English Article/Sermon (2)

Jesus Calls Us

John 21:20-25

            The call of Jesus is never a call to the easy life. Yet life of service to Christ has compensations offered by no other life. We can always count on His presence along the way and His blessing and reward at the end of the way.

            The man who follows the call of the world will have no Great Friend by his side, and no one to meet him at the end of life and usher him into a glorious eternity.

            In our text we see Jesus at the end of His earthly stay. His marvelous life has been lived and His sacrifice for us on Calvary has been made. He has burst the bonds of death and the grave and has come back to life again. Now the time is up and He is going back to heaven to occupy His place in glory.

            We hear him talking to Simon Peter and giving him instructions for His life. Then Peter pointed to John and said, “What about John? What is he going to do?”

            And Jesus answered, “What is that to you? You must follow me”. This is what Jesus says to all of us. No matter what anyone else says or does, we are to follow Jesus. Other may criticize, others may fall by the wayside, others may question our motives, but we must follow Jesus and obey His every command, regardless.

            The world is full of calls, the call to make money, the call to get an education, the call to enjoy cultural advantage, the call to serve one’s country, the call to please loved ones, the call to have a big time in life.

            There is the call of the heart and the call of the flesh. But the greatest, sweetest, clearest call of all is the call of Jesus, “You must follow me”

            There may be many reasons, but let us look at (only four points) to what Jesus is calling us as follows which is mentioned in our text this morning:

1. Jesus calls us to leave all sins

2. Jesus calls us to serve Him better

3. Jesus calls us to a deeper prayer life

4. Jesus calls us to read the Bible more

1. Jesus calls us to leave all sins

            What is sin? “Sin” is theologically meant “to miss the mark”, “to miss the target”.

            So, we can say that “sin” means we miss to do the will of God.

            In the Proverbs 6:16-19, God mentions seven things that He hates:

(a) A proud look/haughty eyes

(b) A lying tongue

(c) Hands that shed innocent blood

(d) Wicked imaginations/a heart that devises wicked plans,

(e) Feet swift in running to mischief

(f) A false witness that speak lies

(g) He that sows discord among brethren.

            Sin of any kind is displeasing to God. Every sin is a slap in the savior’s face, every sin crucifies Him afresh. God calls on us to get rid of the sin in our life. Why don’t we say today, “Lord, I am sorry that I have sinned against You. Forgive me and help me to live so that others will see your image in me. Oh, let there be nothing between me and you.”

            Let us remember that Jesus calls us to leave all sins. With our sins, we cannot please God.

2. Jesus calls us to serve Him better

            Peter had served Jesus in a way, but when the testing time came, he failed the Lord. Now Jesus recalls him. He said, “Follow me”. After this, Peter’s life is altogether/ totally different.

            No more does he live in the shallows of life and for this world only. Every day is spent in the service of Christ. Maybe you’ve been content just to be a church member. That is not enough. Jesus calls you to leave your indifference and give your best to Him.

            Some of us may say that we are serving Him now as a pastor, a deacon, a leader. Okay, that is good. But one thing what we need to ask ourselves is that ‘do we really serve to the LORD? Or are we serving for ourselves?’ If we say we Serve Him, then let us serve Him better with full commitment. Because the commitment is very important to serve God better.

3. Jesus calls us to a deeper prayer life

            How deep is your prayer life? Some people never pray. Others pray once in a while when they get into some sort of trouble. Some are so busy that they offer only a sentence to God every day. But some live close to God and talk to Him often as to a friend.

            The song says in “What a friend we have in Jesus”-- “Oh what peace we often forfeit... All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer”. If we carry everything to God in Prayer, God is always ready to hear and answer our prayer.

            Oh we have so many problems in our daily life. We can’t work them out alone, so let us take them to Him in Prayer. Let us remember that God is GREATER than ALL PROBLEMS we have.

4. Jesus calls us to Read the BIBLE MORE.

            I have seen lives of Christian changed by the magic power of the Word of God. Let a man get into the Bible and let the Bible get in him, and a change is bound to come.

            He will find himself putting aside those things which the Bible condemns, and he will try to conform his life to its teachings.

            But many of our people never read the Bible. They never seek the authority of the Word, but lean on their own understanding.

            They never apply the Bible to their lives, their homes, and their business. Consequently their lives never become the sweet, useful, consecrated lives they might become.

            Three things we should do about the Bible. We should love it, lean it and live it.

Conclusion

            Dear friends, I would like to call you today to stand by the cross. “Let us not live any longer for our own comfort, pleasure and satisfaction.

            Let us live for Christ and not for the world. Let us tear all sin out of our lives and live faithfully for Jesus.

            Will you do it? Jesus is calling you now. Jesus is still calling us. 1. Jesus calls us to leave all sins 2. Jesus calls us to serve Him better 3. Jesus calls us to a deeper prayer life 4. Jesus calls us to read the Bible more

We have still time to response His calling. If we say later, we don’t know what will happen in the near future. Dear Friends, let us prepare our hearts to response His calling without hesitation.