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Paul Mahan

Followers of Christ's

Paul Mahan March, 19 2025 Audio
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In Paul Mahan's sermon titled "Followers of Christ," the main theological topic revolves around the sovereignty of God in salvation and the nature of true discipleship. Mahan emphasizes that Christ's ministry, as seen in Matthew 4, is fulfilled in the context of prophecy and divine purpose, particularly in the imprisonment and eventual execution of John the Baptist, illustrating humanity's opposition to divine truth. He supports his points using key scriptural texts, including Matthew 4:12-17 and Isaiah 9:1-2, to demonstrate how Christ, the great light, enters a world enshrouded in darkness and calls His elect to Himself. The significance of this message lies in its affirmation of God’s sovereignty—not only in the calling of individuals to follow Christ but also in the response of those who will confront persecution for embracing the truth of the gospel. This highlights the Reformed doctrine of unconditional election and the necessity of repentance as central to genuine faith.

Key Quotes

“God's word is so wonderful, every verse, every line, every word is significant.”

“He was the last of the Old Testament prophets...to fulfill the Scriptures and to show very clearly this shows beyond a shadow of a doubt Man hates the truth.”

“It wasn't just mentioned in passing. It's all four Gospels tell us that. And if you declare the truth, if you believe the truth, you're going to be hated by somebody.”

“He came to save his elect, his sheep. He said, I lay down my life for the sheep.”

What does the Bible say about repentance?

The Bible teaches that repentance involves turning from sin towards God, recognizing our need for His mercy, as exemplified in the prayer of the publican in Luke 18:13.

Repentance is a crucial aspect of the Christian faith, emphasizing the need for individuals to turn away from their sins and seek mercy from God. It is not merely a change of mind but a deep acknowledgment of one's sinful nature, exemplified in the story of the publican who prayed, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13). This prayer reflects true repentance — a recognition of guilt and a plea for mercy. In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began His ministry with the call to 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' indicating that repentance is foundational to entering God's kingdom. It aligns with the understanding that without repentance, one cannot truly embrace faith in Christ, who is both our Savior and King.

Luke 18:13, Matthew 4:17

How do we know God is sovereign over all events?

The Bible asserts God's sovereignty over all creation, as seen in passages like Isaiah 45:7, where God declares Himself the creator of both good and evil.

God's sovereignty is a central theme throughout Scripture, established by the idea that He is the ultimate authority over all events, actions, and creations. Isaiah 45:7 states, 'I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things.' This highlights that nothing occurs outside of God's control, including events that seem tragic or evil from a human perspective. In Romans 1:18-21, Paul explains that humanity's unrighteousness, though significant, does not negate God's absolute authority; instead, it illustrates the profound truth that all creation acknowledges His power. God's sovereignty reassures believers that He orchestrates all things for their ultimate good and His glory.

Isaiah 45:7, Romans 1:18-21

Why is Sabbath rest important for Christians?

Sabbath rest symbolizes God's provision and renewal, aligning with the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy as a day of rest and worship.

Sabbath rest is a vital aspect of Christian life, rooted in the creation account where God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). This practice serves not only as a commandment but also as a reminder of God's goodness and a time for spiritual rejuvenation. In Exodus 20:8-11, God commands His people to 'remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' This rest provides an opportunity to reflect on God's blessings, engage in worship, and rejuvenate both physically and spiritually. Furthermore, Jesus in Mark 2:27 states that 'the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,' indicating that it is a gift intended for our benefit and well-being. Thus, observing the Sabbath aligns Christians with God's rhythm of work and rest, deepening their relationship with Him.

Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Mark 2:27

How do we understand God's love for the elect?

God's love for the elect is unconditional and sovereign, as demonstrated in Ephesians 1:4-5, where He chose them before the foundation of the world.

Understanding God's love for the elect requires acknowledging the biblical reality that His love operates on the basis of sovereignty rather than human merit. Ephesians 1:4-5 reveals that God 'chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.' This choice reflects God's sovereign will, affirming that His love for the elect is not dependent on their actions but on His grace. Furthermore, Romans 8:30 states that those He predestined, He also called, justified, and glorified, emphasizing the full assurance of salvation for those He loves. This teaches believers the security found in God's electing love, encouraging them to respond with gratitude and joy for His unfailing kindness.

Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:30

Sermon Transcript

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OK, go back to. Thank you, Sally
and John. Go back to Matthew four with
me. God's word is so wonderful, every
verse, every line, every word is significant. It's God's words
inspired every every single word, the truth revealed if he will
reveal it to. I love to go verse by verse through
the Scriptures. That's what my pastor taught
us men to do. These men from Bethel, where
John Chapman is the pastor, will testify that he preaches verse
by verse, verse by verse, here a little, there a little. That's
the way we're to do it. Here a little, there a little.
And you find you see some wonderful things in each word, every word. Verse 12 begins, Now when Jesus
had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into
Galilee. This wasn't news to him. Known
unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. This
is God manifest in the flesh. But speaking in a way that we
can understand. He heard this, and so when he
heard this, he left where he was. It says in the Gospel of John
there was a man sent from God, whose name was John. A man sent
from God, a prophet. Elijah, our Lord said, this is
Elijah who is coming before the Christ, the harbinger, the forerunner
of the Lord Jesus Christ who preached, Behold the Lamb. Remember
what John preached. This is he of whom I speak unto
you. I'm not worthy to unloose. This is one greater than I am. He must increase. I must decrease.
John was a man sent from God, a true man of God. He wouldn't
even tell his name. He didn't want people to know
him. He wanted people to know Christ. And he preached Christ. One time, two of his disciples
heard Christ, they were following John, and they heard Christ,
and John said, you follow him, not me. And they did. That's
a true man of God. A man that doesn't want you to
follow him, but follow Christ. That's why we preach. Well, he
was put in prison. All four Gospels tell the story
of John being put in prison and killed. His head cut off, a grotesque,
gruesome, awful Dad thought, why? Why? And false preachers today,
God didn't want that to happen. Yes, He did. He had that happen.
He's the one that did it. Nothing happens if God's not
the first cause of it. John was beheaded and put in
prison. Why? To fulfill the Scriptures.
who fulfill the scriptures. Our Lord said in Matthew 23,
he said, well, did the prophets, was it prophesied that which
of the fathers, which of the prophets did not your fathers
kill? They were all killed except Elijah,
who was taken up into heaven, right? John's the last of the
Old Testament prophets. So he had to be to fulfill the
scripture and to show very clearly this shows beyond a shadow of
a doubt Man hates the truth. Man loves darkness rather than
light. These men were preaching light
in a dark world, and the people did not want to hear it. They
heard the false prophets, like today. You were with me last
week. Elijah was one out of 850 prophets,
false prophets. And the ratio is much higher
now. Much greater. It really is. Our
Lord said in the last day, many false prophets go out into the
world. And this is clear proof that man hates the truth. Man
hates God. That's what Romans 1 said. Haters
of God. And you tell people that and
they say, no, I don't hate God. No, you don't hate your conception
of God. You don't hate the God that you've made up, like Romans
1 said. You start declaring the God of this Bible. who does as
what I just said. I kill. I make a lot. I wound.
I heal. I create peace. I create evil.
I do all these things. But there's nothing that happens
that God is not the first cause of it. You tell people that,
and they'll do like this woman told Mindy one time when she
was talking to her about the God of the Bible. She said, I
hate your God. And she's a good Christian. And she was just telling
her about the God of the Bible. Just quote Romans 9. Just quote
Isaiah 45, 46. Keep going. Just quote scripture.
They'll hate you. You know it's so. Every one of
you. Talk to people. And this clearly shows that man
is in darkness. He hates the light. That's what
Christ said, didn't he? Light is coming into the world,
and here's condemnation. Man loves darkness rather than
light. And verse 16, look at verse 16,
the people that sat in darkness saw great light. To them which
sat in the region and shadow of death, light sprung up. Our
Lord calls dead people to life. If He doesn't, they won't live.
Right? We're going to see that here.
We're going to see four men that weren't calling on the Lord.
They weren't seeking the Lord. They weren't looking for the
Lord. He was looking for them. And he finds everybody he's looking
for. The Christ of Scripture doesn't
try to save anybody. He comes to save. And he saves
them. And this shows us, John being
put in prison and killed, shows us that those who follow Christ,
everyone who follows Christ, will suffer persecution and hatred. Look just across the page at
