Sunday January 24,2021
Welcome, our scriptures this week are: Psalm 62, Jonah 3:1-5,10 and 1Corinthians 7:29-31. Our Message scripture we find in Mark 1:14-20.
Mark 1:14-20 . The calling of the first disciples.
(14) After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. (15) “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
(16) 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. (17) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (18) At once they left their nets and followed him.
(19) When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. (20) Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
This is the word of God. For the people of God. Thanks be to God.
So before we look at our gospel reading in Mark, I want to start by telling you a story. I’m almost certain I’ve told you the story before, but I believe it’s one that helps us to better understand the message today.
It’s the story about the fisherman who had a fantastic reputation for his ability to catch fish. Everyday he would go out in his boat and bring back an incredibly large number of fish, and his reputation spread far and wide. One day a stranger came to the camp and wanted to go fishing with him. The fisherman said, “Come back to tomorrow morning at 4:30, and we’ll go. The stranger was back the next morning, and two men got into the boat. The stranger was puzzled at what he saw. All the fisherman carried was an old rusty, green tackle box and a dip net. There were no fishing poles, no casting rods no reels — none of the paraphernalia normally associated with fishing.
They motored across the lake and got back into a little secluded cove. The fisherman opened his rusty tackle box and pulled out a red stick of dynamite. He took a match, very casually struck it — as the stranger’s eyes grew wider. He lit the fuse and tossed the stick over his shoulder. When the dynamite had exploded in the water, fish began rising to the surface. Very calmly, the fisherman began dipping into the water and putting the fish into the boat with his dip net.
The stranger then reached into his pocket, pulled out a worn leather billfold; opened it up to reveal a shiny metal badge – he was a Game Warden. “You’re under arrest! It’s against the law to dynamite for fish.”
Again, very calmly, the fisherman reached down into the old rusty green tackle box, and pulled out a second stick of dynamite, struck a match, lit the fuse, and handed the stick of dynamite to the Game Warden. The Game Warden was so confused that he took it. The fuse was burning in his hand. The fisherman, with a gleam in his eye, and a glee in his voice, said, “Are you going to fish or cut bait?”
I’ve titled this message;
“Fish or Cut Bait.”
Are you familiar with the phrase? It’s an expression I’ll us today to challenge us to get on with our primary calling. That is, “To Be Disciples “!
“Fish or Cut bait”…it’s usually in the form of a question: “Are you going to,“ Fish or Cut bait?,”- meaning, “Are you going to spend your time getting ready – or are you going to get on with the task at hand?” – or it may mean “The time has come; we can’t dilly-daily around any longer; we have to act now or there will be no chance for action.” “Fish or Cut bait” expresses a kind of urgency, a call to decision. It signals momentous opportunity. Let’s look at our scriptures with that image as a backdrop for our thinking.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the scripture readings I suggested. Just in case you’re reading or listening to this on the internet and didn’t have an opportunity to read them before you digest the message today. I’m also recapping these for those of you at our worship service this morning, in case you didn’t grasp there relevance to each other, or in case you got distracted or drowsy during the reading.
In Psalm 62, The author of which was surely King David. Like the game warden in my story, the Psalmist he’s in a bad place. He’s threatened by the assaults of conspirators who wish to the dethrone him.
He begins by reminding himself of the path he has chosen in this life. To place all his hope and trust in God. Then he reminds us that the troubles of this life are but a breath. And if we choose to follow God, as His disciples we can be certain that our God is strong and our God is loving. Then he concludes the Psalm writing: ”Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.”
In other words he’s asking us, are you going to ;”Fish or Cut bait”?
Placing all hope and trust in God is to know that God is in control, and allows us to wait patiently for him to rescue us. True relief does not come when the problem is resolved because more problems are on the way! True relief comes from an enduring hope and faith in God’s ultimate salvation. Only then will all trials be resolved.
The book of Jonah tells us, that Jonah, though undeserving, Jonah has been delivered from death by God’s merciful working through a fish. The book of Jonah is, before all else, a lesson concerning God’s free grace. But it is also a portrayal of God’s incredible patience. In chapter 3, Jonah after running away from God was given a second chance to participate in Gods work. You may feel as though you are disqualified from serving God because of past mistakes. But serving God is not an earned position. No one qualifies for God‘s service, but God still ask us to carry out his work.
Essentially God was saying to Jonah. “The time has come; we can’t dilly-daily around any longer; we have to act now or there will be no chance for action.” “Fish or Cut bait”.
In our reading in 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Paul urges all believers to make the most of their time before Christ return. Every person in every generation should have the sense of urgency about telling the good news to others. Life is short there’s not much time!
Are you going to spend your time getting ready – or are you going to get on with the task at hand?
