Come Follow Me

Jesus said, come and follow me.

It was 30 years ago, almost to the day, that I had a conversation with Jeff.

Jeff was a builder.

He was also a youth leader at the church where I grew up on the Isle of Wight.

And it was the summer 1994.

I'd just graduated and I was about to start my first job as a youth worker in Billericay in Essex.

And in the summer between finishing college and starting my new job,

I was asked if I would go and be chaplain to this boys' brigade camp,

which our church was involved with.

And so I was very happy to help out with that.

Jeff and his wife June were youth leaders in the church where I grew up.

And every Sunday evening, they would open their home.

And myself, along with quite a large number of teenagers, would fill their front room.

We would drink all their tea, eat all their chocolate biscuits, and occasionally do some Bible study.

But it was the summer of 1994.

And the camp that I'd been involved with was just coming to an end.

And we were driving back in Jeff's van.

We had some of the camping stuff in the back of the van.

Jeff was driving.

I was sat there in the passenger seat.

We were driving from Swanage in Dorset back to the Isle of Wight.

And Jeff, who is no longer with us, but Jeff and I had this conversation about faith, about ministry, about youth work.

He knew I was about to start as a youth worker.

And he knew that it was in the very early stages of me trying to work out what God was saying to me about the rest of my life.

And he knew that I felt that that probably meant that I was going to become a minister at some point.

And I'll never forget what Jeff said to me.

These weren't his exact words, but it went more or less like this.

He said, really, Russell, whether you become a minister or a youth worker, or like me, you're a builder, just as a Christian, it all really boils down to one thing.

We've got to tell people about Jesus.

Now, that was a conversation that took place 30 years ago, and I still remember it.

And I'm going to be honest, I don't remember much else about probably the many things that Jeff and his wife, Jim, would have said to us over the years of being in the youth group that they led.

But I think they were probably quite pleased if 30 years later, that was the one and only thing that I remember.

Because it is absolutely true.

It's all about Jesus.

I'm reminded of a vicar who arrived on the first day of the new appointment, and he apparently went into the vestry with the church wardens and said,

I need to tell you now, I've only got three sermons.

The first one is entitled, Come to Jesus.

The second one is entitled, Come Back to Jesus.

And the third one is entitled, Come Closer to Jesus.

But first and last, everything in between, that's what it's about.

Take Jesus out of the gospel and there's no gospel.

It's not about religion.

It's not about rules.

It's not about ritual.

It's about relationship.

With one.

Jesus.

And so we begin with those words,

Come, follow me.

Because that's what it's about.

Following him.

Now, there are lots of other times where Jesus actually said,

Go.

We sent people into places.

That's another sermon.

But right now, we're thinking of these words,

right at the beginning of his ministry,

as he called ordinary people to follow him,

in that oh so simple, yet so profound way.

Come, follow me.

They're words of invitation.

And they're words of invitation to know something that is so fundamentally true

that we can so easily forget.

And that, actually, in many ways,

this series which we're just beginning is all about.

Jesus said,

The time has come.

The kingdom of God is near.

In other words, that invitation into his presence.

When Jesus says, Come,

he's coming into knowing

his presence.

Knowing that Jesus is,

I was going to say there,

but knowing that Jesus is here.

That there's no place,

no situation,

at any stage of life,

that you will find yourself where he's not already there.

Because that's his promise.

Come and follow me.

Because he's there.

That's absolutely vital.

Whatever situation you might be facing right now,

whether it's good,

bad,

or a mix of the two,

and it probably is,

whatever you might be hoping for

or living in fear of,

you're not alone.

He's with you.

And that invitation,

and it's a daily one

that we need to hear

and be reminded of,

to come follow me,

is the invitation that reminds us

that there is no place,

no situation,

no set of circumstances

that you will ever find yourselves in

where he is not already present.

The kingdom of God is near,

is at hand.

And it is knowing his presence

that makes all the difference.

Apparently,

Wellington once said of Napoleon,

his presence on the battlefield

is like that,

more than that,

of 40,000 other soldiers.

such was the presence,

the charisma,

the power of that one individual

that he had such an impact.

I dare say

we can draw on many other examples

from human history.

But when we're talking about Jesus,

yes, we are talking about human history,

but we are not only talking

about human history,

we are talking about the divine,

the absolute truth,

that which is ultimate and unique,

the author of the entire universe

and the sustainer of it,

the one who has always been there

and always will be,

is there,

is here,

with you.

And those words of Jesus

that say,

come follow me,

are words that remind us

to stay close

to that fundamental promise

that he's present.

It's easy to say that.

It's also very easy

to forget that reality.