Matthew 5, his sermon on the map. Look at this. All the blessings. Look at the last blessing. Verse
10. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake. What righteousness? Christ our
righteousness. God's righteousness. God's essential
holiness. God's righteousness. That man
doesn't have any. That all our buyers are filthy
rags. Isaiah 64. You preach that and self-righteous
people will hate you for it. The Pharisees hated that. Saul of Tarsus hated to hear
the Esquire because he thought he was righteous. Didn't he? He thought he kept the law until
Christ made him on the road and killed him. Right there. Killed
his religion. Killed his conception of God.
Killed his will. Look at verse, let's see, verse
16 says, those that sat in the shadow of death, lightest sprung
up. So this clearly shows us that,
I'm sorry, I want you to go on. Matthew 5, look at verse 11. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against
you falsely. For what sake? Whose sake? for
Christ's sake. Rejoice, be exceedingly glad,
great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. So that's significant there.
It wasn't just mentioned in passing. It's all four Gospels tell us
that. And if you declare the truth,
if you believe the truth, you're going to be hated by somebody.
And if it were lawful, our Lord said, they'd kill you too. So
he departed there, and verse 13, leaving Nazareth. He first
came to Nazareth, his hometown. You remember that story? And
he stood up to preach. You remember that? Did they like
his message? What did he preach? Election. Didn't he? So there were many
widows in the day of Elijah. God didn't save any of them except
a widow of Sarepta, a Gentile woman. And many lepers in the
day of Elisha. And God didn't save any of them
but Nahum, a Syrian. And those Jews rose up and grabbed
him and wanted to throw him off the cliff for saying that God
saves whom He will. And Christ should pass through
them. He said, no man takes my life.
But they hated the truth. So he said, blessed are you if
you tell people the truth. If it's the truth you're telling,
somebody's going to hate you for it. We don't want people
to hate the truth. We want people to believe. That's why we preach.
But this is confirmation. In 1 Thessalonians, he said this
is a manifest token of your election. All right, go on in our text,
chapter 4, verse 13. He left Nazareth, and he came
and dwelt at Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the
borders of Zebulun and Naphtalum, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, and this is Isaiah 9,
the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtalum, by the way of the
sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which
sat in darkness saw great light. To them which sat in the region
and shadow of death, light is sprung up." Turn over there with
me, Isaiah chapter 9. Turn over there. I quote this
all the time. I love this. This is wonderful. Isaiah chapter 8, the last part
of chapter 8, and the whole chapter, go back and read it for yourself.
Remember, I just quoted that the Lord spake with a strong
hand and said, ìDonít join with this confederacy. Donít fear
their fear. Fear me.î Verse 13, ìSanctify the Lord of hosts.
Let Him be your fear, Him be your dread, and He will be a
sanctuary for you, a stone of stumbling for others.î And down
in verse 20, it says, ìTo the law and to the testimony, if
they speak not according to this Word, there is no light in them.î
What is this Word according to? Christ, He is the Word. He's
alighted. And men don't preach Christ,
there's no light in Him. Well, you don't. And they'll
pass through it, that is the world, hardly bested and hungry
for what they don't know. Not hungry for the truth. Not
hungry for thirsting for righteousness. They'd be filled. And it will
come to pass when they shall be hungry, and wanting what they
don't know they want, and they shall fret themselves. And that
word means rage, getting a rage. And curse their king and their
God, and look upward. And look to the earth. And believe
me, this doesn't sound like now. Behold, trouble and darkness,
dimness of anguish, driven to darkness. Despair. Nevertheless. There's a big nevertheless,
Tammy Jo. The dimness, and he goes on to
say, it's not going to be like it was because, verse 2, the
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined. That's Christ. The gospel. So go back to our text. So our
Lord came into this land Valley of the shadow of death. You know
Psalm 23, don't you? I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Why? For thou art with
me. Who was David writing about?
Jehovah, the Lord, capital L. Who's this talking about? Same
person. We're Jehovah's Witnesses, aren't
we? This is the Lord, our Shepherd. Jehovah-Rod, that is, Lord our
Shepherd. So he came, and he left, he came
into Galilee. This is wonderful. He came into
Galilee. Now, him going to Galilee is
