FOLLOW AFTER JESUS
Sunday, May 31, 1998
Matthew 4:18-23 (NAS)
18And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him. 21And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the {son} of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 23And {Jesus} was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
Matthew 9:9 (NAS)
9And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he rose, and followed Him.
Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew were all going about their business as usual, when Jesus called on them to follow Him. It appears that they did not even hesitate, they did not argue, they did not make excuses. They dropped everything and instantly obeyed Him. 1 Corinthians 8:3(Amp) says that if we love God truly we will “promptly obey” Him. What a commitment these men had and what blessing was poured out on them. They paid a price, but they were the “first-born from the dead” after Jesus arose from the grave and the world will forever remember them as the pioneers of the church. They got to preach the Gospel first and to see the same miracles that Jesus did, taking place through their lives.
Mark 8:34-38 (NAS)
34And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35"For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. 36"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37"For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
Jesus gave up His needs, wants and desires to come to the earth, walk as a man, humble Himself, suffer persecution, pain, rejection and death for us. We may think that we have given up so much to serve God, but we have given up nothing at all! We have given up sin, sickness, and the wages of sin, which is death! We lose our lower, natural, temporal life for Jesus and we find His higher, spiritual, eternal life. Nothing this world offers can compare with God’s eternal life. The things of this world are so tempting, but as anyone who has had a near-death experience or a vision of heaven will tell you – the things of the world fade into nothing in the presence of God.
Luke 9:57-62 (NAS)
57And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 58And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air {have} nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Permit me first to go and bury my father." 60But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 61And another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." 62But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
If you have decided to follow Jesus, do it with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Don’t do it half-heartedly. Don’t do it with one foot still in the world. God hates luke-warm Christians. It is all or nothing. Don’t look back longingly at where you have come from. Your old life was not that great. If it were you would still be there. This is your new life. Commit to serve God, holding nothing back. God will be as committed to you as you are to Him – so give Him your best!
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the