# The Call to Discipleship The New Testament Church Language: en Author: by Donald Brechbill Chambersburg, PA Original issue: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2022, Number 2 Source pages: 31–33 Read article: Original PDF: Summer\-2022\-Remnant\.pdf [The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2022]() This is the first of a series of articles on “Discipleship\.” Today, Jesus is continuing to call men and women to respond to the simple call, “Follow Me\.” Jesus is calling each of us to personally “Follow Me\.” In this series, we will explore the depth of this simple command of Jesus\. Like the disciples, you will find yourself drawn to follow Jesus\. You may experience both exhilaration and apprehension\. Exhilaration, as your journey of faith takes you to heights of love that you have never known\. Apprehension, as your faith is tested in new and difficult ways\. There is an emptiness in every human heart that only Jesus can fill\. There is a purity and beauty in the life of Jesus that resonates with those heart longings\. As we walk with Jesus, we find ourselves being transformed\. Old things pass away\. All things become new\. His life becomes our life\. His desires become our desires\. Discipleship is incumbent on the believer\. Believing in Jesus, repenting of our sins, and receiving the Lord Jesus into our heart are the first steps into a lifelong journey of faith\. Discipleship is not an alternate means of salvation\. Following Jesus is the response of a soul set free\. Following Jesus is not a carnal attempt to merit eternal life\. It is the love response of one who has discovered the source of life\. If you join us on this journey, you will discover that following Jesus will lead us into the valley of decision where we will find ourselves compelled to choose between a life of total surrender to Christ or a life of sin and pleasing self\. --- > *And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers\. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men\. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him\. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them\. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him –Matthew 4:18\-22\.* --- Imagine yourself in a ship with one of these brethren\. The sun was rising on the eastern horizon\. Anticipating another day of fishing the blue waters of the Galilee, you busy yourself with the daily tasks\. Fishing has been your life\. You are as much at home on the sea as you are in your cottage\. Another day, another catch of fish, and you should be able to keep the creditors at bay for another week\. It’s the only life you have ever known\. Your father was a fisherman\. Your grandfather was a fisherman\. It’s a comfortable life\. It’s a familiar life\. This morning, as the waves are gently lapping the sandy shoreline, a man approaches\. He’s not a total stranger\. Everyone knows about Mary’s son\. Everyone has an opinion about Mary’s son\. He astounds the local rabbi with his knowledge of the scriptures\. His character is flawless; He is the friend of all and a stranger to none\. This man, Jesus \(that is his name\) is drawing near to your ship\. As He draws near, He calls out in a rather cheerful voice, “Follow me\.” James looks at John, and together they look to their father Zebedee\. His approving nod was all that they needed\. Zebedee had worked with his two sons for many years\. Perhaps he was hoping that time with the Nazarene would soften the temper of their abrasive characters\. --- “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men\.” That’s what He called out to Peter and Andrew\. They left their little boat full of nets, perhaps tethered to a stump by the shore\. What was it about this Man that He could draw disciples after Him with a simple “Follow Me”? Maybe it was a deep longing in the heart of these disciples—a “hope” that following Jesus might fulfill\. Generations of Jewish men had been looking for The Messiah—The Promised One; He who would break the Roman yoke and restore Israel to her former freedom and glory\. Jesus was the most promising revolutionary prospect of the day\. He would need a following\. He would need their help\. Little did they realize that day as they dropped their nets and followed Jesus where that journey would lead them\. Little did they know that if they followed this Man, they would never be the same\. As Peter, Andrew, James, and John joined with eight others to follow Jesus, they were walking away from the familiar, secure life of the fisherman\. They may have thought that following Jesus would be an adventure\. They may have thought that after a term of service to the Nazarene, they could return to their fishing boats\. As a matter of fact, that is what they did\. After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, He made several appearances to His disciples\. They had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and, in the midst of this great uncertainty, they could not resist the allure of the familiar\. They decided to go fishing, but much to their consternation they had lost the touch\. They fished all night and caught nothing\. In the morning Jesus was standing on the shore\. He told them to cast on the right side of the ship\. They cast and were not able to pull in the nets due to the multitude of fish\. > *Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing\. They say unto him, We also go with thee\. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing\. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus\. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No\. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find\. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes –John 21:3\-6\.