Well, if you could take your Bibles and turn to Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 4, and we'll read together and look together at Matthew 4, 18 to 22. That's Matthew 4, 18 to 22. Familiar passage, no doubt. of the Lord Jesus and his call of the fishermen. So Matthew 4, verse 18 to 22. Verse 18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. they immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed him. At this stage in Matthew's gospel, the Lord Jesus has started his public ministry. In chapter three, Christ has been baptized by John the Baptist. God the Father has made his announcement, the spirit of God has descended on Christ, and it has been heard by multiple people, this is my son, listen to him. In chapter four, Christ has triumphed over Satan's temptations. He has proved that he is the son of God. And in verse 17, Christ has started to preach, saying, repent for the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And now we enter verse 18. And Christ is walking by the Sea of Galilee, the Lake of Galilee. And he notices two men, Simon, called Peter, and Andrew, his brother. And as he walks along, he will notice two more men, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. Christ has a message for these men. In fact, Christ has a mission for these men. Christ will call these men, and these men will respond, and they will follow. This evening, I want us to notice two points. Our first point is the call of Christ in verses 18, 19, and 21. The second point is the faith of the fishermen. And really, what I want us to see is that Christ comes with a job offer. He comes with a job offer to these men who accept it and who follow him. And imagine it. Someone comes to you with a job offer. The salary exceeds all expectations. The company is ethically pure, good, upstanding, and the company says, I will even train you from scratch. Humanly speaking, we would jump at the opportunity. We would decide in a heartbeat, yes, I want that. Christ comes with an offer this evening, a better offer. Not the same offer as that of the disciples, but a similar offer, the offer of salvation. Will we jump at the opportunity? So notice, firstly, the call of Christ. Verse 18, Christ is walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, and they were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And then in verse 21, Christ going on from there, sees two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, and Christ calls them. At first reading, this seems like the Lord Jesus's first interaction with these men, that he's never met them before, he's never spoke with them before. But when we examine scripture chronologically as it fits together sequence by sequence, as we examine the gospel records and put them in place, in actuality, Christ has already met some of these men. In John 1, verses 40 to 42, we notice that James and John, yes, James and John are neglected. They aren't spoken about. But Andrew has already met Christ. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. Andrew heard John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. And having heard this pronouncement, will follow after Christ and will interact and discuss with Christ. And having discussed with Christ who he is, he will go and get his brother, Simon, and he will bring him to the Lord Jesus. And yet these men aren't yet followers, aren't yet full followers. They aren't yet disciples of Christ. But notice what they all are. All these men are fishermen. Hardworking, laborious, industrious men. Men who know the struggle of the sea. Men who know what it is to work hard. Men who know what it is to physically labor in early mornings and late nights. Men who struggle against the sea to pull fish, to sell, and to support their families. These are salt-of-the-earth type of men. And this is who Christ comes to. He doesn't come to the religious elite, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He doesn't come to the people who have it all together. He comes to the common man, And he says, come, follow me. These men know what it's like to work hard. And Christ comes to them in verse 19. And he says to these particular men, come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of man. This is the call of Christ. This is the mission of Christ for these men. And we read this verse in verse 19, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And we almost read it as if it's an invitation. But in reality, it's an imperative. Christ points at these men and tells them, come follow me. This is a voice of authority that says, you men will follow me. Now, culturally speaking, this is outlandish. The teacher doesn't pick his pupils. Typically, the pupil comes to a man of outstanding character or outstanding ability and says, sir, could I follow you? Sir, could I learn from you? Sir, could you teach me? But instead, our Lord comes to these men and says, I have chosen you. You will follow. And so they do. They follow in his footsteps. They go where he goes. They hear his teaching. They see his example. They stick to Christ as a shadow. They quite literally shadow the Lord Jesus for three years. And we see in verse 19 what Christ says. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. People who say the Lord doesn't have a sense of humor haven't read this verse. I will make you fishers of men to fishermen. These individuals know what it is to fish, and yet Christ has said, I will make you fishers of men. I will give you a new net, the gospel. I will give you a new catch, men. I will give you a new sea to fish in the world at large. You fishers, you fishermen, you men who fish for scales, no, you will now fish for souls. You men who go out into the sea and look for fish, no, you'll now look for faith. You men, you'll be fishers of men. And in verse 19, we're told, that this mission, it won't be accomplished by Peter or by Andrew or by John or by James in their own strength. They won't do this by their own ability. They won't do it by their own skills or their own techniques. Now, verse 19 tells us that Christ will make them fishers of men. Christ promises, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. There is an absolute promise here that Christ will equip these men. He will provide the means. He will