Are You Following Jesus?
John 1:40-42, Matt 4:18-22, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 8:31-35
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - May 17, 2009
*Are you following Jesus? The biggest mistake we can make in life is not following Jesus. Matthew Stoll compared it to being in a burning building with smoke all around. Then a fireman comes in and yells, “The building is on fire! All of the exits are blocked by the flames. You need to follow me. I know the only way out.”
*But some of the people respond, “How do I know the building is really on fire?
-Maybe you created all of this smoke just to get us to abandon our comfortable place to follow you.”
*Others say, “I believe there is a fire but I think I would rather find my own way out of the building,” -- not trusting the word of the only one who could save them. How foolish those people would be. (1)
*But are you following Jesus? We can look into the Word of God and see, because following Jesus takes me to new places in life.
1. First: Follow Jesus to a new identity and new invitations.
*Peter got a new identity in John 1. He heard about Jesus. Then he came and listened to Jesus, and in vs. 42: “When Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated, A Stone.”
*“Peter” and “Cephas” both mean the same thing: A stone, a relatively small stone. Jesus gave that name to Peter, because it represented his new identity.
-Someone strong and steady.
-Someone who would lead others in the right direction.
-Someone other people could count on.
*Peter was anything but steady when he met Jesus. Peter was very impulsive.
-He was a lit fuse. He was the first to jump in, and the first to speak out.
*On the night before the cross, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter was the one who pulled out a sword and slashed the servant of the high priest, cutting off that man’s right ear. Of course Jesus miraculously healed that ear, but let me tell you: Peter wasn’t trying to cut off that man’s ear. -- He was trying to cut off his head!
*Peter was hot-headed and impulsive, but he got a new identity when he began to follow Jesus. You couldn’t always see it, and it took time to bear fruit. But it was there from the start.
*Everybody gets a new identity when they follow Jesus. So 2 Cor 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Everybody gets a new identity when they follow Jesus.
-We are Christians, believers in Jesus, followers of Christ.
*Who are you then? There are many ways you could answer that question:
-I am a son, brother, husband, proud father of a brand new graduate from LSU!
-But above all things, I am a Christian, someone seeking to follow Jesus Christ.
*Who are you? -- If we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can say:
-I am God’s child. - John 1:12
-I am a friend of God. - John 15:15
-I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God. - 1 Corin 6:19-20
-I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
-I am accepted. - Eph 1:4-6
-I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. - Col 1:13-14
*Following Jesus leads me to a new identity and new invitations.
-The only reason Peter got a new identity is because he got a new invitation.
*Vs. 40-42 tell us that one of the two who heard John the Baptist speak, and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). -- And he brought him to Jesus.
*Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. This was not some half-hearted, lethargic invitation. “Brought” was a word used for taking hold of an animal or even a prisoner to lead him somewhere. Andrew was intentional, passionate and insistent. “We have found the Messiah! You have got to come and meet Jesus!”
*That invitation led Peter to a brand new life -- eternal life. And there is no telling how much good your invitations can do. So follow Jesus to a new identity and new invitations.
2. But also follow the Lord to a new purpose and a new process.
*We can see these things in Matt 4:18-22. This story took place some months after Andrew and Peter first met Jesus:
18. Now Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19. And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’’
20. Then they immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21. And 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,
22. and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
*Following Jesus leads me to a new purpose in life. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” On the surface that doesn’t sound at all urgent. But in the original language, it is.
*Jesus was passionately telling them: “Come follow me! Come now! -- Come to me and follow me right now!” This helps us understand why these 4 apostles immediately dropped everything and followed Jesus.
*But why is Jesus so passionate about the call? -- Because it requires our utmost devotion, and because it concerns people’s eternal destiny.
-Nothing could possibly be more important than where people spend all eternity.
-So Jesus calls out to us with the utmost urgency, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
*Being a fisher of men is the greatest purpose of all. You can help other people to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. -- You can help other people to escape the horrors of hell, and live forever in Heaven.
*Katie’s graduation Friday was at the P-MAC, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, where the Tigers play their home basketball games. “Pistol Pete” Maravich was the LSU basketball legend who trusted in the Lord after a leg injury that ended his career. Before getting saved, Pete had spiraled down into alcoholism, and spent two years as a recluse exploring yoga and eastern mysticism.
*Just a few years after Pete got saved, he suddenly died of a heart attack at the young age of 40. Dr. James Dobson happened to be playing basketball with Pete the day he died. That evening, Dr. Dobson went home in shock and talked to his son, Ryan. James explained to his son that he might not get the chance to share any last words before he died. So he wanted Ryan to remember carefully this one message: “Be there!”
*Dr. Dobson and his wife, Shirley, would die someday. They knew they would spend eternity in Heaven. And with all of their heart, they wanted Ryan to be there too. (2)
*That’s the kind of life and death passion we hear in this call from Jesus: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
*Following Jesus leads me to a new purpose in life, and a new process. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will MAKE you fishers of men.” That word “make” in the original language is the origin for our word “poem.” Jesus is promising here to write a new story into our lives, but it’s a process.
*It has to be a process, because being a fisher of men does not come naturally to us. -- If it did come naturally, Christians we’d be doing a whole lot more fishing!
