2023 September BIG SUNDAY - FOLLOW ME

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Follow me.

This is the next series that we're kind of digging into and

that phrase, this title,

is very...

It's a very New Testament for lack of a better word.

And

when we started talking about this series, I

obviously, it kind of immediately goes to Matthew chapter 4, a verse in Matthew chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 4 verse 19 is

Matthew 4:19

very early in

the ministry of Jesus and he is when he first calls

Simon, Peter, and his brother Andrew into discipleship.

Jesus said, follow me, it's very simple.

Follow me.

And I will make you

you fishers of people.

Through this month, we're gonna

break this verse into three pieces. You can kind of see them there. Step one, follow me.

Step two, he's gonna make us something that we're not.

In fact, in that making, it means change. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. And then

when he said to Peter, I'm gonna make you a fisher of people.

What?

He was a fisher of fish. That was his business.

If we'll make a decision to follow Jesus,

that simple decision will bring us into a place that we could not arrive on our own.

The place that God actually created us to be.

The place where our blessing is. The place where our happiness is.

In fact, in Psalms, the Bible describes it as our wealthy place.

Did you know the Bible says that?

About you. There is this place of blessing. And that place of blessing is for you.

But how do you get there?

You have to follow.

So I want to talk about this today.

And I'm gonna show you a couple of pictures and videos to try to help look at this.

I love history. Everybody knows I love history. And recently, Tony Cook was here. He did our

experience, Ramaday. If you don't have those recordings, I want to make sure you get them.

He shared this photo that he snapped when he was in Rome. And next to this statue, next to this

statue that he took a picture of, it says, the earliest symbol of the Christian faith

was that of a shepherd carrying a sheep. I didn't know that. Did you know that?

Today, we often think the symbol that's most associated with Christianity is a cross.

But during the first couple centuries of Christianity, Christians were being crucified.

So crosses were less popular, especially as jewelry. The statue that is in Rome is a reproduction.

But this picture, you see the older one, this actually dates from about 70 AD.

That's about the time the apostle Paul went home to be with the Lord.

A shepherd carrying sheep. Think about this. The notion of follow me was so in the mind of the early

church that it is how it is the shorthand they used or the symbols that they used between one

another. He's the good shepherd. And I'm his sheep. Let's look at that next image.

This is a question. What does it mean to follow? If you think about it, it's not that difficult to

define. It means someone else is leading. Someone else is deciding which way to go.

Have you ever followed someone and thought, do they know where they're going?

Have you ever driven behind Joseph? No, I'm just...

You're following someone. They're like, just follow me. I'll show you which way to go.

And then you've made four left-hand turns and think, okay, wait a minute, something's wrong.

When you say, follow me, you put someone else in charge of where you're going.

Someone else needs to make the decision.

Now, Jesus said, I'm the good shepherd.

Richard's favorite chapter in the Bible, John chapter 10. He said, I am the good shepherd.

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus is the good shepherd. In fact, you can look through John chapter 10 and find seven

John 10 · chapter mention

reasons why he is the good shepherd. He's very good. Here's the question though. Are we good at being sheep?

What do you think? The Bible says, in Matthew chapter 9, it says that when Jesus saw the

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep

that have no shepherd. Weary and scattered.

You find someone, hey, how are you? To be honest, I'm kind of weary and I feel very scattered.

When Jesus looked at the multitudes in himself, in his heart, he was moved with compassion for

them because they were in that state. What is the answer for that state? The answer is a shepherd,

the good shepherd. He leads us. He calls us by name. He gives us life more abundantly.

He makes it so that we never perish. He is very good. He's very good at his job.

He is the good shepherd. But how about us? What about our part? How are we at following?

How are we at following? Look at the next image there.

Sheep need a shepherd. This is a cute little picture, right? Now, I wouldn't say, I did grow up on a

farm but we didn't have sheep. We had rabbits. We had a lot of other things but we didn't have

sheep. But I do know this. This is not what sheep look like automatically.

