Scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 4. Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin,
or your own Bible. In Matthew 4 verse 13 we read,
And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capnum by the sea in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Then in verse 17 we read, From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
While walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother,
casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them,
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And 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, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
Amen. This is the word of God.
Great. Well, good morning, Watermark. It is wonderful to be with you again.
If you are new to the Watermark family or the church, my name is Kevin,
and it is wonderful to be with you this morning and for us to be able to look at the scriptures together.
Thank you, Gary and Kathy, for reading from Matthew chapter 4.
The scripture we read this morning, it says this,
that when Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee,
he sees these two brothers, Peter and Andrew,
casting the net into the sea for their fishermen,
and he says to them,
Follow me.
One of the most fundamental descriptions of what it means to be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus.
In fact, right in the beginning, when the church was started,
the disciples were not called Christians.
They were called followers of Jesus.
Some believe that the word Christian, which only came about a couple of decades later,
was actually meant to be an insult.
It was used by those that were mocking these followers of Jesus to say,
Hey, you guys are talking about Christ.
You are like mini Christ.
You are Christians.
And so they came up with this word, the Christians,
as an insult, an offense to these followers of Jesus.
But in the early days, the disciples were known as followers of Jesus.
This morning, I want us to look at this question.
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?
When we think of followers of Jesus,
we might think of people that walk the dusty roads of Jerusalem or Palestine,
or those that walked with Jesus on the hilltops of Galilee,
or maybe those that listened to Jesus' teaching in the synagogues and the temple courts.
But what does it mean to follow Jesus today in 21st century Hong Kong?
What does it look like to be a follower of Jesus?
Not just for one hour on a Sunday morning,
but as you're riding on the MTR on the way to work,
when you're out having a meal with a friend,
when you're on your way to work or to school.
And most importantly, what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus
when you're at home with your parents,
with your spouse, with your children?
Maybe if you stay at home on your own,
what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in those times and those moments?
To answer that question,
we're going to go back to the very first century,
and we're going to look at what did it mean when Jesus called a bunch of men to follow Him.
We're going to look at what did it mean for them,
and then we're going to come back to 21st century Hong Kong
and ask the question,
what does it mean for us?
So that's where we're going today.
Now, when Jesus said to these very first disciples,
these fishermen,
follow me,
Jesus wasn't the first or the only man to say,
follow me.
In fact,
that phrase was a very common phrase.
It was something that was used regularly.
It was a well-known phrase.
Everyone would have known what it meant.
And the reason is because this is the way that the culture or society worked in first century Israel.
In first century Israel,
children at the age of four or five would go off to school,
a school called Beth Sefer,
which meant the house of the book.
And they would typically go there for six, seven years.
They would learn things like basic writing,
reading,
basic maths.
And at the house of the book,
all children from four or five up to the ages of 12 or so
would spend a couple of years studying the book.
And what they mean by the book is the Torah,
the first five books of the Old Testament,
Genesis through to Deuteronomy.
And so children would all go to Beth Sefer,
the house of the book,
and learn how to read,
learn how to write,
learn basic maths from the book of the law.
But one of the things is that by the time children reach this age of around 12 years old,
almost all children would have memorized almost the first five books of the Old Testament,
the Torah,
learned it off by heart.
By that stage,
the age of 12,
most of the education was finished.
A lot of children would then leave school.
Young girls would go and follow their mother,
learn how to be a young woman in society.
Some of them would go off and get married.
The men would join their fathers as apprentices to their fathers,
learn the family trade,
and would follow their father in the family business.
For the very best and brightest students,
those who had really done well or shown great promise,
they would be admitted to secondary school called Beth Talmud or Beth Midrash,
which means the house of learning.
And for the next four or five years,
from the age of 12,
13,
up to 16,
17,
the best and the brightest students would go to the synagogue every day.
They would have a hired rabbi,
a tutor,
that would come for the best students of the town,
and they would learn the rest of the Old Testament scriptures.
They would study the prophets,
the writings,
the wisdom,
the history books.
And by the age of 16,
17,
18,
almost all of these students that were considered the best and the brightest of the town,
would memorize almost the entire Old Testament scriptures.
They would not only know what it said,
but they'd understand the meaning and the depth and the interplay between the various scriptures.
And so for many of those students,
by the time they get to 17 or so,
they know the whole Old Testament,
and they would then graduate from Beth Talmud,
join the family practice,
join the family business as apprentices to their dad.
