Following Jesus

Prayer

Jesus’ Invitation, “Come, Follow Me”

So, I’m very excited about starting this series, I’ve found the material helpful and clarifying and motivating in my understanding and desire to be, above all else, a follower of Jesus. I hope you will, too. Before we dive into what I want to cover this morning, a few housekeeping items.

First, I want to walk you through all the “To-Do’s” this week, as far as participating in the Practicing the Way course. We’ll be doing the material in Session 1, Following Jesus.

First to go through the material itself, preferably through one of the small groups we’ve put together (as I mentioned before, Tuesday & Wednesday). If you’ve chosen to do the material on your own, or can’t make the small group meeting, go to the website, practicingtheway.org, watch the Session video, work through the Companion guide.

Part of the material for Session 1 is a Spiritual Health Assessment, which you’ll find on the website. This is just for your own sake, it’s not a test, it’s simply a way to gauge where you are in your spiritual formation and give you an idea of potential growth areas.

Also part of the material for Session 1 is a spiritual practice. Every session will have a different spiritual practice to engage in and then reflect on. This week will be a daily prayer rhythm. The whole course will give you an opportunity to try new practices. Let me be clear on this, don’t get overwhelmed with all this course involves. Don’t just add this material on top of everything else you’re doing - if you need stop some of your other practices or readings, please do so.

The reading for the book, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, includes pages 1-31. It’s an easy read, but you will have to set aside some time to do the reading.

Finally, if you want to go the extra mile, there’s a Practicing the Way podcast that I included in the newsletter on Wednesday - it’s a little longer than the videos I typically include (this is just over thirty minutes long), but well worth a listen (maybe while you’re driving or doing household chores).

So, one of the essential points of this first session is this: Everyone is a disciple. Question isn’t, are you a disciple, the question is who or what you are a disciple of. Very important to remember, we’re all following something or someone. So, this morning, I want to address three questions related to this idea.

First question is, why do we need to take this question seriously? After all, isn’t it obvious that we’re disciples of Jesus?

Second question is, what is a disciple? If we’re going to be followers of Jesus, we need to make sure we understand what that means.

Third, Why Jesus? Why would we chose to follow Jesus, to be his apprentice?

Now, I want to spend most of our time on the third question, why Jesus? But let’s take a little bit of time to address the first two.

First question, again, why do we need to take this question seriously? Now as much as I hope, and I do hope, that all of us would readily affirm, I am a disciple, a follower, of Jesus. But here’s the thing, we can’t assume that just because we go to church or we call ourselves Christians or even that we affirm what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross and rising to new life, that it is Jesus we are actually following. Why do I say this?

Best explain this by telling a story I’ve shared before, a story that comes from John Ortberg about a man named Hank...

You’ll hear this is in the material from John Mark Comer, but it’s worth repeating. According to surveys, 63% of Americans self identify as Christians. That’s a lot, almost two thirds of us say we are Christians. But, if we take into account the actual marks of what it means to follow Jesus, that number drops to 4%. 4%. This might explain why for many who self-identify as Christians, there is nothing markedly different about how we live from the population as a whole.

I love this quote that John Mark Comer shares from Dallas Willard, it’s so true: The greatest issue facing the world today, with all of its heart-breaking needs, is whether whose who...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 Heaven into every corner of human existence. This is what will change the world, if we take seriously the question of whether or not it is Jesus we are following.

Second question is, what does it mean to be a disciple? Disciple is a word we use a lot, but do we really know what it means? What exactly is Jesus inviting us into when he comes to us and says, “Come, follow me”?

That’s the primary invitation of Jesus, as we see in this story from Mark 1:16-20: As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Quite a simple story - Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee and he comes across first Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew fishing, casting their net into the sea. A little further along the shore, Jesus will do the same with another set of brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who are fishermen as well.