like the President of the United States coming to Franklin County. That's not a good comparison,
but you understand what I'm saying. He's not going to come here.
He's not going to come to this little place. Is it? It's just
not. This place is insignificant.
He doesn't need us. Who are these people? Galilee
was the poorest of the poor. Nobody. Hills and mountain towns
far away from Jerusalem. Big city. A bunch of nobodies
from nowhere. Fishermen. Just low class people
of no significance whatsoever. That's who Christ came for. That's
where He dwelled. He dwelled in Capernaum. In fact,
he was there so long and so often that they called it his city.
He grew up in Nazareth, a two-bit town like, I don't know, Pharaoh.
And people would say, can anything good come out? Was it Nathaniel
that said that? Can anything good come out of
that? Nathaniel was from the big city
of Capernaum. Can anything good come out of
that place? That's where Christ went. That's
where He chose to dwell. Capernaum. He did most of His
miracles. I wrote them down somewhere.
I didn't bring them with me. He did most of his miracles in
and around Capernaum and Galilee. That's why later on, he said,
Woe is unto thee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum. If the works had been
done in you, been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have
repented long ago. And the point I'm trying to make is the Gospel
came to this little place right here. A bunch of nobodies from
nowhere. Bypass the big cities. As far
as I know, there's no gospel in New York City. There may be,
you know, a handful of believers somewhere. God has not left himself
without a witness. Los Angeles. But the gospel has
come to... Our Lord one time said, let us
go into the next towns and villages because there I must preach. That's why I came. He said, that's
why I came, to preach. And he went into these villages. And the French word for village
is ville. Cross ville. Dan ville. Madison ville. Pike ville. That's where the Lord sends the
gospel to. These little villages. Nothings
and nobodies. And people that sat in darkness,
seen a great light upon them, had the light shine. They didn't
see the light, but the light shone on them. Surrounded them
like solid tarps. A valley of the shadow of death,
a land of darkness. You know, religion, this is the
Bible Belt. This is part of it, isn't it?
And if you keep going south, especially North Carolina, boy,
I tell you, there's signs everywhere. It's awful in it. It's awful. and a Bible belt. That doesn't mean people are
saved. There's religion everywhere. They have a form of godliness,
but they deny the power they're at, which is what? God's sovereignty,
which is Christ, the gospel. But he goes to places, small places,
and he has to reveal himself to everyone who knows the truth. We're all lost. We're all in
the valley of the shadow of death. We're all in darkness, even as
others, until the Lord reveals the gospel to him, himself to
him, right? So it's a dark place. The Lord
goes to places like, well, Galilee was kind of like Yucatan, Mexico. And a couple, a few of you have
been down there with us. And you go out in those little
villages, you go out of the capital city of Mérida, you go out in
those little villages, and some of them have very little electricity. And, buddy, it's dark, isn't
it? I mean, it's dark. And, boy, you go in the middle
of town, and there'll be a little stone hut dogged with slime,
pitched, and inside, people in there singing Rock of Ages. And
a man all the way from Houston, Texas, came down there to live. like our Lord came down to Capernaum.
He's standing up preaching the gospel. And inside that place
are people that know the Lord. In a dark place. Surrounded by
darkness. But in their dwellings, in their
dwellings, they have light. Just like the children of Israel.
It says there was darkness over the land that could be felt.
It was so thick. Do you not feel it today? The
darkness of evil and sin and perversion and filth. Religion
hadn't helped. It is the darkness. Our Lord
said, if the light that is in you be darkness, how great is
the darkness. It's double darkness. Our Lord said He blinds the minds
of those that don't believe the truth. That's double darkness. But all the people of the Lord
whom He came to preach the gospel to, they have great light. The
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel. How blessed. How
blessed. How blessed we are. Galilee,
the first mention, and as I said, every name, every word is significant. The first mention of Galilee
is in Joshua, chapter 20, verse 7. It's the first, are you ready
for this? City of Refuge. It's the first one. He named
six of them. And Galilee and Naftali on the
mountain. The first city of refuge. You go there and you'll find
refuge. The manslayer. The guilty. So
he began to preach and as I quoted, he said, let's go into the other
towns and preach. Preaching is how God saves the
lost. how God brings people out of