And,

in many ways,

discipleship is about

finding ways

of sustaining that awareness

because it can be so challenging.

sustaining and growing

and growing in that awareness

that Jesus is always there with you.

Because when you know

that you are in his presence,

you act differently.

We do.

When we know

that he's not in some other distant place,

but he's not in heaven

looking down at us,

but he's actually with us

and in us,

when we know that,

we live that out differently.

Our responses are different.

So,

in many ways,

growing as a disciple

of Jesus

is growing

in that knowledge

of his presence.

But that can be the challenge.

Now,

we may perhaps

vary

depending on

how and where

and in what situations

we will find that

particularly challenging.

but I would suggest

to you

that one of the times

where it is most commonly felt

a challenge

is first thing

in the morning.

In that window of time

between waking

and rising,

when we're just

surfacing

to the reality

that we are no longer

asleep

and we are now awake,

and our minds

begin to flood

with all the many things

that we are facing

either in that day

or over the next few days.

They might be

long-term things,

they might be

immediate-term things,

but as we gradually

wake up,

so more

and more

of those things

in the words

of C.S. Lewis

come rushing at us

like wild animals.

And our task,

as C.S. Lewis

put it,

first thing

in the day,

is to push

those thoughts

away

and to focus

on the presence

of Jesus.

How do we do that?

I'm not going to suggest

that there's a

simple formula to it,

but some of the things

we're going to be looking at

over the next few weeks

will be thinking

about some strategies

and some things

that we can do

about that.

But one thing

I have found

that works

for me

is as much

as possible

to try not

to go,

if we can,

try not to go

to screens

first thing.

I can't remember

where I came across

this some while ago,

but the principle

of Scripture

before screens

is a good one.

sometimes it's not

necessarily possible

because if your diary,

your calendar's

on the screen,

you need to check

if you've got to be

somewhere,

you might need

to grab that screen.

But the point

is quite simple.

The longer

we are looking

at a screen

first thing

in the morning,

whether that's

the phone,

iPad,

laptop,

whatever,

it's not going

to help

those thoughts

that come rushing

at us first thing,

that take us

in so many directions.

And if,

if,

if we can push

that back

and resist it

first thing,

and instead

turn to some

words of Scripture,

it hasn't got

to be lots,

we're not talking

about whole chapters,

although that can

be a really helpful

thing,

but the point

is,

is if we can

make the start

of the day,

that time

of stillness

as we

invite God

to remind us

that we are

not alone,

it can make

all the difference.

Come,

follow me,

says Jesus.

Know that the

kingdom

is at hand.

Of course,

as Jesus says,

come,

follow me,

let's remember

to come back

to what we

were thinking

about right

at the start

of our service

this morning.

Those words,

come,

follow me,

are all about

decision making.

Choosing to

follow Jesus

is the biggest

and most

foundational decision

you will ever

make.

Don't be tempted

to think otherwise.

because if you

unpack the

implications

of accepting

Jesus for

everything that

he claims to

be as true,

it shifts

everything.

Right through

from whether

you will marry

somebody to

who you will

marry to

decisions about

children,

right the way

through to the

most mundane,

ordinary decisions

that we make

every day of

our lives.

And everything

in between.

All of those

big decisions,

little decisions,

medium sized

decisions,

directly or

indirectly will

be shaped and

moulded by the

most foundational

decision that

you can ever

make.

And that is

whether we

follow Jesus.

And it's for

that reason that

we need to

remember that

making the

decision to

follow Jesus

is not just

a one moment

in time thing.

Jesus says

repent,

meaning turn

around and

believe the

good news.

It's about

decisions.

many years

ago there

was a

fisherman

by a

lake

who

always

seemed

to

catch

way

more

fish

than

any

other

local

fisherman.

And nobody

could ever

quite work

out how

he did

it.

One morning

he was just

loading up

his boat,

getting his

nets ready

and he was

just about

to set

off,

when a

stranger

by the

shore

said,

do you

mind if I

come with

you today?

a fisherman

who was a

man of

few words

nodded and

said,

sure,

come on

board.

They went

across to

the other

side of

the lake,

the fisherman

didn't say

a word to

this stranger.

Eventually he

stopped his

boat.

He made

his way to

a wooden

box and

lifted up

the lid and

pulled out

a stick of

dynamite.

he lit

the fuse,

he waited

a few

moments and

he threw

it as

far as he

possibly could

into the

water.

Kaboom!

Thousands

of fish

made their

way to the

surface,

threw his

nets and

pulled them

in.

Which point

the stranger

pulled out

an ID card

one.

He said,

I'm the

game warden

and you

are well

and truly

under arrest.

The fisherman

said nothing.

