Follow Me - Responding to His Call

Title: Follow Me - A Daily Walk with Jesus

INTRODUCTION:

God has a plan for your life

God’s PLAN FOR YOU... is your purpose and what He had in mind when He created you.

Jesus said that He came to give us life. God’s plan for you is full of life!

It’s that very plan that we will answer for when we stand before Him.

As a Christian, what is the most important thing you can do?  Follow God’s plan for your life.

In order to follow God’s plan for your whole life, you need to FOLLOW Him each day!

The Bible calls your life a PATH.

Psalm 16:11 NKJV

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God’s plan for us is only good:

Jeremiah 29:11 The Message

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

God’s good path is already loaded with His blessing, provisions, relationships, etc.

God has provided several things to help us along life’s path.

We are not left alone to figure life out by ourselves - we have access to the guide inside.

Who is the guide? For the disciples, it was Jesus.

For us, it is still Jesus, but through the person of the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember how Jesus called His disciples?

Mark 2:14 NKJV

As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Jesus called Matthew with two words. “Follow Me”

Mark 1:16–18 NKJV

16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Jesus called the four fishermen with the same words, “Follow Me...”

It's important to note what Jesus DID say, (follow me). 

It's also important to note what Jesus DIDN’T say. He didn't say get saved or become a Christian, or “do Christian stuff”. He said “Follow Me”.

It’s more than a single decision or conversion experience, but a call to discipleship.

A call to DAILY walk with Jesus!

“‘FOLLOW ME’ is the Alpha and Omega of the Christian life. This is the secret of the Christian life. The whole Christian program from Matthew to Revelation is summed up in these two words. No man can have eternal life who does not do this (Jn. 10:27-29). This means to obey literally all things in the New Testament that Christians are supposed to do.” ~ Anonymous

John 12:26 NKJV

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

NOTICE: “…where I am, there will my servant be also”. To follow Jesus means that you spend time WITH Him.

For the disciples, what did “follow me” actually mean?  It meant to be with Jesus. (Spend time with, daily, eat, walk, listen, look, watch, absorb, permeate their heart and soul, change their way of thinking to His way..)

Be changed by Him.

Years later, people noticed that they were changed by spending TIME with Him.

Acts 4:13 NKJV

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

We too will be changed by spending time with our Lord and Master!

How do we follow the Lord? How do we spend time with the Lord?

Part of our calling as a Christian, is to answer the call to a devotional lifestyle of spending time with the Lord.

PROPOSITION / THEME (PURPOSE) OF MESSAGE:

When you follow Jesus, He will lead you into the Bible, through the prayer closet and out into the harvest fields!

TRANSITION

We can FOLLOW daily in three ways:

1. Follow Jesus into the Bible. (Your Devotional Life)

2. Follow Jesus through the prayer closet (Your Prayer Life)

3. Follow Jesus into the fields that are white to harvest (Your Christian witness to influence on the world around you).

1 - Follow Me - In The Word

Follow me - into the Bible. (Your Devotional Life)

Some people say, “Jesus is not here. The disciples could touch him with their hands, see Him with their eyes, hear Him with their ears. We cannot see Him”.

John 1:14 NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the LIVING Word of God.

The WRITTEN Word reveals the LIVING Word.

1 John 1:1–2 NKJV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

When we read the Word of God, we are cultivating our relationship with the Lord. John calls Jesus “the Word of Life”. We can have fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Word.

Spending time reading our Bibles is just as much supernatural and life transforming and mind-renewing than anything that the disciples experienced walking daily with the Lord.

THE HEART-CHANGING WORD OF GOD

Notice two other disciples; what they experienced as they walked with the Lord.

Luke 24:13–16 NKJV

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

Skip down to :27

Luke 24:27–32 NKJV

27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

NOTICE:

:27 He spoke the Word to them regarding Himself.

:32 “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked…and opened the scriptures to us?”

Get the picture here - Jesus is freshly resurrected from the dead by the power and glory of God.

