Follow Me – Part 1
This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called “Follow Me”.
The invitation that Jesus gave 2000 years ago is still valid today. “Follow Me”. We will be talking about what following Jesus is all about in this series. Jesus started His ministry by inviting some folks to “follow Him”.
Matthew 9:9 (NIV)
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
They were called His disciples. As we follow Him today, we are His disciples. So, what is a disciple?
A disciple is a learner, a student, an apprentice. A disciple is one who is trained by a mentor. In effect, we are being apprenticed by Jesus. So, what do we do?
1. Spend time with Jesus.
We need to spend time with Jesus. Like any relationship, the more time you put in it, the better the relationship will be.
John 12:26 (NLT)
26 All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them.
Circle “My servants must be where I am.” Circle that: “be where I am.” Talk to Him throughout the day, think about Him, pray. Be where He is.
Mark 3:14 (NIV)
14 He appointed twelve–designating them apostles–that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach
Be with Him.
2. Love Jesus supremely
Luke 14:26 (NLT)
26 “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
Your love for God should be so intense that there is nothing that compares with it. As much as you love the people in your life, and you are to love them deeply, you are to love God more.
There’s a word for that in the Bible. When you love something more than anything else its called Worship.
The word “worship” in the Bible, literally means to kiss, to show affection, to shower with affection.
Your being a disciple is not measured by how much you know or how much you do or what words you say. Ultimately, it is about how much you love God and others.
Mark 12:29-31 (NIV)
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
That verse brings up point number three.
3. Love every other disciple.
This is a little harder. Have you ever noticed that sometimes people can be a little irritating. Not that you ever irritate anyone, but other people. Yet Jesus says, if you’re going to be my disciples you can’t just love me. You have to love everybody in my family.
John 13:35 (NIV)
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This is called Fellowship.
You cannot be a disciple by yourself. You cannot be a disciple in isolation. This is one of the things that makes a relationship with Jesus different than religion. In virtually every religion out there, the more you isolate yourself from humanity, the more holy you are considered to be. People who go and get away from sinful humanity so they aren’t made impure by all us nasty wicked mean irritating sinners. This is the exact opposite of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus was in the marketplace, He went to parties, He was with the people, the sinners and He showed us what real love looks like, what real holiness looks like. Holiness is best displayed by love.
4. Do what Jesus tells me.
John 8:31-32 (NIV)
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This is what we call “doing the next right thing”. As we continue to try and live life by pleasing Him, and doing the next right thing, we find life and freedom.
5. Serve others unselfishly.
Mark 9:35 (NIV)
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
We talked about being a servant last week. Service is a huge part of being a disciple. Following Jesus is not all about what is in it for me, it is really about giving back or giving away what we have. Service helps us to be unselfish, it helps us to learn and remember that it is all about Him.
6. Share the Good News!
Matthew 4:19 (NIV)
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
As you follow Him, there will be opportunities to tell other people about why you have chosen to follow Him. When those opportunities arise, we need to be ready to share with others the Good News about who Jesus is and what He has done and what He is doing. We call this being ready to share your story. What is your God story?
Come back often to see the latest sermons or bible studies on your Online Pastor site. We are blessed to be your Pastor Online!
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