Some of them would then get married,
and life would begin.
Now,
for some students,
for the very best and the brightest of those that had graduated from Beth Talmud,
those that the rabbi thought had what it took,
had the goods to become a real leader in society,
a religious leader,
the rabbi would approach them and say,
I think you have what it takes to become a religious leader yourself,
a rabbi yourself.
And they would encourage them to go and find a rabbi in society,
another leader,
one who they respected,
one that they looked up to,
one who they thought that they could emulate and become like.
And those students,
those 16,
17 year old boys would go and find a rabbi that they really respected,
and attach themselves to the rabbi,
to become his apprentice,
his Talmudin,
or his disciple.
And so what they'd do is,
having looked at all the various rabbis,
think,
who do I really respect?
Who can I become like?
They would go to a rabbi and ask if they could be his apprentice,
his disciple.
The rabbi would then grill them,
give them one of the most intensive job interview processes you can imagine.
They'd ask him all sorts of questions.
What do you understand about this?
What do you think of this rabbi's teaching?
What did Jeremiah say,
mean when he said this?
What about Moses here?
And you'd go through a rigorous job interview process.
And if that rabbi thought that you had the goods,
if he thought you were good enough to become like him,
if he thought that you had the potential to grow to the place where you could emulate him
and become as good as he was,
he would turn around and say these famous words,
come and follow me.
Come and follow me.
And so these apprentices,
these Talmudin,
these disciples,
would then dedicate the next 10 years of their life
following in the footsteps of their rabbi leader.
And their job wasn't just to know what the rabbi knows.
A student just wants to know what his teacher knows to pass the exam.
An apprentice,
a Talmudin,
a disciple,
wants to learn everything he can.
He would live with his rabbi.
He would sleep in the same room as his rabbi.
He would eat with him.
He would even learn to speak like his rabbi.
His mannerisms would be the same as the rabbi.
The job of a disciple,
of an apprentice,
was to become a carbon copy version of your rabbi,
of your leader.
And so the essence of what it meant to be a disciple
is to be so close to your teacher,
to spend so much time with him,
learning from him,
that ultimately you became like him.
And so as a Talmudin,
as a disciple,
your life revolved around these three things.
To be with your teacher,
to become like your teacher,
and then ultimately to do the things that your teacher did.
And so after years of following your teacher,
eventually your teacher might think that you have grown enough
where there's no more that you can do to become like him.
You speak like him.
You act like him.
Your mannerisms are the same as him.
There's nothing more that you can do to grow in your emulation of him.
Eventually your rabbi would turn to you
and commission you and send you out
to go and find your own disciples
and to train them and disciple them
and teach them in the manner
in which you had been taught.
This is what first century discipleship was all about.
Now, we don't live in first century Palestine,
but what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus
in 21st century Hong Kong?
Dallas Willard,
who's one of the most brilliant thinkers,
Christian thinkers of the last generation,
said this,
The New Testament defines a disciple as someone
who is with Jesus,
learning from Jesus how to live their life
as if Jesus would live their life,
as if he were in their place.
In other words,
a disciple of Jesus is someone who's saying
if Jesus lived in my life,
in my place,
in 21st century Hong Kong,
if Jesus was doing homeschooling with the kids,
if Jesus was on the way to this board meeting,
if Jesus was studying
or having this conversation
or having this relational difficulty with this person,
how would Jesus do it?
And learning from Jesus to live their life
as if Jesus would,
living my life in my place.
What Dallas Willard is saying
is even today,
in 21st century Hong Kong,
followers of Jesus are those
who are to be with Jesus
in order to learn
how to become like Jesus,
in order to learn,
what does it mean
to do what Jesus did?
Over the next few weeks,
we're going to look at these three things.
Being with Jesus,
becoming like Jesus,
doing the things that Jesus did.
And today,
I want us just to think about the first one.
What does it mean
when Jesus calls us to follow Him
to be with Jesus?
Now,
one last thing before we dive in
to what that looks like.
In Matthew chapter 4,
when Jesus arrives in Galilee
and begins His ministry,
in many ways,
He's doing this exact thing.
He's doing so in line
with traditional Jewish practice.
He's gaining disciples
to come and follow Him,
to be with Him,
and to become like Him.
And so when Jesus says
to Peter and Andrew,
follow me,
this is exactly what they would have
understood Jesus to men.
Jesus wasn't just
some random person.