Jesus simply spoke words to them and it penetrated their hearts. His very words burned in their heats!

Remember Jesus said:

John 6:63 NKJV

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

The same Word that Jesus spoke, God is still speaking through His word today. As we spend time reading and feeding on scriptures and meditating on that word, it will have a heart-changing affect on our lives as well.

SPEND TIME WITH THE RESURRECTED CHRIST:

ILLUSTRATION:

What if tomorrow morning as you walked out of your bedroom, you noticed Jesus himself (The Resurrected Christ) sitting in your living room - waiting to open TO YOU THE SCRIPTURES!!

Would you just walk by and say, “I’m too busy to listen right now?”

The same resurrected Christ wants to share His words with you each morning in the form of you reading your Bible and fellowshipping with Him.

Each day, It would be good for us to say; “The Bible is God speaking to Me”. Let me open this today and see what the Lord would say to me today through His word.

APPLICATION:

Each morning when you awake, He waiting for you to come into the room and fellowship with Him and get His presence and power all over you!

Spending time in feeding on God’s word will renew your mind and strengthen your inner man to do exploits for God!

GOD LEADS US THROUGH THE WORD:

Psalm 119:105 NKJV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:130 NKJV

130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

God can give you fresh direction for you and your family as you feed and meditate on His word.

WE HAVE TIME TO DO WHATEVER DECIDE TO DO:

Luke 10:38–42 NKJV

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Notice with all of Martha’s “to do” list, Jesus put Himself at the top.

“But one thing is needed...”. That is the same “one thing” that we must do as well.

TRANSITION:

It’s not only important to read the Word of God, but also develop a habit of prayer.

2 - Follow Me - In Prayer

Follow Jesus - into the prayer room (Your Prayer Life)

Have you ever heard someone say, “prayer is just not my thing”?

Prayer is communication with God. In essence, they are saying, “communication with God is just not my thing”.

What if a husband said, “I love my wife, but, communication with my wife is just not my thing.”

Those statements don’t line up with each other. Your lack of communication speaks of the degree to which you love and are willing to invest your time.

Prayer is communication with God.

Prayer is communion with God.

Prayer should be woven into the fabric of our being all day long!

We are to pray without ceasing or in other words, “unbroken communion with God.”

John Wesley said, “It seems that God is limited by our prayer life - He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him”.

God is longing to move in our lives but He needs our cooperation. He needs us to Ask, Seek and Knock.

Throughout the Bible, there are several TYPES of prayer.

People often get discouraged as they try to remember all of the types of prayer and the rules that go along with each type that they actually neglect prayer altogether!

Be encouraged and begin praying again! Start with simply reading this next scripture and begin seeking God by talking with him from your heart.

SEEK GOD IN PRAYER

Jeremiah 29:12–13 NKJV

12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Notice the promise: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart...”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK WITH ALL YOUR HEART?

One word - SINCERITY!

When we say sincere, we mean genuine and “from your heart".

Yes, we are commanded to pray without ceasing in 1 Thess 5:17

We are also commanded not to simply pray using mindless repetition (Matt 6:7)

Remember the Christian life is a RELATIONSHIP with our Heavenly Father, and not mechanical.

I remember times in my life; seemly going straight into the throne room in prayer simply because I was praying SINCERELY and from MY WHOLE HEART!

Sincerity is a huge key with God.

We are commanded to pray fervently in James 5:16. But fervency does not mean volume.

FERVENCY is the degree to which you hook up your HEART to your prayers and not just your mind!

We are to seek God, fervently, and with passion.

ILLUSTRATION:

ILLUSTRATION: YOUNG RABBI

The young Rabbi asked an older Rabbi, his mentor, “what does it mean to seek God”? The older took the younger down to the river, plunged the younger under the water and held him there. He would not let him up.  When the younger thrashed and struggled to take a breath and finally wrestled his head above water with a gasp, the older let him up.  The younger came up choking for breath. Then the older said, “when you want God the same way you wanted to take your next breath…thats what it means to seek God”!

