Mathew 4:18-22 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers,
Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they werefishermen. Then He said to them,
“Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him,
Going from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
It’s significant that Mathew identifies the specific region {Galilee} where this took place.
Lets take a look at the Map.
Map of Israel {Image}
Judah has: The capital Jerusalem, Bethany, The temple, The high priest, the religious leaders, The elite, the scholars, The sophisticated. They would be the Ivy leaguers of our day. They like fine things and loved to be seen in important places.
Now lets take a look at Galilee: They have the Sea of galilee, Capernaum, Cana, and by the way, Nazareth is there. They would more closely identify with Blue collar Workers of America. They were fishermen and laborers. They had callused hands and rough skin. They didn’t wear fine clothes and they were probably pretty rough around the edges.
The Messiah that the Jews had been longing for, at least since Abraham, had recently been baptized in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem, but the religious leaders were so caught up in their own sphere that they were oblivious to what was happening around them!
Jerusalem had the temple of the Lord, but
Capernaum had the Lord of the temple
So, Jesus travels north to Galilee, and walking along the sea shore, saw a couple scruffy fishermen Peter and his brother Andrew.
Not exactly the kind of fellows that you would invite to a ballroom dance.
So, He calls them “come follow Me.” AND THEY DID!!!!
From there He comes across a couple more pretty rough characters, James and John. AKA ” Sons of Thunder,” i.e. Bad dudes!!
And calls them. AND THEY CAME!!!
So far, Jesus has gathered a pretty motley crew!!!!
Your probably asking, “why are you talking that way about these great Apostles?”
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT GREAT APOSTLES ….YET!
They are normal everyday people with the same faults, temptations, and issues that we have. In other words, they are some messed up dudes.
We have a tendency to elevate the hero’s of our faith to an almost iconic position. When we do;
1. In our mind, It disqualifies us from believing that we could be used just as mightily as they were!
2. If we are looking for a reason why we can’t be greatly used of God, that seems to be a go-to rational
He isn’t looking for perfect people, he was looking for people that were availability.
Do you want to be used of GOD? Just say yes and show up
There came a time that I found myself separated from my wife and living in a single room above a bar. I had sunk to a pretty low point. I had started seeing a woman that I had previously known.
One day at her house I noticed a book on her coffee table. It had these flames on the cover and it was titled “they speak in other tongues.” I asked her what it was about and could I read it. She wasn’t really sure what it was about but indicated a few people in her young adults class at church were interested and gave her this copy. So I asked her if I could read it.
The book centered around a couples’ search for and ultimate experience of receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (which I had never heard of.) I was floored, I was amazed, I was upset, I felt betrayed …Could this really be true?
Does God really move in tangible ways in peoples lives today?
Is there really an impartation of the Holy Spirits supernatural gifts available to believers today
And if He does and if there is, WHY DIDN’T ANY ONE EVER TELL ME!!!!
Even though I had never opened a bible, there began a stirring within me, Somehow, I sensed that there was something legitimate, something real about their story. Could this be true, the thought consumed me. I had to find out. I was on a mission! If this experience was real, I would not be satisfied until I had my own encounter with the Holy Spirit.
He desires for us to go after Him with a relentless passion that will never be satisfied until every obstacle that is hindering us is utterly brought down!
Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart
My first revelation.
God still manifests Himself in tangible ways in peoples lives today
My second revelation.
God will move in tangible ways in MY life!
But I had a major problem, I wasn’t saved and didn’t know how to get saved and I knew enough by now to understand that salvation was a pre requisite to being filled with the Holy Spirit!
One day in my frustration, I declared
God, I don’t know if you exist or not. I Don’t know if Jesus is real or not. I don’t know if he was crucified or not or rose from the grave. I don’t know if this whole thing is just an old wives tail… But if it is true, I want to know the truth.
There was no voice from heaven, no lightning bolts, no sense of relief.
Several months later, after coming home from a men’s bible study, I lay prone on the ground and cried out “Jesus, don’t come back until I get save
It suddenly dawned on me that if I believed that He was going to return, that He had to exist and that everything else the bible said about Him was also true.
I realized that getting saved was a decision based on evidence, not the overwhelming emotion that well intended people described. Shortly after, in a very deliberate, calculated manner I went forward in a Baptist Church to declare my desire to follow Jesus.
Now I could get on with what I really had been seeking, the Baptism into the Holy Spirit.
That experience was realized several days later in the upper room of the Lakeview restaurant during a Full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting.
This phase of my journey was over, but my new life had just begun!
I pray that my story has somehow stirred you to not be satisfied with where you are, but to passionately seek all that He has for you.