This is what sheep look like when they have been around their shepherd.

Sheep by themselves left to their own devices. A sheep, little fluffy lamb, decides to make its

own decisions. It's not going to look like this. If you see a sheep like this, you can know one

thing. This sheep has spent some time with a good shepherd.

Now, hold this in your mind. The early church, when they wanted to explain, what is it like

to follow Jesus? Have you seen a shepherd? Yeah? You know the little sheep? Yeah? It's like that.

You're the sheep. He's the shepherd and he's really good.

But not all the sheep look like this. In fact, let's look at this picture.

Or, well, let's look at this video. Thanks. This is a video of a shepherd

rescuing a sheep that is in a ditch. The sheep's very happy. Yay! I'm free. I'm stuck.

Now, does this look familiar? Jesus is the good shepherd and I am the sheep of his pasture.

And he delivers me out of all my destruction. And I say, Yay! I'm free. And then I fall right

back into what he delivered me from. Sheep need a shepherd. You notice here this shepherd,

he's got some equipment, right? He's got a strap that he's using to pull the sheep

out. But the sheep has a decision to make. Stick with the shepherd or do its own thing.

Look at this video. So here's a shepherd with a funny hat. And oh!

Now here's the sheep and they're like, Nope, we're not going to listen to our shepherd.

We're going to do our own thing. Oh yeah. And another thing, shepherd, take that.

This looks painful, doesn't it? It's kind of funny to sit here and watch it, but I don't think the

shepherd's laughing. Look at the next picture. Or this verse here. This is a passage of scripture

very familiar from Isaiah. We like sheep have gone astray.

When we leave the shepherd, what happens? We experience things the shepherd did not plan for us.

The shepherd wants to get us out of the ditch.

Right? So he works and he pulls us out of the ditch and we're like, Yay! And then we get right back in.

The shepherd is like, Hey, let's get across this road. And we're going to go over here and we're

going to eat some green grass. And the sheep are like, No, we're going to knock you down. We're

going to go our own way. I want to introduce you to a sheep named Shrek. This is a funny picture.

Shrek the sheep. Now Shrek decided, you know what? I don't need a shepherd. I'm going to go my own way.

And so for six years Shrek lived on his own. He ate what he wanted to eat. And he lived where he

wanted to live. He just went his own way. And when he was found by the shepherd, think about this,

the shepherd found him. When he was found, he was carrying 27 kilos of extra weight.

Do you ever feel like you're carrying some extra weight? It's a little heavy. How many of you want

to lose 27 kilos? You need to get with your shepherd. You know, inside of all that wool

is a bunch of stuff that we don't want any part of. Bugs, sticks.

This isn't a healthy Shrek. Shrek is kneading his shepherd. But his shepherd finds him

and cleans him up. And they've made him a jacket.

It's a nice jacket. Sheep knead a shepherd. Why follow me? Jesus says in Matthew chapter four,

he said, Hey, you guys follow me and I'll make you into something you can't even imagine today.

Why follow me? Because otherwise we're going to look like Shrek carrying around extra weight

and experiencing things that are shepherd, the good shepherd never intended.

He has a plan for you. His plan is to bring you to that place that today you don't even know what it is.

But it's awesome. The Bible describes it as your wealthy place, your laughing place.

How do I get there? Stop making your own decisions and follow him. Follow him.

Jesus asked this question and I think it's good to pause and think about it.

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,

astray means like Shrek, you know what? Go this way. I'm going to go this way. I'm going to eat

what I want to eat. I'm going to live what I want to where I want to live. I'm going to do what I

want to do. I don't need what that shepherd has given. I can do my own thing. Jesus said,

what do you think? A guy has a hundred sheep. One of them goes astray. Does he not leave the 99 and

go into the mountains and look for where Shrek is? And if he should find it assuredly, I say to you,

he rejoices more over that sheep than the 99. Shrek's brothers and sisters didn't get a jacket with

their name on it. He celebrates. He's like, yay, I found him. I found Shrek.

