When Jesus Calls
“Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;
[also called the Sea of Galilee]
and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake;
but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.
And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s,
[Jesus the Savior climbed into Simon Peter’s boat]
and asked him to put out a little way from the land.
And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
[Jesus the Messiah began to teach.]
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,
“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
(The Gospel According to Luke 5: 1-4 NASB)
- Normally, when we read this historical narrative retold by Doctor Luke, we continue reading and see the way the fishermen had fished all night and caught little, if anything at all.
- Usually, we read how Jesus, the Messiah, says to these tired fishermen, who only desire to finishing washing their nets and to crawl into their beds and find rest after working all night, to push out from the shore so that He [Jesus] can teach the crowds of people.
- Often, we continue reading this biblical narrative, seeing how Jesus Christ leads these exhausted men to put out their nets (again), to fish (again), and to face (again) the possibility of NOT CATCHING ANY FISH.
- Ordinarily, we read this re-telling of Jesus calling His disciples to “become fishers of men,” and we focus upon the miraculous way Jesus leads the fish in the Sea of Galilee into the fishermen’s nets, allowing these men to realize the Truth about this man named Jesus.
Yes, typically, that is what we might see when we find ourselves reading the narrative found in Luke 5, but this day, the Lord led me to see a Truth within the miracle.
- When Jesus calls—
- When Jesus speaks—
- When Jesus seeks a person’s heart—
It is true, a person has the choice to turn away from Jesus, to walk away, to reject the call Jesus places on one’s life.
- When Jesus calls, we have a choice.
- When Jesus calls, we have a decision to make, right then in that moment.
That’s correct. When the Holy Spirit convicts one’s heart to receive God’s Amazing Grace found through belief in His Only Son Jesus, we can in that moment choose to become a child of Almighty God!
&
- If we turn to follow Jesus—
- If we turn to give our heart to Jesus—
- If we turn to receive God’s gift of salvation found through Jesus—
Then Jesus continues daily to speak, to seek, & to call His followers to faithfully follow Him—
- Wherever—
- Whenever—
- However—
& to
- Whatever Jesus is calling God’s children to.
This is a Truth the Lord led me to see within the miracle of the massive catch of fish experienced on Lake Gennesaret.
Consider for a time, how
- Jesus called the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James, & John to become fishermen of men.
- Jesus called a physician Luke to become the apostle Luke.
- Jesus called the tax collector Levi to become Matthew, the apostle of Jesus.
Jesus called Philip, “Now Phillip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and [Simon] Peter,” (The Gospel According to John 1: 44 NASB)
Jesus called and “Phillip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (The Gospel According to John 1: 45 NASB)
- Jesus called all these men—
Jesus did.
He also called Bartholomew, Thomas, “Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (The Gospel According to Luke 6: 16 NASB)
- Jesus called these twelve men to become His apostles.
Jesus did.
Through their faithfulness (minus Judas, the traitor), Christ Jesus drew others to come to know Him as their Savior & He changed mankind’s heart forevermore.
- Jesus is still in the business of calling people!
- Jesus is still doing the work of pursuing men’s hearts!
Jesus is still making The Way for people to receive Him as Savior!
The Holy Spirit is still convicting hearts!
Father God is still saving souls for an eternity to be shared with Him!
- Jesus is still calling His followers to faithfully follow Him!
- Jesus calls each child of God to “become a fisher of men.”
- Jesus never expects God’s Salvation to stop with us.
Believer, Jesus is calling us to share the Gospel with those He leads us to.
Christian, Jesus is calling you and me to do His will.
Today, the question we must ask ourselves: What will we do with Him—When Jesus Calls?
When Holy God reveals His Purpose of our lives & When He leads us to carry out His will, we need to prayerfully seek His plan, His task He has for us to do.
That’s right. When Jesus Calls, may He find us getting down on our knees to listen to Him speak.
“Word of God Speak” by MercyMe & “Truth Be Told” by Matthew West both remind us through song how the children of God are to be—When Jesus Calls.
When Jesus Calls, may we first allow our Lord to revive our heart, to cleanse our heart, and to restore the joy of His Salvation.
After the LORD confronted King David with his sinful way, with the way he had stolen Uriah’s wife, David wrote in his Psalm these words—
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
(The Psalms 51: 10-13 NASB)
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.”