darkness into His marvelous light. Preaching is how God brings people
out of death into life. Preaching is how He raises the
dead. Isn't it? It's how He raised you. It's
how He raised me. Preaching. It's not the preacher. It's not the preacher. It's not
even the preaching. It's the Gospel. It's the Word
that calls people out. It's Christ. He said, my sheep
will hear my voice. Though it's through a man and
through the word, it'll be his voice in the fullness of time. What did he preach? Look at verse
17. And you don't hear this today.
Verse 17, from that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent. He didn't stand up and say, God
loves you and I love you too. He never said that one time,
it's not in this Bible. When people say Jesus loves you,
it's not in this Bible. They're lying on God. You find
it for me, I'll give you a thousand dollars. I'll give you two thousand.
It's not in this Bible. Not once did Jesus Christ stand
up and say God loves you and I do too. Not once. Not once!
What does that tell you? That it's a lie. John preached what? Repent. What's that talking about? A
bunch of sinners in the hands of an angry God. People know John 3.16. They really
don't know it. They think they know it, but
they don't know John 3.36. They don't know John 3.18. He that believes not is condemned
already. That's verse 18. And verse 36,
the wrath of God abides on those that don't believe. Does the
love of God and the wrath of God abide on the same person? No. Those God loves, He saved. Those God loves, He sent Christ
down here to shed His precious blood for, and He redeemed their
soul. He didn't come to try to save
everybody. He came to save his elect, his sheep. He said, I
lay down my life for the sheep. And he looked at some Pharisees
one time and said, you believe not because you're not my sheep.
He said, you're of your father the devil. What does that tell
you? That most of what men are saying
today is a lie. Our Lord preached repent. Repent. What does that mean? Well, there
were two men went into the temple one day. One was a Pharisee,
one was a publican, the worst of men. Everybody knew he was
a sinner. And the Pharisee, everybody thought
he was a good, moral, righteous preacher. Two men came into the
temple. The Pharisee prayed thus with
himself, because God didn't hear him. I thank thee, God, I'm not
like other men. I'm not like, I'm full of extortion
and excess and not like this publican. I tithe, I fast, I
give this and I do this and do that. I never missed a service
and I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. And the publican wouldn't lift
his eyes to heaven. He only prayed seven words. This
is repentance. This is repentance. And you must
know the essence of this prayer to know what repentance is. This
is repentance. Be merciful unto me, the sinner. God, if you don't show me mercy,
you're going to throw me in hell. That's repentance. Repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 17.
From that time he began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. What does that mean? He's saying
the King is here. The King is here. He said the kingdom of heaven
cometh not with observation, lo here, lo there. It's right
in front of you. He is the king. To be part of
the kingdom is to know Christ the king. To have himself revealed
to you. King. This is the king who's
come into this dark world to call out his subjects into his
kingdom. Do you understand? Modern man
doesn't have any conception of sovereignty. None whatsoever. Back then, kings had the sovereign
right and the power to, if they didn't like your look on your
face, kill him. That's what happened to John. Herod said, take his
head off. What'd he do? I just said, take his head off. That was a sovereign king. You
reckon people feared that man? Oh, everybody feared him. Everybody
but Christ. everybody but the king of kings,
that man's heart was in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
stood before him one time and he was trembling. Harry was trembling. Pilate was trembling. His wife
couldn't sleep at night. Pilate said, don't you know I
have power over you to crucify you or let you go? He said, you
have no power over me at all except be given you from above.
In other words, the power you have right now is up to me. He said, no man takes my life from
me. This is the king of kings. Kings back then didn't ask subjects
to do anything. Won't you please accept me as
your king? Are you serious? Kings sent forth mandates. Kings sent forth laws and commands, didn't they? David, one time, there was an
enemy of his. His whole family was his enemy,
son of Saul, down in the house. And David said, go fetch that
man. Go fetch him. And he sent two of his strongest
men, and this fellow he sent to fetch was lame on both legs. Now he can't come. What a pick.
Didn't mean to get off on this, but it's a good place to get
off in. This man can't come unless he's fetched. And he wouldn't
