ARE WE TRUE DICIPLES OF JESUS, TRUE FOLLOWERS?
MATTHEW 4:18-25 18And 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. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21And 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. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from
De-ca-polis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
In the first chapter of John’s gospel (1:35-50), we are told that Andrew, his brother Peter along with Phillip and Nathaniel accepted Jesus as the Messiah based on the testimony of John the Baptist.
As believers, Matthew’s gospel tells us that Christ came to Peter and Andrew and issued a call to a deeper relationship with Him – to not be just believers but to be true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a difference between a believer and a follower.
Are we true followers Jesus?
Notice His call to follow Him Matthew 4:19 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men
“Follow Me”, means a close relationship to Him, it carries the idea of a “union” or “likeness” to conduct our selves as much like Him as we possible can, to follow His Leadership, to go in the same way.
It means to be a companion. It speaks of being a disciple, which is a person who follows one’s teaching, to become an imitator of that teacher.
There are a lot of folks that come to Christ for salvation and then sit down and do nothing while waiting to go to Heaven.
To a lot of so-called Christians, Christ is little more than an idea, --He is not a reality.
Millions of professed believers have called on Christ to save them from hell and have little or no desire to truly know Jesus from their heart.
Colossians 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"
When Christ calls for us to follow Him, He is calling us to continual, active companionship with Christ.
Walking with Christ helps us enjoy our standing with Him.
THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS, OUR COMMITMENT
When Jesus left the carpenter shop at Nazareth, WE ARE NEVER TOLD THAT He ever picked up a hammer or saw again. He had a total commitment to his work.
Matthew 4:19-20 "19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Luke 9:61-62 "61And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Notice Philippians 3:14 says, “I press toward.” The meaning is to “follow after” and “pursue”. We are to commit to keep pressing on!
We ought to have a desire for Christ to be a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of our heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and
As followers we are to be Obedient
Hebrews 5:8-9 "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; [9] And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. A person that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God.
1 John 2:5-6 5But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Spiritual maturity comes not by education and scholarship, but by compliance with the known will of God.
Do we have to sacrifice any thing?
Salvation is free, but discipleship may cost us everything we have.
Matthew 19:27 "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee…”
Matthew 8:19-20 "And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whither so ever thou goest. [20] And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head."
Mark 8:34-36 34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
The meaning of sacrifice is the deliberate giving of the best we have to God that He may make it His and not mine forever.
“Jesus has many folks that are lovers of the heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of his cross. There’s many that want to be comforted, but many that dread tribulation.
All of us desire to rejoice with him, but few are willing to endure anything for him, or with him.
Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup. . Many love Jesus so long as no adversities come their way, many praise and bless him so long as they receive consolations from him; but if Jesus hides himself and leaves them but a little while, they fall either into complaining .
A TRUE FOLLOWER WILL Trust HIM
let us trust that God has our best interests in mind and be willing to do what he asks of us, even if we don’t understand why.
Psalms 37:5 "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
Jeremiah 29:11 11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
~~~ There was a missionary who got lost in an African jungle--nothing around him but bush and a few cleared places. He found a native hut and asked the native if he could lead him out. The native said he could. "All right," said the missionary, "show me the way." The native said, "Walk." So they walked and hacked their way through unmarked jungle for more than an hour.
The missionary got worried. "Are you quite sure this is the way? Where is the path?" The native said, in this place there is no path. I am the path." ~~~
John 14:6 "Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me."
THERES A CHALLENGE TO FOLLOWING JESUS
Christ’s call to follow Him is a call to a deep personal relationship with Him. It is a call to surrender, a call to service, and a call to true discipleship.
Discipleship is essential, but Christ will never force us to be His disciple. He calls as he did in Matthew 16:24 when he said, “… If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
The challenge is to hear His voice saying, “Come follow me” and then to respond
~~“It’s hard to take the first step, when I don’t know the way; each turn is so uncertain, I learn to walk by faith. But You gave me a promise that You would never leave.
You will lead and guide me, Oh, Lord, I do believe. Your plans for me are perfect I never need to fear; for though in times I feel alone, I know that You are near. My heart just wants to follow, I’m willing to obey; take my hand and lead me, and I’ll follow all the way. Lead me Lord, I will follow; Lead me, Lord I will go. You have called me I will answer; Lead me Lord, I will go.” ~~~
