Pastor column: Jesus is calling you

We learn in Mark 1, as Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. (vs. 16-20).

The Lord’s call to those four men forever changed their lives! He was calling ordinary men to do the work of God. He is still calling folks today. He’s calling … “Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Let us examine the three basic elements associated with our answering the call to be the Lord’s disciple.

“Come, follow Me” — First, a disciple commits to Jesus as Lord. We must first come to Christ before we can follow Him. We come to Him by acknowledging Him as Lord. A disciple is one who has accepted Christ’s invitation to follow Him. This is the essence of what it means to be a disciple … it means to be one who follows.

“I will make you” — Secondly, a disciple cooperates with Christ. Notice how Jesus says that if we follow Him, He will change us, transform us. Now, as we focus on following Jesus and living as He leads, we can be transformed by the Christ within us. Paul said, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2a).

There are three influences that a disciple needs to experience transformation from the inside out and see positive and power life change brought about by Jesus. Every disciple must be: Equipped by God’s Word; Empowered by God’s Spirit; and Encouraged by God’s Family.

This brings us to the third element associated with being a disciple of Christ — be “fishers of men.” A disciple calls others to Jesus. Peter says you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:15).

The privilege and opportunity to be involved in sharing the good news about Christ with those who need to hear it is reserved for those believers who have answered the call to discipleship. A disciple is one who is whole-heartedly surrendered to participating in the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the work of making disciples of others.

Just as Jesus passed by the boats at the Sea of Galilee that morning, He is passing by your heart right now. I know He is speaking to someone right now. He is calling you, the time to come to Him is right now. Will you respond to the Lord's call? Will you come to Him?

Rev. J. Patrick Street is the lead pastor of Redeemer Church in Marion. He can be reached at coachpatstreet@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Pastor column: Jesus is calling you to be his disciple