Who do you follow?

Who should we Follow?

Part of today we will be talking about fishing. Who in here this morning likes to fish? Here’s a story for ya:

Two new fishermen go on a fishing trip. They rent all the equipment: the reels, the rods, the wading suits, the boat, the truck and even a cabin in the woods. They spent a fortune on equipment and the trip. The 1st day they go fishing - but don’t catch anything. The 2nd day, the same thing happens and the same thing on the 3rd day. It goes on like this until finally, on their last day of vacation…one of the men catches a fish. As they’re driving home they are really sad and somewhat depressed. One guy turns to the other and says, “Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us $1500 dollars? “ The other one says, “WOW! It’s a good thing we didn’t catch anymore!”

And if you liked that one…here’s another fishing story for you: I overheard a mother giving her daughter advice: Cook a man a fish and you feed him for a day. But teach a man to fish, and you get rid of him for the entire weekend!

Fishing is a fun past time for many of us - including my son and I. Today - we are going to talk about fishing in a different aspect…a much more serious aspect as we look to answer the questions of who should we follow and who do we actually follow. Turn with me...

Matthew 4:12–25 ESV

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The first few scriptures of our passage today set the stage for the remaining passages and the focus point of today’s sermon. It’s important to note that Jesus didn’t just accidently show up at Capernaum. Instead - it was foretold in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 9:1–2 ESV

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isn’t it wonderful how the Old Testament often refers to events that will happen in the New Testament. This is just another simple way of showing that the Bible is inerrant and fully true.

Jesus was the great light that would now shine forth in His earthly ministry to the people of Galilee.

So now that John the Baptist is in prison, Jesus begins his ministry. The message of John the Baptist is now clearly proclaimed by Jesus Christ. However - Jesus as the Messiah, is not calling on his listeners to prepare for the coming of the kingdom but rather announces to them that the kingdom is here! Lets look at verse 17 again:

Matthew 4:17 ESV

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus is clearly announcing that the kingdom of heaving is here, now, and that it is Jesus Christ himself. But there’s more in this simple verse than just announcing that He has come. Jesus is calling for people to repent. Not to be sorry about their sins…but to repent which is to admit our sin, be hurt/convicted about our sin, and then to turn away from our sin and turn towards Christ.

Verses 18-25 can be summarized by two words, Follow Me and that is where we are going to spend the rest of our time studying God’s word together this morning.

I think it’s important for us to realize that we are all following something or somebody. We may not be aware of that fact but it still remains true…we are followers…the object that we are following is the important part.

I can remember as a kid growing up that i loved to hunt and i still do today. When i was young, my dad and I would go grouse hunting with my uncle Larry McDonald. I was too young at the time to carry a gun but i wanted to go with them every time they went. So, my job was to simply keep up! I would follow in the footsteps of either my dad or my uncle. I quickly learned that when walking in the woods, you have to pay close attention to not follow too close! Because if you did and weren’t paying attention, a branch would fly back and smack you in the face! My point in this illustration is simple…my dad and my uncle would lead me through the woods and would never intentionally hurt me or lead me astray. However - if i followed blindly i could in fact get hurt or lost. Our great father in Heaven will never lead us astray or hurt us if we simply make the choice to follow him. With that in mind, lets focus on these last few scriptures.

Matthew 4:18–19 ESV

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Who is Jesus?

In verse 19, Jesus says to follow Him. It would be smart to understand who the person is that you’re going to follow before you start following him right? So who is Jesus?

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus is God’s only Son and he is our Savior

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the only way to the Father and to salvation!

David Platt summarizes who is Jesus like this, “He was fully human and fully divine, the One to whom wise men from the nations bow down, the One whose birth and life are the culmination of generations of prophecy and anticipation. He is the Savior King and Righteous Judge of the world, perfectly filled with God’s Spirit and loved by God the Father. He is the only man who has conquered sin and the true Son that Israel could never be.

There is only one conclusion to draw when we hear the invitation to “Follow Me”: Jesus is worthy of far more than church attendance and casual association. He is worthy of total abandonment and supreme adoration.

Now that we understand who is asking us to follow Him, let’s dig into this a little more. A couple of things to notice about verse 19 when Jesus says to Follow Me.

