When you were first called to be a disciple, a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, what did you have to leave behind? Maybe it was a job, maybe a certain lifestyle, maybe where you lived, uh maybe some friends, maybe even some family, maybe some bad habits, you know, like lying, taking God's name in vain, getting high on drugs, or drinking too much alcohol. Maybe some bad attitudes, you know, like hatred, selfishness, vanity, jealousy, lust, greed, maybe some immoral or even illegal practices, or did you really give up much at all?
Did you give up anything? Today we're going to talk about the beginning of Jesus public ministry and the calling of his first disciples according to Matthew chapter 4:es 12- 23. We will note how all including Jesus had to leave things in order to serve and obey God. We'll also discuss how we today as disciples of Jesus must be willing to follow that same pattern and to leave things in order to faithfully
Matthew 4:12-23 Jesus Begins to Preach
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
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Ross Jutsum State of the Heart – An inter-denominational ministry of music and worship.
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Bengali Evangelistic Association Bengali Evangelical Association (bengalimission.org)
Bible Gateway BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.
GCI Grace Communion International (gci.org)