What Does it mean to follow Jesus?
What does it mean to follow Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
When we ask that question I am sure there are many different answers. Some may be by doing what Jesus commands us to do in his word, have a better relationship with him by praying, serving in the church.
All of those answers are correct but there is much more to it than just one of these things or even all of them.
If I asked the question tonight what does it mean to be a Christian I would probably get many of those same answers.
What is a christian? Christian was not ab term that the early followers of Jesus called themselves.
It was not the name that Jesus gave to them. It was actually a term given to them by the non believers to make fun of the Jesus followers.
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
If the the followers of Jesus didn’t call themselves Christians then what did they call themselves? Answer in right there in V-26 they called themselves disciples.
The word Christian only appeared 3 times in the New Testament. But the word disciple is used 281 times.
Christian and Disciple can actually mean two different things.
Many people call themselves Christians and you could never tell it by the life they lived.
Being a disciple is a true lifestyle change. The real question to consider is what is a true disciple . That is where we will get the answer to the first question I asked.
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
Are you ready to be one you can call yourself a christian but are you truly a disciple.
To become someones disciple meant that you followed them around everywhere trying to do and learn to do everything they did.
The highest compliment back in those days to a disciple was to say to them “The dust of your rabbi is all over you”
That meant that you followed your teacher, your preacher, your rabbi so close that if he stepped in dog crap you were so close you did the same.
A disciple not only wanted to know what their master knew but also wanted to do what their master did. That is what Jesus followers were doing .
We have talked about this before and that was Jesus’ character and what exactly he did. These are the same traits that we have to have to be a true follower of Jesus.
I want us to look at 5 of these identities again this evening that if we do ourselves will make us a true follower of Jesus.
If we do these then we will have Jesus’ dust all over us.
He was a worshipper.
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
the center of our christian life is to worship God. It is not being in fellowship with one another. Although that is very important, not mission, not evangelism.
We were created for God. Worship is not part of our walk with Jesus it is our walk.
We can get so busy with all of the other things not even bad things and forget that we were made to worship.
2. We are to love our neighbors as yourself.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Our love for one another in the church our church family should be greater that even our love for our biological family.
One time when Jesus was teaching someone asked him about his mother and his brothers and Jesus responded Who is my mother who are my brothers.
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
We become closer to those that are our brothers and sisters in Christ many times than our own biological family that are not believers.
A commitment to Jesus is also a commitment to his church. You cannot be committed to Jesus and not be committed to the church.
The church is the bride of Christ.
3. Jesus was a servant.
Jesus said he came to serve and not be served.
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Remember the night before Jesus was crucified he took out that water pot and towels so he could was his disciples feet.
He said to them this is how I want to to treat each other.
If you are a true follower of Jesus you are going to serve in every area of your life in your home, in your job, in your church.
If you are a member of a church here at CHBC you should be asking where can I serve.
The people who are growing the most spiritually are the ones who have learned to serve.
Not just because you attend church does not mean you are growing spiritually.
Serving connects you to the heart of Jesus.
4. Jesus was a steward.
Everything that we have in every aspect of our life is loaned to us by God and we are to be good stewards of it.
Our families, our homes, our cars, our money, our bodies, our time.
Jesus taught that God owns all that we have and one day we will give an account of how we used it.
At that final judgement we are going to be judge on whether or not we accepted Christ as Saviour and next what did you do with what I gave you.
You need to see everything that you own is God’s and he has trusted you with it to use for his purposes.
Have you ever asked Jesus how he wants you to use your money, your talents, your time.
To be a follower of Jesus we have to be good stewards of what God has given us.
5. To be a follower of Jesus we have to be a witness.
Jesus final words to his disciples before he enter back into heaven.
The last thing Jesus wanted to leave his disciples thinking about was.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Think of all the other things Jesus could have told them they could be.
You can be my bible studiers
you can be my prayer warriors
you will be my worship leaders
All of these things we should be but it was obviously most important to Jesus that he tell them they are to be his witnesses.
You can do it in whatever it is you do everyday.
Jesus main mission was to seek and to save those that were lost.
If we are in line with Jesus then we will do the same. His dust will be all over us.
To follow Jesus we have to assume his identities,
Worshiper, Love our neighbors, be a servant, be good stewards and be his witnesses.
This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus this is what it means to have his dust all over you.