Jack Graham - Why Follow Jesus?

Watch
Audio
Donate
Prayer Request

TOPICS: Tell Me The Story Of Jesus, Fellowship

Take your Bibles and turn with me to the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Luke's Gospel chapter 5. This is the series we're calling TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS. And so far, we've looked at the character of Christ, who He is. We have discovered that His name is above every name, that He is the beloved Son of God, that He is God in the dirt, Immanuel who is God with us, and that He is the anointed and appointed Messiah of Israel. And we have identified who Jesus is and He is both God and Man. Both human and divine, equally and essential and eternally God. And in His manhood, He walked like a man, He talked like a man, He was a man in every way! And He was a kind of man that could appeal to people, and people would follow Him.

The most important decision that any of us can make is that decision to follow Jesus Christ. And I want to talk to you today about "Following Jesus and the Path of Discipleship". The passage that we have in front of us, Luke 5 and the first 11 verses. If you only had this passage, it would tell you that Jesus is God, that Jesus is Man and He is worthy of all of our worship and fellowship and discipleship, that He's worthy of everything that we can bring to Him. So once you know who Jesus is, you see who He is, you believe in Him and then follow Him. Following Jesus.

And my prayer in this passage and in this message today; that it will challenge all of us to go to a deeper, more dynamic discipleship in Christ, that we will take more steps forward as we follow Him. That we would not simply be secret admirers of Jesus or distant relatives of Jesus, but that He would have all of us all of the time. That we would give our lives unconditionally to Him. Because Jesus did not say admire Me, He said follow Me, follow Jesus. Jesus is popular. He is preaching throughout the Galilean region and crowds are gathering. And Jesus was good with the crowds.

You know, every preacher, and Jesus was preacher, God had one Son and He made Him a preacher. And preachers like the crowd. I like when a big crowd like this shows up. But we also need to remember that while Jesus loved the crowds and had compassion on the crowds, it was never about the crowd, and it is not about the crowd; it's about the one. And so we're going to take the next several weeks and we're going to go one on one with Jesus and talk about some of the conversations He had with people individually.

So we're going to do some facetime with Jesus and some of the people that met Jesus and that we might meet Him as well. And the first conversation that we're going see is a conversation that He had with Simon Peter, and the other disciples, but specifically Simon Peter, who was a fisherman. We call him the big fisherman. But he was a man who began following Jesus and his life would never be the same. So beginning at verse 1: "On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God", literally, God speaking, "to hear the word of God".

He is preaching; the crowds are listening. This is always our purpose when we stand in this place before you and before the people who are watching online, those listening on the podcast. It occurred to me this week that I'm preaching to more people right now than I've ever preached to in my life and I'm grateful for that opportunity. But again, the crowds are pressing in. What's the message? The message is the Word of God. Not our message, not some message of a man, but the message of God. And so this is God speaking. Jesus was not a man speaking about God or teaching about God; He was God who had come to teach.

So the Word of God. And to this very day the Word of God, the message of Jesus is our message. We have no other message. When I stand here each week and when others stand in this place, this is not a speech, this is not entertainment, this is the Word of God that goes forth from this pulpit. We preach Christ, and Christ alone! So when He is present and when His word is preached, people gather. And that was what was happening here around the Sea of Galilee, "he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, I just called it the Sea of Galilee but Luke, ever the historian".

There are four Gospel witnesses: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in your New Testament. This describes the historicity and the divine inspiration of who Jesus is. And Luke being a physician is telling the story very accurately. And he mentions that this is a lake because what we call the Sea of Galilee, and I've been to it many, many times. But he was standing by the Sea of Galilee or the Lake Gennesaret. It is Gennesaret. Luke identifies it as a lake. It was a fresh water lake, not a sea. There was no salt in this body of water.

And there was a beautiful fertile, are beautiful fertile fields east and west around the Sea of Galilee and there was probably a garden by the name of Gennesaret. A beautiful place, a fertile field or a garden and thus the lake became known as Lake Gennesaret. And He is preaching there, "and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's (that's Peter), he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat". From the prow of this boat.

When I was in West Palm Beach, Florida, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in the 1980's, one of my processors, Dr. Jesse Moody had built an amphitheater on the Intercoastal of the Atlantic Ocean and it was an outdoor, beautiful amphitheater. And the pulpit that I preached from every week was literally made by a boat maker, the prow of a boat. And it was taken from this idea in the passage. And it was always a thrill to preach outdoors and to preach from the prow of this boat. And that's what Jesus was doing. The crowd was pushing Him, so He gets out, He gets into Simon's boat.

Simon, along with John and Andrew and others were already following Him to some extent. They were around Jesus; they were admiring Jesus, but something much better, much bigger is about to happen, once Simon truly gives his life to follow Christ. So Jesus pushes out, He's teaching the people. "And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon (ever putting his foot in his mouth) answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!'" Simon must have been thinking "What does an itinerant, unemployed carpenter know about fishing? I'm a fisherman. We've worked all night. There's nothing out there to be had this day".

