The Heart Of Followership

INTRO. Many times in life we encounter things that are indeed very hard to handle. We come upon situations daily that we struggle especially in regard to our relationships at work, school in our homes and even here in God’s church family. Often we are placed in situations where we are not in the right condition and frame of mind. We are many times simply not made for certain contests.

ILLUSTRATION: “MEN AREN’T EQUIPED”

MEN AREN’T EQUIPPED

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. The next week, the man realized that he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight to Chicago. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (AND LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and that he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn’t woken him when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up"

(SOME MEN JUST AREN’T EQUIPPED FOR THESE SORT OF CONTESTS!)

Most importantly we who are especially God’s children best make sure that our heart is truly in the right condition so that we might be better prepared for what Satan tries to throw at us. We must make sure that our heart is up to not only what Satan has for us but for what our Lord has for us in our lives.

If you recall last Sunday we posed a very important question which was “What am I doing with Jesus?” We answered this by concentrating not on leadership but what? FOLLOWERSHIP. We are called not to be a leader but a follower of Jesus. We saw that followerhsip places everything on a relationship with Jesus, demands obedience and at times brings uncertainty.

This morning let’s look at making sure our hearts are prepared for followership.

You and I have all watched leaders fail, and it’s a sad thing. I just want to clue you in on something; leaders rarely fail because they don’t know how to lead. Leaders most always fail because at some point they ceased to see themselves to be followers. Followers of Jesus Christ. That’s why leaders fail. My position is only temporary here at Fork Baptist Church. I’ve got to wake up every morning and say, "What am I going to do with Jesus today?" That’s what I am—a follower who has simply been placed to lead at this church.

I just want to say all of this to try to somehow release you from the bondage of this world’s expectations. "We have to be leaders for God." No, Jesus never called us to be leaders. That is not the terms of the relationship. He called you and me to be a follower. So what are you doing with Jesus today? The answer to that--and I don’t know if your heart’s interested or not; it’s your choice.

When we read the gospels, it’s obvious that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each have a unique perspective on Jesus’ life. All four of these men were followers of Jesus. Luke records for us a different perspective that we read of Matthew last Sunday. True followership is indeed a matter of the heart. For us to be the followers that Jesus has called each of us to be we must make sure our hearts are in the right condition. The question this morning we must ask ourselves is how is our heart condition. For you see Jesus choose his followers through the quality of their hearts. In today’s passage we see that Jesus looked for five main qualities in the hearts of his disciples as he called them to followership and looks for those same qualities in you and me today as he calls us to not only to become his followers but his disciples as well.

I. JESUS LOOKS FOR AN OPEN HEART VS.1-4

A. We see people wanted to be around him, listening to him as he taught the word of God.

1. They truly had an open heart to what He had to say.

2. Luke 5:1 says “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

3. The people were literally crowding around him to hear the word from the Lord.

4. They truly had an open heart.

B. It was obvious that they had an open heart because they listened to him teach.

1 Verse three says “Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.”