This is why they can follow
everything.
They can leave everything
and follow Him.
Jesus wasn't just some stranger
walking along the street
saying,
hey, follow me,
and they say,
okay,
and they leave the family business.
They would have understood
the context
that this was a rabbi
calling them
to be His disciples.
But there's two distinct,
two radical differences
between the way Jesus does it
and the ordinary practice
of His day.
The first one is this.
Look at what Jesus says
in verse 17.
Gary read it to us earlier.
Jesus says,
repent,
for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
Jesus comes
and He arrives on the scene
as a religious leader,
a rabbi.
He's calling these disciples
to follow.
But at the same time,
He's not just a rabbi.
He's not just a religious leader.
He's coming
as heaven and earth's true king.
He's calling people
to follow Him,
to join His ranks,
not just as a rabbi,
not just with some new brand
of spiritual teaching.
He's coming as one,
not just who has come
to shake things up.
Jesus Christ comes
as heaven and earth's true king
and He's inviting
all sorts of people,
not merely to learn from Him,
but to experience life
in His kingdom
with Jesus as king.
All the other rabbis
of the day would have,
part of their discipleship
would have said,
well, you know,
let's look at the scripture.
Moses says this
and Rabbi Hillel says this
and Rabbi Akhtar says this,
but what do you guys think?
Jesus says,
you've heard that
it has said
this and this and this,
but I say to you,
this is what God says.
Jesus comes with
unique authority
because He's not
merely a religious leader.
He's heaven and earth's
true king.
Jesus comes to invite
His followers
into His kingdom.
But notice the second thing.
Remember what I said
is that who are the kinds
of people
that were eligible
to be disciples,
apprentices,
of the rabbis?
It was those
who were top of the class,
those who excelled,
those that were
A-grade students
that had beaten
everybody else.
It was those
who had sought out
the very best teachers
of their day
and had gone through
this grueling interview process,
past interview process,
answered all the questions
perfectly,
those that the rabbi
thought they had the goods,
what it took
to become their follower.
Having passed
this rigorous process,
being considered good enough
and having what it takes,
finally the top of the top,
the very best of the best
are admitted
to be disciples.
or apprentices
of the rabbi.
It's kind of like
the Hong Kong
schooling system,
right?
Anyone,
any parent
that has high school students,
you know what it's like.
No place for third,
fourth place
in the Hong Kong
schooling system.
You're either top
of the class
or you know one.
That's the way it feels.
But notice
who are the people
that Jesus calls
to be his disciples?
It's the fishermen.
Later on,
as Alan reminded us,
it's the tax collectors.
It's political writers.
It's insurrectionists.
Those who would
never,
ever,
ever be considered
good enough,
anywhere near
worthy enough,
Jesus comes to them
and says,
hey you,
come and follow me.
Jesus doesn't wait
for the top of the class
to come to him.
Jesus goes and finds
those that have been
overlooked in society,
those that nobody else
would consider good enough
and he says,
I want you
to come and be with me
and follow me.
Being fishermen
with their father,
it probably meant
that Peter and Andrew,
James and John
were those that
maybe they went to
Bethsefer Primary School
at 12 years old.
They probably would have
finished their education
and joined the ranks
of being apprentices
to their father,
learning the family trade.
Jesus comes to them
and none of them
engage in this
rigorous interview process.
None of them
send in their applications.
Jesus is the one
who goes to them
and he finds them
and he says,
I want you
to be part of my team.
I want you
to be my followers.
Friends,
you know what this means?
Jesus calls those
that others
would never have considered
in a million years
to be his followers.
And what this means
is that being a follower
of Jesus
is entirely,
absolutely
by grace.
It's all by grace.
Being a follower
of Jesus
is all by grace.
Right from the beginning,
Jesus doesn't pick
the biggest
or the brightest
or the smartest.
Jesus doesn't pick
those with the credentials.
Jesus chooses
those that are overlooked,
those that are despised,
those that dropped
out of school.
Jesus chooses those
that nobody considers
are good enough
and he says,
I want you to come
and follow me.
Friends,
we live in one
of the most
performance-orientated
societies and cultures
in the world
where your value
and your worth
and your identity
are all tied
to how well you perform
but not so with Jesus.
Right from the very beginning,
Jesus comes and he says,
the way into the kingdom
of God is all by grace.
It's not by merit.
It's not to be earned.
