Follow Me...
Jesus the local Carpenters boy had come of age, no doubt the fishermen knew him, perhaps he had worked on their boats, bought their fish and spoke with them
Jesus had just been baptised by John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended on him from heaven and God pronounced "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Then was lead by the spirit into the desert for 40 days and nights and resisted the temptations of the devil as he came into his time of ministry
The Jewish custom was for teachers or Rabbi’s to have disciples who follow the Rabbi’s teachings
The definition of a Disciple (from the Latin discipulus, a pupil) is one who receives instruction from another; a scholar; a learner; especially, a follower who has learned to believe in the truth of the doctrine of his teacher, and implies that the pupil is under the discipline of, and "understands", his teacher; an adherent in doctrine
John the Baptist had disciples, till they left him to follow Jesus after John had said look the lamb of God indicating that Jesus was greater than he
Andrew brother of Simon to be renamed Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter), by Jesus was one of Johns followers
So Jesus would have been known as he made his way around the Galilean shore that day, he was not a total stranger, then he said “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men”, not one word did they utter in question, nets were dropped and they followed
But wait a minute who was this man Jesus, would you drop your nets and follow him, what was this fishing for men, was it legal, were was the career plan and what’s my package, I would ask these questions before changing jobs, they did not they went
Who would you follow?
Just imagine the scene, Simon and Andrew busy with the task of running a fishing business, mending nets, cleaning the catch, trying to make ends meet and just too far removed from the mainstream of society to worry about empires and kingdoms and social change
Wonder what Zebedee thought as his sons left him to follow this strange man, bet the hired hands had thoughts as well, already short staffed and then the sons and heirs to the business down tools and go off with that man, to set up another fishing business!
And yet look who came calling, look who came to seek the ones who would change the world in his name, as it said in the message translation "Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message."
He called out follow me and they dropped their nets, left their Father in charge, turn their backs on their business and their reasons for being for their whole life up till that point and followed a man
Like the one described in Isaiah 53:
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
Would you leave everything and follow one who was nothing in appearance, despised, rejected, stricken by God, smitten and afflicted
Does not sound like one that would win the X-factor, be a media darling and a sound bite king, not one who would be noticed or respected in our culture
Would you follow one such as this if he walked past you in Tesco’s, at the station, in the street, knocked on your door and just said follow me, like yeh mate you just have to be joking…
Follow Me..
The first time ever I set eyes on my wife Mena, I loved her, deeply and undyingly, I cannot explain it, it just was
It was at Reading Technical college, I remember it vividly and knew instantly, She did not see it that way though
She saw me as I truly looked, long hair, perhaps not recently washed, smelling of cigarette smoke and having a desperate and dazed look (something’s don’t change)
I just knew and knew I could not be without her, without her would be more than just a broken heart the pain would be unbearable, life would have no reason
It took some convincing, some wooing and persistence till the heavens opened and she finally said yes, YES!
First time God thought of me he loved me, loved me with a passion and loved me beyond death itself
This was all before my time, before I even breathed, I was still just a dust cloud then, he just knew, he is God after all
The first time I heard of God, I listened as a child and enjoyed my Sunday school moments, as I grew I went my way
He came many a time and said to me follow me, follow me I love you, no catch, you’ll never be rejected, just follow me
I went my own way and that was that, face troubles, was wounded deeply on many an occasion, fell into pits of despair but still would not turn to the one who loves me
I had a loving Wife trying to hold on to me, trying to encourage me, praying for me, asking the Lord to change me
Then one day I reached the point when I could not say no again and said yes, I’ll follow you Jesus if you’ll have me!
Now I know in all of my heart without him it would be more than just a broken heart the pain would be unbearable there would be no purpose to anything
Follow me, is all he asks, trust me is all he demands, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light
Visions of Jesus
Question: If you close your eyes and think of Jesus, what do you see
Here are some responses I’ve had:
A large man, arms wide open smiling face
Blonde hair and radiant
Bearded, smiling and welcoming
The picture that dominates for me is from The Passion of the Christ, most especially when he is telling his mother that tall chairs will catch on and she then tells him to wash his hands before lunch, which he does. However, he smiles and splashes her with water
Feet, cleaning the disciples feet a servant and still Lord
Standing by the door waiting for it to open
Has something about him that puts you at ease a sort of unquestioning, no judgement love
A friend and brother
I don’t have a picture all I can see is light and feel warmth
A high king on a throne and one who comes to judge and find fault
A man ripped and bloody hanging on a cross, eyes fixed on me still willing to accept my burdens, my sin, still arms open
Myself I like to imagine being on a sea shore waiting as the waves lap the shingle, then he comes, nothing really to look at, no halo, no whiter than white teeth or shimmering hair. A man tanned, healthy looking, not Hollywood material but a man, brownish hair not short, not long, body not fat, not thin, about six foot or so. For me it would be the eyes glinting, yes the eyes are something else, sense of a bright light shining, a glimpse of something more. A sense of someone who enjoys life for life’s sake, laughter is there, joy is there but flowing along the river bed cut by deep sorrow, wounds are here deep he knows the pain, understands the hurt, wants you to share it all. Healing is here as well as happiness, a humble man, yet a rock that can never be shaken, a gentleness yet a strength that will never let go. As he approaches - you just know, your heart leaps, your spirit senses the great sprit is near, you just feel at once beyond yourself drawn into a deeper river and yet taken deeper into your self as the love comes and washes away all of the filth and rubbish of your deep places and makes new that which was broken, takes back that which was stolen and embraces your very soul. My name is written on his heart, my heart is his. This for me is a sense of Jesus.
