Scripture: Matthew 4:18-22
Theme: Following Jesus
Title: Why Follow Jesus?
INTRO:
Good morning! Grace and peace to all of you from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!
Let me start off this morning by asking us some questions.
Why are we actually here this morning?
What do we hope to accomplish by being here?
Why do we live the way that we live our lives each day?
Interesting questions aren’t they?
As you read our passage this morning (Matthew 4:18-22) a similar type of question may come to your attention – Why should they (Jesus’ first disciples) or anyone else for that matter follow Jesus?
Let me say that again.
Why should they (Jesus’ first disciples) or anyone else follow Jesus?
It almost sounds like blasphemy to ask such a question, but in reality, it is one that we need to ask because a great many people in the world have asked themselves that question. In fact, you may have asked yourself that question.
Why should I follow Jesus?
For we know this morning that when Jesus talked to those disciples about following Him, it meant more than them just taking a couple of hours out of their lives going down and getting a fish burger at the local Galilean hangout. It meant more than just a jog down the beach to roast some fish and bread over a fire and share some good conversation.
The Bible tells us that following Jesus means:
1. To place our lives in His footsteps – to take the time to know everything about Him, His life, the way He lived, the way He thought and the way He did everything.
2. To accept Him as the authority of your life – to surrender to Him unconditionally and to His way of life, to His teachings and to His leadings.
3. To always keep your eyes on Him much the way an orchestra always keeps its eyes on the conductor and allowing His Holy Spirit to infill us, direct us, correct us and guide us along life’s pathways.
We who have had the privilege to grow up in the United States and especially those of us that have grown up in the Bible belt usually don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about such things as why we should follow Jesus.
Going to church, being baptized as an infant or as a young person seems to be a part of the things we do in our part of the country. It is just something that the people in our family do; grandma or grandpa did it and so we do it as well.
We also have heard that if we don’t accept Jesus, bad things will happen to us after we die. We will find ourselves being thrown into this place of everlasting fire called Hell. We have been told that it is a place full of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
If we go to our passage you don’t see a mention of Hell. That is not because there is not a Hell for there is most certainly a place called Hell. And it is a place that we never want to visit much less have to be there forever and ever. But as you look at what is going on you begin to notice that following Jesus is more than just getting saved, being baptized and reading your Bible a couple of times a week or month.
Following Jesus is really a big deal.
It’s a big deal because the more you read the Gospels and look at the lives of the people in the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament you see that following Jesus does in fact mean:
+You will do your best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps
+Jesus will be your Savior and more importantly Your LORD
+You will do your best through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit to live a life that looks like, smells like and feels like Jesus
+You will keep your eyes on Him allowing His Holy Spirit to renew your mind, to correct your side steps and to finish the work of salvation in your life
For you see following Jesus is more than being baptized as an infant or even kneeling down at an altar and asking Jesus in your heart. It is more than crossing off the Do Not Go to Hell Jail Card. It is more than continuing the family tradition of being a person who goes to Church and puts some money in the offering plate every now and then.
Following Jesus means that we line up our hearts, our minds and our lifestyles to look like, smell like and live like Jesus. It means that we are doing our best to live a life that the Apostle Paul describes in Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
So, let’s get back to our main question – Why should we follow Jesus?
Let’s take a moment to get rid of some of the reasons that some people have given for following Jesus:
+Jesus was born in the line of David; the line of the ancient kings
+Jesus was a great teacher
+Jesus was a miracle worker
+Jesus possessed a certain God given authority
All of those things are true. Jesus was born in the line of Judah. Jesus was a great teacher of God’s Word. Jesus did perform all kinds of mighty miracles ranging from walking on water, turning water into wine and bringing people back from the dead. Jesus did have this commanding authority that amazed all those around Him.
But none of those are the real reasons why we should follow Jesus.
Let’s take some time this morning to flesh out a few of the reasons we should follow Jesus and perhaps it will help us when we want to share Jesus with those that don’t understand why we live and act the way that we do.
I. We follow Jesus because of His Identity – Jesus is the Only Son of God
One of the best reasons to follow Jesus is because of who He is – Jesus is the Only Son of God. Jesus is part of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In essence, Jesus is God.
