation which they were good at. They'd been out on the sea of Galilee for all of their lives born into homes were fishing was the vocation.

Jesus is saying I'm going to take your vocation as a fisherman and I'm going to translate that into someone who is going to catch people and and so Jesus makes that transition because he knew that there were qualities in fisherman who would be very very good. Good qualities once they began to fish for people, namely to evangelize one of those qualities. First of all fisherman are patient patient. I just marvel at the fact that there are people who go fishing early in the morning. Even at Lake Michigan and throw hooks into the sea and spend an entire morning drowning worms.

This this is been. This is been endlessly fascinating to me that somebody would do that patients hour after hour after hour. When I say, have pity, at least upon the worms there. They are courage in those days, their little boats out on the sea of Galilee, were often by the waves, the sea of Galilee could have some tremendous storms so they have to go out you want to be a fisher of men. The Fisher of people you want to witness for Christ you're going to have to have some some praise because sometimes it is not. And sometimes it is not. I think of knowledge you need to know what date fits what fish common sense. You stay out of the way but the bait and the hook do its work, and of course perseverance.

Have you ever met somebody who's really in love with fishing. I mean, there are actual people who pay good American money to go up north the country that is north of us has very very good fishing and I'll go up there in the fish, but if you ever talk to a fisherman and you say well you know you fishing yesterday.

I fish the whole day. Did you catch anything and he says no I challenge you to say to him. I guess that the end of fishing you'll never fish again in your life will fisherman say are you serious, just because I didn't catch anything. Yesterday doesn't mean that I'm not going to continue to fish.

I will finish until I Aren't We That Way and Witnessing. I Remember When I Was in College I Made Friends with a Number of Student Clearly Did Not Know Jesus As Savior and Weeds to Eat Lunch Together and I Would Give Them Some Good Reasons Why They Should Believe on Jesus and to My Knowledge, None of Them Did. I Remember How Discouraged I Came II Unaffected to God.

God Why Should I Even Bother People to Wipe It Fisherman Says Is I'm Going to Do It and Do It and Do It and Do It If I Don't Catch Anything. I'm Going to Do It Do It Do It Do It Do It Persistence Listen to Me Carefully, God Was Going to Take These Qualities Fishing in Galilee and Translate Them into Fishing for People You Know There's Some of You Here Who Are Gifted in What We Call Sometimes Secular Vocation. Though You're Serving God As a in the Secular Vocation. I Recognize That, but You Are Gifted As Bankers and Accountants and Computer Geeks and and You Have the Ability and Is Not Okay Is Not What They Are. Let Me Tell You That There Sure Something There.

Sure Something and and and You Have the Ability to Be Able to Do This and Your Writers and You Don't Understand That in the Christian Community. Your Giftedness Is Desperately Needed and Some of You Are about to Retire Want to Spend the Rest of Your Life in Sunshine Doing Nothing, Having All Day to Do It.

Listen to Me. God May Be Equipping You to Take Those Gifts and Translate Them into the Mission Field into Christian Service into Work for Which You Are Uniquely Qualified and God Said to These People You're Doing This Kind of Fishing I'm Going to Introduce You to a Different Kind of Fishing but the Qualities That You Need for This Side of the Work That I Need for the Other Side. You Are Uniquely Gifted. Don't Ever Spend the Last Years of Your Life Doing Nothing There so Many Worthwhile Things God Is Given You to Do Is It Amazing. Finally, When You Get It All Together and You Find out What It's All about. Now You Transition into a Brand-New Form of Service. First of All, He Called Them. Secondly, He Challenged Them.

Thirdly, He Partnered with Them.

And This Story Is Found in the Fifth Chapter of the Gospel of Luke Luke Chapter 5 Because You See Jesus Said If You're Going to Be Fishers of Men. If You're Going to Be Fishers of People. Why, Then, Indeed, What I'm Going to Do Is to Show You That I Know Something about Your Secular Vocation and I'm Gonna Prove to You That You Can Do My Work. I'm Go to Partner with You in the Fishing Business. This Is a Remarkable Story Because the Crowd Is Pushing in on Jesus, Remember They're Getting so near the Shore That He Feels That If He Takes Another Step Back, He'll Be in the Water. So What He Does Is There to Boats Their Nieces. I'm Going to Get into One of the Boats and I'm Going to Let It Go out Maybe 100 Feet from Shore. He Sat in the Boat and the Crowd Was Right after the Short Right There Toes Were Touching the Water and He Talked Them, and We Can Imagine That He Began Teaching Maybe at Mid Morning and Now It's Noon and That Peter Is Washing and Mending the Nets Because Peter and His Companion Were out All Night Fishing and Jesus Said to Him in Verse Four, Put out into the Deep and Let Your Nets down for a Catch.

