Follow Me

1
Follow Me
Matthew 419

• and I will make you fishers of men.

2
To Follow

• Set aside our own goals to embrace the purposes
  for which God created us.

• Purposes

• To know Him

• To make disciples of others by teaching them all
  of His commandments

• Results

• Take on His brightness

• Be a fisher of men

3
Study Question

• Why did Jesus require His disciples to be with
  Him to the end of His ministry while Moses and
  Paul taught their followers by writings that they
  received through the Holy Spirit?

4
The Call to Follow

• To Who?

• He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and
  not only for ours but also for the sins of the
  whole world. (1 John 22)

• For I have not come to call the righteous, but
  sinners." (Matt. 913)

• Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
  and I will give you rest." (Matt. 1128)

5
Song Call to Follow

• You have given us the call to follow, day by day
  with standards not our own. No one can serve two
  masters, so with undivided hearts we choose to
  follow You alone.
• Break the fear of man within our hearts. Send
  Your fire and make us set apart. Tear down the
  idols and make us fully Yours, we surrender all
  and nothing less as worship to You, Lord

6
Song Call to Follow

• Let us stand for righteousness, integrity and
  truth, living out the gospel as You have called
  us to do. Let us walk in purity and holiness,
  That all would know that we belong to you.

7
What does following Jesus mean?

• To exchange my affections, goals, and priorities
  for His.

• The Rich Young Ruler priority of money

• Peter, James, John goal of being successful
  fishermen

Jesus called them to forsake their goals and
follow him. For those who did, He gave them a new
goal to be fishers of men.
8
Weve drifted away from being fishers of men
to being keepers of the aquarium. --Paul Harvey
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Basics of Fishing

• Fishing for fish and fishing for men

• Lure vs. Light

Jesus is The Light of the world.
10
Why are We Lights?

• When Jesus was on earth, He drew multitudes to
  the light of His life. Now that His physical
  being is no longer here, His light must shine
  through us.

"You are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light
a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house. Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven.
11
What is Our Light?

• The light of every believer is the bright
  presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.

• For God, who said, "Let light shine out of
  darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to
  give us the light of the knowledge of the glory
  of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 46)

12
Light vs. Lures

• Those attracted by the bait and bite the lure
  feel they have been tricked into hearing the
  Gospel and become resentful.

• Paul stated that he had renounced the hidden
  things of dishonesty, not walking in the
  craftiness, nor handling the word of God
  deceitfully. (II Corinthians 42)

13
Answer to Key Question

• Why did Jesus and Elijah require their followers
  to be with them until the end of their
  ministries?

• Transfer of Power

• Elijah gt Elisha cloak/double portion of his
  spirit/cloak

• Jesus gt Disciples power of the Holy Spirit -
  Pentecost

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Answer to Key Question

• To receive the transfer of power Elisha and the
  disciples had to follow until the end. Since they
  stayed devoted, they received the transfer of
  power.

• I am going to send you what my Father has
  promised but stay in the city until you have
  been clothed with power from on high." (Luke
  2449)

15
How can we follow?
The disciples were with Jesus 24/7 for three
years. They learned how He thought, how He
answered questions, how He lived, and how He gave
himself for people.
Now Jesus is in heaven however, He made
provisions so that we can be with Him for the
rest of our lives.
16
His Provisions

• He is within us Christ in you, the hope of
  glory. (Colossians 127)

• He sent His Holy spirit And I will ask the
  Father, and he will give you another Counselor to
  be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The
  world cannot accept him, because it neither sees
  him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives
  with you and will be in you. I will not leave you
  as orphans I will come to you.(John 1416-18)

17
How can we follow?

• The disciples walked with Jesus and did as he
  directed. In the same way we should walk in the
  guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the
sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each
other, so that you do not do what you want.
(Galatians. 516-17)
18
A Result of Following
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me
will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to
the Father. (John 1412)
When we are in fellowship with the Holy Spirit
the Lord can accomplish even more through our
lives than He accomplished in His personal
ministry.
19
When our focus is on following Jesus, rather than
fishing for men, we will have no trouble
attracting others because of the light of Christ.
20
What does Jesus require of those who follow Him?

• Putting His Kingdom before work/school.

• Putting His ministry and others before ourselves.

• Setting aside of any expectations or
  preconditions.

21
Fishermen will rise early in the morning, endure
harsh weather, and wait long hours to catch fish.
This the spirit Jesus wants in His followers.
22
Fishers of Men vs. Founders of Churches

23
Follow Christ, not the doctrines of men

24
Following Christ requires perfect trust because
we all go through the valley of the shadow of
death.
25
Name of God
Jehovah-Roni The Lord My Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
(Psalm 231)
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd he
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those
that are with young (Isaiah 4011)
26
Name of God
Good Shepherd
I am the good shepherd the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheepMy sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. (John
1011,27)
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Meekness vs. Anger

• Meekness is yielding our rights to God so He can
  demonstrate His peace and power through us.

28
Meekness is not weakness.
It is STRENGTH
under Gods Control
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Follow Me

• by Ira F. Stanphill

30
I traveled down a lonely road and no one seemed
to care. The burden on my weary back had bowed me
to despair. I oft' complained to Jesus how folks
were treating me. And then I heard Him say so
tenderly "My feet were also weary upon the
Calvary road. The cross became so heavy I fell
beneath the load. Be faithful weary pilgrim the
morning I can see. Just lift your cross and
follow close to Me"
31
I work so hard for Jesus. I often boast and
say, I've sacrificed a lot of things to walk
this narrow way. I gave up fame and fortune. I'm
worth a lot to Thee. And then I hear Him gently
say to me, "I left the throne of glory and
counted it but loss. My hands were nailed in
anger upon a cruel cross. But now we'll make the
journey with your hand safe in mine. Just lift
your cross and follow close to Me"
32
Oh Jesus, if I die upon a foreign field some day,
t'would be no more than love demands no less
could I repay. No greater love hath mortal man
than for a friend to die. These are the words I
heard Him say to me, "If but a cup of water I
place within your hand, then just a cup of water
is all that I demand. But if my death to living
they can Thy glory see, I'll take my cross and
follow close to Thee.