It's not for those
that are most dedicated,
the smartest,
the brightest.
It's by grace.
It's all by grace.
And if you don't get that,
you'll always feel insecure.
You'll always feel like
you haven't done enough
or you're not good enough
or you haven't performed
well enough.
Friends,
every one of us
need to realize
Jesus calls us
into his kingdom
but it's all by grace.
Now,
what does that all mean?
It means when Jesus says,
come and follow me,
he's inviting us in grace
to come and learn
what life looks like
under his ever-present reign
as king.
He's inviting us
to be with him,
to learn with him,
to become like him
but not just as a sage,
as a rabbi.
Jesus is inviting us
as heaven and earth
true king
to learn to live our lives
as apprentices of Jesus,
disciples of Jesus
under the rule
and the reign
of the ever-present rule
of King Jesus.
Now,
I know that
that sounds very
philosophical and ethereal
and as Hong Kongers
we like things
that are practical
and pragmatic.
We like to be told
what are the ten steps
that I must do
to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus has a lot to say
about the way
that we should live our lives.
In fact,
the next three chapters
of Matthew's Gospel
after this passage
that we read
is the Sermon on the Mount
and the Sermon on the Mount
is kind of like
Jesus' kingdom manifesto.
It describes
what life in the kingdom
looks like
for followers of Jesus.
And as you read
the Sermon on the Mount
you're going to see
that Jesus says
that life in the kingdom
looks like holiness.
It looks like purity.
It looks like compassion.
It looks like generosity.
But the point
that Jesus is making
is this.
The life of a follower
of Jesus
is not simply
a list of do's and don'ts.
Rather,
it is a life
that lived in fellowship
or maybe followership
with Jesus as king.
And so this is the big idea
for today.
If you only get one thing
this is it.
When Jesus calls
men and women
to follow him
the very first thing
that that means
is to come and be with him.
To orientate our lives
around him.
And out of that relationship
to learn to become
the kinds of people
that he's calling us to be.
Jesus is not primarily saying
come and do a bunch of things.
His primary calling is this.
Come and be with me.
In Mark's gospel
when Jesus calls
the disciples
or the apostles
this is what it says.
Mark chapter 3.
He appointed the twelve
those whom he also
named apostles
that they might
be with him
and that he might
send them out to preach.
The first thing
Jesus says to the apostles
is come
and be with me.
In the book of Acts
which Luke writes
the apostles
are arrested in Jerusalem
because they do
the very thing
that Jesus
has asked them to do.
They go out
and they preach
and they're turning
the city upside down.
They fill in Jerusalem
with the message of Jesus.
The religious leaders
aren't so happy about this
so they arrest the apostles
and throw them in jail.
And Luke records this.
It says
when they
that's the religious leaders
when they saw
the boldness
of Peter and John
and they perceived
that they were
uneducated
common men
they were astonished
and they recognized
that they had been
with Jesus.
Friends,
I wonder
for how many of us
that would be
the distinctive
defining mark
of our lives.
For how many people
when people think of us
the defining mark
of our life
is not our education
it's not how well
we've done in our careers
it's not where we live
or our dresses
it's not our natural
brilliance
or our gifting
that the distinctive
feature of our lives
is that we are those
who though ordinary
are those who
there's a marked
consistency
we're those
who've been with Jesus.
Jesus calls us
as followers of Jesus
to come and be with Him
to live
in communion with Him
day by day
hour by hour.