But to Simon Peter's credit, he says in verse 5, "But at your word..." Always a good response when the Lord asks you to do something, whether you understand it or not. But Lord, nevertheless, "'Lord at your word I will let down the nets.' And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. So when Simon Peter saw it..."

When he saw this incredible miracle that God created, that Jesus made happen, "he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee (2 brothers), and who were partners (fishing partners. They were in the business together) with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.' And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him".

They left it all and they followed Jesus. Grown men who were willing to leave their careers behind and at whatever personal cost to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The question of this message that I'm asking everyone today is: Are you a follower of Jesus? I didn't ask are you a fan of Jesus. Or even favorable toward Jesus. I'm asking because of who He is, He is God and Man, Son of God, Savior of the world. And because of this, we've seen His miracle, we've seen what God can do in Christ, and now because of this, are you willing to follow Him? Again, not as an admirer or an advocate, but as a disciple.

Now what is a disciple of Jesus? A disciple literally means someone disciplined to learn. And a Christian life is a life of discipleship, learning and loving Jesus. Learning of Jesus and loving Jesus Himself. To follow Jesus, of course, literally means to walk with Him. So disciples walk with Jesus. They spend time with Jesus. Not just apostles in the ancient age, but men and women today who are willing to walk with Jesus every single day, and to learn more and more about who He is. This is one of the big reasons we're doing this series, TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS, because this is a time of discipleship for us.

My message is that you would know your faith and own your faith! Own your faith, know your faith and then grow your faith. And that's a disciple. And that's not just for students in school, but it is all of us who have enrolled the curriculum of Christ! All of us who are believers, and therefore, we are followers of Jesus. So many have made a decision but they have not become disciples to follow Him, and there's a big difference. Following Jesus is more than cheering for Jesus and celebrating Him or attending a service when it's convenient or when it's a special day; but it is following Jesus all the time in every way that you can. So I want to talk аbout: What does it take to make a disciple? We're all in process, that's why I called the subtitle: "The Pathway to Discipleship".

So what is this pathway? What is a disciple and a follower of Jesus? Number one, and we see it right in this text. Number one, a disciple commits to follow Christ, to completely follow Jesus. A disciple commits to following Jesus completely. Now that the crowds are following Jesus and the Word is spreading around the Galilee about who He is, He's now calling individuals. He's an incredible teacher; He's a healer, performing great miracles; He has power over disease; now we see that He has power over nature, He can command the fish. And they're gathering, it's like a stadium, people gathering and cheering a winning team. I mean, this was the atmosphere around Lake Gennesaret or around this little pond where Jesus was preaching.

And Jesus welcomed everyone. We learned in the last message that He came as the anointed, the appointed Messiah for who? The blind, the broken, the bruised, the bound, the people who were hurting and helpless. Jesus came for these. And so many ordinary people, broken people, common people were gathering around Jesus. Many were just curious, but then He calls His disciples to follow Him and commit. Jesus separates always from the crowd, the curious crowds those will commit and follow Him. In fact, the larger the crowds, you see this in the life of Jesus, the larger the crowds became, the more Jesus demanded discipleship. To count the cost! He said, "Pick up the cross and follow Me".

Real followers, not twitter followers, but Jesus followers! Why did Jesus have so many admirers and so few followers in some ways? Some did not have the courage to follow Jesus; to risk their reputation, their careers, their future, or put it in His hands. Some did not follow Jesus because they're just too busy. Jesus called people to discipleship and one man who was listening, said, "Well, first, let me go bury my father and then I'll follow you". Really? We're going to wait for grandpa to die, then I'll follow You, Jesus! No. Jesus said, "Now, immediately, it's worth everything to follow Me".

Some don't want to give up control of their lives. They want to be the captain of their own ship rather than giving Jesus the boat! They're unwilling to say, "Lord, I'll follow You as Lord. You will lead me wherever I go; You will be my Master and my Friend". Some people do not follow Jesus as a disciple because they've never been challenged at this level, never been coached-up.

I read a quote this week from Billy Graham that I wanted to give you, and Billy's been in heaven a few years now, but His voice is still so supercharged to every generation. He was talking about the fact, he said, "I can't live the Christian life alone; I'm a failure. Billy Graham can't live the Christian life; I've tried, I can't do it. But with the help of the Word of God and the help of the Holy Spirit, I can live the Christian life. He lives His life through me"! And I love that because I'm thinking, my goodness, if Billy Graham can't live the Christian life, what about me?! No one can live the Christian life in our own strength! The discipleship that we're talking about is the discipleship that is now full of the Spirit of the presence of Jesus. Christ lives His life through us.

