SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2024
FOLLOW HIM – Pastor Chris
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).
Notice what the Lord said in the verse above: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Your responsibility is to follow Him, and He’ll make all your dreams come true. Follow Him, and He’ll see to it that you fulfil God’s calling and destiny for your life. But how do you follow Him?
If you had lived in Jesus’ day in Israel, you might have thought that following Him meant physically accompanying Him from street to street, village to village, or town to town. It’s however beyond that. Judas, who followed Jesus physically, ultimately betrayed Him and lost out with God, proving that following Him physically wasn’t enough.
The first aspect of following Jesus is to follow Him in the Word, for He is the living Word. John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” When you follow Him in the Word, you’re following Jesus Himself. The written Word is all about Jesus.
Secondly, you must follow Him through the Word. As you study the Word, you’ll find Jesus and understand His mindset, His beliefs, and observe His actions. You’ll see how He responded to everything. You’ll read, for example, how He reacted to a billowing tempest; He demonstrated authority over nature and His ability to bring peace even in the midst of chaos (Mark 4:38-39).
Everything about Jesus is revealed in the Word. Learning how He responded in various situations provides valuable insights for our own lives. When He got hungry, what did He do? When He felt tired, what did He do? He did all He did to show us how to live. Therefore, we must follow Him in, through, and by the Word. Following Him by the Word means to act on His Word, to do what He says. James 1:22 NIV says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
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PRAYERDear Father, thank you for the privilege to follow Jesus in, through, and by the Word. I immerse myself in your Word daily, and I’m granted deep insights to understand its mysteries, deep secrets, and apply the principles and teachings in my life. I’m a doer of the Word, and I experience victory and triumphs in every aspect of my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
John 8:31-32
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Luke 9:23
And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
James 1:22-25 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 & Psalms 135-138
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Colossians 2:16-23 & Jeremiah 10-11