There's a very famous
example of this
in the 17th century
there was a man
by the name of
Nicholas Hermann
he was a Parisian
a Frenchman
he joined the army
as a young man
and he fought
in a number of battles
he was captured
as a spy
at one stage
and released
he fought some more battles
he got badly injured
and so he was dismissed
from the French army
and he went to go work
as a footman
a valet
a servant
in a big aristocrat's house
but he wasn't very good
at that
and so he was dismissed
from that
after a couple of years
and eventually decides
I'm going to go work
in a monastery
and so he signs up
in this monastery
and he becomes
a lay monk
which means he's a monk
but he's not
an ordained monk
he can't participate
in many of the things
and so he's assigned
the job
as to being cook
in the kitchen
in the monastery
he takes this name
Brother Lawrence
he's now known
famously as
Brother Lawrence
and so Brother Lawrence
is the chef
in the monastery
but one of the things
that Brother Lawrence does
is he says
maybe I can't preach
maybe I can't do other things
but one thing I can do
is I can live my life
consistency
in the presence of Jesus
he called it
practicing the presence of God
and so this is what he says
this is one of his famous quotes
he says
the time of business
does not differ
for me
or with me
from the time of prayer
in the noise
and the clatter
of my kitchen
while several persons
are at the same time
calling for different things
I possess God
in as great tranquility
as if I were knees
before the blessed sacraments
my friends
as a Catholic monk
in the 17th century
that's an incredible thing
to say
you know how
highly valid
the sacrament was
the body
and the blood of Jesus
the communion
was considered
to be the actual body
and the blood of Jesus
and he has this man
who says
as I'm going about
my day to day duties
I'm as aware
of the presence of God
and the closeness of Jesus
as if I'm on my knees
in the cathedral
at the time of worship
when Jesus Christ
was on the way
to the cross
in John's gospel
he's giving his disciples
one of his final teachings
and he's teaching them
about the fact
that he's going to die
on the cross
after he's going to
ascend to heaven
and he says
I'm going to leave you
but I won't leave you
as orphans
I'm going to send
the Holy Spirit
to be with you
so John chapter 14
and John chapter 16
are these amazing teachings
about the person
and the work
of the Holy Spirit
wonderful
rich teachings
but standing in between
John 14
and John 16
is this incredible teaching
very famous teaching
of John chapter 15
look at what Jesus
says here
Jesus says this
remain in me
even as I remained
in you
I'm like a vine
and you are like branches
whoever remains in me
and I am him
they will bear much fruit
but apart from me
you can do nothing
if anyone does not
remain in me
he's like a branch
that is thrown away
and withers
it does
but if you remain in me
and my words remain in you
ask whatever you wish
and it will be done for you
that's an incredible promise
right
by this
my father is honored
is glorified
that you bear much fruit
and so prove
to be my disciples
my apprentices
my tilmudim
as the father
has loved me
so I have loved you
friends just think about that
for a second
Jesus the son of God
says as the father
has loved me
so have I
loved you
with all your failures
with all your sin
with all your brokenness
with all the things
that you get wrong
as the father
has loved me
so I have loved you
oh my goodness
what an incredible promise
Jesus
remain in my love
stay in my love
dwell in my love
as Chris has told us before
don't air be and be
in my love
dwell there
abide there
remain there
put down your roots
live in this place
in constant
communion
in fellowship
with me
let my love
and my grace
wash over you
day by day
Andrew Murray
was the great
Scottish preacher
commenting on this
he says this
when Jesus said
come to me
what he meant was
come
and remain
in me
Jesus did not
call you
to refresh you
for a few short
hours
after your conversion
with the joy
of his love
and then send you
out to wander
alone
no he destined you
for something greater
than just a short
lived blessedness
rather he called us
to
a short time
to be enjoyed
only in times
a special earnestness
or prayer
and then pass away
that's not what
Jesus called us to
as if we had to
as we return
to the ordinary
duties of life
no friends
Jesus called you
to abide in him
to remain with him
where your whole life
and every moment
