VBS NIGHT 5

Don’t miss the one thing… Follow Jesus.

Y’all ever heard the phrase, Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

That just means being nearly successful is not the same as actually being successful.

As a Christian, what does it mean to be successful?

Like the game we just played, Is it enough to be close to Jesus, but still keep him at arms distance?

The temptation for us today is to cherry pick.

We look at Jesus and what he said and we pick out what we like and throw away what we don’t.

That’s not close enough.

In John 15:4 Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things are being made new.”

In Christ, you are a new creation.

We are new.

This is a calling on your life, like we talked about last night, to deny yourself and follow Christ.

If you want to be successful in this life, be a rebel.

Follow Jesus. Follow Him and trust Him with everything you’ve got.

Familiarize yourself with what God’s word says.

Read the Bible, not just to read it, but to know God!

God has revealed himself to us in His Word. If you want to know God, know His word!

If we only show up to church a couple times a month, but we never read His word… i got news for us, we probably aren’t close enough.

Let me be clear, if you are a believer, you can’t get closer to Jesus and he can’t get closer to you. He’s living in you.

I’m not speaking to that.

Tonight, I’m speaking about your purpose.

If Jesus lives in you, now how do I live for Him? What does He want me to do?

He wants you to know Him.

He wants to use you to help others know Him.

The Gospel of John ends with one of my favorite passages in Scripture.

Peter denied Jesus before he went to the cross.

After Jesus’ resurrection, he comes to Peter and he says, “Do you love me?”

3 times Jesus asks and 3 times Peter answers “you know that I love you.”

But you see, Peter denied Jesus 3 times.

Jesus gives Peter the opportunity to tell him face to face 3 times that he loves him.

He reinstates Peter.

But then he also challenges Peter.

He says in John 21:17, “Feed my sheep.”

Then in Vs. 19 he says, “Follow Me.”

Guys… that’s our purpose.

Are you following Christ?

Don’t waste your life pursuing things that won’t matter the moment you stop breathing.

When we pass away there are 2 things we can take with us.

Our relationship with Christ.

Our relationship with people.

Which brings me to our second purpose.

2. Are we feeding sheep?

Not literally, but what Jesus was asking was Hey Peter, are you shepherding people to know me?

For us today, Are we someone that is pointing others towards Christ or away from Him?

Be a student whose life is pointing others to Christ and not away.

THE MIT

The most important thing in your life and ever will be in your life is your walk with Christ.

Follow Him. It is always worth it.