He went on to say in this article that I was reading, he said this actually back in 1955, here's what Billy said that is prophetic. He said: "The regeneration of the individual is much more needed than the revolution of society". He stated in that same year, "If I didn't believe that the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ held the answer to this world-baffling problem, I would go back to the farm and the rural life that I love and spend my days in peaceful solitude".

Well, I'm glad Billy didn't go back to the farm; that he preached the Gospel all over the world. And this is what, you know, if I did not believe this Gospel to be the only answer, that Jesus is not the only answer, I'd go do something else as well. I'd play golf, or do something else! But because I believe that Jesus is the answer to the human predicament and problem, because He's the only solution to the problems that we have in America and around the world, we keep preaching Jesus Christ because He is the answer.

But here's what I wanted you to hear from Billy today; he said: "If Christianity is important at all, it is all important! If it is anything at all, it is everything! It is either the most vital thing in your life, or it isn't worth bothering with". It's true! Are you a follower of Jesus? Are you a disciple, one who is learning of Him and living for Him and loving Him? Following Jesus will cost you some days. It may cost you friends; it may cost you family members who don't understand. It could cost you a spouse and a relationship, but it's worth it to follow Jesus, isn't it? It's worth it to give your all to Him. Because when we are willing to give up anything and everything to follow Him, He will give us back something better, both now and in eternity, especially in eternity when we meet Him.

We need to give up those things that slow us down, impede our progress in walking with Jesus and being with Jesus as a disciple. Any attitude in my life, any activity in my life, any association, any ambition that does not honor Christ I need to turn my back, walk away from it, leave it behind and follow Jesus! With my eyes upon Him! This is the call to discipleship; this is the cost of discipleship.

We were talking about Nazi German. There was a pastor, well-known by name, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, that became a martyr for the Christ, his faith in Christ and resisting the Nazis. And he wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship. There is a price to pay, but it's worth it! It cost to serve Jesus, and I assure you it pays to serve Jesus every single day. But we ought to lay aside the weights and the sin that so easily takes us down, as the writer of Hebrews says. Let's quit asking is thing I'm about to do, is it sinful? And start asking ourselves the question: Is it helpful? Does it get me down the road in following Jesus? What do I need to leave behind? What do you need to leave behind?

Jesus is calling us to deny self, to pick up the cross and follow Him. He is to be second to none in our lives! First place and foremost always! There are no rivals! We're to love Him more than anyone and anything! Jesus Christ. That's discipleship. That's where we're going. He is to be the one and only. Guys, what if you had a portrait of your wife on your desk, beautiful portrait of your wife, but next to your wife, there were some little photos of your old girlfriends and friends, women that you like all around. How do you think that's going to go over? Not so well. There's only One that we look to, for our salvation, for our strength every day. To follow Jesus is to commit to Him exclusively.

Some of you need to give up your religion and give up your church background and give up your denomination, and whatever it is, so that you can follow Jesus. So to follow Jesus is to commit your all to Him, to follow Jesus is to be a disciple and therefore, to count the cost. And that's the last part of this message. What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to become fishers of men. This is the call, because when you're following what are you doing? You're fishing. This is the call to cast our net, the width of our influence, to use whatever we have to bring people and introduce people to Jesus Christ. This is the mission and the passion of our Lord and it's what He's called every one of us to do. I like to say that fishermen take fish from a beautiful life and kill them. But Jesus takes people from a dead life and makes their life beautiful.

This is why we share the Gospel of Christ because we know. And what I love in seeing the scene here, is just the exuberance in which these men follow Jesus. Think about it. These are young men but they're willing... what would cause these young men, rough-hewn fisherman just to walk away from their lives as they've known it. Everything they've known, the business they worked so hard to develop. What would cause someone just to drop all of that and follow Jesus? The pure power of Jesus to change a life. You'll walk away from anything to follow the one who can make your life brand new. And we want people to know...

You know, this story I love. I didn't get to explain it enough, but when Jesus told Peter to put that boat out in the deep and to launch out into the deep, it reminds me that God has called this ship of grace, this big boat not to stay in the harbor but to launch out into the deep and cast a wide net to people around the world who need Jesus. And we're seeing that. It's why we have a school! It's why we do everything! It's what this service is about! Right now I'm getting ready to throw a net on the internet! Ha! And then open this big net in this room, and I'm going to draw the net. And I'm going to invite you to come to faith in Jesus Christ. It's why we give an invitation.

I can't imagine preaching the Gospel, that Christ died and rose again and lives so that He can live in you! I can't imagine bringing the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus and not drawing the net! So we're going to draw the net right now by asking you to bow your heads with me in prayer. Every head bowed and every eye closed. Are you a follower of Jesus? I'm not asking you to make a decision; I'm asking you to be a disciple and a follower of Jesus. It starts with one step. Simon Peter recognized that he was a sinful man. He said, "Lord I'm a sinful man". When he saw the power of God in Christ, when he saw that he had been rebellious in his own heart. He knew his sin. But Jesus casted the net for sinners, like you and me, like Simon Peter.