The Call to Follow Jesus

Scripture Reading:

Mark 1:16–20 (CSB)

As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat putting their nets in order. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Last week we ended with Jesus’s proclamation of the Good News

And the very next thing we read, is Jesus calling disciples to follow Him

We talked about this last week but we see right right of the bat that the Good News is not just advice on how to live your life

And neither is it just a mental agreement—yes, I think that it is true that Jesus died for my sins

But faith requires action

Meteor example

And we see in Mark, the first thing Jesus does is call people to follow him

He doesn’t go around trying to convince people what He has to say is true

He invited people to learn from him and his way of life

You know one of the biggest problems with the Church in our culture is the fact that we have made a category of believer that may be a ‘christian’ but not ‘walking with the Lord’

As long as you believe something in your mind, and maybe at one point said a sinners prayer

That you are a Christian

And that there are two tiers

Like JV and Varsity

There are the Christians that take it seriously (like missionaries, pastors, evangelists, people that serve and are plugged into the church)

And then theres the rest of us

And this way of thinking has allowed tons of people to think that they are Christian, when indeed their lives do not reflect Jesus at all

Jesus calls people to follow him—not just believe certain things about him

The word we use most often to describe believers— “Christian” is only used 3 times in the Bible

And it is something that people call Christians (little Christs)

Not something that believers called themselves and identified with

But there is another word that is used ~260 times to describe the believer— “disciple”

Disciple literally means a student or an apprentice

Somebody that sits under a teacher or a master to learn

And the goal of the teacher/disciple relationship was for the disciple to become like the teacher

Not just learning things about them

Not even just doing what they did

But becoming like their teacher

(SLIDES)

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”

—Dallas Willard

And this is what we are called to be—disciples

Students of Jesus that sit at his feet and learn his ways

As we learn and grow our end goal is reflecting our master

This is what being a Christian is

And this is what Jesus invited his 12 followers (and many others) into after beginning his ministry

So today I’m going to talk about what it means to follow Jesus

(SLIDES)

Following Jesus is Slow

Following Jesus is Difficult

Following Jesus is Worthwhile

Following Jesus is Slow

Following Jesus is more just an outward commitment

It’s more than just copying or replicating him

It’s about becoming like Jesus

(SLIDES)

Jesus himself says in Luke 6 39-40

Luke 6:39–40 (CSB)

He also told them a parable: “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit?

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

It is a very slow process—in fact, it is a life long process

Following Jesus is about character—not just our actions

Its about letting the ways of Jesus sink in until its second nature to us

Like playing an instrument

It takes time and intentional practice

But over time it becomes natural and easy

Or playing a sport

Mastering the fundamentals

Water Polo - treading water, swimming, passing, shooting

At first it wasn’t fun at all—I was drowning

But after you get to a place where you don’t have to think anymore—you just do

You see, Christianity is not just about believing the right things

Its about becoming a sort of person

Somebody that instinctually behaves like Jesus would

It doesn’t take a “hmm.. wwjd?”

But they reflect Jesus, even in the split moments

Even under pressure, when emotions are high

And getting to that point takes character

But not just general ‘good character’—it takes Christ-like, spirit-filled character

In short, you can’t microwave character

I love microwaving—Im a lazy cook

I like simple and quick

But those meals are never as good as the ones that take time and patience

Character takes hard work and time

You won’t listen to this teaching (or any teaching) and immediately transform

It takes making mistakes, being hurt, and learning

It takes a ton of grace from God and others

And it takes more than just our willpower—We need the help of God

And Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live this out

But even as we make mistakes—its okay!

Following Jesus is slow—thats why we often call it a walk!

If I asked to to go on a walk with me…

It would entail conversation and relationship

Not about reaching the destination as fast as possible

Walking with Jesus is not about reaching the final destination of being perfect

Because you’ll never reach it in this lifetime!

Following Jesus is slow because it is life long

And it is life long because it is not goal-based but identity based

Ex. Marathon Runner or Musician

Running a 5k/Marathon // Playing a specific song

As disciples we are not training to do specific things

We are training to become certain people

And this takes time

Following Jesus is Difficult

Following Jesus is not easy—I wish I could say it is

We read earlier, Jesus’s first call to follow him, but several chapters later Jesus has the same invitation but with more information

Mark 8:34 (CSB)

Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

This was shocking and offensive

The cross was so terrible it wasn’t something you even mentioned

And the disciples continued to follow Jesus

And eventually they were persecuted and executed for following Jesus

It wasn’t easy

But Jesus wants to make sure we have our expectations straight

Many of our hardships are due to unmet expectations

Examples: Planning day or People not meeting our expectations

(SLIDES)

“He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more.

He overlooks ten thousands of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case.

He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it.”