Now You Have To Understand That This Was a Real Strange Command for Two Reasons.

First of All This Clearly Was the Wrong Time. The Fisherman in Galilee Knew Right Well That the Time That You Do the Fishing Is during the Night.

You Don't – at Noon the Wrong Time. Secondly, It's the Wrong Place. If Anything, If Anything during the Day, the Fish, along the Shore and That's Where You Fish You Do Not Fish in the Deep at Noon. There Are No Fish There and If They Are There, They Will Not Come Napped. I Think We Could Use Her Sanctified Imagination Here and We Could Almost See a Discussion Going on between Peter and Andrew and Some of the Others and Saying You Know He's a Great Rabbi but He Ain't Much about Fish. He Really Does Know What He's Talking about, You Know That's the Problem When You're a Carpenter and Think That You Know Something about Fishing but Peter Said That Your Word Verse Five. I like the Translation It's Is Nevertheless at Your Word Were Committed to You. We Decided to Throw in Our Lot with You.

We Want to Learn from You. You Said It All. Do It Wrong Time, Wrong Place, but Jesus Said It Noticed the Tech Said and When They Had Done This.

They Enclosed a Large Number Net Break What They Had Done in Their Own Strength. The Night before, Which Proved to Be Unsuccessful. Turns out Now under the Obedience of Jesus to Be Eminently Successful, Wrong Place Wrong Time.

It Matters Not. Jesus Said It We Do It and Were Successful Even Though Were Fishing in the Very Same Place Where We Fished All Night When the Fish Were Supposed to Be Swimming in Genetics and Now Where There and Lo And Behold the Nets Are Full. I Suggest to You That There Are Times When What We Need to Do Is to Fish Again in Waters That Have Been Unfruitful.

There Some of You Who Have Witnessed to Others and You've Shared Your Faith in You've Caught Nothing in There Times When under the Obedience of Christ, and Depending upon His Power We We Fishing Again. We Fished Again in the Very Places Where We Have Not Had Success and We Go Trusting Him Because We Do Not Know but That in That Same Water of Failure. There Shall Be Success. You Know, of Course, What Jesus Was Saying to Them, Don't You What He Was Saying to Them As If I Can Prove to You That I Can Help You Catch Fish in Galilee. You Have To Understand That We're Going to Become Partners Together, Catching Fish, Human Beings for the Kingdom and Because I Can Do One I Can All Ways Do the Other. Why Is It That We Can Fish with Confidence. First of All Because of Jesus Christ's Power.

I Love This All Night.

The Fish Swim past the Nets and Now Suddenly When They're Not Supposed to Be There by a Divine Impulse of These Fish Come from God Knows Where.

And They're All Headed to Annette and Buys Some Spiritual Compulsion. All of These Fish Say There's a Nap There That's Where I'm Going. You Know God Gave to Adam Authority over the Fish of the Sea, the Fowl of the Air over Everything That Creeps upon the Earth. And Because of the Fall of Man. He Lost That. But Jesus, Here's the Second Adam, so Jesus Can Speak and When He Speaks. He Commands the Fish and the Fish at His Command.

Why Can We Witness with Confidence Because Were Partners with Jesus Bible Says No Man Can Come to Me except the Spirit Draw Him and in the Very Same Way When We Finish When We Share the Gospel. We May Think to Ourselves, Were Failures Well at the End of the Day. The Responsibility Is for Christ Because Only Christ Can Command Your Heart to Come Listen up for Those of You Who Are Not Believers You've Never Received Christ As Savior.

