What It Means To Follow

 Matthew 4:18-25


18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

 

We might think it was easier for the disciples to follow Jesus than it is for us today. After all, they were able to experience His physical presence and learn from His example, whereas we can’t touch, see, or hear Him the way they could.

But Christ made provision for His work to continue after He left this earth: He promised the disciples a Helper who would never leave them—a Helper who would actually live within them (John 14:16-17). 

Today we, too, follow Jesus by hearing and heeding His indwelling Holy Spirit. In fact, there’s no better way to get personal guidance. As Jesus did for His disciples, the Spirit guides us each step of the way and teaches us the truths of God. But His work goes beyond that. The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out and enables us to serve and obey the Lord. He helps us discover God’s will for our life and shows how to walk in His path. All we have to do is follow. 

An essential requirement for following Jesus is sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s voice. And the more yielded we are to His guidance, the sharper our spiritual hearing will become.





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