FOCUS ON FOLLOWING JESUS!!
Focus on Following Jesus!!
Mark 1: 17-18, And Jesus said unto them, “Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men…” And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him…
Mark 1: 17-18, And Jesus said unto them, “Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men…” And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him…
DEFINE FOCUS: A center of interest or activity…a condition in which something can be clearly apprehended or perceived.
A center of interest or activity…the word “center” means, “middle”, “heart”, “core”, “axis…”
Interest means, “attention” or “importance…”
Apprehend means, “detained”, “held in custody”, or “seized…”
So, where can we go with all these words?
A center of interest or activity…the word “center” means, “middle”, “heart”, “core”, “axis…”
Interest means, “attention” or “importance…”
Apprehend means, “detained”, “held in custody”, or “seized…”
So, where can we go with all these words?
What is the center of your interest? What is in the middle of your heart or core? What is it that you rotate around? Where is your focus?
WHO DO YOU FOLLOW?
To follow someone is to join in union with that person on the road of life…So if we follow someone who is going in the wrong direction we will be going the wrong way also…
Many years ago, I followed someone who was going the wrong way…I focused only on what he focused on…what was at the center of his life, was the center of mine…Whatever his interest were, mine were the same…
At the core of my life was sin and destruction…All I was interested in was how to make more money…It did not matter what I had to do to get it, I just did it…
Because I was following the wrong person, I was detained, held in custody, or seized in the world of sin and the consequence there of…
WHO DO YOU FOLLOW?
To follow someone is to join in union with that person on the road of life…So if we follow someone who is going in the wrong direction we will be going the wrong way also…
Many years ago, I followed someone who was going the wrong way…I focused only on what he focused on…what was at the center of his life, was the center of mine…Whatever his interest were, mine were the same…
At the core of my life was sin and destruction…All I was interested in was how to make more money…It did not matter what I had to do to get it, I just did it…
Because I was following the wrong person, I was detained, held in custody, or seized in the world of sin and the consequence there of…
At first it seemed so good, so cool, but the Bible tells us that, sin is fun for a season…AND it is so true…
But then………the consequences…
Because my focus was centered on the wrong things… I lost every thing and when I say everything I mean everything…Sin had taken me farther than I wanted to go…and left me stranded out in the middle of a place called “Nowhere…”
Because my focus was centered on the wrong things… I lost every thing and when I say everything I mean everything…Sin had taken me farther than I wanted to go…and left me stranded out in the middle of a place called “Nowhere…”
I know there are many out there who may read this that know where this place is…In the world of “Nowhere” there is no love for others, only love for self…Selfishness is what people eat and drink in Nowhere…There is no real life in this awful place…only loneliness, darkness and separation…
When we find ourselves in “Nowhere,” we have gotten there because we have given up the greatest for the lest…We have placed our attention on something that was nothing, and it lead to “Nowhere…” When... we could have placed our attention on Him and received the peace that passes all understanding…
When we focus on the wrong things in life, we will in due time, find that we have been separated away from what was truly important and meaningful in life…For me, I was separated away from my wife, my family, my home, self-respect, the list is endless…I found my self stranded in “Nowhere…” But guess what!!!
Even in the darkness of “Nowhere”, there is something so powerful that can penetrate that darkness and show you the way out…It is Jesus Christ…He is the Light that shines in the darkness of Nowhere…Nothing can stop His light from reaching you, because He has chosen you…
When we find ourselves in “Nowhere,” we have gotten there because we have given up the greatest for the lest…We have placed our attention on something that was nothing, and it lead to “Nowhere…” When... we could have placed our attention on Him and received the peace that passes all understanding…
When we focus on the wrong things in life, we will in due time, find that we have been separated away from what was truly important and meaningful in life…For me, I was separated away from my wife, my family, my home, self-respect, the list is endless…I found my self stranded in “Nowhere…” But guess what!!!
Even in the darkness of “Nowhere”, there is something so powerful that can penetrate that darkness and show you the way out…It is Jesus Christ…He is the Light that shines in the darkness of Nowhere…Nothing can stop His light from reaching you, because He has chosen you…
(Words of Jesus Himself) John 15:17, Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…
WHAT CAN HAPPEN!
