Session Two Recap

Lesson 2: Called by Jesus: “Jesus called to him those he wanted.”

Introduction: As we discussed last session in our introduction to Mark 3, the core of discipleship is becoming someone who is called by the Master, learns from the Master and then goes out and shares that with others.  The path to discipleship will always end with pouring what one learns into the lives of others.  This process of investing in someone else in order to lead them closer to God will always begin with a call.  For our purposes today, we will think of the call as a work of God’s Spirit, where someone is personally invited to become a follower of Jesus who would then teach others to become followers of Jesus as well.  This is the core of discipleship, investing in others to lead them closer to the Lord.

Questions:

Have you ever had anyone personally invest in your life to lead you closer to God?  Do you remember how it started?

What would drive someone to invest in someone else’s life in order to lead them closer to God? 

What Drives “The Call”?

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 the Apostle Paul describes his gospel ministry.  He says that it is “The love of Christ that compels him….”  Paul was driven to make disciples by the Love of Christ.  As we ourselves know, understand and experience the love of Christ, we will be people who want others to know, understand and experience it as well.

The first step in being a disciple of Jesus is recognizing God’s call on your life.  In Mark 3, we see Jesus physically present and calling those whom he wanted to be his disciples.  Today Jesus may not be physically present, but he still calls his disciples.  He uses His followers to call new disciples.  We can learn a lot about who to call and how to call disciples by looking at How Jesus did it.  Jesus began his ministry by personally reaching out to men to join him and then later he would select 12 from those men and others who had followed him to become His Apostles whom He would invest in and train well enough to send out.  But it all began with that personal invitation to follow Jesus.

Luke 6:12, Mark 3:13-19 – The calling of the 12

“Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. When morning came, Jesus stood on the mountain and called those whom he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” –Luke 6:12, Mark 3:13-19

Jesus had gathered a crowd and then invited some to follow him more closely.  We are going to encourage you to do the same.

Why do you think Jesus spent the night in prayer before calling his disciples?  What can we learn from this for us today?

Do you think Jesus randomly picked his disciples or did he know whom he was going to pick?  What could that mean for us today?

What would it have felt like to be one who was called by Jesus?

How could this impact us today?

Assuming he knew he would betray him, why do you think Jesus chose Judas?

How do you think Jesus calls His disciples today?

Finding a person of Peace: Matthew 10:12-13

Look for someone who receives you.  Look for where God is working and join him there.

Luke 5:5-11 and Luke 5:27-32 – “Called” Stories, Personal invitations to follow Jesus

The Call of Levi (Matthew) – Luke 5:27-32

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth “Follow me,” he said to him.  And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.  But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained[ to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”[ Jesus  answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:27-32)

Questions:

Where did Jesus call Levi?  How is that significant?

Did Jesus wait for Levi to ask him to be discipled, or wait for him to join the group, or did Jesus go and personally invite Levi?  Why do you think He did that?  What can we learn from his approach?

What was Levi’s response to Jesus’ invitation Jesus?  Do you think others could have a similar response with their friends?

Why do you think this party bothered the Pharisees so much?

What can we learn about the type of people that Jesus called from his interaction with the Pharisees in this story?  How might that encourage you and help you know who to invite?

What does it mean that Jesus came to call the sick, sinners to repentance rather than the healthy, the self-righteous?  How might that impact us and how we would call others?

What do we learn about following Jesus from these remarkable stories?

Why do you think Luke includes the line “they left everything behind and followed him in both stories”?  How would this apply to us today?

 The call of Peter (James and John) – Luke 5:5-11

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.  (Luke 5:5-11)

Questions:

What can we learn about calling from this story?

What role did the miracle play in this story?  How might God orchestrate a “divine appointment” for you?  Is it possible that you could be someone’s answered prayer?

Did Jesus wait for Peter to ask him to be discipled, or wait for him to join the group, or did Jesus go and personally invite Peter?  Why do you think He did that?  What can we learn from his approach?

Why do you think Jesus told them they would “fish for people” from the very beginning, rather than waiting until they had followed him for a while?

Homework for the next two weeks:

1.     Begin a “LIST” of people that the Lord brings to mind who you could start praying for to be potential future disciples and guys that you could invest in.

2.     Listen to the following podcasts from the Legacy Discipleship Podcast:

• Episode 6/29/21 - “How to pick someone to invest in”

• Episode 6/15/21 - “4 Things to do/not do when inviting someone into a discipling relationship

• Episode 6/8/21 - “Getting past our fears about discipling people”

3.     Read & reflect upon the “Teaching Notes” and be prepared to discuss it

4.     Set up a meeting with Bill or Mike (in the next two weeks) to discuss everything prior to our next session.