Now in the other gospels we get longer versions of this story, so there’s a lot more here going than Mark lays out, but Mark covers the core of the story. Which is simply Jesus saying to these men, “Come, follow me.” That’s the invitation. Come, follow me. Now, to modern ears, hearing this story sounds strange - all Jesus says to these men is Come, follow me and they immediately, without hesitation, drop everything and follow Jesus. Who would do that? Why? If someone came up to me and said, Come, follow me, I’d be really suspicious, what are you getting at, bud?

But the disciples knew exactly what Jesus was inviting them to, and it helps explain why they were so eager to take him up on his offer. Want to share part of the video from Session 1 that lays this out really well - Session 1 animated explanation.

Now you’ll see this again, but I think it’s really important to learn this because it helps us understand what Jesus is inviting us into when he comes to us and says, Come, follow me. That three-fold goal of learning to be with Jesus, in order to become like Jesus, in order to do the things that he did. Great summary, that’s what it means to follow Jesus.

Which brings us to the final question, the one I want to spend more time on this morning. Question is, why Jesus? Why should we follow Jesus? Above anyone and anything else, why should we be disciples of Jesus? After all, if the stats are correct, only 4% of us do. Lots of people say I’m a Christian, but to be someone who organizes their lives around those three goals - to be with Jesus in order to become like Jesus in order to do the things Jesus did (including going and making disciples). There are no end of other discipleship opportunities, so why Jesus? We ought to be clear about why we want to follow Jesus. Jesus himself tells us why we should follow him in one of the biggest and boldest statements in the Gospels, John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Take each of these in turn. The first, Jesus declares himself to be the way. Now, in the original Greek, the way it’s written, there’s actually a double emphasis here. In other words, Jesus isn’t just saying, I am the way. He’s saying it emphatically, I myself am the way. He clarifies it at the end. No one comes to the Father except through me. There is no other way to be reconciled to the Father, to enter into the Kingdom of God. If you want to be with the Father, it has to be through me.

Jesus is telling us here what isn’t the way - it certainly isn’t our own efforts, we, and what we do, are not the way. It’s not how good I am, or because I go to church every Sunday (remember, Hank?), learning the Bible cover to cover, feeding the hungry - as helpful as any and all of these practices may be.

But when Jesus says he is the way, what does that mean? In what way is Jesus the way? Exactly what this series is about - we are to follow him. To be his apprentices. Jesus is the way in that we are to be with him in order to become like him in order to do the things Jesus did.

Just to be clear, the way of Jesus is the via crucis. The way of the cross. Just as Jesus himself did - we are to deny ourselves, pick up our cross - in order to follow Jesus. You have to appreciate the boldness of Jesus, this is what it means to follow me, give up your lives, that’s what it takes. Jesus doesn’t flinch at all, he just lays it out. Because he knows that he is the way. He and he alone. Life is found no where else. You can gain the whole world (another way of discipleship), but you’ll lose your soul if that’s your way. Only Jesus.

Second reason why Jesus? Because he, and he alone, is the truth.

Again, Jesus is unabashed. I myself am the truth. What he teaches, words he expresses, these are THE words. Words to live by. It’s his teaching I should listen to and put into practice.

Jesus makes it clear in John 8:31-32, To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus makes a direct connection between what he teaches and the truth. That it’s only in listening to his teaching will we know the truth. This is why one of our Core Values is, Lived Obedience to Jesus. It’s based on the very simply premise that to follow Jesus is to learn what he teaches (by regularly and continually engaging the Scriptures, and then put what we learn from Jesus into practice.

And that truth, in turn, will set us free. As we actually live out what Jesus teaches us, we’ll realize how right he was all along. We realize we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we had listened sooner. It really is freeing to live in accordance with the truth Jesus teaches - to not be burdened by grudges and anger because I’m willing to forgive as Jesus forgives me. To not live in judgment, constant moral comparison (and how taxing it is to keep up appearances, making sure I look good in front of others). But if I can let that go, let Jesus be judge - both of me and others (and since he died for me, there’s no condemnation).

There’s so many things we pursue in life that are enslaving - having enough money, personal happiness. Because I have to keep pursuing those. It’s never enough. Then I have to hold on to it. Make sure no one else gets it. But those are the truths so many of us live by. Why embracing Jesus as the Way and the Truth is so much better.

