What Jesus Wants from You

Hudson - all he wants is donuts on Saturday. I can’t live up to his expectation.

Will you spend your life giving Jesus what He wants? If He is the King, He has every right to expect you to give Him what He desires. Will you?

In Mark 1:14-20, at the outset of Mark’s Gospel we see what our King wants from us. As we study this passage: many of us are going to be convicted. We’re going to see that we have not been giving Jesus what He wants. But, there’s hope. Today can be a new start. Today you can begin to live out the purpose that God has for you. Today you can know that the Spirit of God will empower you to live out His will.

Three desires that Jesus has for your life.

1. Jesus desires for you to leave everything behind.

vs. 14-15 - John the Baptist arrested - John’s work of preparation done. A new day is here! Jesus’ ministry now begins - begins with a simple message: The Kingdom of God is here. Repent and believe. Same message as John - turn from the old and experience the new - not the reign of ritualistic religion over your life, but the reign of God. Know Him as your King.

Jesus begins ministry around Sea of Galilee

According to John’s (the Apostle) Gospel, John the Baptist had two disciples that began to follow Jesus. One was Andrew. He had a brother named Simon (Peter). In John’s Gospel, “We have found the Messiah! (John 1:41)

Walking along, Jesus sees Andrew and Simon. According to John’s Gospel, Andrew has already followed. He’d probably told Simon Peter all about Jesus. When Jesus calls, they leave their occupations to follow.

These aren’t poor men who were scrounging to make a living. Successful small-business owners. James and John even had hired help. (vs. 20)

James and John had probably heard of Jesus as well. Jesus calls them. They leave their father (family).

So much significance in these short verses. First, a picture of God’s grace. Jesus chooses these followers. He comes to them. Think of Jesus as a first-century rabbi - a teacher. In those days, children would go to school, they would learn to read, and they would memorize Scripture. Most would finish around 13, and learn a trade. Some would continue to learn the teachings of the Rabbis while learning a trade. The most elite students would seek permission to study under a well-known rabbi - to follow a rabbi - to live with a rabbi - with the intention of becoming a teacher himself with his own followers.

These four men do not seek permission to follow Jesus, Jesus seeks them: - successful men maybe, but not elite students. Peter can’t keep his mouth shut. James and John would argue about who is the greatest. They’re arrogant. In spite of their faults, Jesus chose them.

You’re story is the same. You were chosen by Christ. He came after you not because of who you are, but of who He is.

Second, a picture of transformation. Notice what they left - their occupations - and their families. Didn’t abandon. They would go back to fishing and back to families - but two things changed: identity and priorities.

Many of us find out identity in career and family. Get guys together, we ask, “What do you do?” (Michael Jordan) Or, we live vicariously through our children. We idolize our spouse, etc. We build our identity on family and career instead of building our identity on Christ.

When you really embrace Jesus, your identity and priorities change. You’re no longer defined by career and family. You’re defined by Jesus. And since you find meaning and purpose in Him, He becomes your priority. You live for His will.

How do you know if you’ve left everything behind to follow Jesus? If your priorities and identity have changed?

You don’t use Him - He’s not your celestial Santa Claus or Genie in a Bottle - Instead you worship Him.

You don’t ignore Him - How many of us ignore Him? At least, throughout the week?

You don’t bargain with Him - I’ll follow you if… I’ll be at church if… I’ll finally if… (9/11, etc.)

2. Jesus desires for you to commit to discipleship.

Notice what Jesus says in verse 17, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Watching Luke play basketball - No guarantee he’ll become a great basketball player - especially if he takes after his father. BUT, there is a guarantee that he will become used by Jesus if he follows him.)

Becoming who Christ wants you to be doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a journey, and these men, along with others would go on a journey with Jesus to become who He wanted them to be: men who would be foundational in establishing the church.