Even so, Jesus said, even so, it is not the will of your father who is in heaven

that one of these little ones will perish. I mentioned Tony Cook. He made a comment

sharing this verse. He said, you know, that doesn't make sense if you're a sheep farmer to leave 99.

Think about it from a business perspective. From a business perspective, there is more

cash value in the 99 that are doing what you told them to do than the one Shrek

that is off in the wilderness. It doesn't make sense unless you're the one that's lost.

If you're the one that's lost, you're the one that's carrying the extra weight,

you're the one that's experiencing things that the shepherd, the good shepherd, never intended,

then it makes a lot of sense.

Do you see what Jesus said? It is not the will of your father that one would perish.

It is possible to know the will of God. And if you get close to him, you'll learn that his will

is that you get into the place he's called you because that's the place of blessing for you.

It is possible to know the will of God. And I'll tell you what it is right now. It's that no one

would perish. The closer you get to him, the more you'll be concerned about people that don't yet

know Jesus. It is not the will of God that even one would perish. And that includes you.

And that's the message of the gospel. Jesus is the shepherd that goes and finds the one that decides,

I'm just going to do my own thing. And he says, Hey Habibi, I have a jacket for you.

It's got your name on it. You want to come with me. And he'll take all of that extra weight off of

us and move us into the place that he's always prepared. That's the gospel. And that's the message

for us. What does it mean to follow him? It means that when he finds us, where he finds us,

we don't make excuses. We just go. Sorry, Mr. Shepherd. You know, I've been here in this cave

for six years. I've been hearing around this extra weight. It's better for you just to go to the

other ones that have listened. I'm too far gone. No one is too far gone because he is so good.

He's so good. So wherever we are, when we hear him say, follow me, here's the answer. Follow him.

Skip ahead a little bit just for time's sake. I want to look at this verse in Jeremiah,

Jeremiah chapter three.

No matter where we find ourselves, here's the answer. Go to him. Follow him.

How do I do that? What do you mean? Follow him.

But I have to wait until like I'm in a boat and he comes to me like Simon Peter and says,

follow me. No, he says here, return. Oh, backsliding children. That doesn't sound very nice.

He says, the Lord, and I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with

knowledge and understanding. The Lord takes personal responsibility to make sure you have access

to shepherds, under shepherds that have his heart. How do I follow Jesus? We follow Jesus

by becoming part of a local body of believers. Discipleship happens in church, not in the building,

but in the relationships that we form as we grow together and follow him together. And Jesus said

here, I'm making it my personal responsibility to make sure that there are shepherds that will

feed you with knowledge and revelation. You know what that means? You're not limited to what I know.

You're not limited to my ability to study or hear from him because he will work through the whole

church family by the Holy Spirit to get you exactly what you need. Guess what happens if you get fed

knowledge and understanding by a shepherd? The next verse. Then it will come to pass that you'll be

multiplied and increased in the land. You can expect once you become part of a local church

following his leadership, you can expect multiplication, increase, and a manifestation of the glory of God.

If you read this, this is a clumsy translation I chose to be honest, but

multiplication, increase, that sounds good. Where's multiplication and increase? It's where you come to

when you follow him. He says it won't be that people say where's the Ark of the Covenant? What's that

talking about? Talking about the manifest presence of God. This morning during worship, we just had a

taste of it, but his presence can fill your bedroom. His presence can fill your car. His presence can

fill your life. Oh, I want that. How do I get that? Follow him. How do I follow him? Get involved in a local assembly.

Discipleship happens at church. And you're not limited to what the guy with the microphone or the girl with the microphone knows.

Jesus takes personal responsibility to feed you with knowledge and revelation so that you are increased and multiplied.

That's a promise. So I have two questions and I'll finish. What does it cost to be a disciple?

