Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1942-01-29
JESUS CALLS FOUR DISCIPLES


LESSON TEXT-Luke Sill.
GOLDEN TEXT-Come We after me
and l will make you to become fishers o
men.-Mark 1:17
Followers of Christ are those VIII,
have not counted their goods no
their persons their own, but hav,
willingly yielded all to Him. Obvi
ously many who profess to follow
Him have only done so in that meas
ure which will not interfere witt
their own plans and interests. The,
need to study this lesson with care
The call of Christ is one whicl
demands willing and wholeheartet
obedience.
I. Yielded Possessions wv. I'D
These disciples had already re
sponded to the ministry Of Jesu
and had followed Him for a tim,
(see John l:35-4:5D. but they di'
not yet know the fullness Of sur
render to Christ and had now gon,
back to their old work Of fishing
May they not be typical of many il
our day who know the Lord ant
have for time followed Him close
ly, but have again become en-
crossed in their daily vocation, per
haps just making money?
Jesus was now ready to call then
out into a lifetime of service, and tn,
first thing He did was to ask the us
of their chief possession. their boat
That was first yielded to Him.
1t was not by chance that it wa
Peters boat which was just at hant
when the Master needed it. Sucl
things do not lust happen" Tn,
destinies of men are in the hand
of God, and with His children thu
simplest happening is known to ami
controlled by Him He who mum
bers the hairs on our heads, He VIII
observes the fall of the sparrow
knows about everything that hap
pens to us.
ii. Yielded Service wv. 40.
Having completed His teaching b.
word, Jesus had a special objec
lesson for Peter and the others con
corning the fruitlessness of servic'
apart from His guidance and con
troll, and the blessed results which
come from obedience to Him.
Taking them where he fount
them. He showed the disciples tina
He was the Master even of thei
secular vocation of fishing. He il
the One who knows more about you
business than you do, who can Civ
or withhold His blessing. All tina
we have has come to us from Hi
hand, and it is all within His con
troll.
This Almighty One was ready tt
call these fishermen out into thu
greater business of fishing for mel
by revealing to them His might,
power to bless and prosper the fish
erman--who becomes a fisher c
men.
III. Yielded Lives wv. BID.
The giving of their possessions
the yielding of their work int
His hands in obedience, led up Il
His call for the yielding Of theil
lives.
Often we speak of Gods claims
upon the life of the Christian al
though it were the fat of an auto
crat, one who demands his rights
God might well do so, for He hal
full authority and power over al
of us, but He is gracious God ant
gently leads His children along t,
the place where they make thei
own decision to leave all and fol
low Him.
The work of God in the world il
carried on by men. The joy of pro
claiming the gospel was not givel
to the angels, but to redeemed mel
and women. Knowing the regener
ating grace of God in their own
lives, they have been called durini
all this Christian era to go out Il
tell others.
In preparation for that ministr.
our Lord needed yielded lives
which He sought and found in thes
humble fishermen. They were mo
Missionaries or dreamers,. but wer
practical men with common sense
They had been disciplined in tn
school Of common toll Thougl
unlearned so far as formal theclog
ical training was concerned, thes
men were teachable. Under tn
tutelage of the Son Of God Him
self they received matchless infor
NAL training leading to a rec
ord Of service which the world vii
never forget. It is that sort Q
teaching that counts. We, too, ma,
learn in the school of Christ, throug
a study of His Word. assisted by Hi
Spirit, and through the yielding Q
our lives to His control (B. L
Olmstead).
Christ no longer walks this ca IT
to seek and call out disciples as H
did these men, but the blessed sue
cession of those Of whom it ma,
be said, They forsook all and fol
lowed Him" ". ID. continues t
this day.
We repeat what we have said be