It wouldn’t be an easy journey. There would be highs - they would see miracles, hear the teachings, etc. There would be lows - they would see suffering. They would see their Master rejected and crucified. They would all fail. The would fail to understand the mission of Jesus. They would argue, they would fight, and at the crucifixion, they would flee. But, in the midst of the highs and lows, Jesus was doing a work - molding them into His image, preparing them to become missionaries who would reach the world.

You’re on a journey as well. Where are you on the journey? Sure, there are highs and lows, but are you seeing consistent growth in your walk with the Lord?

Disciple’s wheel - Where are you? Some of you are stuck. What if you got unstuck in 2018? The goal is to become a spiritual parent - to become someone who invests in the lives of others and helps them become fully surrendered followers of Jesus.

How do you get unstuck? How do you see sustained spiritual growth in your life? 3 ways:

Habits - prayer, Bible study, confession, giving, church attendance, sharing your faith, etc. These things don’t grow you in and of themselves, but they do put you in a position to experience growth. How are your habits?

Community - Your most significant growth will always happen in community. “I’ll just watch the live-stream.” Not enough. The church is God’s plan to grow you. You need relationships - people to mentor you, encourage you, pray with you. And you need to be a mentor, encourager, and a prayer warrior for someone else.

Experiences - Hardships - I’ve learned more about trusting God through difficult seasons than any other season. When going through hard times, ask the right question: “What?” Not, “Why?” Mission trips - They’ve given me a passion for reaching people with the Gospel.

How do you know if you’ve committed yourself to discipleship; if knowing Christ has become a priority in our life?

You make the time. Quit giving excuses about how much time you don’t have. You make time for priorities.

You put yourself in submission. You know you need someone to teach you.

You become a learner. You’re hungry to know. You read, you study, you listen.

You become accountable. Show me what I’m doing wrong and how to get it right. You listen to the wisdom of godly people.

3. Jesus desires for you to become usable.

A simple mission: become fishers of men. Jesus would invest in these men so that they would ultimately invest in others. This would be what they would live for.

When Jesus called these men, he didn’t require that they clean themselves up before they were to be used by Him. In fact, Jesus would send out his disciples to be on mission while He was still investing in them. These were men who couldn’t clean themselves up. They needed redemption.

God calls people in need of redemption to become His tools of redemption. In God’s hand, you are a tool of redemption. Think about what Jesus has redeemed you from - a past of addiction, a past of selfishness, a past of hatefulness. How might God use you in the lives of people who are experiencing the very same things you have experienced?

We’re not sponges of grace. (We won’t to soak it all up - as if Jesus is just for me.) We’re conduits of grace. God has extended grace to you so that through you He might extend grace to someone else.

Reality: when this life is over, what’s not going to matter is how far up the career ladder you made it, or the number of degrees you earned, or the number of national championships your favorite football team won. What will matter are the investments you have made in this life in the lives of others for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

If that’s what matters, will we be willing to invest? Will we be available to God to use us as He desires?

When you think about what Jesus wants from you, you might think, “That’s too hard!” Jesus has not called us to an easy life. He’s called us to take up our cross and follow Him. He’s called us to sacrifice. He’s called us to endure suffering for Him. However, Jesus isn’t asking you to do anything that He hasn’t already done for you.

Jesus left His family. (He left his earthly family behind. More significant, He left the glories of heavenly, and was willing to endure the wrath of His Father - to be punished in our place, to have His Father forsake Him on the cross.)

Jesus committed. His whole life was a life of commitment to the mission of the Father. He never got off course.

Jesus was usable. The Father used His Son’s death and resurrection to free us from our sins so we might have life abundant and eternal.

Have you experienced the free gift of God’s grace by giving your life to the One who has done everything to secure for you an eternal relationship with the God of all creation? If not, believe and repent.

Believer, know that Jesus has gone before you. He has done what’ He’s asking you to do, and He’s done it perfectly. Now, His Spirit dwells in you, empowering you to live out the desires that He has for you. This morning:

Repent of your excuses.

Repent of your complacency and stagnation.

Repent of your ungratefulness. It’s your ungratefulness that keeps you from pursuing.