What do you think? How much does it cost? Being a disciple sounds pretty good. Multiplication and increase, that sounds pretty good.

But, you know, anybody, anybody ever been in business? What's the bottom line? What is the cost? I like what you're selling, but how much is it?

A lot of people would probably say, you know what? It's free. Is it though? Is it free?

Let's look at what Jesus said. Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 13. He said, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Verse 46 says, who, the merchant, when he found one pearl of a great price, does what? He goes and sells all that he had and made it his own.

How much does it cost to be a disciple of Jesus? Everything. How much did Peter pay? Everything.

Jesus said, if you want to follow me, lose your life.

Woo, glory. Do you know why that's good news? Because yours is going to come to an end. But if you take his, then you'll live by his faith.

Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

How much does it cost to be a disciple? Everything.

The merchant finds the pearl and says, there's more value in that than everything that I have. So I'm going to give up everything that I have to get that.

That is what it means to be a disciple.

Many of you have already done that. You've committed your life. You've given your faith, your allegiance. You've declared Jesus Lord. Some of you, maybe you haven't. You can today.

But a second question is what does it take to remain his disciple?

This is what I want to get to and we'll finish with. When we looked at Abel, we spent some time on this passage of Scripture from Mark chapter 14 in our grow groups. So you're all familiar with it.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

I want to go back and look here. Mark chapter 14 describes Mary bringing Jesus an expensive, the Bible describes in the book of John, very costly box of perfume.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

We know because it's recorded that the approximate cost in today's dollars would be about as much as it would take for a man working for an entire year. Very costly.

She brought this box of perfume and broke it over Jesus.

We're familiar with the story. We looked at this in Abel. We talked about it from Mary's side, the giving side.

But I want to look at the discipleship side, the follow me side.

With this question, what does it take to remain his disciple?

And I'm just going to tell you, I'm not talking to one person, but I am talking to you.

And if you'll listen, this will take you from where you are to a new level in him.

Mark chapter 14, some of those present were indignant to one another. Why this waste of perfume?

Mark 14 · chapter mention

Verse five, and they rebuked her harshly.

Imagine sitting there, you're between Bartholomew and Thaddeus. Suddenly the room smells amazing and it's really kind of like overpowering.

And the disciples that are around him, some of them present, who is them present? The disciples.

These are the ones that Jesus spent some time like all night long praying about, who to choose.

Some of them says we're indignant. That word indignant means they didn't act right.

And they rebuked her harshly. Hey, what you're doing is wrong.

This is a waste. Why did you do this? Think about this.

All these fellows in the room decided that this thing that Mary's doing is too good for Jesus.

This is too much. This is too expensive. He's not worth it.

He wouldn't want you to do that. This is a waste.

The Bible says that they are not acting right. Let's look at what Jesus said.

He said, leave her alone.

So you have all the disciples. They're all there.

Mary breaks this box, pours it out. The value that was contained in the box is now spent.

And they are harshly rebuking her. Jesus turns to them and he says, leave her alone.

Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing.

You know what that is? That's correction.

That's the shepherd, the good shepherd. You know the good shepherd in John chapter 10? Shepherding.

John 10 · chapter mention

That's John chapter 10, the good shepherd. He says, I am the good shepherd.

John 10 · chapter mention

He's talking now to his sheep and he's saying, hey, get back in line.

This is correction.

He corrects the disciples.

In front of Mary, they're telling Mary, you're wrong.

And then now he's like, no, you're wrong. You're wrong.

This is the good shepherd. Shepherding.

This is the good shepherd catching shrek before he wanders off.

And now look what happens. The next verse.

Then Judas, Minhu'ui, one of the 12. Judas, wait a minute. Judas is one of the 12.

What does that mean? That means in John chapter 7, when Jesus stood up and said,

John 7 · chapter mention

all you who are thirsty come to me and drink and out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.

Judas is one of those that has his hand up saying, come rest on us.