want to come because he's an enemy. And he wouldn't have come
and he wouldn't have lived if the king hadn't said live. So
the king sent two of his strongest men This fellow is not going
to be a problem to bring, is he, Johnny? What if he fights
us? We can subdue him. We can make
him willing in the day of our power. So they fetched him, they
picked him up and brought him to the king and set him in front
of the king. Old Mephibosheth. And he's trembling. He doesn't
know if David is going to kill him or let him live. Now this is David, and Christ
is greater than David. Christ is called the Son of David.
Christ is the King, David's King. Christ is the one of whom David
said, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, till
I make thy enemies thy footstool. And David said, I'm going to
show you mercy and kindness for Jonathan's sake. You're going
to sit at my table as one of my sons. You'll sit right beside
me. And I've ordered everybody around here to wait on you hand
and foot. That's what kings do. You understand?
They don't ask. They don't plead. They don't
bargain. They don't bribe. They don't,
you know, try to entice. They command, come. And this is exactly what happened
in the next verse. Look at verse 18. Jesus walking
by the sea of Galilee. That's His sea. He made it. He walked beside it. He walked
on it. That's His sea. And there's two of His men that
He came to call. Two of His elect. It says, he
walked by the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two brethren. They
didn't see him. He saw them. Simon called Peter,
Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. They were fishers.
And he saith unto them. Now how many boats were in that
harbor, in that sea that day? You ever been to a fishing village?
Three had. How many? Tom, there could have
been a hundred. That we go to those fishing villages
in Mexico and there are boats everywhere. Everywhere. Just
everywhere. And they're washing, they've
got nets, that's how they fish. Our Lord went up to this boat and He called these two men.
Could He have called every one of those fishermen in that lake,
Michael? You need to ask your neighbors this, your religious
neighbors this. Say, can God save anybody He
wants to? They like to use that term, wants
to. Ask them that. Can God save anyone? They say
yes. Then why doesn't He? Well, they won't let Him. Then
they can't save Him. Hold on now. Can God save whomever
He will? Yes, we believe that. Then why
doesn't He? Because it's not His will. Because
nobody deserves a chance to be saved. Because nobody's worthy
to be saved. God should have killed Adam and
Eve right there. He let this thing go on because it was for
the gospel, the kingdom. Because God has a people as the
sands of the seashore and the stars of the sky, and no man
can number, but He's got them numbered. Like the stars, He
tells them by name and He knows His sheep by name. And He calls
them. He comes and calls them. And they follow Him. Is there
any doubt these men are coming? All He said was, follow Me. And they dropped everything.
That's power here. That's power. They left their nets. You see
that? And followed him, Christ. They left their nets. Down in
verse 21, he went from there to, he saw two other brethren,
James, the son of Zebedee, John, his brother, in a ship with their
father, men in their nets. And they were servants. They
had a big fishing operation. John, they had servants. So they
had several boats. And their father, it was their
father's business, he'd been in business a long time, and
they inherited the business, and this was a thriving business. They were making money. And our
Lord said the same thing to them. Follow me. And they dropped their
nets, their boats, their father, their mother, their houses, their
land, left everything and just followed Him. Now that's power. And that's what our Lord does.
That's what he does through the gospel. You drop everything.
You know, we all have our nets. We all had our nets, things that
we talked about this Sunday, didn't we? We all have these
nets that we live for, boats, fish. They were living for their
fishing business, the world, and we all have the things that
we are taken up with, but when Christ, when the gospel comes,
he becomes our life, doesn't he? He really does, like a woman
marrying a man. Who were they? They were fishermen.
They were a bunch of nobodies. These are God's chosen people
that He loved before the world began. And He's got to have them. He's got to bring them. He's
chosen one. He cannot lose one of them. His
power is at stake. His love is at stake. His purpose
is at stake. If He doesn't save every single
person that He loves, His love is no good. His purpose is no
good. What were they doing? They were
fishing. They were fishing. Mending their nets. And with
all these things that we spend our lives on, we are just vanity,
aren't we? You know, sooner or later you
build a house and you turn around and you're mending it. They were