provide the teaching. He will provide the gifts. All they need to do is follow. These are fishermen, experienced, and they're ready to go. And for three years, they follow Christ. And for three years, they are taught. And for three years, they are equipped. And then Christ dies. and then he is raised. And then at the end of Matthew's gospel in Matthew 28, Christ sends them to go out into the world to proclaim the gospel, to be fishers of men, not simply in their surrounding area, but to the very ends of the earth. Friends, we have a similar call from Christ. It's not the same. We're not hearing the call of Christ to become disciples or apostles, but we are hearing the call to become sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, called to follow him, called to call on his name, the name of Christ for salvation. called to follow him in humility, called to follow him as subjects in submission to his rule and his reign, called to follow him as servants. Now imagine it. The hand of God is outstretched at this very moment. And it is bidding you to come, to come and follow me. And that very same hand should be curled up with a finger pointed in accusation, saying, you have sinned against holy God. You have failed Him time and time again. You have blatantly and openly rejected Him and reviled Him and hated Him. And yet the hand is open saying, come, follow me. And yet, my friends, there is a day coming when that hand will break open the heavens and it will scoop up every saint, every single Christian, every single person who has followed the Lord, every single individual who has cried on his name for salvation. It will scoop them up and it will bring them safely into the heavens above. And yet, for all who do not, It will descend like a hammer. His fist will fall. It will hold fast every individual who is not yet Christian, and it will hurl them into the depths of damnation. The hand is outstretched. Come, follow me. Take the hand. Listen to the invitation. Come, follow me. I can't. I'm far too bad. I'm far too sinful. I've done too much. You don't know my history. You don't know my failures. I point you to the fishermen. These are not good men. These are not perfect men. these men will feel. In fact, in Luke's gospel. Luke records a miraculous event. These fishermen interact with the Lord Jesus Christ. They go out onto the sea. Christ performs a miracle. He performs this miraculous catch of fish, so much so that the nets are almost bursting apart. And Peter says to the Lord Jesus Christ, depart from me, Lord. I am a sinful man. You're too bad. Now, Peter's reaction is our reaction. Lord, depart from me. You're not too bad to accept the invitation. Ah, but maybe you're on the other side. I'm too good for this Jesus. I don't really need this Jesus. I don't really need to accept this invitation. I can make it on my own. I point once again to the fisherman. Good, upstanding men, hard workers, family men, in fact. James and his brother, they work for their father. We see later that Peter is married to his wife and cares for his mother-in-law. Good, moral men. And yet they need Christ and his invitation. Ah, it's just too hard. Perhaps that's your excuse. Perhaps that's your reasoning. Perhaps that's why you simply won't accept the invitation. And you're right. It is hard. It is difficult. Christ himself tells us to count the cost of being a disciple. That we are called to hate mother and brother, father and sister. We are called to set him above everything else in this world. It is hard. To accept the invitation is difficult and will lead to difficulty. And perhaps you say, it's gonna be so difficult and I know I'll feel. It's gonna be so difficult and I will feel within five minutes. I won't last five seconds. Look again in verse 19. Christ says, I will make you fishers of men. The disciples continually failed. They were slow to understand. They were quick to speak. These disciples would later, having seen all the miracles and signs and wonders of Christ, having heard all his teachings, these men would flee like cards when Christ is confronted in the Garden of Gethsemane. In fact, Peter, who has been called and who has been promised that he will be made a fisher of men. Peter denies Christ not once, not twice, but three times. These are the great disciples. And yet Christ does not cast them off. Christ holds them fast. Christ keeps them. And after his death, and after his resurrection, and after his ascension, the Spirit of God descends upon them on Pentecost. And these men go out into the world, and they preach the gospel. They proclaim Christ, and they do it with boldness. They do it with no fear. They do it in trust and humility. There is a radical change from these men who feel, who now walk in faith. Why? Because Christ will equip these individuals. And in similar manner, will he not equip you and I? That's too hard, he'll equip you. It's too difficult, he'll equip you. And when we come to faith, when there's a newborn child of God, They have limited understanding, but they have one conviction. I will love Jesus Christ. And as they progress in their Christian faith, they begin to understand that life is almost like a labyrinth. It's almost like a maze. And they quite haven't figured out how it all fits together, how to work their way through the labyrinth of life. They haven't got the right perspective. They take a left turn instead of a right turn. They take a right turn instead of a left turn. They feel, and yet they're never cast off. They're slowly equipped. Year by year, there's progress. Five years into the faith, there's a difference. 10 years into the faith, there's a difference. 