Pastor Brian's Article for 01/27/2008

Peter and Andrew were on the beach cleaning their nets after a long night of fishing.  Jesus, a local teacher, walked up to them and said, “Come follow me.”  Just a short distance down the shore were Peter’s partners, James and John.  Jesus walked up to them and said the same thing.  The four men were involved in a fishing business that had distribution points as far away as Jerusalem.  They had men who worked for them.  They had worked hard and built a successful business.  Not one of them had thought much about following a rabbi.  They had heard Jesus teach and preach.  They had spent some time with Him.  Now in an unusual turn of events, He was asking them to come and follow Him.  The tradition was for the student to approach the teacher and hope that he would be accepted, but Jesus had come to them.  It did not even take a moment’s thought for them to throw down their nets and walk away from their boats and follow Jesus.  They left everything to follow Jesus.

We so often look at the requirements to follow Jesus as a checklist.  This, this, and this have to be done to come to Jesus.  This, this, and this have to be done to follow Jesus on a daily basis.  Please do not misunderstand.  The requirements of salvation and discipleship cannot be downplayed.  Each person needs to be confronted with the reality of his or her sin.  Each person needs to count the cost of following Jesus.  Each person needs to deny self to follow Jesus, but when it comes to the point of being a checklist, the luster of the relationship has been lost. 

When we look at the disciples, we see that they dropped everything to follow Jesus and thought nothing about it.  They never felt the cost of the renunciation.  What we see in the disciples is adoration for Christ.  Because of their adoration for Christ, they were willing to drop everything that came between them and the will of God.  We don’t remember the disciples because they chose poverty, but because they adored Christ. 

Self-denial has to be a part of our everyday life.  It is not something that is showy or boisterous.  Self-denial cannot boast about its own magnificent sacrifice.  We have to remember that the world we live in is not all there is.  Jesus chided a church for thinking that it was.  While they were well off by the world’s standards, they were living in abject poverty according to His.  They had traded the things of the world for their relationship with Him.  If we chase after the things of the world, we cannot follow Christ. 

Self-denial cannot save us.  Salvation is a result of the work of the Spirit of God in our lives.  Self-denial removes the things that stand between us and Christ.  A 16-ounce glass will hold 16 ounces of water.  If you fill it with ice cubes it may only hold six to eight ounces of water.  Our lives are to be filled with Christ, but we have things in our lives that are taking up space, and we don’t have as much room as we need for Christ. 

I am sure that at some point the disciples had to wonder how they were going to support themselves as they followed Jesus.  They had to come to the point of trusting Jesus.  In my personal pilgrimage with Christ, there have been many ups and downs and times of difficulty, but I can tell you that even in the toughest times, I had what I needed both physically and spiritually because I chose to follow Him no matter what and I chose to trust Him no matter what.  What I have renounced in the process has been worth it all.

That Jesus May Be Revealed,

Brian

Taken from The Hunger for The Holy, Calvin Miller, chapter 3

Order of Service:

Opening chorus “Shout to the North”

Chorus “Rock of Ages”

Welcome and Greeting  - Jay Davis

Chorus - “Rejoice in the Lord Always” # 433

Scripture and Prayer - Deacon

Hymn - “Redeemed” # 531

Time of Meditation

Hymn - “Open Our Eyes, Lord”    # 499

Hymn - “Holy Is the Lord”    # 009

Offering -2 Corinthians 8:1-2

Special -  Julie Cowles

Message -Matt. 5:16

Our Response “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"# 305

Announcements and Sunday School Report

Benediction

Hymn of Fellowship - “All Hail, King Jesus”

Scripture References:

2 Corinthians 8:1-2 – Often the poorest of God’s people find something to give, even in the most difficult of times. This is the kind of commitment needed to win people to Christ and minister to those with physical needs. Generous giving helps accomplish the mission Christ gave to the church.

Matthew 25:31-46 – But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. Then they themselves also will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You? Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."