Last part of Jesus’ bold claim, I am the Life. This is the culmination of it all. What Jesus is the Way to, what Jesus as the Truth brings us, too - it is to enter into life, full, forever life with the Father. Jesus, and only Jesus, can give you abundant life.

Difference between what CS Lewis refers to as bios and zoe. Both Greek words mean life. But bios is physical life, where we get our word, biology, study of living things. According to Lewis, we all have bios, natural life, which is always tending to run down and decay - it must be sustained by biological necessities (air, water, food). But zoe is spiritual life, the higher and different sort of life that exists in God. It does not run down or need to be sustained, it is eternal. There’s a greatness to zoe life over bios that Lewis compares from a statue to a living person. Zoe is the real thing. That’s what Jesus himself is.

We have a sense of that life, that zoe - we get a taste of it in those moments that we have this sense of aliveness, when we are overwhelmed by joy. When we share love freely and openly with another person. When we have a deep sense of peace.

This Zoe, this life, is why I love taking kids to Capernaum summer camp, because I get to share in their experience this life, that fullness of life that comes in Jesus Christ. I love working with Young Life, because they’re so intentional about this, creating an atmosphere of fullness of life.

Lot of that comes in experiencing great gifts of life, pleasures God blesses us with (in which he whispers his love and goodness to us).

Food is so good - desserts made from scratch, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookie cake with vanilla ice cream. Wonderful baked pasta dish. Barbeque. Homemade salads - which I got to enjoy a lot of, for some reason those kids just didn’t appreciate the salads as much.

Beauty of the surroundings - camp sits in valley, mountains all around, there’s rolling hills covered with lush, green grass. Little creek runs through the camp, all beautifully landscaped - path that goes alongside it, bushes, flowers. They do such a great job of maintaining it - heck, they even rake the sand volleyball courts regularly.

Then there’s just fun - we play all sorts of games. They come up with these crazy fun characters who kind of show up out of nowhere. People singing together at the top of their lungs. Camp goes all out - one night is Christmas in August - walk into dining room, all decked out in Christmas decorations - for one meal. Later, same thing the gym, all these Christmas-themed games. Fake snow!

All these wonderful, great gifts from God. But life is so much more than physical pleasure, experiences. What really makes it such a life-giving experience is the heart, the attitudes of all the people serving there - all people who follow Jesus. They love our kids, want them there, they celebrate them. Heart of saying “yes” to these kids.

It was so much fun watching the program team coming up to my guys, calling them by name, giving them high fives. Always made time to interact with them. Same with the camp speaker, Maison, she was always looking to connect with kids.

Joy comes in watching the kids comes alive. To hear them bursting out in laughter. At one point, during of the clubs, all five of my guys went up on the stage (along with a lot of other kids), for a spontaneous dance party. They were dancing unabashed in a way that I imagine most of us would be too embarrassed to. But that’s the natural response to experiencing the joy of the moment, zoe, life that only Jesus offers.

This is why we are to follow Jesus, why we are to center our lives around being with Jesus, in order to become like Jesus, in order to do the things Jesus did. Because Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the Way and the Truth and the Life.

Normally we end each time of teaching with spiritual practices, how we can put these teachings, Jesus’ truth, into practice. But this whole course involves engaging spiritual practices. We’ve got plenty to read, reflect on, etc. So, as a final reminder - either attend a small group this week or engage in Session 1 material on your own. Do the Spiritual Health Assessment. Read pages 1-31 of the book. Engage in the spiritual practice this week, Daily Prayer Rhythm (there’s helpful instructions in how to do this in the Session 1 material, in the video and in the companion guide). And if you’re feeling bold, listen to the podcast.

As we close in prayer this morning, I want you to consider one more question, and whatever your response is, I want to encourage you to share that with the Lord in prayer. The question is this, am I a follower of Jesus? Is it clear that above anything and anyone else, that it is Jesus that I follow, that I have organized my life to be with Jesus in order to become like Jesus and do what Jesus did?