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Introduction
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In the previous article we
observed that as recorded in
Matthew 4:18-21 the Lord
called Peter, James and
John. |
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a) |
The first observation is
that in both cases, and in
every case I am aware of,
the Lord called those who
were already working in
manual jobs. They were
industrious individuals and
in the case of James and
John, they were men who knew
the reality of
responsibility in sustaining
that which another had
begun. It was their
father’s business. |
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b) |
The second observation is
the difference in emphasis
between the two callings for
when the Lord called Peter,
the emphasis is on what and
why the Lord called him,
whereas with James and John
it was that which they were
to leave. |
In Matthew 5:1 we are given another
step in the education of
discipleship. The Lord went to the
top of the mountain, “His disciples
came unto Him: and He opened His
mouth, and taught them”. The
disciples had to learn to “listen,”
not just hear or daydream or look at
the clouds, etc. while the Lord was
speaking. They had to listen, to
hear and think through that which
was being spoken, and more than
listen, the truths He spoke had to
be put into daily living. It was
not just a matter of listening and
then going home and forgetting.
While we never read of the Lord as a
disciple, yet as the Servant of the
Lord He knew what it was to listen
and be taught. Two passages in the
Old Testament substantiate this
truth (Isa. 42 and Psa. 119).
The Lord As The Listening Servant
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The man of Psalm 119
foreshadows our Lord and His
esteem, etc., to the word of
God. He: |
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a) |
Delighted in God’s word (Psa.
119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77,
92, 174) |
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b) |
Rejoiced in God’s word (Psa.
119:14, 111, 162) |
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c) |
Sought God’s word (Psa.
119:45, 94) |
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d) |
Longed for it (Psa. 119:20,
40, 131) |
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e) |
Hoped in it with prayer (Psa.
119:43, 74, 114, 147) |
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f) |
Trusted in it (Psa. 119:42) |
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g) |
Meditated
on it
(Psa. 119:15, 23, 48, 78,
99, 148) |
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h) |
Esteemed God’s word to be
right in all things (Psa.
119:128a) |
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i) |
Treasured God’s word in
their heart (Psa. 119:11) |
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j) |
Remembered God’s word and
did not forget it (Psa.
119:49, 52, 93) |
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k) |
Clung to God’s word (Psa.
119:31) |
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l) |
Keeps, observes, and
practises God’s word (Psa.
119:33, 69) |
One of life’s
irritations is when people tell
others how to do things and what to
when they themselves utterly fail.
The Lord was the living
personification of all that He
taught. Dr. Luke who, due to his
profession was systematic, carefully
wrote, “The former treatise have I
made, O Theophilus, of all that
Jesus began both to do and teach”
(Acts
1:1). It was not “began to teach
and do” but “Do and teach”. His
activities, whither verbally or
actively, never shaded or
contradicted that which He said or
professed.
Personal Application
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God has given to the Lord
the place of
preeminence,
making His firstborn higher
than the Kings of the
earth. Paul was moved along
by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet
1:21) to write, “And he is
the head of the body, the
church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn
from the dead; that in all
things he might have
the preeminence” (Col.
1:18), and when on the Holy
Mount, God declared, “Hear
ye Him” (Matt. 17:5). |
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a) |
It is becoming to the saint
to understand that
acknowledging the Lord’s
preeminence is not an
option, neither is it a
joint decision making. If
one is going to be a
disciple it demands 100%. |
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b) |
This was the problem with
Peter when the Lord let down
the sheet with all manner of
foods on it. He gave a
contradictory response
saying, “Not so, Lord” (Acts
10:14; 11:8). He was
calling the Lord “Lord” but
saying “not so” to the truth
God was seeking to teach
him. It was a joint
decision making, God will
not have that. |
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c) |
This is also the problem in
a number of “churches”. In
some, every man is doing
right in His own eyes. The
individual
decides whither to
live in
the acknowledgement of the
Lordship of
Christ
in what He teaches. For
instance, the Lord taught
the
saints
to be baptized and remember
Him. Yet many fail to obey
for several reasons. There
are those many thousands who
have never understood these
truths and they are not to
be blamed. Rather, the
question is, since these
things ought to be practised,
why are they not taught
except in little close knit
groups? Discipleship
necessitates a willingness
to be taught of God with a
willing heart to obey. |
Do The Work Committed To You
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The second step in
discipleship is not to
determine what the
individual wants to be or
thinks they have the ability
for. The next step is to do
the work readily at ones
hand and to do it with all
the enthusiasm and love for
the Lord they can muster.
Allow a personal
illustration. When I was a
teenager I would go around
the countryside in Ireland
selling gospel booklets and
New
Testaments.
I would walk miles to
meeting, I was too young to
drive, and give out
countless gospel tracks. In
time I had a Sunday school
and became interested
missionary work. After
about 7 years I came to
Canada to learn missionary
life and at that time, a 22
year old was given an adult
Bible class. It was a step
by step, line upon line
teaching in the practical
every day world. |
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a) |
If an individual is not
willing to do the lowest
activities in any sphere of
life, they will never
develop to all they could
be. In the spiritual world
the individual must learn
the basics of service. |
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b) |
One of the precious truths
of scripture is that there
is not a saint on the earth
who is saved without a work
to do. In ages past the
Lord knew each individual’s
characteristics and tailored
a work for the individual to
do. Not only that, but He
determined when was the best
time to put the individual
in and where to place them
for the greater glory of
God. Had Billy Graham been
preaching today, the
thousands would not be
coming. He was God’s man
for that time and people.
Spurgeon was the same,
Whitfield the same, Luther
the same. No one can say,
“there is not a work for me
to do”. |
Concluding Thoughts
Many years ago an elderly lady asked
a man to fix her gate. Carefully he
dug a hole and set a new post in
concrete.
After some time the gate was hinged
on and the lady was called to check
it. She stood there swinging the
gate back and forward and with a big
smile said, “No one could have fixed
it just like you”. How wonderful
when we each stand at the Judgment
Seat of Christ the Lord looks back
at
out life's work, irrespective of how
long we are given, and looks at the
reader and with a smile say, “No one
could have done it just like you”.
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