FOLLOW
HIM WHO IS THE WAY
BREAD
18 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. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets
and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20 (NIV)
24 Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,
yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV)
27 Peter
answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be
for us?” 28 Jesus
said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of
all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have
followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times
as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But
many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:27-30 (NIV)
2 “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to
his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When
he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow
him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a
stranger's voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not
understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I
tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All
who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen
to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He
will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full. 11 "I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:2-11 (NIV)
26 “Whoever
serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father
will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26 (NIV)
2 Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 (NIV)
6 Jesus
answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 (NIV)
6 Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 (NIV)
BUTTER
“I
have continually to mourn that I follow at such a distance and learn so slowly
to imitate my precious Master.” Hudson
Taylor
“When the Bible speaks of ‘following Jesus’
it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made
dogma, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts
the conscience. If they follow Jesus,
men escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke
of Jesus Christ. But does this mean that
we can ignore the seriousness of His command?
Far from it! We can only achieve
perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when His command, His call to
absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety. Only the man who follows the command of Jesus
without reserve, and submits unresistingly to His yoke, finds his burden easy,
and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right
way. The command of Jesus is
hard—unutterably hard—for those who try to resist it.” Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
“My chains fell
off, my heart was free. I rose, went
forth, and followed Thee.” Charles Wesley
“We
shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our
feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the
soul. If we would at once overcome Satan
and have peace with God, it must be by ‘looking unto Jesus’. Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death,
His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy
mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at
night look to Him. Oh! Let not thy hopes or fears come between thee
and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.” C.
H. Spurgeon
“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to
guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to
speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield
to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations
of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a
multitude.”
St.
Patrick
“Most
of us get up in the morning saying, ‘I am going to make something of my life,
and I’ll follow Jesus too.’ But I just
want you to know that we can’t have it both ways. We have to have the formula right. ‘Follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and as you follow
Me, I will make something of your life.’”
Joseph Stowell, III
“To be rebuffed by a loved one causes pain not
to be compared with the cruelties inflicted by an enemy. So your
indifference and unresponsiveness to My call brings anguish to My soul, indeed,
deeper grief than the crimes of the reprobate sinner. I have laid My rod
upon the sinner, but I have laid My hand upon you. And I have put My arm
around you to draw you closer, but you have been impatient and irritable as
though I sought to interfere with your liberty. I am able to give
you greater liberty than you will ever find by seeking to be independent of Me.
I seek not to interfere with your
happiness, but I do require that you relinquish your will; for I cannot bless
you as I desire until your will is yielded up and you accept Mine in exchange.
As you love Me, you accept My will as your own, and the caliber and extent
of your love for Me may be accurately measured to the degree that you accept My
will with a peaceful heart. You
can best sing ‘My Jesus, I Love You’ when you can truly sing ‘Where He Leads
Me, I Will Follow.’ For whoever
does not take up his cross daily to follow Me cannot be My disciple.” Frances
J. Roberts
“Costly
grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must
be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to
follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life,
and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and
grace because it justifies the sinner.
Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son. ‘Ye were bought at a price,’ and what has
cost God much cannot be cheap for us.
Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a
price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God.” Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
“Never
dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command. Never fear the rough waters ahead, which
through their proud contempt impede your progress. God is greater than the roar of raging water
and the mighty waves of the sea. ‘The
Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’
(Psalm 29:10). A storm is simply the hem
of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence. Dare to trust Him! Dare to follow Him! Then discover that the forces that blocked
your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials
He uses to build your street of freedom.” F. B.
Meyer
HEART
SAVOR
- · The sheep follow the Shepherd. They recognize His voice and His ways.
- · If you are earnestly pursuing the will of God, He will shut the door if it is not one you are to enter. Just look at Paul’s life when he wanted to go east rather than west. God will make His way clear if we are willing to listen and obey.
- · Though perhaps excruciatingly difficult, God’s good and pleasing and perfect will is always the BEST place to be.
