ARE YOU A FOLLOWER OF JESUS?
MATTHEW 4:18-25
INTRODUCTION: 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. This morning are you a follower of Jesus Christ. Have you heard His call?
I. THE CALL TO FOLLOW JESUS
A. Matthew 4:19 "And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
B. When Christ said, “Follow Me”, He used a term, which was taken from two words, one expressing “union” or “likeness” and the other “a way”. Hence the term literally means to go in the same way. It means to be a companion. It speaks of being a disciple, that is one who follows one’s teaching, who being united with one’s teacher becomes an imitator of that teacher.
C. All too many people come to Christ for salvation and then sit down and do nothing while waiting to go to Heaven.
D. To many Christians, Christ is little more than an idea, or at best an ideal--He is not a reality. Millions of professed believers have called on Christ to save them from eternal punishment and have little or no desire to know Christ intimately.
E. Colossians 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"
F. When Christ calls for us to follow Him, He is calling us to continual, active companionship with Christ.
G. Walking with Christ helps us enjoy our standing with Christ.
II. THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS
A. Commitment
1. When Jesus left the carpenter shop at Nazareth, he never picked up a hammer or saw again. He had a total commitment to his work.
2. Matthew 4:19-20 "And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. [20] And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."
3. Luke 9:61-62 "And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. [62] And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
4. ```Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
5. Philippians 3:14 says, “I press toward.” The word, translated press toward, is a Greek word that means to “follow after” and “pursue”. We are to commit to keep pressing on!
6. If you desire Christ for a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of your heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and the key of every chamber. – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
B. Obedience
1. 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;"
2. Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God.
3. 1 John 2:5-6 "But who so keeps his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. [6] He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
4. The true pupil, say of some great musician or painter, yields his master a wholehearted and unhesitating submission. In practicing his scales or mixing the colors, in the slow and patient study of the elements of his art, he knows that it is wisdom simply and fully to obey. It is this wholehearted surrender to His guidance, this implicit submission to His authority, which Christ asks. We come to Him asking Him to teach us the lost art of obeying God as He did. ... The only way of learning to do a thing is to do it. The only way of learning obedience from Christ is to give up your will to Him and to make the doing of His will the one desire and delight of your heart. – Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Obedience. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 13.
5. Spiritual maturity comes not by education and scholarship, but by compliance with the known will of God.
C. Sacrifice
1. Billy Graham (1918-) – Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.
2. Matthew 19:27 "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee…”
3. 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."
4. Mark 8:34-36 "And 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. [35] For 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. [36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
5. The meaning of sacrifice is the deliberate giving of the best I have to God that He may make it His and not mine forever.
6. Thomas À Kempis (C. 1380-1471) “Jesus has many lovers of the heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of his cross. He has many desirous of consolation, but few of tribulation. He finds many companions of his table, but few of his abstinence. All desire to rejoice with him, 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 reverence his miracles; few follow the ignominy of his cross. Many love Jesus so long as no adversities befall them, many praise and bless him so long as they receive any consolations from him; but if Jesus hides himself and leaves them but a little while, they fall either into complaining or into too much dejection of mind.”
D. Trust
1. A tourist came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself. After he went out of sight and just before he fell into space, he encountered a scrubby bush which he desperately grabbed with both hands. Filled with terror, he called out toward heaven, "Is there anyone up there?" A calm, powerful voice came out of the sky, "Yes, there is." The tourist pleaded, "Can you help me? Can you help me?" The calm voice replied, "Yes, I probably can. What is your problem?" "I fell over the cliff and am dangling in space holding to a bush that is about to let go. Please help me." "The voice from above said, "I’ll try. Do you believe?" "Yes, yes, I believe."’ "Do you have faith?" "Yes, yes. I have strong faith." The calm voice said, "Well, in that case, simply let loose of the bush and everything will turn out fine." There was a tense pause, then the tourist yelled, "Is there anyone else up there?" – James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 480.
2. Trust that God has your best interests in mind and be willing to do what he asks of you, even if you don’t understand why.
3. Psalms 37:5 "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
4. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
5. E. Stanley Jones tells of 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, "Bwana, in this place there is no path. I am the path." – James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 313.
6. 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."
III. THE CHALLENGE OF FOLLOWING JESUS
A. 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.
B. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Theologian and Pastor who was executed by the Nazi’s in 1945 for opposing their ideology and military campaign. He said, “Salvation without discipleship is cheap grace”.
C. Discipleship is essential, but not compulsory. Christ will never force you to be His disciple. He merely 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."
D. The challenge is to hear His voice saying, “Come follow me” and 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, 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.” [Lead Me Lord, Wayne & Elizabeth Goodine, © 1994 New Spring Publishing (a div. of Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Coolsprings Blvd., Franklin TN 37067) CCLI License No. 754427]