Somewhere along the way, and I am not really sure when it happened, I started calling on the name of the Lord, and He heard my remorseful plea…
One thing that needs to be understood right now is that when I called on Him, I was lost in this place of darkness and He not only heard me, He came and rescued and brought me out of that terrible place and brought me into the Light of His grace and love…
My reason for saying this is that it makes no difference where you are or what you are into or what is into you…if you really want help to get out of that place called, “Nowhere,” you can get out…Know that He has chosen you…He has paid your penalty and you can get out…just choose Him and call on His name…He will come…He came for me and if He came for me He will come for anyone… God is no respecter of persons…this simply means that I am not any different or any more special than you or anyone else…We are all valuable in His eyes and heart…
IT’S TIME TO FOLLOW JESUS!!
We often assume that Jesus’ disciples were great men of faith from the first time they met Jesus…But they had to grow in their faith just as all believers do…I really believe that some of the men Jesus choose were living in, “Nowhere” when He called them to follow Him…As I have studies from God’s Word, I have come to believe that in this scripture we are using as our text, that this was not the first time Jesus had called Peter, James, and John to follow Him…But this time, when Jesus called them, they “straightway,” forsook their nets and followed Him…
Often it takes time for the call and message of Jesus to get through…The reason it often doesn’t get through at first, is not because anything is wrong with the call, the problem is with the ones who are being called…remember He said, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you…” too often we are hard of hearing…
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FOLLOW JESUS!
Hard of hearing…is an understatement…hard of hearing and blind is more like it…But don’t forget the Light…Because of the Light of Jesus Christ, I was given another chance…Thank God for second chances, and third and many more…
When His light penetrated my heart, I could not only hear but could also see the right way to go…and that is the way of faith…Forsaking all I trusted Him…
Christ lead me out of “Nowhere” and brought me into His Kingdom, which is a Kingdom of grace and love…greater love has no man that he lay his life down for his friend…
WHAT CAN HAPPEN!
Somewhere along the way, and I am not really sure when it happened, I started calling on the name of the Lord, and He heard my remorseful plea…
One thing that needs to be understood right now is that when I called on Him, I was lost in this place of darkness and He not only heard me, He came and rescued and brought me out of that terrible place and brought me into the Light of His grace and love…
My reason for saying this is that it makes no difference where you are or what you are into or what is into you…if you really want help to get out of that place called, “Nowhere,” you can get out…Know that He has chosen you…He has paid your penalty and you can get out…just choose Him and call on His name…He will come…He came for me and if He came for me He will come for anyone… God is no respecter of persons…this simply means that I am not any different or any more special than you or anyone else…We are all valuable in His eyes and heart…
IT’S TIME TO FOLLOW JESUS!!
We often assume that Jesus’ disciples were great men of faith from the first time they met Jesus…But they had to grow in their faith just as all believers do…I really believe that some of the men Jesus choose were living in, “Nowhere” when He called them to follow Him…As I have studies from God’s Word, I have come to believe that in this scripture we are using as our text, that this was not the first time Jesus had called Peter, James, and John to follow Him…But this time, when Jesus called them, they “straightway,” forsook their nets and followed Him…
Often it takes time for the call and message of Jesus to get through…The reason it often doesn’t get through at first, is not because anything is wrong with the call, the problem is with the ones who are being called…remember He said, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you…” too often we are hard of hearing…
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FOLLOW JESUS!
Hard of hearing…is an understatement…hard of hearing and blind is more like it…But don’t forget the Light…Because of the Light of Jesus Christ, I was given another chance…Thank God for second chances, and third and many more…
When His light penetrated my heart, I could not only hear but could also see the right way to go…and that is the way of faith…Forsaking all I trusted Him…
Christ lead me out of “Nowhere” and brought me into His Kingdom, which is a Kingdom of grace and love…greater love has no man that he lay his life down for his friend…
He loved me and gave Himself for me when I was still lost in Nowhere…Then I reached up my hand to His, and made a decision to follow Him…in other words I choose to follow Him on the road of life…
When I started following Jesus, my interest changed, my attention went from worldly things to spiritual things…My focus is on Him…He is the center of my activity…when I obey His teachings, I can learn the right things…and do the things which He has predestined for me to do…I am held in His custody and seized by His Holy Spirit… He has not forced me to come…I came because I heard that still small voice calling out to me…A voice that called even into the darkness of a place called “Nowhere.”
