The Disciples began their ministry by following Jesus. The gospel of Mark records this in chapter 4.
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ” Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.”
They had to do two things to fulfill God’s call for them:
1. Come–to approach, to advance towards, to exist in a particular place or point
2. Follow–To pursue, to go after, to accompany, to comply with and obey, to pay attention to.
We too must do those two things!
Note:
- He called them to Come
- He required that they Follow
- He promised an outcome–He would make them something different!
They didn’t look different
They were still human flesh people
But their outcome was different
Their lives were different because of Jesus
They were not just about the temporal anymore–catching fish for food.
They were about the Father’s business, eternal focus–catching souls for eternity.
What about us?
Many times we get great ideas and dreams and run with them. We run and run, plan and plan, until we run out of steam. We burn out. But there is a better way. What if we made it a daily practice to Come and Follow? What would that look like? How could that change our life?
To Come and Follow is…
A daily call of surrender to the God who made us
It is approaching him each new day and moving towards him in fresh relationship
Coming it making the choice to exist with Jesus that particular day
Following takes the choice of coming a step further…
When we follow we actually chase after God and His dreams for us!
We comply with His voice, obeying His lead, and most importantly–We Pay Attention to Him!
How do we pay attention to God?
We make time to listen….
We read His Word and Pay Attention to what it is saying to us personally
We pray/ask for the grace to make the choice to obey His word
We begin moving in the direction of God’s leading…step by step
What changes?
He makes us different. That is the wonder of the miracle of Christ in our midst.
He is a life-changer, a people mover, a restorer of all things.
This is the work of regeneration and restoration.
Jesus changes lives. Period.
But…the catch…we have to Come and Follow.
He is the miracle worker, but we must daily COME.
Where are you today?
Have you learned to be a good follower, or are you trying to take the lead in your life?
To be a good leader, you must first learn to be a follower of Jesus…FOR REAL!
This may sound simplistic, but if you are repeating the same cycle over and over–stop the insanity and ask yourself this question…Are you really coming to Jesus daily and learning to comply with His work in your life? Are you listening and taking God’s word seriously? Are you in His word more than Sunday morning? Are you leading and expecting a blessing to follow you? Or are you laying down your own dreams, as well as negative habits, and asking God to change you as you follow Him? Only you can make the choice that will lead to life change, and only Christ can make the lasting difference.
