You Matter Series: Part 3

You Matter To Him

Matthew 4:18-22 (KJV)

18 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.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21 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.

22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

 

Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman.

• Their fathers were fisherman.
• Their grandfathers were probably fisherman.

 

In these days you inherited your trade from your father.

• Who you were and what you did with your life usually was defined by what family you were born into.

 

So, we want to focus for just a few minutes on these four guys Simon, Andrew, James and John.

• Maybe they loved fishing.
• Maybe they loved waking up way before the sun came up.
• Maybe they enjoyed having to compete with the other fishermen for the best places to fish.
• Maybe they enjoyed the laborious task of constantly untangling and mending broken nets.
• Maybe they enjoyed cleaning fish.
• Maybe they enjoyed the smell of fish.
• Maybe their wives enjoyed their husbands smelling like fish.
• On their clothes and on their hands.
• “Hi Hunny, I’m home!”
• “Go take a bath, you smell like fish!”
• Maybe they enjoyed the small wages that came with being a fisherman
• And sometimes going out all-night or day long and catching absolutely nothing.
• Maybe they enjoyed all of that – but I doubt it.

 

How many of you absolutely love your job?

 

• A recent Gallup poll found that 70 percent of American workers are disengaged from their jobs.
• Of the 100 million people who hold jobs in America, the survey found that 30 million are actively engaged, 50 million are not engaged and 20 million are actively disengaged.

 

Other words,

• 30 percent like their job
• 70 percent don’t like their job
• And of those, 20 percent absolutely hate their job

 

I believe that Peter, Andrew, James and John were probably either one of the 70 percent who didn’t really like their job all that much or possibly even one of the 20 percent who actually hated their job.

 

• After all, it didn’t take a whole lot of convincing from Jesus to get them to drop their nets,
• Walk away from the family business,
• And even leave their fathers with the job of doing it all by themselves.

 

Take a look at Matthew 4:20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

 

These guys couldn’t wait to get off of that boat.

• They didn’t bat an eye.
• They didn’t say “goodbye”.
• They didn’t offer a resignation.
• Straightway means – Immediately, they got off of their boats.

 

And here’s why they were so willing to drop the family business and leave their fathers with the broken nets…

 

• They understood and realized a better opportunity when they saw it and they weren’t going to let anything stand in the way of that opportunity.

 

• They realized that their life had a higher purpose.
• Jesus told them, “I’m going to make you into fishers of MEN.
• Not stinking old fish.

 

I’m going to cause your life to have meaning

• Beyond the slime
• The fish guts
• The scales
• The broken nets
• The storms on the sea
• Late nights and the fruitless labors.

 

He said, your life is about to change.

• Everything they said you would be is about to be erased.
• Your past?
• It no longer is going to determine your future.
• Who you were before is not who you’re going to be.
• It doesn’t matter who your daddy was.
• It doesn’t matter what was prearranged for you.

 

• The stink
• The slime
• The junk that was predetermined for your life?
• It no longer has a hold on you.

 

How many of you know I’m not really talking about the jobs we have.

• I guess what we are really looking at is the life we live.

You know it really is something what people can get used to and even comfortable with.

• “I’m this way because I grew up this way.”
• “I do this because my daddy did this.”
• “I act this way because that’s how my family acts.”
• It’s generational.

 

But Jesus told these 4 young men, “I’m going to elevate your status.”

• I’m going to use your life to do something that no one in this world would have ever imagined from you.

 

You were just the fishermen’s kids…

• People said you’d never accomplish much.
• All you were good for was mending nets and cleaning fish
• But I’m going to use you to raise up a church that will change the world forever.
• You are about to make more of a difference on this world and the future generations than any man or woman has in its history.
• When they say My name, they will also say your name.
• When they talk about Jesus, they are also going to talk about Peter, Andrew, James and John
• You Matter!

 

People are going to listen to what you say from now on.

• They will read your writings all over the world for thousands of years

 

• You may not matter to them right now, but because you matter to me, the world will find out what your truest potential really is.

 

His call to them was simple… “Follow Me!”

 

• “Stop doing what you are doing and Follow Me!”
• “Lay down the nets.”
• “Put down the fish.”
• “Set aside who you were before and follow me.”

 

 

Your past is no longer your present.

 

• You thought you were going to be tied to all that stuff.
• You thought you would never escape it
• You thought it would define who you were going to be and who your children were going to be.

 

But Jesus said He has a new identity for you.

• You’re about to go through a Spiritual transformation.
• In fact, Simon, I’m even going to change your name!
• From now on they’ll call you Peter.
• “The Rock”
• Dwayne Johnson won’t have anything on you.

 

See a rock doesn’t mean too much if you’re a fisherman, but it means a whole lot if you’re going to be a cornerstone in the church.

• It means a lot if you’re going to be involved in ministry.
• It means a lot if you want God to use your life and give you some focus and direction.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

The NLT puts it this way…

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

 

Our series this month is entitled You Matter.

• And part of our appreciating that we matter to Him is understanding that He has a plan for our lives.
• He has a purpose.
• He has a higher calling.

 

I hope you understand that what I am saying is not that Jesus wants us all to quit our jobs and become preachers,

• But I do believe that we need to understand that we are not defined by our circumstances.
• That we are not defined by our pasts.

 

• In spite of our pasts
• In spite of where we’ve been.
• In spite of what we look like.
• In spite of our education or lack of education.
• Regardless if we are a doctor or a business man or a fisherman whose out all night long trying to earn a living –
• God has a higher purpose for your life and what you are or where you are right now.

 

• You matter to Him
• You have purpose to Him
• You are valuable to Him
• And He has plans for your life!

 

2 Timothy 1:9 (KJV) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

• Long before you showed up on this planet, Jesus had a purpose for your life.
• Long before you ever made a decision to follow Him, He had His eyes on you.
• Long before you ever gave your heart to Him, He Grace was at work to bring salvation and a new life to you.

 

You see, You Matter to Him.

• You might be miserable in your life right now, but understand,
• You Matter to Him.
• You might not like the stuff of your life.
• But You matter to Him.

 

• You might feel worthless, but He has purpose for your life, even a high calling.
• You might feel insignificant
• You might feel like your life is meaningless
• Or even pointless,
• But He has a purpose.

 

1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

 

I Like that… “God’s very own possession.”

• You Matter to Him!

 

And here’s the calling on our lives.

Here’s the purpose He has given us…

• “To show others the goodness of God.”

 

Why should we do that?

• Because he has called us out of the darkness and into His wonderful light.
• We’ve been blessed.
• We’ve been blessed with salvation.
• We’ve been blessed with His Holy Spirit in our lives.
• What more could we do?
• What less could we do?
• But to tell others about His goodness.
• To tell others about His Mercy.
• To tell others that they Matter to Him!

 

You Have Purpose – You’re special.

• Your life can make a difference.
• You were born with a purpose.
• Fulfill that purpose and you will find the will of God.

 

• You Matter.
• God wants to use you.
• Your past doesn’t define you.