always mending their nets. And you're like this. He said, follow me. He chose
these four to be fishers of men to preach the gospel. Look at
Matthew 13. Go over here. Matthew 13. He
said, follow me, I'm going to make you fishers of men. Not
going to go to school, seminary, and study, and apply for a job. No, no, no. I'm going to send
you out to preach the gospel where I will. In Matthew 13,
these fellows were fishermen. Fisher preachers. And preaching,
like fishing, is casting a net. The gospel is a net. You understand? Look at Matthew 13 verse 47. He said again, and he gave several
parables here, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that
was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind. What does a net
do to fish? It apprehends them, doesn't it? It surrounds them. It lays hold
of them, doesn't it? All right? Read on. And again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a net that gathers every kind.
And when it's full, it'll do it to shore and sat down and
and gather the good in the vessels and cast the bad away, so shall
it be at the end of the world. Angels shall come forth and sever
the wicked from among the just." And our Lord said, they'll call
the elect, didn't they? Matthew 25. And the non-elect,
He'll cast them in the furnace of fire and there'll be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. And our Lord said, do you understand
these things? Do you understand? The gospel's a net. It's a net. It's not a lure. There's some
fishermen in here. It's not a lure, Thomas. It's
a net. A lure is something you try to
get the fish to take. It's artificial. There's no life
in it. You try to bait them. You try
to fool them. You try to bait them. That's
what Satan uses. Not our Lord. And the preaching of the gospel
is a net that you just preach like Peter at Pentecost just
preached Christ high and lifted up, crucified, despised and rejected
of men, high and lifted up, sitting on the throne to do with men
and women as He pleases. And Peter sat down. He didn't have an altar call.
He didn't ask anybody to come forward except Jesus. He didn't
play just as I am a hundred times. He sat down, having declared
Christ on the throne, Christ on the cross, Christ in the grave,
Christ on the throne, victorious over sin, hell, and death, having
done what the Father sent Him to do. Not make an attempt, not
try to save, but to save His people. He sat down and so did
Peter. His work was done. And people
rose up. Three thousand. He didn't ask anybody anything.
He told them who Christ was. And God, the Holy Spirit, sent
that gospel with power and broke their hard heart. Light shone
in a dark place. And they all, to a man, said,
what are we going to do? We've hated God. We've hated
His Son. We've rejected. What are we going to do? He said,
repent. Believe. That's how God saves sinners.
He doesn't ask them. He saves them. He calls them,
He said. See, these men were casting nets
for fish. He's casting His net for them.
And that's what I'm doing. Why do we preach? Well, to find
the lost. And I can't save anybody. There's
not one preacher who's ever saved one soul. But Christ has. And He does it through the gospel.
Why do we preach if only the lectors say? Because he sets
up. Because he said this is the power of God. And so we preach.
We're casting a net. Somebody's going to be apprehended.
Somebody. Even if it's just one or two
here and there. The gospel is the power of God. So verse 20,
back in our clothes. It says in verse 23, Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogue, preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, healing all manner of sickness, all manner
of diseases among the people. And you know, you've heard so
many times that blindness, spiritual blindness, death, death, the
spiritual deafness, spiritual numbness, spiritual leprosy,
being dead and trespassing sin. We all have all of those sicknesses,
don't we? And one thing heals us all, the
gospel. And he took many with diverse
diseases and torments, possessed with devils, lunatic. We're all
a bunch of lunatics. We're all a bunch of lunatics
until we have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God's
Son. If we don't know God's Son, we're
crazy. We don't have the mind of Christ,
we're lunatics. and the palsy, can't walk by
faith. And He healed them. And there
followed Him multitudes from here, from there,
from everywhere. A great cloud of witnesses. What
were they doing? Following Him. Followers of the
Lamb. In Revelation 14 it said these
are followers of the Lamb. They go wherever He goes. Wherever
He's found. Wherever he's found, that's where
you'll find him. Especially in Capernaum. All right. Stand with me.
Paul Mahan
About Paul Mahan
Paul Mahan has been pastor of Central Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, Virginia since 1989; preaching the Gospel of God's Sovereign Grace.
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