Why Follow Jesus? – Philippians 3:1- 1
v.11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering and go all the way with Him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it. (Message Paraphrase)
How often do we do things without knowing why? How often do we pause and say, “Why am I doing this?”
So, why follow Jesus? Why give Him a place of honour in your life? Why not ignore Him? Isn’t not following easier than following? Why not follow someone else? Or something else? Follow your dreams? Why not just follow your own ideas, thoughts and reasoning? What motivates us to follow Jesus? If this question isn’t one we continually ponder and answer, we will find ourselves walking away from Him rather than after
We are told not to walk toward Him but to follow
Most of us have experienced the failures that come with this life when we live by our own counsel. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to man but in the end it leads to death.
We could stop right there. Why follow Jesus? because it’s a chance to know Him personally and following Him leads to abundant (copious, plentiful, rich, ample) life not death because we share in His resurrection.
Frenchman Blaise Pascal, a mathematician and Christian philosopher from the 1600s is credited as saying, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any created thing but only by God, the Creator.”
All around us people are seeking something to fill that void. The issue is that this vacuum longing for relationship, is in the shape of an everlasting, unchanging God. It cannot be filled with anything else or satisfied with anything less than a perfect creator. Our relationships with other flawed human beings only leave us wanting.
Jesus is the Best Answer for Who to Follow.
A great part of social media culture is about the ‘follow’.
- Twitter – Katy Perry 109m followers
- Facebook – Christiano Ronaldo 213m likes
- Instagram – Christiano Ronaldo 228m followers
- Jesus has 4bn followers
- He Promised Eternal Life. When we believe in Him, when we are continually following Him, we know in our hearts that we are living that eternal life. There is incredible peace and joy in that life.
- He Promised Us Abundant Life.We live to the full when we follow Jesus. The things we do, the places we go, the things we see all testify to abundant life. Jesus forces us to reflect on our motives for following Him. If we live for comfort and ease, we’re unwilling to give up our beds, money and entertainment to follow Him.
- He Promised That We Would Do Even Greater Things Than He Did!Talk about a greater purpose for our lives! Ever since Jesus walked on the earth, His followers have been changing the world. Sometimes, followers make a dramatic change to an entire nation. Sometimes, followers who have had great change in their own lives, see the change extended to their families and friends. Becoming a follower of Jesus is about a transformed life, transforming lives as we fulfil the mandate to make disciples. More has been accomplished by Jesus followers than He did in his three years of ministry on earth.
- Following Jesus being a student of Jesus is a life choice. Jesus still calls us to follow Him and He provides perfect leadership and direction for our lives. Jesus saves us from destructive choices and lifestyles, helps us to make better choices and helps us to live holy lives, not possible without Him.
Conclusion
- Today, affirm your decision to follow Jesus to become a student of Jesus. We follow Jesus because of who He is. If we follow Jesus we have more than enough. It is good and healthy to say: “I have decided to follow Jesus. It is settled! No regrets!”