15 years into the faith, there's a difference from where we once began. Brothers and sisters, can we not testify to this fact, that we have been equipped by Jesus Christ? That he has not cast us off, but he is making us more like himself. Praise God, we can say, I'm not what I want to be, but I'm not what I once was. Christ will equip his people. And perhaps, brothers and sisters, you once heard the voice of God. You heard that invitation, come, follow me. I heard it intimately, like a whisper in the ear. Or perhaps you heard it like a thunderclap from heaven. But regardless, you heard the voice of God saying, come, follow me. It was close. It was intimate. And when you heard that voice, like Charles Wesley says in that great hymn, I Am, Can It Be, you rose, you went forth, and you followed He. You had intimate, close fellowship with God. You read your Bible. You prayed as a friend to another friend, as a son to a father. You called in the name of God. You had that close intimacy. But perhaps it's cooled. Perhaps that fervor, that fire has diminished. Perhaps the voice of God that you heard, perhaps the voice of God that raised you from death to life, that voice that cried forth almost as if it were Lazarus rising forth from the dead, perhaps that voice feels like an echo. Perhaps it feels like a whisper in the wind. Perhaps you once walked closely with Christ, and now he seems almost like a dot in the distance. Call upon him. Cry out to him. Friends, let our life's motto simply be Domine Secur, Latin for Lord, I follow. Plead with Christ. He has said, I will equip you. I will make you fishers of men. Will he not also in like manner equip us and help us to follow him? Oh, that we had faith. Oh, that we had faith like the fishermen. And so this leads me to my second point, the fishermen's faith. Look at verse 20. And in 22, Christ having called and issued this invitation, verse 20, the disciples, they immediately left their nets and followed him. Likewise, in verse 22, they immediately left the boat and they left their father and they followed him. This is the response of the fishermen. They don't dilly-dally. They don't wait. This is instantaneous immediacy. They recognize the voice of God and they get up out of their boats and they follow. It seems extreme, especially James and John. They have a father that they're helping. They just get up and they almost abandon their father. But in reality, Mark and his gospel tells us that James and John, they leave hired hands. They leave hired servants to help with their father. No, in actuality, these men recognize the importance and the opportunity that is afforded to them. They don't waste time. Christ has called, we will go. I have heard the invitation, I must go. Christ has called, there's no time to waste, let's go. Come, follow me. It contrasts Luke 9, where later Christ offers a call and a man comes to him and says, Lord, I will follow, but first let me go and bury my father. And Christ's reaction is, no, let the dead bury their dead. Christ is, in essence, telling him, come follow me now. Don't pull it off. Don't delay. Put a priority on following me. Now, one qualification must be made. This immediacy does not encourage stupidity. We hear, come, follow me, and we can go to one extreme of, therefore, I must go and live like a monk. I must read my Bible for three hours a day. I must quit my job, and I must pray for seven. No, scripture tells us that we are to work We are to provide for our families. In fact, in Matthew's gospel, Matthew 27, we have Joseph of Arimathea, a convert who still keeps his job and is used by the Lord to provide a tomb for Christ. No, what is being told here in the immediacy of the disciples is that they put a priority on Christ. They look at their lives, they examine their lives, and they reorientate their priority, and they put it on the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul says likewise in Philippians 3. Paul, recounting his previous life. says I have confidence in the flesh. If anyone thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I have more. I was circumcised on the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, I persecuted the church. Concerning righteousness, which is in the law, I was blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Paul says, all of this that I once did, all of this which I put my faith and my trust, all of this which was a priority, that's nothing. My priority is Christ Jesus. That's what happened to fishermen. So, you're too busy to come to Christ? I point to the fishermen again. Hardworking men, industrious men, men who heard, come follow me, and who immediately got up and went. Friends, Christ is worthy of our consideration. No, in fact, Christ is worthy of our obedience. In fact, Christ is worthy of our entire lives. Today, right here, right now, the call is offered to come follow me. Today, right here, right now, is the day to immediately get up and follow him. The disciples got up immediately. And understand this. They got up. They gave up their career. to follow after Christ. They gave up their work to work for Christ. They gave up their comfort to find comfort in Christ. They gave up their routine to seek first after righteousness from Christ. Is Christ our priority? Now, can we say like the old hymn writer, you can have all this world, but give me Jesus? Is that our heart's call? Is that our heart's cry? Is Christ our priority? So how busy are you? Busy enough to consider Christ? And brothers and sisters, how busy are we? Not busy for ourselves, but busy for Christ. We're not apostles, and we're not called to be apostles, but we're called to be Christians, called to follow after Christ. And brothers and sisters, when we don't feel like following him, When the word seems dull and dreary, when prayer seems so far off, when we almost lament at coming to another Lord's Day to gather with the saints, look at the call of Christ and the claim that he has on us. The offer is issued. Come, follow me. The imperative is set forth, come, follow me. Let us do it immediately. This is the absolute, unbending, immutable, unchangeable condition of being a Christian. Come, follow me. Set your priorities straight. Christ first, Christ foremost, Christ above all, Come, follow me. Oh, that we have faith like the fishermen, to look first at him and to live first for him. So someone comes to you with a job offer, best pay you've ever seen, best company you could ever work for, will train you from scratch. You jump at the offer. Christ comes with a better offer. Come, follow me. Come, follow me, and I will call you a child of God. Come, follow me, and you may call my father your father. Come, follow me, be a Christian. Come, follow me, know me, trust me, love me. Friends, don't delay. The disciples got up immediately. Today and every day, may we get up and immediately live for our Lord. Lord, I follow. Amen and amen.