Come rest on us, Holy Spirit. You're all that I want. You're all that I want.

He's one of the 12. Him, one of the 12, got corrected.

Jesus said, you're wrong.

And Judas, one of the 12, went to the chief priests for a purpose.

What's the purpose? To betray the shepherd, the good shepherd that is trying to rescue him.

Because he's off. He's going his own way. He's going astray.

The good shepherd tries to correct him. What's he do? Nope. That is wrong.

This is too much. I won't change.

And Judas, one of those with their hand up, just, you're all that I want.

All that I want now starts looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over.

What does it cost to be a disciple? Everything.

What does it cost to remain a disciple?

Well, let me ask it this way. How are you with being corrected?

How do you handle that?

Just smile, look right ahead. I'm not talking to one person, but I am talking to you.

Proverbs chapter 12, verse one, it says, whoever loves instruction, this is a Bible verse.

Proverbs 12 · chapter mention

Whoever loves instruction, loves knowledge. That sounds pretty good.

But the one who hates correction is stupid.

Look it up. The Bible uses the word stupid.

What is that in the air of it? What will it, right?

Hey, how are you about being corrected?

You know, actually, I kind of just prefer being right.

I prefer that someone just tell me, you know what, what you think is right.

The way you look is right. The way you act is right. I kind of like that.

That's what Shrek did. Shrek is like, you know what, I'm kind of tired of this guy with the staff and, you know, telling me what to do.

How are you with correction? Let's look again at the video.

Look at the video.

You know, this is what a lot of, this is honestly, this is why the church globally is so weak.

Because when there's correction, the sheep turn and say, I'm not going to listen to that.

I don't have to do what you say.

I can hear from God on my own. I can be just as good a Christian if I just sit at home and watch YouTube videos.

I don't have to give 10% of my income.

I don't have to read the Bible every day. He still loves me.

I don't have to tell other people about my faith.

Y'all want me to talk about something else?

Jesus is the good shepherd. How are we doing at being sheep?

Do we follow him?

And when he corrects us, how do we handle it?

You know, when it comes to a place where you have to make a change,

that's where you really discover if he is your shepherd.

Let me ask you another way.

What is it that you've decided is too good for him?

What is it that you've decided is too precious?

You've very broken this very costly box over Jesus.

Not just Judas, the other disciples too. They're like, this is a waste.

What is it that's too good for him?

Have you ever heard, not you, someone say, man,

I couldn't imagine leaving my home where I grew up and going to northern Syria

and starting a church in my home. I just can't imagine doing that.

I like my comfort. I like things the way I know them.

I couldn't leave my family. I have family responsibilities.

Okay, so that's what you've decided is too expensive.

What is it, what is the habit that you really enjoy

that you would be unwilling to give up for Jesus?

What is the thing that, you know, I love Jesus.

I'm happy to come to church when it's convenient for me.

But this one thing, don't talk to me about it.

What is it that we would say, I'm not going to give that to him?

Him who? The one who gave it all for us.

In our grow groups, we're going to talk about practically what it means to follow Jesus.

The end of following him is to enter a place where you experience things that he planned

from before the foundation of the earth.

But the cost is everything.

And what it takes to remain his disciple is when, not if, when you're corrected.

You say, yeah, you know what, I was wrong.

And I'm going to change.

I'm going to ask Roy to come and he's going to wrap things up for us.

As we finish, Joseph said something really powerful in the podcast.

He's the thing that's made the biggest difference in his life is putting himself in a position

where he can learn and grow.

Think about that.

What position are you in?

Are you in the position where you're ready and you're you already know everything?

Or are you in the position to be corrected?

Are you in the position ready to change?

Thank you for joining us at Go Church Beirut.

Go Church Beirut exists so that everyone can experience the unconditional love of God, grow in his love, and go with his love to their world.

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And if no one told you yet today, we love you and expect God's best for you.