Young People's Group

“… FOLLOWED HIM”

by Pastor Mitch
March 17, 2013

Matching The Call To Follow Jesus

We have heard about this Biblical call to follow the Lord Jesus many times (Mark 1:17). This is an invitation from the Son of God to discover Him, to be molded and empowered by Him to be effective soul winners. We have read about it, studied it, understood it and be even inspired and challenged to follow Him as we should. And yet, being inspired and challenged does not necessarily mean that we actually get down to following the Lord Jesus. Last week, Pastor Charles sent out once again this vital invitation to follow our Savior. Have we gotten down to exercising our faith to actually follow Him? When we look at the example of the disciples of Jesus, it can be observed that they made definite steps towards being discipled by the Lord. They were able to match His call to be fishers of men by responding in definite ways.

“They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” 
Mark 1:18

“And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.” 
Mark 1:20

1. A Speedy Response

The disciples of Jesus did not hesitate to rise up to the call of discipleship. They understood what the Lord meant when He called them to follow Him. They immediately responded to the Lord Jesus and did not waste any time. It is easy for us as young people to procrastinate and drag our feet about many things. Young people, do we also know how to respond immediately to the Lord’s call? Let’s not procrastinate any longer. Let’s seek to learn much about being fishers of men at the Church family camp.

2. A Submissive Response

The Lord Jesus’s call dictates that one should be in submission and obedience to Him. In the discipleship process, the one who is the teacher will lead while the other would follow. It would require humility and submission on the part of the student to learn and to follow his teacher. The disciples understood what it meant to have Jesus as their teacher. Are we willing to submit and to learn from the Lord Jesus as our Lord and teacher?

3. A Sacrificial Response

To truly follow Jesus would require us to sacrifice something, even everything, along the way. Peter and Andrew left their nets immediately and followed Jesus. They were willing to forgo their livelihood as fishermen to follow Jesus. James and John also responded by leaving their all to answer this call. They too left their jobs to follow our Master. They left their father behind, their families and their hired servants. This may indicate to us that John and James were a bit more well-off than the other fishermen. And yet, they were willing to set aside all things to follow the Lord. What are we willing to set aside to follow Jesus? Let’s also learn to make sacrifices for the Lord Jesus as we seek to be His disciples.

4. A Sustained Response

The disciples of Jesus did not just commence following Jesus. They were able to sustain their efforts in following Him. They carried on this path of discipleship for the next three years and beyond. They showed that they were truly serious and committed towards this process of the Lord making them into fishers of men. Young people, let’s also sustain our efforts in following the Lord Jesus. Let’s follow the Lord Jesus till the day He comes for us.

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