Superfan or a Forever Follower

Are you a Superfan?

What is a superfan???

Superfan: an extremely enthusiastic or dedicated fan

Modern day “Groupie”

Groupie: a person, who regularly follows a pop music group or other celebrity in the hope of meeting or getting to know them.

People that know all about the band/team/cast....but don’t really know them,

Have knowledge, but lack intimacy

Have spent time, but when the shine of the show or the glitz of the game fades, they are often gone and onto the next thing....

People were following Jesus as he went place to place

Went to a deserted place in Bethsaida with the disciples but the crowds followed them when they found out. (Luke 9:10-11)

Healed those that needed healing (Luke 9:11)

Just fed the 5,000 (10,000-15,000 People) (Luke 9:17)

He is essentially filling stadiums with the amount of people that are following him.

2019- NHL Games averaged 17,000+ people

Luke 9:18-22

18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” 20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” 21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Jesus Doesn’t want Superfans

V:19- Who do the crowds say I am?

They didn’t know him

John the baptist

Elijah

Another Prophet

V:20- Who do you say I am

Peter- Christ of God

“The Savior of the World”

Christ: “Christos”= The anointed one; The Messiah

Matthew 16:16-17

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

V:21-22-

Tell this to no one

Some would follow just at the proclamation that he is the Messiah,

But they wouldn’t understand, they will be confused.

The Jewish people were expecting that the Messiah would be

Military Leader that would give them Physical Freedom from the bondage of their captivity under Roman Rule

Prophet Like Moses that would lead their people out of captivity

A King with Great wealth and power that would demand obedience and assure them a place of power in the geopolitical landscape.

Tell this to no one because I have to fulfill my calling....

“The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Suffer: He would face persecution

Rejected: By Religious leaders, political leaders, and everyday people

Be Killed: Lay down his own life, that we could have life

Be Raised from the Dead: Power over Death; for a supernatural transformative work to take place.

Prophetic Word about how Jesus would be received by the Jewish people

Isaiah 53:1-6 (NLT)

53:1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? 2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. (Nothing that they were looking for) 3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

They Missed it…

Just as it was prophesied, he knew they would not see Him for who He was, so he said tell no one until he rose from the Grave.

If someone told you buy Telsa 11 Years ago @ $4.36

Today it close just below $750

Buy Bit Coin years ago

$55,000+

You missed out because you didn’t have an intimate knowledge

Those that bought in, believed, saw, they understood, and had an intimate knowledge

Jesus Asked the question “Who do you say I am”

Who do you say Jesus is?

Like The Disciples

Do you have an intimate relationship with Him where you KNOW Him, See Him, Talk to Him and have experienced Him work in your LIFE?

The Crowd (Superfans)

Along for the Show

Many of them came to be physically filled

Maybe you come to “Experience” Jesus just when your down or not feeling well

There to be healed and then on with life

Like the 10 Leppers in Luke 17

1 Came back to have greater relationship with him.

Do you come to him when you need healing/fixing in an area of your life and then on with your life?

Luke 9:23-27

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

2. Jesus Wants Fervent Forever Followers

“Then He said to them all” (V:23)

He goes back to the crowd to share with them the cost of discipleship

He wants all to know what it means to be a Christ Follower

“If you desire to Come after me” (V:23)

To follow in His footsteps of living a life of sacrifice

He just shared with us how He was going to SUFFER, Be REJECTED, BE KILLED, and RAISE from the dead.

He is compassionate

He has never asked us to do anything that he Himself hasn’t walked through.

Hebrews 4:14-16

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

He has walked through it and will be there to walk us through it...

He is a compassionate God, He is a loving God.

MTB Story

Kevin Riding the Jumps/trails ahead of us to make sure everything is safe and secure not sketchy.

Jesus is saying I have gone before

I will show you the way with my life

Now, will you follow after me…?

“Coming after Him” is our sanctification journey that demonstrates our ever growing dependance on Him as we take on His Image

Coming after Him Requires:

Consecrated Heart

Deny Himself:

Your setting aside your desires and interests for the sake of following God

Luke 9:24

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it

It is not denying stuff, But denying self!

Its not about not having chocolate, soda, caffeine, but setting aside the things that keep your eyes off of Christ.

Denying self

Realizing that in you there is no good thing

You are nothing and that He is everything

Denying yourself the thought that you can accomplish or do anything in and of yourself.

Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Coming after Him Requires:

Consistant Walk

“and take up his Cross daily”:

Each day, we have the responsibility to walk in the spirit and pick up our cross and put to death the flesh.

Galatians 5:25-26

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another

Cross: A Symbol of Death

Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our Sin

We are to daily put to death our sin

Cut it out and away

Put to death daily the thought that we can do any or our anything with him

Put to death the thought that we need to be right

Put others ahead of yourself.

Coming after Him Requires:

Committed LIFE

“Follow Me”

Follow: To come behind; accompany as a follower; Be a disciple

To follow Him means that we are committed in our pursuit of Him

That we will walk in His example

Olivia The Parrott

Olivia follows and walks in the example of everything Timothy does

Where he goes she goes, what he does she does, what he says she says.

Do we live a committed life to Jesus in the same way?

Chris Tomlin Song “Follow You”

Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay When You move, I'll move I will follow

All Your ways are good All Your ways are sure I will trust in You alone Higher than my side High above my life I will trust in You alone

The New King James Version Chapter 9

26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Romans 1:16

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,