I started going to church…God created a hunger in my spirit for His Word…I wanted to do what pleased my heavenly Father…
When I started going to church, I walked down the isle one day and gave myself openly to Jesus…as I continued going, I started sitting on the back row in the church…but because I did not want to miss anything that was being said, I moved up about half way to the front…then in a few weeks I was sitting up on the front pew…then after a while of learning and instruction, I found myself standing all the way up front preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ…
Since then, God has taken me many places to proclaim His gospel to whom ever He puts before me…God is so good…I praise His name for His loving kindness and His truth…
Needless to say…everything I had lost, I got back…I got my wife back…I got my home back…I got my self respect back…God has blessed my with so much until it would take pages and pages to tell all about it…But…listen, I know that we can't all get back exactly what we have lost...but what we get is much more than we could ever realize or think...
Remember Nowhere?
When I started following Jesus, my interest changed, my attention went from worldly things to spiritual things…My focus is on Him…He is the center of my activity…when I obey His teachings, I can learn the right things…and do the things which He has predestined for me to do…I am held in His custody and seized by His Holy Spirit… He has not forced me to come…I came because I heard that still small voice calling out to me…A voice that called even into the darkness of a place called “Nowhere.”
I started going to church…God created a hunger in my spirit for His Word…I wanted to do what pleased my heavenly Father…
When I started going to church, I walked down the isle one day and gave myself openly to Jesus…as I continued going, I started sitting on the back row in the church…but because I did not want to miss anything that was being said, I moved up about half way to the front…then in a few weeks I was sitting up on the front pew…then after a while of learning and instruction, I found myself standing all the way up front preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ…
Since then, God has taken me many places to proclaim His gospel to whom ever He puts before me…God is so good…I praise His name for His loving kindness and His truth…
Needless to say…everything I had lost, I got back…I got my wife back…I got my home back…I got my self respect back…God has blessed my with so much until it would take pages and pages to tell all about it…But…listen, I know that we can't all get back exactly what we have lost...but what we get is much more than we could ever realize or think...
Remember Nowhere?
The world is full of people right now that are caught up in the darkness of this world…they are blinded just like I was…Jesus is calling someone right now to reach up and take His hand and choose to follow Him…
Conclusion:
Who will you walk with today? Do yourself a favor---walk with Jesus…Focus on following Him…
God’s Word promises that when you follow in Christ’s footsteps, you will learn how to behave yourself, and you’ll learn how to live a good life…Jesus wants you to be a, “New Creation” through Him…And that is exactly what you should want for yourself, too…So talk with Jesus through prayer and walk with Him by obeying His rules today and forever…
We are the chosen and ordained of Christ, we have been given the very same purpose of Christ Himself: to go into the entire world and bear fruit among men.
Believers are chosen and ordained by Jesus… At first...we do not choose Him nor do we ordain and send ourselves out to serve Him…
It is God who approaches and draws us John 6:44-46. John 6:37.)
It is God who appoints us to live for Him and to serve Him.
Believers are chosen and appointed for specific purposes…To go forth as ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming the glorious message of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ…
Believers are the ambassadors of Christ in the world… Once they have been saved, their duty—their sole reason for being appointed and left in this world—is to deliver the message of their King…
If you want to stay in “Nowhere” and do nothing, that is OK, because that is just what people do there…But not for me anymore…I want to do what God has called me to…and He said “Come, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Conclusion:
Who will you walk with today? Do yourself a favor---walk with Jesus…Focus on following Him…
God’s Word promises that when you follow in Christ’s footsteps, you will learn how to behave yourself, and you’ll learn how to live a good life…Jesus wants you to be a, “New Creation” through Him…And that is exactly what you should want for yourself, too…So talk with Jesus through prayer and walk with Him by obeying His rules today and forever…
We are the chosen and ordained of Christ, we have been given the very same purpose of Christ Himself: to go into the entire world and bear fruit among men.
Believers are chosen and ordained by Jesus… At first...we do not choose Him nor do we ordain and send ourselves out to serve Him…
It is God who approaches and draws us John 6:44-46. John 6:37.)
It is God who appoints us to live for Him and to serve Him.
Believers are chosen and appointed for specific purposes…To go forth as ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming the glorious message of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ…
Believers are the ambassadors of Christ in the world… Once they have been saved, their duty—their sole reason for being appointed and left in this world—is to deliver the message of their King…
If you want to stay in “Nowhere” and do nothing, that is OK, because that is just what people do there…But not for me anymore…I want to do what God has called me to…and He said “Come, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure...
You don’t have to be perfect to follow in Christ’s footsteps…Jesus doesn't expect your perfection…He expects your participation…
Robert N. Graves, Sr. Fisherman for Christ
Robert N. Graves, Sr. Fisherman for Christ
posted by Fisherman For Christ at 9/12/2007 09:48:00 PM
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