—Charles Spurgeon

And if we walk into a life following Jesus expecting everything to run smoothly—expecting perfection

We will be sorely disappointed

But if we expect hardship, if we expect difficulties, it is way more manageable

Following Jesus is difficult because it’s about dying to yourself—carrying your cross—sacrifice

If we know in advance—we can see through the pain

Gym analogy

For some people they look forward to the soreness because they know they are getting stronger

Following Jesus is difficult, expect that, but we aren’t meant to do it alone

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:16–17 (CSB)

As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”

Even here, Jesus calls Simon and Andrew; James and John

He doesn’t call 1 student—he calls 12

We see that Jesus’s call to follow him is something we carry out with others

So following Jesus is difficult; but we also see that it is impossible to do alone

If we want to make it—we will need other people

And this is what church is

This is why we are here

Following Jesus is difficult, but we are in good company

It’s not about bearing your lone cross on a lonely path

It’s about joining a family of people who are all moving in the same direction

Who are all learning to become like Jesus together

“A burden shared is a burden halved, a joy shared is a joy doubled”

A burden on our own would crush us

And our joys are meant to be shared

But all of this points to the question… why would you follow Jesus?

It’s slow, and it’s difficult—why sign up for that?

Right? We like things that are fast and easy

Well like most good things, it takes time and it has challenges

Which brings me to my final point:

Following Jesus is Worthwhile

Its worthwhile in this lifetime, and in the life to come

In this life, following Jesus is a part of becoming who God has created you to be

Every creation has a purpose, and things are a lot more difficult if you are unaware of the purpose

Can Opener in Morro Bay - using a bottle opener and butter knife made it a lot harder

We weren’t meant to live for ourselves—so as long as we try to—it is not going to work out

To become more like Jesus is to become more human—to be walking in our intended purpose

Not humanity warped and twisted by sin

But who God created us to be—a reflection of himself

(SLIDES)

“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. . .It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”

― C.S. Lewis

And following Jesus is worthwhile because you are stepping in line with the nature and order of creation

We all think and live like we are at the center of the universe

which causes bumps and collisions

But when we follow Jesus we begin to see God at the center and set our lives around that

One of my favorite analogies is that of ‘the pen of our life’

Each of our lives are a story

Filled with different chapter, different struggles, different characters

And we are taught that you can do anything! follow your heart!

So we go ahead and try to write our own story

And almost always, the first thing we want to write is:

“and they lived happily ever after”

No more problems—no more conflict—no more worries

But it doesn’t take long to realize that no matter how hard we try, we can’t avoid these things—and in fact, that makes a terribly boring story

God has the best story in plan for your life

And I don’t mean that as a cliche

There are ups and downs but in the end, it is satisfying

Think of your favorite story

Conflict resolution brings character development and friendship growth

That’s what makes a good story

The reality is that following Jesus is like giving God the pen to our lives

Letting him write the story

And it is an adventure—full of ups and downs

“Adventures are never fun while you're having them.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

But it’s more than just having an adventure in this life—how we spend our lives matters

Paul has this to say:

(SLIDES)

1 Corinthians 3:11–15 (CSB)

For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.

Delayed gratification—being a part of something bigger than yourself

Jesus must be the foundation

And what we build matters

Following Jesus is building on something that will last for eternity

Not perish when we pass away

If we are going to walk a difficult and slow road—we have to know where we are going

And thankfully the Bible tells us so

Following Jesus means following him to the cross

But it doesn’t end at the cross

Jesus is going somewhere

He is leading us through death and to the resurrection

And I think we often forget that

We think of the negative aspect: bear your cross

And forget the positive aspect of where we are headed

Jesus himself says:

(SLIDES)

John 14:1–6 (CSB)

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.”

“Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”

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

Why is following Jesus worthwhile?

He is the only way to a relationship with our creator

He is the only way to eternal life free from sin and death

Deciding to follow Jesus or not has greater implications than just the next 5,10, 50 years of your life

It is the most important decision you will ever make

Jesus is clear

There is no other way to eternal life than through him

So when Jesus calls us to follow him, we should listen to him

I can’t guarantee your life circumstances will get better

I can’t guarantee your happiness

But I can tell you that following Jesus is worthwhile

In my own life—and the lives of so many others

Even these 4 men: Peter, Andrew, James, and John

Peter

Went on to faithfully follow Jesus and was a pillar of the early church

Crucified upside down

Andrew

Went on to convert multitudes throughout the Mediterranean

Crucified tilted

James

The first of the disciples to be martyred

Beheaded in Jerusalem in Acts ch 12

John

The last of the disciples to be killed

He was arrested in Ephesus and the tradition states that he survived their attempts to kill him

And he was exiled on the island of Patmos

These four men that Jesus calls in Mark ch1 did not live the nice and easy life

They gave up their lives to follow Jesus

And they will be exalted and honored in heaven

Revelation 21:14 (CSB)

The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.

In view of eternity, following Jesus is the greatest thing you could possibly do in your life

(SLIDES)

I have had many things in my hands and have lost them all. But whatever I have been able to place in God’s hands I still possess

—Martin Luther

I’m asking you all to place your life in God’s hand and follow Him.

Two very important questions in every season…

Reflection Questions:

What is Jesus Teaching You?

Where is Jesus calling you to follow Him?