Follow Me!
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Mrs. Melissa
Mrs. Melissa
Follow Me!
We each have a story to tell, amen?
We each have a testimony…
Matthew says this:
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
He goes on in verse 14:
14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Look at verse 16:
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
How does our light shine? What is our light?
It is our testimony… amen?
We all have a story to tell.
Each and every one of us… who have received Christ… who have received His Holy Spirit… have a testimony to tell!
But, what is that testimony?
Paul said this:
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
“The Old has passed away, and everything has become new!”
Christ is making us new! Our past is gone… it doesn’t matter… we are new creations… and we have a story to tell!
There is a truth we need to see in this.
God always separates before He creates.
Look at Genesis 1
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
He doesn’t stop there…
6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
and
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
Then God began to create:
11 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.
God first separated… He spent 3 days separating one part from another, preparing for the creation of life!
When God called Abraham to become the “Father of a great nation,” He first called him to separate himself from his known, comfortable, and secure life!
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And He does the same with us!
Mark 1:17, “Come Follow me,”
“Follow Me.”
When Christ called His first disciples, He commanded them, “Follow Me.”
What did He say after that?
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
“Follow me”
Christ’s call is a call to be separated from the world… to be separated from our old life… to be separated, so that He can create us to be the perfect, beautiful creation, God intended us to be, amen!
How many of us do not desire that?!
I didn’t think so. We desire to be with God… our hearts… our souls yearn for it…
That is why the Psalmist cried out:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Somewhere deep down inside, we yearn to be what God created us to be, amen?
That’s why people turn to so many destructive things, in a feeble attempt to fill that empty place within themselves…
Let me tell you… God wants to fill that space… And, only He can!
God has a plan for each and every one of us! And it is a glorious plan!
It is something so beautiful… so amazing… so awesome… that everything else pales in comparison… BUT…
We must separate ourselves first…
“Follow me.”
Christ’s command, “Follow me.” Was is a radical call…
It is a call to leave everything else behind… to separate ourselves from everything that we think gives us life and meaning, and to find that meaning in Him.
26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
That is what the disciples understood…
None of their calls was more radical than Levi’s (Matthew’s)…
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.”
28 And he got up, left everything, and followed him.
Levi walked away from wealth, power, preferential treatment by the Roman Empire… because he needed something more…
Each of the disciples was called to separate themselves from their worldly lives, so that Christ could change them into something more!
Something beautiful!
Something powerful!
And there is no denying the impact they had on the world, amen!
That’s what He wants to do with us. Christ wants to give us a testimony to tell!
But, we have to be separated first.
“Follow me.”
Christ’s call is not to “follow Him” as equals, but as followers…
We are called to walk with Him … in His foot steps… on the path He already walked!
We are called to be His apprentices, amen!
An apprentice learns from the Master… He is equipped by the Master… He becomes the perfected by the Master… He is identified with the Master’s work and mission!
But… in order to become an apprentice, we must give up — be separated from — everything else!
Look at 1 Kings 19,
19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him.
20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
Notice that when Elijah called Elisha to “follow him,” he didn’t use words… He simply put his cloak on Him…
Now, look at Elisha’s reaction...
21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
Elisha left everything… he destroyed it… he didn’t leave any chance that he would return to his “old life”… he was to be Elijah’s apprentice… to enter into a new life… he had to completely separate from the old life!
The same is true for us!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Being a disciple… answering Christ’s call “Follow Me”… means letting go of our lives and identifying completely with Christ’s mission… with His Kingdom… that means separating from the world!
We must leave absolutely no chance for us to return to our “old lives”… We cannot leave room for a “contingency plan,” and still follow Christ… because there will always be a small piece we will not let Him change!
We must destroy every connection to our old lives!
Have you done that? Have you totally destroyed every connection to your “old life”?
Or, Is there a place you are holding on to… a small piece of that “old life”… one little piece of “comfort”… just in case…
We will never realize the fullness… the beauty… of what Christ wants to do in us … through us… and for us… if we are holding on to any part of our “old self.”
Christ commands:
“Follow Me.”
Will you answer?
(altar call)