Even While I'm Speaking I'm Trusting the Blessed Holy Spirit of God to Be Drawing You into the Net of the Kingdom I'm Trusting the Holy Spirit That Voice within You That Says That You Should Believe on Jesus, That Voice within You That Tells You That You Need Him and That without Him. You Will Be Lost That Voice within You That Urgency Listen to That Voice. Listen to That Voice Because without It You Would Never Believe Price We Can Do It First Because of the Command of Jesus, the Power of Jesus and Secondly Because He Does Command.

He Does Command Lord. It's the Wrong Time, the Wrong Place, but at Your Word, I'll Do It.

I'm Not Suggesting That We Run around Handing out Tracts to Everyone Button Holding People for Jesus. As We Meet Them Know We Do Listen to the Voice of the Spirit Most Assuredly Because There Are Situations That God Sets up for Us but but Were Not so Naïve As to Realize That Indeed We Are Commanded to Witness and Sometimes We Do It Because He Says Do It and Unexpectedly He May Cause Fish to Come into Our Net Today. I'm Thinking of You Who Have Been Believers. Some of You for Many Years and Never One to Anyone about Jesus and the Gospel Priscilla Pastor Lutzer You Know I Would Do It If I Just Had a Sign from Heaven. I Heard a Story about a Man Who Was like That a Christian Man Who Sat in the Bus and Said, Lord, If You Want Me to Witness to Somebody Today.

Just Send Me a Sign.

Lord, Send Me a Sign at the Next Stop.

A Man Got on Wearing a Three-Piece Suit. The Man Sat Right Next to This Christian Bowed His Head. Tears Came to His Eyes and He Began to Pray. Oh God, I Don't Know If You're There. I've No Clue Lord As to How I Can Be Forgiven or I Don't Know Whether or Not You Care for Me.

Oh God, Please Send Somebody Who Tell Me about How I Can Connect with You.

Would You Do That Please the Christians Listening to the Sneezing Lord Lord Is, Is This the Sign Is This Is This the Sign Lord Said, Lord, Lord, II Need Another Sign III Need Some Confirmation. Lord, Lord, If This Is the Sign Then Turn the Bus Driver into a Pumpkin. I Don't Know for Sure What Sign Are You Looking for If You're Working with a Colleague and You Have Never Once Shared with That Coley Is Most Important to You. Thank God for Evangelism Explosion That We Have Here at The Moody Church Because That That Is Equipping People Who Are Called, but Even If You Haven't Taken Evangelism Explosion and I Hope That at Some Point You Do. The Fact Is That That You Can Witness to. If You like Someone Says Witnessing Is Really One Beggar Telling Another Beggar Where He Can Find Bread. Would You by God's Grace Make a Promise. This Week Will Make the Same Promise That You Will Go to Someone and Say This to Them. Would You Mind If I Were to Tell You Something That Someone Once Told Me That Is Very Important and That Changed My Life. Would You Say That to Something and Then a for Sale Well. I Use That Frequently Never Had Anyone Say No I'm Not. It Some Time Ago to Change Your Life. I May Not Have Never Had It. They've Always Said All Yeah Sure, Tell Me and Then Just Simply Say You Know I Was Wandering along in Life and Some of You Have an Adult, Conversion Experiences As to How You Came to Know Christ and for Those of Us Who Were Converted a Little Younger. We Can Change It a Little Bit and We Can Say Well You Know I Was Growing up in This Environment, but I Want You to Know That As a Result of My Relationship with Jesus Christ.

This Is What Christ Has Done for Me and We Saw That This Morning Didn't Wait As We Had These Marvelous Testimonies of God's Grace, Converting an Atheist, Converting Someone of a Different Religion Converting Somebody Was in the Pit of Sin and God Came and Said Swim into the Swim into the NEC.

You Think That after This Experience, Peter Would Say You Know This Is Really Great with That Kind of an Ability and by the Way, You Know They Did in Verse Seven Signal for Partners in Another Boat to Come and Help Them Because the Nets Were Breaking and That's What Our Missionaries Do.

By the Way, They're Saying You Know We Need Help in Mexico. We Need Help in the Different Countries of the World Come over and Help Us As We Try to Do That but You Think That Peter Would Would Say This, My Goodness with a Miracle like This. I Would like to Sign Jesus up for the Fishing Industry.

This It Really Be Great. We Could May Bundle on the Fishing and of Course Give the Proceeds to God. No, When Peter Sought.