Matthew and Luke start their Gospels by sharing stories about Jesus’ identity. In each of them they make it clear that this baby that was born in Bethlehem is no normal child. He is born of the Virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit. He is the true King (Messiah) of the World. Listen to what Matthew and Luke have to say about Jesus:
“Mary will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21
“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” – Luke 1:30-31
“And Mary asked the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy – the Son of God.” – Luke 1:34-35
But this is not all, for as we see in Matthew 3:13-17 and in Matthew 17:5 it is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY Himself who declares that Jesus is His Son; the Son of God.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heaven were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him, and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:13-17
“Peter was still speaking when, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’” – Matthew 17:5
As you look over the Gospels you find others that came to the same conclusion. Matthew 8:29 tells us that even the demons knew who Jesus is:
“And behold they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Matthew 16:15-16 tells us that Peter understood Jesus’ true identity
“Jesus said to His disciples, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Who is Jesus? It is clear that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the World. That in itself should be enough reason for us to follow Him. Amen?
But there is more …
II. We follow Jesus because of His Incarnation – His Mission/Message
The Bible provides for us another great reason why we should follow Jesus. It involves His incarnation.
Jesus is God. Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit make up the Holy Trinity.
Jesus is God in Flesh. That is to say, He is both God and man.
The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the Second Adam in1 Corinthians 15:45–49
45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Being the Second Adam could only have happened to Jesus, the only Son of God, taking on human flesh. And by doing that Jesus made it possible for us to be rescued from the power and penalty of sin and redeemed by His sacrificial death on the cross followed by His resurrection.
The fact that Jesus is the only Son of God is one thing – it’s a big thing.
But for us sitting here this morning and for billions of other people the fact that Jesus came and put on flesh and died for our sins is a much bigger thing. Jesus paved the way so that you and I and billions just like us can be
+Rescued, redeemed and restored in the Image of God
+Become a New Creation – no longer living under the power of sin nor the penalty of sin
+Be filled with His Holy Spirit who promises to teach us, encourage us, led us and guide us into being able to live the Abundant Life here on this earth in this time.
There is nothing more important in this life than our salvation. Nothing.
This is what Jesus says in Matthew 16:26
“For what will it profit a person if they gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?”
We all have one chance in this life. We can live in a way that is pleasing to God and reflects God’s Honor and Character or we can choose to live a way that pleases only ourselves and our own honor and character. We can even live a life that does its best to help others socially, mentally and emotionally. We can even live a life that does it best to help the environment.
But in the end if we have done all of that or been able to amass a fortune none of it will be worth it if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Following Jesus, living for Jesus is the only answer and it is the only way for us to live today and for us to be able to live on the New Heaven and New Earth.
In today’s world that is not a politically correct answer. But it will not be our government or any human think tank that will be our final Judge. Our final Judge has been and will always be the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
Listen to the words of Jesus
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6
Why should we follow Jesus?
+Because He is the only Son of God
+Because He is the way to Salvation; Jesus is the Second Adam, Jesus is the Redeemer, Jesus is the Savior and Jesus is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
III. Finally, We Should Follow Jesus because He Invites to Follow Him
The invitation that we see here in our passage was not just for Peter, John, James and the rest of the 12. It wasn’t even for the 70 that went out to preach the Gospel during Jesus’ time here on earth. It wasn’t even for the 120 that were in the Upper Room on Pentecost morning. It wasn’t even for the 3,000 that came to faith on the day of Pentecost.
Jesus’ invitation is for everyone. It is for those who are like the Woman at the Well. It is for those who are like Nicodemus, the Rich Younger Ruler and Cornelius. It is for those who are like Lydia and Timothy.
Jesus’ invitation is for everyone.
And it doesn’t matter where we are in life for us to accept and keep accepting that invitation.
In Revelation 3:14-22 we have the story of the Church of Laodicea. It was a church that had started well but over time had allowed itself to become complacent. It’s congregation became lackadaisical to the point that you had to say that it was neither hot nor cold. In other words it wasn’t a dead church or a shouting church. It was just a lukewarm church.
People went to church but not all the time. People gave to the church but never to point where it was a sacrifice. People prayed for one another but mostly those prayers were casual prayers and not intercessory prayers. People invited people when there was a special event but over the years those special events became less and less.
