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Commitments made during Youth Retreat - all the things you are being unleashed in

Call & Response

John 1:35–51 ESV

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

John 1:35-

Call & Response

1. You hear someone testify, you follow

John 1:25–27 ESV

They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

John 1:35–37 ESV

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

People you hear testify:

Family

Friends

Pastor

2. Jesus personally encounters you, you follow

John 1:43 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

You might experience a time or moment in life where you encounter Jesus in your life.

There is no other way to describe it except that Jesus Himself encountered you.

Where we see this:

Apostle Paul -

Abraham

Moses

3. You witness a miracle, you follow

Luke 5:11 ESV

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:1–10 ESV

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Here’s the key:

Lk 5:1

Luke 5:11 ESV

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus tells professional fishermen in Bethsaida (which means, the house of fish), to let down their nets after they have caught nothing all night long.

Their obedience results in the greatest catch of their lives, enough fish to sink two boats.

They are left to make a decision:

Cash in their catch for a fortune

Follow Jesus and become a fisher of men

Luke 5:11 ESV

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

4. You hear, you question & search it out for yourself, you follow

Jn 1:43-

John 1:43–51 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Nathanael is a devout Israelite, with no wrong that could be found in him.

John 1:47 ESV

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

He was most likely well educated and would have been searching the scriptures in wait of the promised Messiah

He was most likely well educated and would have been searching the scriptures in wait of the promised Messiah

Unfortunately the thing that made Nathanael great (his knowledge), got in the way of him believing the Messiah could come from a place like Nazareth.

Scholars of that day would’ve been looking for the Messiah to come out of Bethlehem ()

Micah 5:2 ESV

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

How many people are missing the opportunity to follow Jesus because they are looking for Him to be something different in their life?

The Cost of Following Jesus

There’s a story of a religious man that wanted to follow Jesus, but found out the cost was something he wasn’t willing to pay.

Matthew 8:18–22 ESV

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus doesn’t tell the man, “No, you can’t follow Me.” But He tells him the truth about what it means to follow Him.

Jesus doesn’t glamorize what the Christian life is going to be like. Sometimes we hear people say, “Follow Jesus, and you’ll never have to struggle again.”

While this sounds nice, it’s not the reality.

As we discussed in our Marks of a Christian series, the pain is actually good because it produces perseverance which ultimately produces hope.

The difference in following Jesus is that you aren’t alone anymore. You have a friend that will go through the highs and lows with you.

In fact, He’s already been through the best and worst and is willing to go through it again with you, all be cause He loves YOU that much.

The reason the scribe turns away and chooses not to follow Jesus is because Jesus was TOO SIMPLE for him.

Trusting in God alone without the help of material things is very hard.

This type of faith is actually very attractive to a spiritual man!

The scribe’s thought process should have been...”Here is a man who lives by faith and is satisfied with few material things; I should follow Him and learn from Him.”

Jesus’ Position & Ours

If we are following, what does that mean?

Follow the leader with 4 students

Jesus = leader

Us = follower

John 1:38 ESV

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

If Jesus is the teacher, what does that make us?

Jesus = teacher

Us = student

The Right Questions:

John

John 1:38 ESV

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

They ask Jesus, “where are you staying?”

An incredible opportunity for the person that follows is to ask, “where are you staying?”

If you knew where Jesus was staying tonight, would you go stay there?

** Pause for Effect **

Jesus responds to the question by saying, “Come and See”

There isn’t a simple answer that can be given to that question. There’s nothing I could honestly say to you that would make you decide to follow Jesus.

The fulness that God has planned out for you can’t be summed up in one short answer. Following Jesus is more about the journey than knowing all the answers right now.

Marked

When we decide to take that first step and follow Jesus, something happens…that moment in time becomes marked.

John 1:39 ESV

He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

“It was about the tenth hour” (4pm)

Many scholars believe that the Apostle John was the other unnamed disciple that chose to follow Jesus.

They believe this because this is the only time the author gives a time stamps for someone following Christ

The moment you personally encounter Jesus and say, I choose to follow Jesus, you will remember that moment.

>> The first time I accepted Jesus into my heart. I was at the bottom of my driveway with my grandfather and we had just arrived at home. I remember stopping him after we got out of the car and saying I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart.

Call to Follow

The call to follow christ comes down to one thing…FAITH

You see it’s not about knowing all the facts, getting clean before we come to Christ…It’s about taking a step of faith - believing without seeing.

There’s some of you in this room that need to fresh look, a fresh start in your journey with Jesus tonight.

Life Books at the Red Table

Life Book - John

Life Book - Mark