Follow Jesus

1. Jesus Calls us to Follow Him

·      “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4: 19, Mark 1:17)

·      “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow Me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.”        (Matthew 9: 9)

·      “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.” (Luke 5: 11)

2. Don’t Follow the World

·      “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12: 2)

·      “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” (1 John 2: 15)

·      “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3: 2)

3. Follow Jesus to be Saved

·      “Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

·      “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8: 12)

·      “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10: 27)

4. Be like the People who Followed Jesus

·      “Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ — Another disciple said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’”  (Matthew 8: 19,21-22 also see Luke 9:61-62)

·      “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” (John 1: 35-37)

5. We are Commanded to Follow Jesus

·      “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)

·      “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16: 24)

6. Follow Jesus or Nothing

·      “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14: 27)