-We need to be made into fishers of men. -- And the more we follow Jesus, the more He will work out this great process in our lives. Follow Jesus to a new purpose and a new process.
3. But also follow the Lord to a new revelation and a new relationship.
*We see the revelation and the relationship in Mark 8:27-29. Here we have moved forward to the last months before Jesus died on the cross:
27. Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?’’
28. And they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’’
29. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?’’ And Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ.’’
*Who is Jesus to you? -Peter gave the right answer when he said, “You are the Christ.” -- In Matt 16:16, his full answer was, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
*The only way Peter knew this great truth is by a revelation from God Himself.
-So in Matt 16:17, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
*Who is Jesus to you?
-Do you see Jesus as the only Savior and Lord?
-Do you see Jesus as God the Son come down to earth to live as a man?
-Do you see Jesus dying on the cross for your sins and risen again from the dead?
-Can you see His majesty as Lord, God, Creator and King?
-Can you see Him coming again?
-Can you see Jesus as the Redeemer who will rule and reign forever and ever?
*All of these wonderful truths come through a revelation from God, and this revelation comes through His Word.
*Martha Wade is a Bible translator who chose to live in one of the most primitive places on earth: -- A jungle village in Papua, New Guinea. Martha went there to translate the Word of God for a people who had no other way to know it.
-It is painstaking work that can take years to complete. -- But it’s worth it!
*When Martha finished part of her work on the New Testament, she showed it to a village elder. He read it and said, “Now I know that God speaks our language.” (3)
*God speaks our language! What a wonderful blessing! Will you let Him speak to you today?
*Following Jesus leads me to a new revelation, and a new relationship. In vs. 29, Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” It was a personal question, and it reveals a personal relationship. Peter knew the Lord in a personal way, and so will you, when you follow Jesus. You will know Him as a kind King, full of mercy and grace for you. You will know Jesus as your Best Friend who will never leave you nor forsake you. So follow Jesus to a new revelation and relationship.
4. But also follow Jesus to new standards and a new sacrifice.
*The hard part of following comes in the next few verses.
*In vs. 31-33:
31. (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32. He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
*Jesus gave Peter a very harsh rebuke. Who in his right mind wants God to call him Satan?
*From a human point of view you could think, “Well, Peter was only trying to keep the Lord from getting hurt.” But dying on that cross was Christ’s most important reason from coming to earth. And we have to remember that God’s ways are not our ways, -- but God’s ways are always right! We may not understand where He is trying to lead us. But God will always lead us in the right direction, so we must try our best to follow His standards.
*Following Jesus leads me to new standards, and a new sacrifice.
*In vs. 34&35:
34. (When Jesus) had called the people to Him, with His disciples also,
-He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
35. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
*Jesus took up the cross as a dying sacrifice. We take up our cross daily as a living sacrifice, -- yes, willing to die for the Lord, if necessary, but also willing to live for the Lord. You see, it is a daily sacrifice. Jesus made this clear in Luke’s Gospel, because there He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
*How can I take up my cross and follow Jesus? Start with a commitment. Then ask God, “How can I take up my cross for You today, Lord?”
*God will answer the question for you, because taking up your cross will mean something different for each of us every day.
-How can a 57-year-old pastor take up his cross?
-How can a young mom or dad take up their cross?
-How can a 4th grade Christian take up his cross?
*The answer will change from day to day. But God will surely show us, if we are willing to follow Jesus.
*We also must understand that we cannot take up our cross in our own strength. In 1 Cor 15:31, Paul said, “I die daily.” How was Paul able to do that? The key is in Phil 4:13, where Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
*Jerry Shirley explains: If I had a glove and I said to the glove, “Glove, pick up that Bible,” could the glove do it? The glove has the shape of a hand, with a thumb and fingers, but could the glove pick up a Bible?
*Why? I haven’t shown it how. I say again to the glove, “I apologize, Mr. Glove, I have not told you how to pick up the Bible. Put your thumb on top, the fingers underneath, squeeze tight, and lift. Very simple, isn’t it? -- Now, pick it up."
*Will anything happen? No! Why? -- Because the glove is powerless. The glove is empty of life. The glove could never pick up the Bible until I put my hand into the glove. The moment my hand is in it, the glove becomes as strong as my hand. Everything possible for my hand becomes possible for the glove. -- If the glove could speak, it would say, “I can do all things through the hand who strengthens me.” (4)
*You are the glove; Christ is the hand, so you can follow the Lord in even the hardest things He asks you to do.
*You see, it all comes back to Jesus: Follow Him.
-The first step is to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
-You can do that right now as we go to God in prayer.
1. SermonCentral sermon “I AM The Way, The Truth, and the Life” by Matthew Stoll - John 14:1-6
2. Dynamic illustrations – JFM 2001 – Salvation - (Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Maravich)
3. Wye Huxford, “Jerusalem’s Grady,” - Preaching – July/August 1999, p. 36 (Found in Dynamic Preaching – “Man, Give Me Some Bread: I Want to See God” – July-August 2000 - p. 41)
4. SermonCentral sermon “Jesus in the Midst” by Jerry Shirley - John 20:19-23