* Have you ever found yourself in a position where you have tried and tried and all your efforts are met with failure? You know what it is to “reach the end of my hoarded resources”\. If that is where you find yourself, you are in a position to experience a miracle\. God shows himself strong to those who acknowledge their weakness\. When you decide to follow Jesus, He will draw you into such an utter dependence upon Him that you will finally no longer trust in yourself\. To become truly like Jesus is to realize with Paul *…that in me \(that is, in my flesh,\) dwelleth no good thing…\.* Paul then continues the verse *…for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not –Romans 7:18\.* Discipleship will lead us into a total abandonment of ourselves to Christ\. Just as the disciples could not have fathomed where following Jesus would lead them, neither can we\. We make a faith choice\. We choose to follow\. We commit the details to our Master\. If you want to be like Jesus, you cannot look back\. Jesus said: *…No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God –Luke 9:62\.* Peter looked back\. He said, “I go a fishing”\. Disillusioned following the crucifixion and glorious resurrection, Peter chose to return to the lifestyle that was familiar to him\. He went back to fishing and James and John went with him\. When Jesus appeared on the shore after their long night of fruitless toil, He prepared a fish fry for the weary disciples\. As Peter sat munching on a charbroiled fish, Jesus turned to him and said, “Peter, do you love Me more than these?” How gently piercing are the words of Jesus\. Peter responded, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you\.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs\.” We do not know how much time passed, but Jesus turned to him again, “Peter…” \(actually He called him Simon\) “Do you love Me?” Peter gave the same staid response\. “Yes Lord, you know that I love you”\. It was the right answer, but Jesus was interested in more than just a right answer, so He said to him again, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” Peter finally began to feel that Jesus was asking for something more of him—something that pierced his soul through and through\. He had begun following Jesus with the desire to receive from Him\. Now Jesus is asking him to reciprocate that love\. Scenes of Caiaphas’ house came before him\. He saw Jesus being brutally handled, falsely accused, and spat upon\. He heard the angry shouting of the Sanhedrin as they called for Jesus’ death\. And then there was that persistent young damsel that challenged him that he was one of Jesus’ disciples\. He said to her, “I am not”\. Three times he had denied knowing Jesus and now three times Jesus has challenged his love\. In anguish of heart Peter cried out, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee”\. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep”\. From that day, Peter was a man with a calling, not only to know Christ for the purpose of receiving from him, but also to emulate him\. Discipleship is more than merely knowing about Jesus\. Discipleship is walking in his footsteps and identifying with Jesus in his ministry and in his sufferings—truly knowing Him\. Jesus is asking you today, “Do you love me?” We all know the right answer, “Yes, of course, I love Jesus\.” Then “Love your neighbor” – “Serve the needy” – “Defer to your brother” – “Forgive the one that has offended you”\. Discipleship is very practical in that it moves us beyond the ideological and causes us to become the very hands and feet of Jesus to those around us\. If in your heart you are thinking, *this doesn’t sound very appealing*, I would encourage you to focus on the moment and the task at hand\. Peter walked with Jesus for three and a half years before he received this call from Jesus\. Jesus never calls us without equipping us, and He doesn’t equip us until He determines that we are ready\. After the Day of Pentecost, Peter was called, he was prepared, and he was equipped\. Then God used him mightily to establish the church\. I would like to call your attention to another attribute of discipleship that is sometimes misplaced\. Discipleship is never intended to be drudgery\. If you find following Jesus to be hard and toilsome, that is evidence that your love has not yet been perfected\. Jesus’ soul\-piercing question to Peter was quite simple, “Do you love Me?” It was as if Jesus was testing Peter\. \[“I have a job for you, Peter, but a prerequisite for this job is your devoted love for Me\.”\] Discipleship is a love response to Jesus\. Our love for Christ makes service a joy\. Toil is pleasant and sacrifice is not a loss\. We can best understand this in the context of human relationships\. If you are married and you truly love your husband or your wife, you do not even consider it a sacrifice to work for the mutual benefit of your marriage\. In the same way, if we are truly in love with Jesus it is not considered toil to work for him\. No sacrifice that we make for the kingdom of heaven is a loss\. I welcome you to join us as we explore the realities of discipleship\. We will learn from Christ’s example of forgiveness\. We will gain a greater understanding of what it means to walk by faith\. Jesus taught us to not worry but to trust\. He taught lessons on servant leadership and on cross bearing\. There is so much to discover when we are walking with Jesus\. Expect to be changed\. The teachings of Jesus are revolutionary in that they run counter to our human impulses\. Purpose to allow the life of Christ to become your life and you will be amazed by what God will do for you\. ![Weathered wooden fishing boat floating on calm water]() ## Magazine citation - [Weathered wooden fishing boat floating on calm water](): Unsplash\.com