Follow Me

The phrase from Jesus, “Follow Me,” has a strong image for many of us. For me, I first think about Jesus calling his disciples from the lakeshore:

“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.” – Matthew 4:18-20 NLT

There are many passages in scripture where Jesus talks about the importance of following him. Some of these passages are the same story, but you’ll have to read them to figure that out.

• Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:24, 19:21, 19:28
• Mark 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21
• Luke 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 19:22
• John 1:43, 8:12, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19, 21:22

All 4 Gospels combined have 22 verses where Jesus says, “Come, Follow Me.” The number of times the Gospels tell the same story tells us that for the disciples, those stories were essential to their identity and their relationship with Jesus.

Early in ministry, I was struggling in ministry. My heart was saying that the church was to be a home for the hurting, yet all I saw at the church I was in was a place for the redeemed to feel justified in their isolation. I understand what people meant by a “country club” church. I remember vividly listening to an audiobook while making a grocery store run. I can picture that “Ah Ha” moment so clearly in my mind as I listened to the words of this fellow pastor share his journey and his goal of creating space in his church. Listen to some of those words.

I often dream that I am tagging along behind Jesus, longing for him to choose me as one of his disciples. Without warning, he turns around, looks straight into my eyes, and says, “Follow me!” My heart races, and I begin to run toward him when he interrupts with, “Oh, not you; the guy behind you. Sorry.” (Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli. p. 19)

This book is my inspiration for this sermon series because it has encouraged me not to give up on ministry. I can relate to Yaconelli's words, feeling like there was no way Jesus would ever consider me as someone worthy to be his disciple, yet desperately wanting to be. Yet, I'm not that different when we look at the group of misfits that Jesus brought into his inner circle, those he called to follow him.