Cross Road
Baptist Church
© 2017
Sermon Text
Following Jesus
17. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
18. As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers; Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.
19. And He said to them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”
20. And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Matthew 4:17-20
What it Means to Follow Jesus?
Consider the impact of not following Jesus. This would mean that a person’s life is drifting aimlessly on a path that ultimately leads to destruction. Self directed lives reach a limit where human intellect and ingenuity are rendered powerless against the struggles of life. For the record, Job was a very godly man, but his walk with God was self directed. When the struggles came, Job complained that God had difficulty understanding why he was being tried; he even had anxiety about facing his struggle. Job said the thing I feared the most has come upon me … trouble came. If such peril could unsettle a godly man as Job, the self directed sinner has no hope.
Consider the impact of not following Jesus. Those who follow other people and their dreams never reach the fulfillment God designed for their life. Following others is following another person’s dreams. All who follow the crowd eventually are left with a sense of failure and defeat. For this reason we must look to God if we will ever reach that destiny that God has designed.
Consider the impact of not following Jesus. If we don’t follow Jesus, we become prey to the devil. Those who fall victim to Satan and his evil schemes know that it is a hopeless life of bondage. When we consider those who have fallen prey to this spiritual foe, we find lives torn apart and people living in darkness. That is why Jesus came; to destroy the works of the devil. As it states in Matthew 4:16: the people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Jesus came to do more than heal diseases and deliver from demons. Jesus came to lead us into the Light of God and bring us into His Kingdom. Consider the impact of following Jesus. When we follow Him, it leads to new life.
This passage gives detail into the calling of two disciples of Jesus: Peter and Andrew. These brothers were fishermen. While this may have been their chosen occupation, it was not their destiny. They were in the darkness of a dead-end job until Jesus came and said to them “follow Me.”
Following Jesus is Light. Until Jesus, the prophecy of Isaiah lay dormant and out of reach for everyone. After Jesus arrived from the wilderness and entered the coastal city of Capernaum, the Light of God appeared. The people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Isaiah 9:1-2. The Sun of Righteousness had risen with healing in His wings. Malachi 4:2. In Him was life and this life was the light of men. People cannot see well in the dark. People will never understand why they are alive until they see God’s Light. People will be lost in the darkness of their trouble until God’s Light shines in their soul. Following Jesus is Light.
Following Jesus is Life. John’s Gospel speaks of this Light of God as the life that was in Jesus. In Him was life and the Life was the light of men. John 1:4. But as many as received Him (all who received Him) to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name. It is only in Jesus that we can truly make the claim, “Lord, you light up my life.” Following Jesus is Life.
Following Jesus is Love. While we follow Jesus, we walk in the Light. While we follow Jesus, we are filled with Life. The question we ask ourselves is where is Jesus leading us? Some would say, “He is leading us to a better life.” I have a better answer than that. Others would say, “He is leading us to success.” I have a better answer than that. Some spiritual answers would be: “Jesus us is leading us to Heaven.” While that is a wonderful answer, I have an answer even better. Jesus is leading us to Love. This is not Love in the earthly sense; this is Love in perfection. Jesus is leading us to God, who is Love. God’s Kingdom is one of Love. Wherever God is, there is Light; wherever God is there is Life, wherever God is there is Love.
Following God with Your Whole Heart
The great challenge is to follow Jesus with the heart. Half hearted commitment will lead you to frustration, burnout, and even abandonment of your Christian walk. The Scripture records that some of Jesus’ disciples got offended with the Lord’s Words and stopped following Him. Jesus turned to His Twelve and asked, “Will you go away also.” The Twelve responded, “Where shall we go? Only you have the Words of Eternal Life … and we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the Living God.” John 6:68. The disciples were committing their heart. When you follow God, you can’t turn and walk away at your own leisure. I have learned one thing and that is that you cannot walk away from God’s plan and expect for life to turn out good. Even when there are challenges, keep following Jesus.
There comes a time when we must answer the question of why we follow Jesus. Are we spiritual hitchhikers or spiritual helpers? If you are familiar with hitchhikers, they only go along to get to their stop. Sadly, many so called saints are nothing more than spiritual hitchhikers. They are not going to make the full trip with Jesus because they only want to get something from Jesus – but they do not want to do anything for Jesus. Why are you following Jesus?
Following Jesus is more than getting blessing from God. The Bible states that there were multitudes following Jesus, multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. Matthew 4:25 states they followed Jesus, but there is no indication they were disciples. They wanted something from God, but they were not willing to commit to God. These were spiritual hitchhikers. They were just going along for the ride. As soon as they got what they wanted – they were going to get off. As soon as they got ‘their needs met’ they were going to head back to their old way. As soon as they got satisfied, they would stop following Jesus. That is the way it is with hitchhikers.
It is different for spiritual helpers. These are people who have been blessed by Jesus, but they realize that only Jesus has the Words of Eternal Life. These are dedicated followers. These are devoted followers. These are determined followers of the Lord. They will not give up. They will not shut up. They will not give out and they cannot give in because they have given everything to Jesus. Jesus has their heart, their minds, and their souls. They know what it is like to follow someone else and it has always ended in tragedy. Following Jesus might not be easy at times, but they know that following Jesus will take them to their destiny. Even when the way gets rough, Jesus is right there to walk with them through every storm, every situation, and every heart ache. He has promised never to leave us – nor forsake us.
We recognize that following Jesus is more than merely taking a walk. When Jesus said to the Peter and Andrew, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men, they understood that there was work involved. To become fishers of men would mean being devoted to a life of helping others. Following Jesus is not a “me ministry” it is a “we ministry.”
What is involved in a “we ministry?” It is first understanding others and their needs and then meeting their needs. When ministering to the needs of others, we must follow Jesus. No other methods work. Here is what Jesus did according to Matthew 4:23. Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. That is what we do. Many would say that while teaching and preaching are doable tasks, the healing is beyond our power. Of course it is. We cannot heal anyone, nor can we preach or teach anyone until God gives us the authority. Having ministered to people for over forty years, I now realize that when we pray for healing we are not physicians of the body but rather physicians for the soul. God has blessed the medical profession to care for the medical needs of the body, but they are not authorized to heal the wounded heart and troubled soul. When the disciple of Jesus prays and reads the Bible to those who are in need, that disciple is ministering healing help for the soul that then touches the emotions and even the body. If God chooses to provide healing help for the body through the ministry of prayer and reading the Bible, that is up to God. Our task as a follower of Jesus Christ, is to minister.
Secondly, as a follower of Jesus Christ, my task is to make disciples of people. I am to extend the same invitation to them that was extended to me. The work of Christ does not stop with the first round of disciples. It extends to all those who have been touched by Christ. Making disciples is the mission of the Church as stated in verse 19. And He said to them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” If you think about it, the spread of the Gospel is really no different than the spread of gossip. The only thing that is different is the message. Matthew 28:19-20, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo I Am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. If you and I are to be true followers, we must make disciples.
Lastly, to follow Jesus is to move people from darkness to light. In actuality, we are a spiritual moving company. People don’t like darkness. People don’t enjoy the misery of gloom and doom. We are the ones who have been given the Light of God to invade the darkness in Jesus Name. We are on a rescue mission for Jesus. We now have this task to fulfill through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God has tasked us with moving people out of darkness into His marvelous light. Matthew 4:16, the people which sat in darkness saw great light. Just let your light shine and people will follow. Remember it is not you that’s drawing people – It is Jesus in you.