Lets all try it now, just close your eyes for a few minutes with me and think of Jesus, there are no right or wrong answers, if you feel like it please just share out loud what you see or feel
Why follow?
My next question is would you follow?
The only answer is of course yes or no, but…
Its not that easy is it, I mean if I were to follow Jesus 100% and drop my nets so to speak, leave my job and just follow, how would I survive, keep the family, keep the house, get food and so on.
We are all buried under a mountain of things and needs, tied down by them all, burden so much that in truth we can barely lift our heads, let alone follow
Friends, that’s the view the devil wants you to have, the last thing he wants is for people to follow Jesus, I mean really follow Jesus, a net dropping were off type following, never looking back, never shrinking away
Jesus does not say give up your jobs and follow me, no we can follow Jesus while still being employed in our secular functions, that’s the point, we are called to take the good news to places were is yet to be heard, yet to be accepted and to people yet to be saved, yet to get the chance to follow him
We are called to live in the fullness of the Gospel of Christ and take that fullness to the world in which we live, our domain, our families, our workplaces, our friends the people we see and meet. This is our unique realm in which we have influence and authority, were our actions can make a difference an eternal difference
God has a vital and unique role for us to play in that sphere were God has called us to be salt and light, we have a moral mandate to make a difference
As Jesus said "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
We follow Jesus by being like Jesus in every aspect of our lives, its not a question of what would Jesus do, it’s the reality of what can Jesus do through me to advance the kingdom of God in this place were I am
Every believer in Jesus is a disciple, is part of the family, a member of the royal priest hood, don’t ever forget, give thanks and pray ask to be made like Jesus and follow
To good to be true?
Every believer knows that we have good news to tell, news of Jesus, news of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life
Which just does not reach the top of the list of our cultures needs of wants of the people around us, just what do you mean forgiveness – are you telling me I’m bad, salvation from what? and who is this Jesus, how can you trust him hasn’t he been dead for 2000 years?
Many people also are afraid to put there eggs in one basket, just to risky, you’ve got to spread your bets, just in case
People even look at salvation and Christianity in this way, R.T.Kendall tells of a man he knew that illustrates this well. The man tried every Christian denomination, in his time had been a signed up as a member of thirteen different churches and just in case was baptised every way possible full immersion, sprinkling, by pouring, by immersion three times forward, by immersion three times backwards. “One of these ways” he said to R.T should be the “right way”, one of these churches should be the right one, R.T told him the truth, “find the one were Jesus is the centre and stick with it” do the same
I like to consider that believers belong to an invisible church, what’s the invisible church it’s the world wide one, its the one that those who truly belong to God are members, they are redeemed, they have their names written in his book of life, never to be erased, loved, protected and provided for by God for eternity, they are drawn from every race, creed and nation, this invisible church if you like is the kingdom of God
To good to be true, what to know how to join this kingdom?
You do it by confessing that Jesus is Lord, the Christ, the son of God, God himself, you must come out of hiding, you must declare your allegiance to him and have faith in him. You must stake your life, your future, your final destiny on him and understand that he has done every thing needed for God to see you as one of his children
Just as these first disciples did as do the current crop, same God, same Jesus then, today and tomorrow, trust him, follow him, seek him and you will find him, he is never far away
Seek him first
You might be wondering about many things, perhaps or especially the bit “Becoming like Jesus”
I know I look in the mirror and have difficulty with that thought, how can I become like Jesus, with my thoughts, my doubts, my self centred pride and all of the imperfections that make me as I am at this time
That the key, I tell you and I believe that I will not always be this way, oh no, I being prepared for eternity, need a new suit for that and I certainly don’t want to be carrying my baggage, burdens, attitudes and ways, I want to be as God created me to be as he sees me as Jesus
Consider: 2 Corinthians 3: 12 – 18
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit
So what does Jesus look like?
We discussed earlier what does Jesus look like
If we really want to find out then we have seek him in the gospels
Seek his characteristics that shone brightly from him as he walked the earth: Love, peace, joy, gentleness, forgiveness and sacrifice of self
Jesus was involved reached out to the unclean, broke the rules of the religious, set the captives free, cast out demons, brought sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, healing to the sick and life to the dead, that’s Jesus
Took injustice upon himself to set us free, suffered the beatings, suffered the lies, suffered the hate, whippings and the crown of thorns, that’s Jesus
Took the shame of the cross with open arms and still prayed for our forgiveness as the last drops of his blood fell to earth, that’s Jesus
So finally..
To become like Jesus we need to fix our attention on Jesus
Just Jesus, we need to look beyond ourselves and be freed from our self-preoccupation, remembering what ever gets your attention gets you!
Let it be Jesus, there is no barrier, we stand before him with unveiled faces, being transformed, yes it is a process and takes time, so keep fixed on Jesus, we all need to for as long as we are on this earth
Remember we are sealed in the Holy Sprit who is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus, this is not a physical transformation but a spiritual one
Read the gospels focus on Jesus, the red letters if your bible is like mine are the ones to keep in your heart
You can speak with Jesus in prayer, nothing freaky here, just reach out and ask, Matthew 11: 28 – 30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Follow Jesus, take his yoke, let his light guide you and transform you, John 8: 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
This all starts when we decide to follow Jesus, do so today my friends ask in prayer, ask that we can gaze on the face of Jesus, have the reflection of its glory reflected in ours so we can then be like Jesus to those around us and take his kingdom to the world as Jesus said:
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Follow him, Amen