He just

carried on

bringing in

the fish,

eventually

reached down

to the

box,

picked out

another

stick of

dynamite,

lit the

fuse,

waited a

few seconds

and gave

it to

the game

warden

and looked

at him

and said,

are you

going to

sit there

or are

we going

to fish?

There are

some

moments

where you

have to

make a

decision.

And it

seems to

be that

when it

comes to

making a

decision

about God,

we're very

good at

deceiving

ourselves

into thinking

that can

be put

on hold.

How often

will you

meet somebody

who will

say,

well,

I'm just

agnostic.

I don't

really know

and I

don't

think

it's

possible

to

know.

And

sometimes

people

say,

no,

I'm

fine

with

that.

Don't

say that

to

discredit

anybody's

integrity,

but there

are some

decisions,

rather like

the stick

of dynamite,

that have

to be

made.

Jesus

is either

who he

claims to

be or

he's

not.

and if

he is,

we need

to do

something

about

him.

Decision

making

is at

the very

core of

being a

disciple of

Jesus.

But

it's not

just a

one-time

decision.

of course

there is

that,

perhaps that

moment where

we make

that change

from not

being a

follower of

Jesus to

being a

follower of

Jesus.

But let's

not think

that we

can look

back and

think that

it was a

one-point

frozen-in-time

moment.

Because

those words

come,

follow me

are words

that come

our way

every single

day in

every decision

we make.

And our

calling is to

work out

how,

knowing the

presence of

Jesus with

us,

we respond

to every

decision so

that we are

following him

in every

decision that

we make.

And lastly,

let's remember

that what we're

talking about

here is not

someone else's

decision.

It's a

decision that

comes to

each and

every one

of us.

it's too

easy for us

to think

that the

gospel is

somebody else's

good news.

That it's a

message that

was intended

for somebody

else but

not for

me.

See,

notice the

immediacy of

the response

that those

first

disciples

make to

Jesus.

Those

first followers

of Jesus,

there's no

hanging around.

they just

leave their

boats and

nets behind

and go.

We don't

need to be

fishermen to

follow Jesus

and we may

not be talking

about laying

down boats

and nets,

but all of us

will have

something.

And again,

all of us

will have

something every

day of our

lives that

we are called

to lay down

in order to

follow him.

And our

question is,

what is that?

And that

will probably

look a little

bit different

for each and

every one of

us because

we are all

different.

But we

need to

remember that

this challenge,

this invitation,

come follow

me, with

Jesus at the

centre is

something for

each and

every one of

us with

absolutely no

exception.

You see,

those first

followers of

Jesus knew

that Jesus

was speaking

to them

personally.

Let me

share one

last story

with you

before we

come to

pray.

There's a

story about

Bishop Taylor

Smith,

who was

a former

chaplain

general to

the forces.

He had a

conversation

one day

with a young

man that

went like

this.

Bishop Taylor

Smith said,

when you

think about

the cross

of Christ,

what do

you see?

The young

man thought

and replied

to him,

I see

Christ and

I see

two thieves

crucified

either side

of him.

The bishop

replied,

what else

do you

see?

The young

man thought

some more

and he

said,

I see

the soldiers

gambling.

Bishop said

this,

if that is

all you

see,

I think

you will

have trouble

with the

Christian

life.

When I

see the

cross,

with all

that,

I see

old

Bishop

Taylor

Smith.

I was

crucified

with

Christ.

These

words,

come,

follow me,

are close

up and

personal.

As close

up and

intimate as

it can

possibly

get.

So as

we come

to pray

now,

let's ask

God to

bring those

words close

up and

personal to

us,

that we

might bring

our lives

closer to

him and

to grow

in him.

So let's

pray.

Lord God,

we thank

you that

you come

to us in

Jesus,

not to

be religious,

not to

engage in

rules or

ritual,

but to

know you

and to

know that

we are

known and

loved by

you.

Lord,

as we

think of

our lives

now and

we think

of the

mess we

make,

the

mistakes we

make and

how we

get it

wrong over

and over

again,

we just

bring the

reality of

our lives

before you

now.

We confess

the reality

of our

sin and

brokenness.

forgiveness.

And we

ask of your

forgiveness.

Lord,

we thank

you that

because of

Christ and

his death

and resurrection,

we may

know that

we are

forgiven.

So help

us to

walk in

freedom.

Help us

to follow

you in

our

everyday

lives.

To know

and to

grow in

your living

presence with

us.

Help us

to know

that you

go before

us in

every situation

that we

face tomorrow,

this week,

and in the

time to

come.

And as we

do so,

help us

to grow

more and

more and

more into

the people

that you

want us

to be.

In

Jesus'

name.

Amen.