I'm in Verse Eight He Fell down at Jesus and He Saying, Depart from Me from a Sinful Man Heart He Knew That He Was in the Presence of Deity and Holiness. He Wasn't Thinking about Making Money on Fish That Moment He Could Only Worship Because He Was in the Presence of Someone Who Can Cause Fish to Swim into an and As We Lead People to Jesus Christ. We Also We Also Fall down and Worship.

And It's Not an Ego Thing Is Most Humbling Experience to Know That God Used You in the Fishing Business Back in the 1800s. I'm Told That in the Cleveland, I Guess It Is the Cleveland Harbor. There's Lake Erie Ships Would Come in and Often the Distance Real High. They Would Have Some Upper Lights and Those Lights Were Four Ships That Were Coming in Long Distance They Could See Those Lights and They Could Know Where They Were Supposed to Aim the Vessel but As the Ships Got Closer. What Happened Is That There Were Some Lower Light. Send Those Lights Were There Because the Boats Needed to Know Where the Rocks Were and to Be Carefully Guarded into the Actual Harbor City of the Upper Lights That Give the Overall Picture in the Lower Lights That Had More Specificity When There Is a Story That a Ship Was Coming along. And Because of the Storm. The Lower Lights Were Were Burned out and the Ship Hit Rocks and Many Were Drowned. It Was That Event That Caused Philip Bliss to Write a Song That Is Not in Our Hymnals, but Some of Us Were Little Older We Remember Church Don't and the Hymn Is Let the Lower Lights Be Burning Send a Gleam across the Waves Some Poor Fainting Drowning. See Man, You May Rescue You May Say Were Not a Club Were Not Here to Make Ourselves Feel Better.

We Are a Rescue Station in Partnership with the Jesus Whom We Pray Will Cause Fish to Come into Our Net.

Let's Pray Our Father, We Thank You Today That We Are Partners. Your Word Actually Says We Are Co-Laborers Together with God. In Other Words, We Cannot Ourselves Because Men and Women to Believe, but We Can Put the Message out There. We Can We Can Hold the Lights. We Ask Lord Jesus That You Will Burn within Us the Confidence We Need to Fish to Witness Again.

Were We Been Unsuccessful All Causes to Be a Witnessing Church. We Pray to the Broken Hearted to the Defeated Those in Despair and Now I Can't Conclude This Message Unless I Speak to All of You and Those Who Have Never Trusted Christ As Savior. Perhaps Today God Is Causing You to Swim into the Net of the Kingdom. As Peter Put down His Net after the Day of Pentecost 3000 Souls Were Saved.

Would You at This Moment Say Jesus I Seem to Be the Savior I Come Now to Receive You As My Own. You Tell Him That Father Thank You for What You Taught the Disciples, Thank You for What You Teach Us. Thank You for the Awesome Privilege of Working with You in Your Kingdom in Jesus Name, Amen, Amen Thank Those of You Have Never Trusted Christ You Know That As We Sing the Concluding Hymn Which Is 330 Come Every Soul by Sin Oppressed.

There Is Mercy with the Lord Only Trusted, Even If You Sing That Him and Sincerity, God Will Receive You on Today's Moody Church.

Our Pastor Looks or Write a Message on Come and See His Disciples the Third of Eight Pictures of the Life of Christ in a Series Entitled Come and See Jesus the Fame of Jesus Grew Quickly When He Began Healing the Sick. Next Week Will Relive the Story of a Dramatic Healing and the Ruined Room. Join Us for Dr. Luther's Message.

Come and See His Miracles Are Eight Part Series on Come and See Jesus Can Be Yours on CD for a Gift of Any Amount, Moody Church, Our Our Thank You to You Will Be a Set of Eight Messages, You Can Hear and Then Pass on to Others. Just Call Us at 1-800-215-5001. Let Us Know You'd like to Support Moody Churches Ministry, Call 1-800-215-5001 or You Can Write to Us at Moody Church Media 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614.

Mention the Series Come and See Jesus When You Write or Call Online Go to Moody Offeror.com That's Moody Offeror.com. Join Us Next Time for Another Moody Church. Our with Pastor Erwin Luzerne and the Congregation of Historic Moody Church in Chicago