“Are you going to,“ Fish or Cut bait?,”
Our gospel lesson today is about some fishermen. It is the familiar story of Jesus’ call of four of his disciples, all fishermen. Mark gives the specific setting for the call of only one other disciple. Matthew, the tax collector. Then in Chapter 3 he names the original 12 whom Jesus calls, but gives no details about their calling.
Today let’s focus on the call of the first four disciples. Note first the simple fact, already indicated, that these men Jesus called were fishermen. These first followers were common people. They did not come from the schools and the colleges. They were not leaders in the church, or a part of the aristocracy. They were neither learned nor wealthy. They were fishermen , that is to say they were ordinary people. No one ever believed in the ordinary as Jesus did.
As I’m writing this, in light of the recent inauguration of our new president, I’m reminded of what one former president said. Abraham Lincoln; Lincoln took his cue from Jesus when he said, “God must love the common people – he made so many of them.” It was as if Jesus said, “Give me 12 ordinary men, and with them, if they will give themselves to me, I will change the world.”
As we look at these fisherman whom Jesus called to be his disciples, let’s focus on the simple truths that stand out.
The first truth is; Anybody can be a follower of Jesus. It’s a encouraging fact for people who feel incapable or unworthy. And there are far more people in those categories than we usually acknowledge. I run into them all the time, people who feel incapable of living the Christian life, of following Jesus, of taking responsibility in His Kingdom’s work. And there are, oh, so many, who feel unworthy. Isn’t it great that being a Christian disciple is dependent neither upon our ability or our worthiness. Anybody can be a follower of Jesus.
The second simple truth that stands out is the fact that; The Kingdom’s advance, our discipleship is not dependent upon our normal perception of power. Nothing captures that simple truth better than the words from Zechariah . The word that came to him in a vision when the angel of the Lord spoke to him: “Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.”(Zechariah 4:6)
Paul taught this when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29) “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
You see, being a disciple and the Kingdom’s advance is not dependent upon our normal perceptions of power. God uses our weakness our limitation, even our failure to bring about His good. Let me spell it our again – two things we conclude from the fact that the first people Jesus called were common fishermen. Anyone can be a follower, and the Kingdom’s advance, choosing to becoming a disciple is not dependent upon our normal perception of power.
Our second focus. Notice the call itself. Verse 17: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The Call is to join Jesus! To be with Him ! The “Follow me” call of Jesus is an offer of companionship ,to walk the same road. Fellowship, joint participation, a side by side communion with one another.
In another setting, Jesus said,(From the translation in the Today’s English Version): “Whoever comes to me cannot be my disciple unless he loves me more than he loves his father and his mother, and his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, and himself as well” (Luke 14:26-27). To become disciples we need to be willing to leave everything behind.
That’s the key to what we are talking about here. Faith begins, not when we accept a set of teachings, nor when we embrace a particular lifestyle, nor when we subscribe to a certain ethic. The Christian faith and our discipleship begins when we meet Jesus in our own hearts, pour out our love to Him from the depths of our being, and begin to walk with Him.
Some years ago, Dr. J. Edwin Orr was speaking to a group of college students at the University of Chicago on precisely this subject. When he got through, a young woman stood up and said, “I object. If a person believes in communism, he is a Communist. If he believes in socialism, he is a Socialist. If he believes in capitalism, he is a Capitalist. And if he believes in Christianity, he is a Christian.” “No,” said Dr Orr, “that’s not necessarily so.” The woman was quite puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
Dr. Orr looked down and noticed that the woman was wearing an engagement ring. “Let me ask you something,” he said, “Do you believe in marriage?” “Believe in marriage? Well, yes, of course I do. In fact, I’m engaged to be married this summer to a man who goes to another university.” “Well, wonderful,” said Dr. Orr. “I wonder if I could ask you to do something. Would you please come up here and stand in front for just a moment.” The woman hesitated for just a moment and then said, “Well, yes I will.” And she came up in front of the group.
Then Dr. Orr spotted a young man back in the corner of the room who was wearing a sweat shirt. This young man had been particularly attentive during the evening. “You, back there, you wearing a sweat shirt. Would you please come up here too?” said Dr. Orr. “Well, yes, I guess so,” said the young man, and he came up to the front of the group as well. As he was walking up to the front, Dr. Orr said, “Son, let me ask you something, too. Do you believe in marriage?” The young man replied, “Well, yes, yes, I believe in marriage. I’m not planning to get married or anything like that, but I certainly believe in marriage.” “Well, I’m delighted to hear that,” said Dr. Orr.
“Now,” he said, “let me ask the two of you to do something. Will you please take one another’s hand?” After the couple did that, uncertain as to what would happen, Dr. Orr then placed his hands on their joined hands. Then he said, “Since the two of you have both indicated that you believe in marriage and since I am a fully ordained minister with my credentials registered in this state, I hereby pronounce that you are man and wife!”