It wasn’t like the Church of Laodicea became liberal or threw out the Bible. Instead, they just became Ho-Hum. They just went through the motions of church. Nothing seemed to get them all excited or get them all upset. Church was for them just that - Church.
Any given Sunday everyone knew what was going to happen. There was no anticipation of a great manifestation of God’s presence nor was there ever a time the people gathered together that they cursed God’s name or acted unbecoming.
What they were doing however came under judgment from Jesus. He would have rather them to have been completely on fire for God or completely cold. Lukewarm is well – a duh. A duh that Jesus says in the end says He will spit out. That is to say, Jesus will not accept lukewarmness in His churches.
As you read that story there is a picture that Jesus gives that I believe can help all of us at times. For we all have experienced those times when we have become a little lukewarm in our walk with the LORD. We all have those times when we have tended to take a pause in following Jesus passionately.
It is found in Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him (them) and eat with him (them), and the (they) with me.”
One of the most wonderful things about following Jesus is that Jesus never wants to go anywhere without us. Like the Good Shepherd who is always looking after His Sheep the Lord Jesus is always looking for us.
There is nothing better than being able to sit down with someone and share some time and a meal. There was nothing that Jewish people loved doing more.
And it appears from all of scripture that the Lord God Almighty loves to do the same thing. We find story after story of the LORD leading His people to celebrate with Him around a meal. The whole story of Passover and the Story of First Communion are centered around a meal.
How many of us would be impressed if tomorrow we got an invitation to sit down with someone that we looked up to; perhaps one of our favorite athletes, actors, artists or government officials etc…
Would we open the door when they came knocking?
Would we want to spend the whole day with them?
This is what the Lord Jesus wants to do every day in our lives. Through His Holy Spirit, He wants to walk with us, talk to us and spend time with us whether we are around a meal table, fixing the car, mowing the yard, doing our homework, cleaning the house or just sitting down relaxing.
Sometimes God just likes hanging out with us doing nothing. You see Jesus doing this in the Gospels. You also see Jesus going to weddings and parties and other festive functions. You see Jesus making sure people have enough food to eat and Jesus making sure that they have a place to spread out while He is teaching. You see Jesus blessing children and senior citizens. You see Him healing the young and the old.
In other words, you see Jesus experiencing life with all those around Him. For Jesus knew sometimes the best way for people to understand how to live is to show them how to have a great time, how to enjoy a time of working and playing. Jesus used every moment He was here to show us how to live the best life we can live on this earth in preparation for the amazing life we are going to live on the New Heaven and New Earth.
Jesus did not go the cross just to rescue and redeem us. He did not endure the agony of the cross so that we could just “have church” and leave unhappy and wondering why we came in the first place. He did not rise again for us to be burdened down with the cares of the world.
Just the opposite. He told us to put our cares at His feet. He told us that through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit our lives would be filled with joy, peace and love.
Why should we follow Jesus?
+He is the only Son of God
+He is the only Savior of the World
+He invites us to live our lives on earth to their fullest
Jesus tells us all of this in His “I AM” statements
In the bulletin and on the screen let’s see exactly what Jesus means when He invites us to follow Him:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” – John 6:35
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” – John 8:12
“I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” – John 10:11
“I am the gate for the sheep … Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:7,9-10
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life … If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” – John 14:6; 8:31-32
“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die – John 11:25
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower … Abide in me as I abide in you. … I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing – John 15:1, 4, 5
(adapted from Life With God by Richard Foster)
This morning we become what we immerse ourselves in – for us who are disciples of Jesus that is to be Jesus, through both His Word and His Holy Spirit.
This is why we follow Jesus – this is what we are called to do by following Jesus.
As we close this morning Jesus invites us to follow Him – He promises to abide with us – will we abide or be with Him?
Will we immerse ourselves in Him?
Will we follow Him – we will allow Him to lead us, guide us, mold us and make us into His People – His Disciples?
I believe that we will. I believe today that is the goal of everyone who wants to follow Jesus.
And I believe that if we do that then we will experience a life filled with peace, joy and love.
I believe that if we follow Jesus then we will find ourselves filled with wisdom, knowledge, revelation and insight.
I believe that if we follow Jesus then we will find ourselves experiencing His favor, His anointing and His blessing.
This morning as we close – is that the life you want for yourself?
This morning - is that the life you are now living?
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