Follow Me #1
A.1
MARK 1:1 20
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way;
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness,’Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’ "
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
7 And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than 1, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
8 "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
9 And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
11 and a voice came out of the heavens: "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased."
12 And immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
16 And as He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
18 And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.
19 And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
20 And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
A.2
JOHN
1:43 51
43 The next day He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me."
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him," Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"
48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these."
51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
A.3
Luke 5:27 28
27 And after that He went out, and noticed a tax gatherer named Levi, sitting in the tax
office, and He said to him, "Follow Me."
28 And he left everything behind, and rose and began to follow Him
A.4
JOHN 21:15 19
15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."
16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him," Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. "Jesus said to him," Tend My sheep.
18 "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go."
19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me!"
THESE WERE THE ONES WHO HEARD AND FOLLOWED WITHOUT HEASITION
A.5
BUT THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS A LITTLE HARDER TO CONVENCE
ACTS 9:17 22
17 And Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he arose and was baptized;
19 and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus,
20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
21 And all those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, "Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"
22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
THIS IS THE FEELINGS OF ONE OF THEM
PHILLPPIANS 3:8 16
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
B.1
WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW BUT NOT RIGHT NOW
Luke 9:57 62
57 And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."
58 And 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."
59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Permit me first to go and bury my father."
60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’
61 And another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good bye to those at home."
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
B.2
WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW BUT CAN NOT GIVE UP WHAT THEY HAVE
MATTHEW 19:16 26
16 And behold, one came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"
17 And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
18 He said to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;
19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"
21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25 And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?"
26 And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
CA
THESE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL COME LATER
LUKE 9:18 23
18 And it came about that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the multitudes say that I am?"
19 And they answered and said, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again."
20 And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
21 But He warned them, and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,
22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.,,
23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
C.2
THIS IS HOW THOSE THAT FOLLOW WILL BE REWARDED
MATTHEW 19:27-30
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?"
28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.
30 "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
JOHN 10:22 30
22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;
23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.
24 The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me.
26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
30 "I and the Father are one."
JOHN 12:20 26
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21 these therefore came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
22 Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came, and they told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 "He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
HOW DO WE BECOME FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST?
MATTHEW 28:18 20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and Io, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
PLAN OF SALVATION
ROMANS 10:17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
HEBREWS 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
ACTS 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent,
ROMANS 10:9 10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
ACTS 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
MATTHEW 7:21
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
NEXT WEEK ONE MANS MISSION AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