of it might be spent
with him
and in him
when Jesus calls us
to follow him
he means for us
to bring our lives
to be deeply
infused with him
like a branch
is infused
into a tree
so that day by day
hour by hour
as you're at work
and at home
and as you're going
like the ordinary
duties of life
there in that place
we get to experience
the closeness
and the presence
and the wonder
of Jesus
this is what Jesus
meant when he said
remain in me
come and follow me
Jesus calls his followers
to be with him
to remain in him
Dallas Willard
said this
are we disciples
of Jesus
or merely Christians
by some modern notion
of what that means
Christians do devotions
that's good
but do we live
a life of devotion
Christians pray
that's good
we most certainly
should pray
but do we know
how to have a life
of prayer
friends Jesus calls us
to come and live
with him
to be with him
when Claire and I
first got married
living in Cape Town
South Africa
there was a very
clever system
where the health
insurance
and the life
insurance company
that we were
signed up to
said that if you
attend the gym
a certain number
of times each month
they would pay
90% of your gym
fees
your subscription fees
and also your health
and life insurance
premiums would drop
and it's a clever
business model
because they say
if we can keep you
healthy and fit
that'll be cheaper
for us than paying
your medical bills
and so they want
to encourage everyone
to go to the gym
regularly
and as everybody
pretty quickly
worked out
in the first year
you go to gym
you do your
five or six
or eight times
a month in the gym
but after a while
you start getting
a little lazy
and you don't go
that often
and so everyone
in the last few
days of the month
drives up the gym
walks into the gym
taps the membership
card
and walks out again
and the next day
would drive up the gym
taps the membership
card
and walks out again
just to go
and to maintain
their membership
friends
Jesus doesn't
call us
Christianity
is not about
going and tapping
your membership
card to maintain
your membership
Jesus calls us
to live a life
of walking
with him
day by day
when Jesus calls
people from
first century fishermen
to 17th century
soldiers
to 21st century
Hong Kongers
to follow him
Jesus is not
asking us
to add him
to our really
busy schedule
of life
Jesus is not
asking to be
an addendum
to squeeze
him into
our lives
he's calling us
to a life of
constant communion
with him
to live aware
of his presence
to be secure
in his grace
to be anchored
in his love
to center our lives
around who he is
and so what that
means is
whether you're
leading worship
at our family
worship service
like Alan
led us so well
this morning
whether you're
serving food
to families
that don't have
much food
in a part of
Hong Kong
whether you're
on the MTR
on the way to work
or you're doing
classes online
at HKU
or some university
friends
whether you're
playing basketball
with friends
in the neighborhood
or whether you're
going to a board
meeting
or whether you're
reading documents
in your legal
chambers
friends
whether you're
pitching for
new business
or asking
for seed capital
whether you're
changing your
children's diapers
at night
friends
whether you're
catching up
with a friend
in a coffee
shop
or you're
visiting family
over new
year's reunion
meals
friends
whether you're
having dinner
with your family
or you're
tucking your
children in
at night
in that very
place
Jesus
wants us
to be walking
with him
to be aware
of his presence
to be drawing
on his grace
to be anchored
in his love
Jesus wants us
to know
that those places
are no less
sacred
no less
important
no less
an opportunity
to encounter
his grace
and to experience
the reality
of Christ
in our lives
than whether
we're in CG
or prayer meeting
or some
regular activity
because for Jesus
when he said
follow me
he designed
that all of life
to be lived
quorum Deo
in the very
presence
of God
listen to how
King David
put it
David said
this is Psalm
16
I have set
the Lord
always before
me
when I'm on
the MTR
when I'm at
school
when I'm with
my children
when I'm on
a date
I've set the
Lord always
before me
God is at
my right hand
I will not
be shaken
my heart
is glad
my whole
being rejoices
my flesh
dwells secure
you God
make known
to me
the paths
of life
in your
presence
there is
fullness
of joy
at your
right hand
are pleasures
forevermore
friends
for so many
people
not understanding
that the
call of Jesus
to come
and be his
follower
is a call
to be with
him
to remain
in him
