What does it look like to be a follower of the king?

Jesus doesn’t need you… in the nicest way possible.

He doesn’t need you, but He wants you. He would be overjoyed to have you, but He doesn’t need you. As humans, we cannot offer Him anything of value... except our hearts. As Christians, we have His strength and His forgiveness- not because we earned it or did something to deserve it. We didn’t work for it. He did! That’s why it’s been given to us. From here it’s up to us to choose how we use it. So…

What does it look like to be a follower of the King?

1) Total abandonment of yourself, for His glory

In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls to Andrew and Simon(Peter), “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The Bible says that they “simply dropped their nets and followed.” Each disciple left behind a family, safety, comfort, familiarity, etc, for a life filled with uncertainty. Following Jesus means letting go of some things. As a follower of Jesus, you must hold everything loosely, because He is worth leaving everything for. Your concern is no longer with comfort or certainty. Your concern is finding ways to glorify the Kingdom of God. In a world that uplifts the individual, Jesus says: leave yourself, and follow me. This will always be very difficult, because you will not always know where God is taking you, or why He is taking you there, but it’s imperative that you find comfort in the fact that He will be right by your side, as He takes you. He isn’t looking for our service, or our good works, or accomplishments. He’s just looking for you, for me, and for our hearts to say that it’s all about His glory, not our own.

2) Urgent commitment to his mission

What is the mission? To be a fisher of people.

Every follower of Jesus is a fisher of people. He commands us, “As you go, make disciples.” Share your encounters with the world! He doesn’t ask us to be great at public speaking, or sharing testimonies. HE will make you great at these things. He will make you a disciple. YOu just have to say yes. Once you put yourself out there, He will do all the heavy lifting. As a disciple of His kingdom, you’re now in the game. You get to play.

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Christianity is not just a sport to watch. You must engage in it. When we follow Jesus, we join a community. The world around us should look at our lives, and say, “You’re not living for yourself, you’re living for the glory of another.” To follow him means to live in cheerful dependence of His grace. It means to faithfully attach yourself to Him, and place radical trust in His authority. Once you encounter Jesus, it’s impossible to remain the same. Do you follow?

- Alayna