ILLUSTRATION:

REVIVAL SPARKED BY SINCERITY:

Off the west coast of Scotland is a small group of islands called the Hebrides. Between 1949 and 1952 a wide spread revival swept through these islands in answer to the prayers of God's people. ... Duncan Campbell came to the Isle of Lewis to conduct a two week evangelistic campaign and ended up staying two years.

An excerpt from his sermon… Until one night, a very remarkable thing happened. There, knelling amongst straw in the barn, the barn of a farm house; when suddenly, one young man rose, and read part of psalm twenty-four: "Who shall ascend into the hill of God? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord". He shut his bible, and then looking down at the minister, and at the other men who were kneeling there, he said this... "It seems to me just so much humbug. To be praying, as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting, if we ourselves, are not rightly related to God. Oh, my dear brethren let's take that to heart." He began to pray, "God, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?", and that dear man got no further. He fell on his knees, and then on his face among the straw, and with in a matter of minutes, three of the elders fell into a trance......the moment that, that happened in the barn, a power was let loose that shook the whole of Lewis. I say shook Lewis! God stepped down. The Holy Spirit began to move among the people, and the minister (writing about what happened the following morning) said this, "You met God on meadow and moo land. You met Him in the homes of the people. God seem to be everywhere". What was that? Revival! Revival!! Not an evangelist, not a special effort, not anything at all organized on the basis of human endeavor, but an awareness of God that griped the whole community. So much so, work stopped. What was happening? People were meeting in groups, young men were gathering in a field, and begin to talk about this strange consciousness of God that had gripped the community. - Duncan Campbell 

That was the beginning of the revival - You could feel God’s presence in the atmosphere of the Island.

The man didn’t just pray a prayer from his head. He looked at the living Word of God, applied it to His heart - and then prayed sincerely from His heart!

God answered their prayer for REVIVAL from one man’s SINCERE prayer!

Let’s look at that scripture:

Psalm 24:3–6 NKJV

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

ILLUSTRATION:

A PERSONAL REVIVAL

Do you want to have a revival? 

Kneel down in the middle of the room, draw a circle around you.  Sincerely - Pray for God to start a revival in that circle!

APPLICATION

I Challenge you one day this week:  Get up and read your Bible and have communion.  Just you and God, alone!

- Get UP out of bed

- Get DOWN on your knees

- Talk to him from your heart - fresh, SINCERE

- Talk to Him as if He is right there, on the inside where He resides.

- Surrender your day to him.

- Get a fresh picture of the Vine and the branch.  He is the vine and you as the branch must connect to receive heavenly nourishment.

- When you get up from that place, take Him to work with you.

- Talk to someone at work with the consciousness that He is right there beside you.

TRANSITION:

Remember we said....

We can FOLLOW daily in three ways:

1. Follow me into the Bible. (Get full of the Word)

2. Follow me through the prayer closet (Constant Communion with the Father)

NOW...

3 - Follow Me - Into the Harvest Fields

Follow Jesus into the fields are already white (ready) to harvest.

Now we apply both of those are being a Christian witness to influence the world around us for Christ!

HOW DO WE FOLLOW THE LORD OUT INTO OUR WORLD - OUR DAILY LIVES?

As we said in the introduction, God has a plan for our lives. A specific path for us to take. It’s the PATH that He can use our desires and our talents to get Him the most glory.

We are talking about being led by the Sprit of God.

Everybody is always saying they want to be LED BY THE SPIRIT. Have you tried FOLLOWING!

The Holy Spirit is ALWAYS GUIDING…we must listen and FOLLOW!

1. Who are we following?  Jesus (The Holy Spirit).

2. Where are we going?  Where He leads me, I WILL FOLLOW.

3. How do we follow?  Recognize His voice and follow His leading.

John 10:27 NKJV

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

(John 10:27 Wuest): 27 “The sheep which are mine are in the habit of listening to my voice, and I know them by experience, and they take the same road that I take with me”

We must develop a habit of listening to the Lord…Follow Him on the RIGHT PATH!