to remain
in his love
means that
for many
people
being a
follower
of Jesus
gets reduced
to
religious
duties
attending
church
on Sunday
reading
our
bible
once
or twice
a week
friends
for many
people
following
Jesus
gets reduced
to tapping
our membership
card
once a week
in order
to retain
our membership
but friends
that's about
as far
away
from
following
Jesus
as any
other
pagan
religion
you can
call that
uber
religion
you can
call it
anything
you want
but don't
call it
christianity
don't
call it
the gospel
because that
has got
nothing to
do with
following
Jesus
new testament
christianity
knows nothing
of once a
week going
and tapping
our membership
card to
retain our
membership
new testament
christianity
is a life
that's orientated
around the
beauty and the
wonder of who
Jesus is
living
remaining in
him
abiding
with him
following him
walking
with him
Jesus
never called
anyone to
simply tap
their membership
card
he called
us to
be with
him
to follow
him
and so
even the
last couple
of weeks
as we've
looked at
stuff like
gospel
orthodoxy
all that
stuff
if that's
just a
theory
is nothing
if it
doesn't
lead us
to
relationship
with
christ
our
justification
is not
so that
we can
pass
some
theology
exam
justification
by grace
alone
is that
we can
walk with
christ
and know
him
adoption
doesn't
just
mean
yes
i know
that
i'm
god's
son
it
means
we get
to
experience
the
reality
of god's
love
in our
life
redemption
means
that we
get to
be
redeemed
out of
our
old
life
and walk
with
jesus
in the
reality
of life
24 7
7 days
a week
friends
gospel
orthodoxy
is nothing
if it
doesn't
lead you
to
loving
and
trusting
and
obeying
and
walking
with
jesus
that's
what
christianity
is about
that's
what the
god is
the
gospel
and
what he
said
is that
justification
is true
but it's
going to
lead us
to
relationship
with
jesus
the
gospel
is not
just a
theory
it's
a
person
it's
the
person
of
the
lord
jesus
christ
it's
the
person
of
jesus
who's
full
of
grace
and
full
of
love
the
one
who
made
the
starry
hosts
and
everything
calling
us
to
walk
with
him
friends
are you
walking
with
jesus
are you
walking
with
jesus
friends
if your
christianity
is simply
a matter
of going
through
the
motions
you
might
not
be
a
follower
of
jesus
at
all
jesus
didn't
call us
to go
through
the
motions
he
called
us
to
come
and
be
with
him
to
be
with
him
now
as
we
come
to
a
close
what
does
that
actually
mean
so
what
does
this
actually
mean
for
our
lives
what
should
we
do
one
of
us
two
very
simple
things
very
simple
the
first
one
is
this
seek
to
center
your
life
on
jesus
intentionally
when
we
read
the
gospels
one
of
the
things
that's
amazing
to
see
is
that
jesus
christ
god's
own
son
the
second
person
of
the
trinity
constantly
withdrew
himself
from
the
ordinary
duties
of
life
to
spend
time
and
pray
and
that's
an
incredible
thing
you'd
think
if
jesus
is
god
why
does
he
need
to
pray
but
jesus
regularly
withdrew
from
the
busyness
of
life
to
times
of
silence
solitude
sabbath
to
spend
time
with
his
father
and
pray
friends
if
jesus
needed
to
withdraw
to
spend
time
and
pray
you
better
believe
you
and
i
do
as
well
look at
some of
these
scriptures
mark
chapter
one
after
busy
day
of
ministry
says
this
rising
very
early
in
the
morning
while
it
was
still
dark
he
departed
and
went
out
to
a
desolate
place
and
there
he
spent
time
and
pray
after
busy
day
of
ministering
healing
a bunch
of
people
even
more
the
report
about
him
went
abroad
and
great
crowds
gathered
to
hear
him
and
to
be
healed
of
the
infirmities
the
crowds
are
gathering
around
Jesus
pressing
him
there's
so
much
stuff
to
do
there's
not
enough
hours
in
the
day
so
what
does
Jesus
do
he
would
withdraw
to
a
desert
place
and
spend
time
in
prayer
Luke
6
says
the
same
thing
he
says
in
those
days
he
went
out
to
the
mountain
to
pray
all
night
he
continues
in
prayer
to
God
the
father
and
when
the
day
comes
he
then
calls
his
disciples
and
he
chooses
from
them
twelve
that
he
names
apostles
before
Jesus
called
the
apostles
he
spends
all
night
in
prayer
friends
can I
ask
you
are
you
spending
your
day
are
you
starting
off
your
day
in
God's
words
seeking
his
face
and
in
prayer
are
you
starting
out
the
day
reflecting
meditating
reading
God's
word
but most
importantly
are you
encountering
God
in
his
word
friends
are you
coming
to
a
passage
and
saying
God
what
are you
saying
to
me
here
what
does
this
teach
me
about
who
Jesus
is
what
does
this
teach
me
about
God's
profound
love
for me
in
the
gospel
how
does
this
secure
me
