Advanced Level, Block 9—Jesus’ Closest Followers
Week 83
James and John—Meeting Jesus Made a Difference
Point to Emphasize: Will we follow Him or just do what is expected of us?
Reference Reading: John 1:29, 32-33, 35-37; Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20
Memory Verse: And Jesus said to them, Come after Me, and I will cause you to become fishers of men. And immediately leaving the nets, they followed Him. (Mark 1:17-18)
Sample Story
At your age, thinking about your future life seems pretty straightforward. If you are thinking about the next few years, you may be thinking that you will be baptized, then go to the Sixth Grade Conference, then go to the Summer School of Truth, then go to the weekly YP meetings. If you think even further ahead, you might think about going to high school, college, and then the Full-Time Training in Anaheim (FTTA). For many who are growing up among us, they think this is the typical thing to do. They may even think it is expected of them, so they give it little thought. It is the routine.
A few years ago, a young person who attended the FTTA came to our home for a meeting. Prior to coming to the training, he was like you; a good child, being baptized, went to all the YP meetings and conferences. Then he went to college and then off to FTTA. He went through that as a routine of what was expected.
In college he had studied to be an ornithologist. That’s a big word, right? But it simply means he was a scientist who studied birds. While getting his degree, he gained quite a good reputation in the country. Many people respected him and wanted him to teach at their school when he completed his degrees. He had been in the news and there were many other jobs where he would make money and even have some fame. But he had committed to go to the FTTA since that was what his parents and others expected of him. So, he didn’t take any of the offers. Some even promised him many things if he would come to work for them after he finished the training.
He started his training as so many others did: good young people doing what they were supposed to and having some care for God. But as he continued in the training he began to know that Jesus was calling him to follow Him. One day, he answered the Lord’s call. From then on, his being in the training was no longer to fulfill what he was supposed to do. He realized that his being in the training was because the Lord had called him. After graduating from the training, instead of getting that very good job, he chose to go to another country serving the Lord. What a difference! [Storyteller, use your own example of someone who was headed to success and gave it up for the Lord. If you don’t have one, tell this story in the third person.]
The story I just shared with you is like the one told in the New Testament! Jesus also called James and John to follow Him. These two were not priests or religious people praying at the synagogue. They were ordinary people doing their jobs by the sea when Jesus came to them. James and John were fishermen, mending their nets.
John had met Jesus once before at the Jordan River, when he and Andrew were with John the Baptist. But hearing about Jesus then did not change his life. But this time, at the Sea of Galilee, it was different. This time Jesus came to James and John in a different way. He came asking John and James to follow Him. This meeting made a difference. They left their occupations immediately and followed Him. Meeting Jesus changed their lives. They were able to leave the things that they were occupied with, their nets and the fish. James and John even left their father Zebedee alone to continue mending the nets on his own. Why do you think they did this? They dropped what they were doing because they had found something better, something that made a difference. Now they had a real appreciation of Jesus.
You might think this is an amazing thing to do, to leave everything just to follow the Lord. But when we really meet the Lord in a genuine way, it makes a difference. We are willing to drop everything to follow Him. We no longer want to be occupied with other things. We used to be occupied with getting the highest grades in school, hanging out with friends and family, playing video games, or other forms of entertainment. This doesn’t mean we will no longer study —of course we will still want to get good grades— but we will feel differently about why we study. It doesn’t mean we won’t have friends, but it might affect whom we choose to be our friends. And it doesn’t mean we will no longer care about our families, but it might mean that we change the way we talk to our mom, treating her with more respect. What about our games and entertainment? The Lord will show you how to redeem your time and be occupied with Him.
Some of you are probably looking forward to the sixth grade, thinking you will be saved and baptized, and then go to the young people meetings and Summer School of Truth. But why? Is it because that’s what everyone else your age is doing? Or will it make a difference in how you live? You can choose which way to take. You can simply continue to do what is expected of you, or you can prepare your heart to meet the Lord in the same way that John and James and those who followed the Lord closely did.