“FOUR FAITH FILLED FISHERMEN”
MATTHEW 4:12-23
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be
fulfilled:
15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the
Jordan, Galilee
of the Gentiles--
16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for
those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven has come near."
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon,
who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of
Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the
good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Decisions. Decisions.
Decisions. Everyday you make dozens of them. Some of those decisions are miniscule and some of them are monumental. For
example, do I want ketchup or mustard on my hotdog? Is it too early for my daughter to start dating? If I get really sick do I want my doctors to do everything possible to keep me alive or do I want them to
just let me die in peace?
When it comes to making decisions would you say you're usually decisive or indecisive? Do you quickly size the situation up and do what needs to be done? Or do you go back and forth weighing
all your options so you don't make a mistake?
Maybe it depends on the situation. One man proved to be
very decisive when he went on a trip to Israel with his wife and mother-in-law. Unfortunately,
while they were there the mother-in-law died very suddenly. Before the man knew
it he and his wife were meeting with an undertaker to decide what to do. The
undertaker explained that it was possible to ship the body home but it would cost them $5,000.
“On the other hand,” he said, “we can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.” The man thought about it and quickly announced that he wanted to send her home. “Are you sure?” the undertaker asked. “That’s
an awfully big expense and we can do a very nice burial here.” “Look,”
the man said, “2,000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later he rose from the dead. When it comes to my mother-in-law I just can’t take that chance.”
Now that’s what you call a really decisive decision. Those
four fishermen also made a really decisive decision when Jesus walked by and said, “Follow me.” That whole scene is really amazing when you think about it. Jesus
put the invitation out there and each of them immediately dropped everything and went with him. Peter did it. Andrew did it.
James and John did it too.
It makes you wonder. Was this the first time they saw Jesus? If it was then he really must have been incredibly charismatic. Even so, it makes you wonder. Do you think they had any doubts about their decision
to follow him? Do you think they regretted their decision later on to follow him? Was the decision an easy one or a hard one to make?
In a way, this was a moment of truth for each of them and in that moment of truth each of them made a decisive decision
that changed their lives forever.
So, how about you? Maybe you’re dealing with a life changing decision right now. Then again, maybe
you’re not. Maybe you’re just struggling with a decision that’s
hard for you to make. If so, then you might want to take another look at those
four faith filled fishermen.
The first thing that comes
to mind when I think about the encounter they had that day with Jesus is one of my father’s favorite sayings. When I was growing up he always used to say, “He who hesitates is lost.” What do you think would have happened if Peter had hesitated that day?
What do you think would have happened if Andrew or James or John had hesitated?
Do you think Jesus would have stopped and twisted their arms a little? Do
you think he would have gotten down on his knees and begged them join him? No. I have no doubt that Jesus would have simply continued on with his journey and found
someone else who really wanted to follow him.
He who hesitates is lost.
Or you could put it this way. Sometimes the worse decision you can make is no decision at all.
Former President Ronald Reagan learned that lesson when he was a young man. It
happened when he went to order a pair of shoes. The cobbler asked him if he wanted
a shoe with a square toe or a rounded toe. Reagan said he wasn’t sure. He had to think about it. A couple of
days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him if he’d made a decision.
Reagan said he was still thinking about it. The same thing happened a
couple of weeks later. Finally after a month or so the cobbler took matters into
his own hands and delivered a new pair of shoes to the future president. When
Reagan opened the box he was stunned to see one shoe with a rounded toe and one show with a square toe. Later on in life Reagan said, “Looking at those shoes taught me a lesson. If you don’t make your own decisions, somebody else is going to make them for you.”
Sometimes the worse decision you can make
is no decision at all. Those four faith filled fishermen would also tell you
not to waste your time by trying to make a decision that’s perfect. That’s
because there are very few decisions in life that are perfect. There are very
few decisions that can make a problem go away without any heartache or headaches at all; very few decisions that will make
everyone happy. Consider, if you will, the old man who went on a journey one
day with his grandson. The old man took his donkey with them. As they walked along people pointed and said the old man was
a fool for walking instead of riding on the donkey’s back. So, the old
man climbed up on the donkey. When they got to the next village though people
pointed and said the old man was selfish for riding while the little boy had to walk.
So, the old man got down and put his grandson on the donkey. When they
got to the next village though people pointed and said the little boy was lazy for riding while the old man had to walk. So, the old man climbed on and the two of them rode on the donkey’s back together. When they got to the next village though, people pointed
and were indignant that the poor donkey was being forced to carry all that weight. So,
the two of them climbed down and the last time anyone saw the old man he was carrying the donkey down the road.
There really aren’t
many decisions in life that are perfect. Even the decision to follow Jesus had its downside and drawbacks. For one thing it meant that those four fishermen had to leave everything they’d ever known in life
behind. They had to leave their friends and their families and their homes. Just look at James and John. When they
decided to follow Jesus they actually had to leave their poor father Zebedee standing in their boat by himself.
Not only that but everything
wasn’t jubilation and joy after they made the decision to follow Jesus. Jesus may have been the messiah; he may have
been God’s only begotten Son; he may have been the light of the world, but following him meant following a man who was
constantly surrounded by conflict and controversy. As time went by those four
faith filled fishermen began to realize that following Jesus meant that their lives were in danger too.
So, don’t waste your
time looking for the perfect decision because you won’t find it. The best
thing you can do is simply ask yourself this question. Is my decision going to
allow me to follow Jesus and the way he wants me to live my life? Or is my decision
going to lead me away from him and the way he wants me to live my life? Is my
decision going to allow me to love others the way he loved us? Is my decision
going to allow me to do unto others as I would like them to do unto me?
When it’s a decision
that allows you to follow Jesus and the way he wants you to live your life, you can be sure it’s the right decision. You can be sure it’s a decision that’s going to allow you to do the same
thing that a maharajah did when he visited Queen Victoria many years ago. During
the visit the maharajah asked that the Koh-i-noor diamond be brought from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace. When he was a boy, the maharajah had given the spectacular jewel to the queen. When the diamond arrived at the palace the maharajah took it and then knelt before the queen. “Your majesty,” he said, “I gave you this jewel when I was a child; too young to know
what I was doing. I want to give it to you again with all my heart and affection
and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do.”
After everything is said
and done isn’t that what you want when you make a decision? It’s
the confidence that you did the right thing and you’d do the same thing if you had to do it all over. It’s called a life of no regrets; a life of no remorse. It’s
what you get when you follow Jesus like those four faith filled fishermen did that day beside the Sea of Galilee.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
February 20, 2005