“Whoa! Wait a minute!” said the young woman, “You can’t do that!” Dr. Orr said, “I can’t? Why not?” The young woman said, “Well, because marriage is not a philosophy! It’s a relationship, and a very personal and special relationship at that! I don’t even know this fellow!” Dr. Orr smiled. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s a very special and a very personal relationship. And so it is with Christianity. Christianity is not a philosophy at all, but a very special and personal relationship we have with Jesus Christ!”
He had made his point –and I hope I have.
Of course it’s important that all of us believe in the teachings and the principles of the Christian faith, It’s important that we embrace the Christian lifestyle and that we honor the Christian ethic and that we uphold a Christian value system. But, the key is to know Jesus personally in our hearts and love Him fully with all our being. To respond to Him when He says, “Whoever comes to me cannot be my disciple unless he loves me.”
So, the call is first of all a call to join Jesus.
But it’s also a call to a task. Jesus said, “Follow me – and I will make you fisher’s of men.” Don’t miss this – discipleship involves accepting the task to which Jesus calls us.
The follower of Christ has no choice! He is a fisher of men. Jesus call in Greek means “to take alive.” In fishing terms, it means to catch fish in such a way that they were still alive when brought to the shore for sale. Now these four fishermen were to become fishers of men in the same way.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? So few Christians are fishers of men.
The intended catch, the fruit of one Christian is another. That is we are to do bring others to Jesus. Jesus put it all too clearly in his ministry: “I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes, away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. . . “I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…” (John 15: 1,2,5). Fruitfulness is not a luxury; it is a requirement. The qualification is not just believing in Christ, but it is in being reproductive.
So how do we do it? We do it by loving people selflessly enough, long enough to earn the right to speak to them. We do it by cultivating our relationships with Christ intentionally enough that when we have earned the right to speak, we will have something to say and people will listen because our actions, our transparent Christian concern and character will validate our words.
How do we do it? We do it not out of our gifts alone, but out of the inspiration and guidance of the Indwelling Christ. Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men”, for me. Not only does that suggest that it makes it vitally important but also suggests that Jesus will equip us for our witnessing task. We will not be left without the right word if we will depend on Christ. And when the words don’t come, our presence will be more powerful than words for the indwelling Christ will be and do through us what is needed in the moment.
The call is clear, “Fish or cut bait.” Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Remember these simple truths.
1. Anybody can be a follower of Jesus.
2. The Kingdom’s advance our Discipleship is not dependent upon our normal perceptions of power.
3. The Call is to join Jesus ! To be with Him!
4. The Call is also to a task ,to be a fisher of men.
In His call, Jesus says we don’t have any alternative. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. It’s not an option, its a promise!
How do we do it? We do it by loving people selflessly enough long enough to earn the right to speak to them. We do it by cultivating our relationship with Christ intentionally enough to know Jesus personally in our hearts and love him fully with all our being. To respond to Him when he says, “Whoever comes to me cannot be my disciple unless he loves me.”
So, the call is first, a call to join Jesus.
But it’s also a call to task. Jesus said, “Follow me – and I will make you fishers of men.” Don’t miss this! Discipleship involves accepting the task to which Jesus calls us.
So are you going to, ”Fish or Cut bait”?
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen To Audio: Sermon 20210124
Listen To Audio: Service 01242021
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Joe is available at the church every Thursday from 2 to 4p.m. If you wish to speak with him, his contact numbers are: 570-465-7303 or cell, 570-267-4570.
New email address: joe.s.travis@gmail.com
Loose change offering goes to General Fund Super Bowl has begun and will continue through February 7; please bring a non-perishable food item or monetary donation noted on your envelope or check payable to: FHPC.
Wednesday January 27, the men will meet in the Community Building at 9:00 to clean the floor. Remember – Many hands make light work! ! !
Newsletter deadline is Tuesday Jan. 26. Please get articles to Carolyn White for The Messenger
There was considerable damage Christmas Eve when snow fell off the church roof. We are beginning a “Fund Raiser” for additional repairs on the church. The insurance company will pay for damage to the ramp and only the actual damaged area to the chimney. To bring the chimney up to “code” there will be additional construction. If you wish to donate make checks payable to: FHPC and designate on your envelope. Session thanks you for your consideration.
If you are in the parking lot, PLEASE TUNE YOUR RADIO TO 89.5 FM TO HEAR THE PLEASE NOTE: We ask that you wear a mask as you ENTER the church. Winter Months – Session discussed the procedures the congregation will follow during the winter months. People will enter and leave the Church by the front door. Mask must be worn as they enter and go to a pew. Mask must be worn when they leave the Church. Pastor Joe will stand near the pulpit when the service is finished to speak to people before they leave. He will not stand by the front door. Session is asking that people do not congregate in the vestibule or loiter for a long time in the sanctuary when they leave. Hand sanitizer will be located by the front door for people to use.
