"Follow Me"

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Mark 2:13–14 KJV 1900

And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

Luke 9:23 KJV 1900

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Focus Verse

Matthew 4:19 KJV 1900

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Focus Thought

Jesus calls all of those who wish to be His disciples to follow Him.

Culture Connection

1,046,593

One of the most well-known athletes in our time is Tom Brady . Since 2000 he has played quarterback for the New England Patriots . Before New England drafted him to join their team, 198 other players were chosen ahead of him in the NFL draft . Every one of those teams and their owners are wondering how many Super Bowl wins they would have if they had drafted Tom Brady . But people are divided on him . Some people love him; some do not even like him . Some love him enough to want to know where he is at all times . They want to be close to him, maybe to get his autograph or to take a selfie with him . One such fan designed a website that can tell you exactly how many yards you are from Tom Brady at any given time—howfaramifromtombrady .com . Right now, according to the website, I am 1,046,593 yards away from him . I do not know how accurate the website is . I doubt Tom Brady wears a GPS tracker, but if someone wanted to find him, doubtless this website could be used as a starting place . Some people are not content just to follow him on social media; they want to actually follow him around . But for a fan, that is standard operating procedure . If a fan of something as trivial as sports can become so intent on tracking a mortal man, how much more should followers of Jesus be intent on seeking Him? Jesus is calling all of us to follow Him, but following Him is more than just checking in on Sunday and giving online on Wednesday . Followers want to know where He is . They want to see Him . Look like Him . Talk like Him . Act like Him . Be like Him . Followers want to be near Him, so they can be with Him . Tom Brady may be 1,046,593 yards away, but Jesus is just one prayer away .

CONTEMPLATING THE TOPIC

Most couples will say “I do” to that momentous question asked by the pastor before God and gathered witnesses . Young men and women spend months agonizing over invitation patterns and reception venues . Eventually they will find the limit to their wedding funds and begin to make choices on what to keep and what to abandon . The couple will sign one piece of paper and say the simple three letter pledge . Life changes as they know it . The loving couple has no idea what the future holds, but they make the commitment of a lifetime . Faithful couples will adjust and grow together through the birth of children, career changes, unemployment, and care for each other during the aging process . Two little words served as the pledge to love until “death do us part .” Disciples experience even greater long-term consequences when they accept Jesus’ call to follow Him . With joy we accept the offer of remission of sins and the infilling of the Holy Spirit . We discover spiritual giftings and the wonder of new life in Christ . Disciples learn the journey is much more than that initial decision to repent . We learn of the many dimensions of spiritual maturity that await us .

(Many times I feel like a failure and a fraud in my marriage. But I look at my wife and I and see that we are accomplishing what we promised to do. We are growing older together.)

There’s going to be many times in following Jesus that we feel like a failure.

There’s going to be hard times. (deaths from this virus, people close to churches)

The disciples faced the same thing. The cross wasn’t exactly what they signed up for. The one that followed, did so from afar off.

That same apostle, would end his epistles by saying:

2 Peter 3:18 KJV 1900

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Peter spoke a lot about maturing and growing, following the Lord.

So when we look in the spiritual mirror that we talked about in last week’s Sunday School message, “It’s written”. The Word of God.

How do we make sure that what we see is the right thing? (elderly that look unnatural)

We must have a relationship with God.

(we covered this greatly in our last Wednesday night lesson about “Connection to God”.)

» What is the difference between being invited to have a relationship with Christ and being called to know the Bible?

John 5:39 KJV 1900

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

2. We must have a pastor.

1 John 4:20 KJV 1900

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

If we can’t submit to a human spiritual authority in our lives, how can we submit to God?

3. We must be in communion with the Church. (community)

I haven’t met one part time Christian.

We need to connect to a good church. One that loves first and judges last.

A well balanced spiritual diet. Exercised.

» How can we live out the second of the great commandments?

Can I tell us that it has nothing to do with others?

The Apostle Paul had grown and matured in his following Jesus.

He speaking of himself in third person narrative, says that he seen things and heard words which were not lawful to be spoken, and so that he wouldn’t be exalted above measure. a thorn in the flesh. (2 Cor 12:1-10)

This same Apostle tells us just an epistle before in 1 Corinthians 2:1 , And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

INTERNALIZING THE MESSAGE

Disciples serve in many ways . Jesus included caring for children, visiting the sick and those in prison, giving water to the thirsty, and casting out demons . James called the church to go beyond well wishes of “be warmed and filled” and actually do something about the need . James and Paul both believed the servant role included hearing each other’s confession and praying (James 5:16–18) as part of bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1–2) . Tabitha shared the love of God by making garments (Acts 9:35–36) . All followers have gifts to share . They love the one who called them so much that they follow His example . Following Jesus prepares disciples to serve others .

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