Jesus takes the initiative

This is important to realize because Jesus was on mission and he had a purpose. He wasn’t waiting around for the disciples to accept Him - instead he was on mission and took action. That fact is still true today in our lives. This is a beautiful example of how God pursues us…even if we don’t realize it in the moment.

Jesus calls us into relationship

Notice that Jesus called the disciples to have a relationship with Him and not to sign on the dotted line and keep these rules or else. Jesus also didn’t say, “If you will please sign here, agree to the terms and conditions found in the small print at the bottom of the page, etc.” Instead, he simply says to Follow Me. Focus you life on me, and I will make you into a new creation.

Verse 19 is a good picture of how we don’t need to put pressure on ourselves. Sometimes, we can get the mindset that we have to try and save people. That’s wrong - we are the tool that God will use when HE saves people. Notice the end of verse 19 - Jesus will make them fishers of men. The disciples didn’t become fishers of men by their own doing…instead, it was Jesus’s work and power that enabled them to be fishers of men. Just like us in our lives today - we are the messengers, we are the missionaries, and we are the tools that God will use to reach the lost. All we have to do is be obedient and FOLLOW HIM.

What does it mean to follow Christ?

Let’s look at our scriptures for an example of what the disciples did to follow Christ.

Matthew 4:20 ESV

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Notice that they didn’t hesitate. They didn’t say, well let me think about it our the common phrase, “let me pray about it first and then I’ll let you know.” The bible is clear that they immediately followed Him. They did that because they realized that he deserved that kind of respect and leaving everything else behind was worth it in order to follow their Savior.

The disciples left everything behind including their comfort, their jobs, their family, their livelihood, possessions, etc. They didn’t know exactly what they were getting themselves into either…but they knew it was worth the cost.

As Christians, we must be willing to leave behind our comforts too in order to follow Jesus The disciples literally left everything else behind in order to follow Christ - we should be willing to do the same. Now, i’m not telling you to go and sell all your possessions, leave you family and all belongings in order to follow Jesus. But we do need to change our focus. Our focus should be on following Jesus with all that we have (our heart, soul, minds, etc.) instead of focusing on our comforts of this life. Jesus should be our priority and living our life on Mission for him should be our focus.

To follow Christ means to have:

Total trust in Him.

Total dependence on Him.

A focus of bring Glory to God in all that we do.

We become what we follow

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some examples:

Baby names - one becomes popular and then everybody starts naming their children the popular name

Haircuts - bowl cut, the bob, the mullet, mohawk, etc.

Music - popular artist with a hit song and then we know all their songs, their interests, their habits, etc. and we start doing the same thing

TV and Movies - we follow whatever is common

There are so many examples of how we become what we are following after. We can get consumed by the things of this world especially in today’s society with social media, etc. But what does the Bible say? What does the Bible instruct us to follow or imitate?

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul was a great imitator of Christ and here he encourages us to follow Him in imitating Christ. It is clear that we are to imitate Christ. IF somebody who doesn’t know you, watched you closely for a while - would they see Jesus living from you? Would they realize that you are different and that there’s something special about you? Would they see Jesus? OR would they think that you are just like everybody else in the way you act and talk?

I started this message today with the question of “Who should we follow?” There is clearly only 1 person and 1 God that is worthy of being followed entirely. My question now becomes,

Will you follow Jesus or the world?

Consider the cost of following both options.

If we follow Christ - there will be a cost. Following Christ can mean that we will be ridiculed, persecuted, made fun of, etc. It means that we should be willing to give up EVERYTHING that we have in regards to our finances, our belongings, our jobs, and yes even our family.

But consider the cost if we follow the world? In some ways, our lives on earth could possibly be easier…but they won’t be more rewarding or more fulfilled. Instead of thinking of the cost now, think of the cost of denying Christ and following the world once we pass away from this world. The Bible again makes it clear that what we earn from our sins and not following Christ is eternal death:

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is a song that i’d like to read the lyrics for you all this morning…read lyrics.

Follow Me - seems like a simple instruction. But it carries such a heavy load. If we are to be true followers of Christ, then we must be willing to be totally dependent on Him and have total faith in Him. There are no half followers of Christ - Christ deserves better than that…we need to give it our all in our effort to simply follow Him. Will you join me in following Christ this morning?

Invitation.