Learning to Trust Jesus:Follow Me

Matthew 4:17-22 (ESV) 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Introduction:

• Today’s message is entitled Follow Me.
• This is the second message on *learning to trust Jesus*.

1. It all started with Jesus’ instructions *follow me*.

1.1. Simple enough of an instruction.
1.2. From that moment a process of learning to trust Jesus began in our lives. 1.3. When we began to follow the focus of our life and in the Apostles case, their profession, began to change.

2. Follow Me began with a miracle.

Luke 5:1-11 (ESV) 1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

2.1. It took Simon a moment to trust Jesus’ instructions.
2.2. His first reaction was not to trust.
2.3. Ela… Jesus gave the instruction and just looked at him and waited. Luke 5:5 (ESV) And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
2.4. Jesus got his attention with the miracle haul of fish.
2.5. The best catch of their fishing career and they walked away.

3. *Follow Me* requires a denial of self.

Luke 5: 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Matthew 16:24 (ESV) Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

3.1. You have to deny the urge and the freedom of just going ahead or going left or right when Jesus is going straight.

Proverbs 4:25-27 (NKJV) 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

3.2. Ela… following behind a vehicle. Think abut following a person in a vehicle when you do not know where you are going. Some follow better than others.

3.3. Following means your are watching the lead of another.
3.4. Following means you are bearing the responsibility of not loosing sight.

4. Then comes the time when we trusted to go out on our own.

Luke 9:1-6 (ESV) 1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

4.1. We follow to learn to walk on our own.
4.2. Up to this point it was a Jesus show.
4.3. This was a different sort of instruction.
4.4. They had to implement what they had seen snd heard.
4.5. Now they had to trust and believe that they could do it soon their own.

4.6. They were not even allowed to take anything for their journey.

4.7. They had to trust that all their needs could be taken care of.

5. They had to learn to trust for sustenance.

Luke 9:10-17 (ESV) 10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish —unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

5.1.The Apostles had just returned from walking in the healing power of God and seeing people delivered.

5.2. But now there were hungry people before them and their natural response was to end the revival meetings and send them on their way.

5.3. Another opportunity to learn to trust the Lord for all things in life.

6. Give Jesus what you have.

Luke 9:16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

6.1. Learning how when we give to Jesus our little that He can turn it into enough.

6.2. They gave Jesus all they had and He multiplied it and gave it back. 6.3. Our natural response when we do not have enough is to try to hold on more tightly to what we have.

6.4. Ela… We learned this lesson with our wedding seed we sowed. I was in the Philippines making around $500/month and Christina and I were to get married. We did not have nearly enough for the weeding, honeymoon, tickets to Asia, ect… so we sowed a seed oof essentially all we had and it just all sort of naturally seeming took care of itself.

6.5. One reason we withhold from giving to Jesus what we have is that we have not learned to trust Him that He will give it back when and how we need it.

6.6. The Lord provides and provides and, it seems, in many cases when one is not even bringing His tithe into the House. Imagine what we would if all began tithing and being generous with His provision.

7. Then it was time to learn the cost of following.

Luke 9:57-62 (ESV) 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

7.1. Are you sure you are willing to go where I go?

7.2. “Son of man has nowhere to lay his head”

7.3. Can I first go deal with my family?
7.4. What a hard saying this was.

7.5. Cannot allow others in our life to stop us from following fully, though the excuses are many.

Conclusion:

• Get out of the boat even if it means, like one man said, I fell out the boat.
• He who saves his life loses it and he who loses his life saves it.
• To live is Christ and to die is gain.
• We count the cost all the way to the cross.