As we read our Bibles, we said; “the Bible is God speaking to me.”

There is only one Holy Spirit. The same still small voice that speaks to us and reveals the word of God to us as we feed and meditate on the Word, is the same “voice” that speaks to us out in the marketplace that prompts us to be witness.

ILLUSTRATION:

COLLEGE CAMPUS TOUR:

As my kids grew older and were in high school. We took a few tours of various college campus’. I remember one time in a large group the tour guide would stop and point out a building and tell us a few facts and move on. The group was quite large and although we could not see the tour guide most of the time, all we had to do was listen for her voice. As long as we could HEAR the tour guide, that voice would:

1. tell us everything that we need to know

2. and lead us to the next place.

This is exactly what I think of when I read John 10:27.

ILLUSTRATION:

In Israel all of the sheep from several shepherds were kept in a common area overnight to lodge. In the morning, a shepherd would arise and just start taking loudly or calling his sheep as he walked in a particular direction. The sheep that belonged to that shepherd would recognize HIS voice and begin following in that direction. The other sheep would stay and not follow the stranger’s voice.

As we spend time in our devotional life with God, we begin to recognize His voice stronger and more clear as we grow and develop spiritually.

Romans 8:14 NKJV

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

God is always endeavoring to lead us, the question is whether or not we are listening and living sensitive to His voice.

HOW DOES HE LEAD?

Romans 8:16 NKJV

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

The most common way God leads us is by this inward witness or a “knowing” on the inside. Sometimes what to do; other times what not to do.

Many times it is by a “knowing” or a witness on the inside. The still small voice is God speaking to us by the Holy Spirit - prompting us, leading, and guiding.

Paul recognized the Holy Spirit’s leading in Acts 16

Acts 16:6–10 NKJV

6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Regardless of how exactly the Holy Spirit was leading Paul to not go to Asia, we do not know. What we do know is that Paul recognized the leading of the Lord - twice. Then, when the vision came, it was clear what he was to do - go to Macedonia.

APPLICATION / ILLUSTRATION:

My wife was making a hospital visit and noticed a man very distraught. She felt prompted to just say, “Are you doing ok”? The man began to open up and tell her that his wife was very sick and not doing well. The doctors had even indicated that she may pass away soon. My wife asked, “Can I say a pray for your wife”. He said that would be fine. He said, “I’m on my way to her room right now, you can come and pray”. When my wife arrived, the woman was lying still in the bed and not moving. My wife gently began to share the good news - a personal relationship with Jesus… She said in a clear voice; “Jesus, be my Lord”. Glory to God!

Thank God, my wife recognized the simple, gentle prompting of the Lord to ask the gentleman “are you doing ok”. This small leading opened the door of eternal life for that elderly couple! Thank God!

CONCLUSION:

Where God leads you, He already has a plan for success. God never leads us into failure.

The key is spending enough time with Him to recognize His voice.

I love the story of Jesus turning water into wine in John chapter 2.

John 2:3–9 NKJV

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.

Did you notice what Jesus’ mother said? She gave us all the formula for miracles.

She told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it”.

When they followed that advice and DID WHAT HE SAID, they got their miracle that day.

It takes feeding on the Word, Listening to the Lord in your daily life…then you’ll hear clear!

Whatever He says to YOU, you will hear and DO IT. And get the miracle that the Lord has for you!

As believers we are to FOLLOW daily in three ways:

1. Follow Him into the Bible. (Your Devotional Life)

2. Follow Him into the prayer closet (Your Prayer Life)

3. Follow Him by learning to recognize His leading and influence on the world around us.

The victory comes when you integrate FOLLOWING Jesus into your daily routine!.

He changes everything!

He adds LIFE to your life.

God in all of His compassion wants to reach the world around us .

He needs us FOLLOW HIM, and be His hands and His feet in this world around us.

Everybody say; “Where He leads Me I will will Follow”!

Be lead. Then show others how to “Follow Him!”