anchor
me
in
his
love
friends
if
we
want
to
follow
Jesus
we
have
to
intentionally
seek
our
times
when
we
set
aside
portions
of
the
day
to
see
Christ's
face
and
to
be
with
him
second
thing
is
this
seek
to
center
your
life
on
Jesus
in
all
of
life
there's
intentionality
certain
times
of the
day
early
in
the
morning
is
the
best
set
aside
15
minutes
half
an
hour
to
seek
God's
face
and
center
your
life
on
him
but
then
at
the
same
time
live
all
of
life
in
the
presence
of
Jesus
throughout
the
gospel
Jesus
is
constantly
getting
in trouble
with
religious
leaders
because
he
doesn't
behave
like
the
regular
rabbis
and
they
always
saying
where
do
you
get
this
authority
from
how
can
you
say
those
things
and
Jesus
often
says
this
he
says
I
only
do
what
my
father
has
told
me
to
do
I
speak
not
my
own
authority
but
I
only
say
what
the
father
has
asked
me
yes
lord
and
then
speak
Jesus
doesn't
he
is
not
mechanical
or
robotic
about
it
Jesus
out
of
the
overflow
of
his
relationship
with
the
father
he
lives
all
of
his
life
just
saying
what
the
father
wants
Jesus
is
living
all
of
his
life
in
relationship
with
God
and
out
of
that
overflow
he
says
the
things
that
the
father
wants
him
to
do
in
the
letter
to
Thessalonians
the
apostle
Paul
says
this
rejoice
always
pray
without
ceasing
give
thanks
in
all
circumstances
friends
rejoice
always
when you
are on
the
MTR
line
when
you
are
on
the
bus
pray
without
ceasing
when
you
are
waiting
for
a
meeting
to
begin
when
you
are
waiting
to
board
a
plane
when
you
are
putting
your
kids
to
bed
at
night
when
you
are
going
for
a
run
pray
without
ceasing
Jesus
invites
us
to
live
next
slide
Jeremy
this
thing
here
and
these
things
here
are
going
to
absolutely
kill
your
communion
with
Jesus
friends
when
you
are
on
the
MTR
I
know
the
temptation
to
pull
out
the
phone
to
check
Instagram
to
message
someone
to
check
my
email
friends
these
things
are
designed
to
make
sure
that
we
never
have
silence
solitude
and
Sabbath
but
Jesus
calls
us
to
live
a
life
where
we
constantly
not
just
constant
communion
with
everyone
else
but
communion
with
him
Jesus
invites
us
to
rejoice
always
pray
without
ceasing
give
thanks
in all
circumstances
what
did this
look like
for you
and I
to
live
our
lives
not only
walking
with
Jesus
at
certain
times
of the
day
but
throughout
lives
I
want to
end
with
two
very
brief
stories
as a
staff
team
we've
been
recently
reading
a
book
called
gospel
fluency
by
Jeff
van der
stelt
and
he
tells
this
amazing
story
in
that
book
one
day
he
was
flying
somewhere
he was
leaving
Seattle
to go
to
fly
to
another
part
of
the
US
and
every
time
he
boards
a
plane
he
just
prays
a
simple
prayer
says
Jesus
I
give
you
the
next
few
hours
if
you
want
me
to
just
rest
if
you
want
me
to
work
or
you
want
me
to
have
a
conversation
with
the
person
next
dressed
very
prim
and
proper
and
she
seemed
very
pleasant
and
so
he
says
to
her
are
you
leaving
home
or
are
you
coming
back
home
on
this
flight
and
she
replies
and
says
well
both
I
guess
he
says
oh
what
do
you
mean
she
says
I
live
in
Seattle
but
my
family
was
moving
to
this
new
part
of
the
country
we
were
meant
to
live
there
and
she
says
I'm
going
to
what
is
supposed
to
be
my
new
home
my
husband
and
my
boys
are
waiting
for
me
there
but
it's
a
complicated
story
and
Jeff
says
he
sits
in
the
seat
and
just
quietly
prays
his
prayers
his
Holy
Spirit
helped
me
to
listen
well
he
says
oh
I'm
sorry
to
hear
that
and
she
says
yeah
well
it's
a
long
story
my
family
moved
ahead
of
me
but
I
had to
stay
behind
in
Seattle
for
an
extra
year
and
in
that
year
things
happened
I
developed
another
relationship
and
I
ended
up
having
an
affair
and
my
husband
was
so
angry
he
determined
to
destroy
my
life
and
so
he
has
absolutely
destroyed
my
reputation
on
Facebook
and
she
says
I'm
going
out
to
Seattle
to
see
my
boys
and
sign
the
divorce
papers
and
then
I guess
I'm
coming
back
alone
and
Jeff
just
listens
and
the
whole
time
he's
just
praying
and
eventually
after
about
an
hour
this
lady
says
to
him
wow
you're
a
really
nice
guy
you've
been
listening
to
me
going
on
and
on
about
my
life
and
I
haven't
asked
you
any
questions
who
are
you
and
Jeff
turns
to her
and
says
this
he
says
I
explained
to
her
who
I
was
but
most
importantly
who
I
knew
I
let
her
know
that
I
know
and
I
love
Jesus
and
that
Jesus
knows
her
and
loves
her
too
and
that
Jesus
cared
for
her
and
was
listening
to
her
story
sitting
in
the
airplane
all
it
took
was
a
man
just
to
say
Jesus
I'm
here
I'm
available
Holy
Spirit
help
me
to
listen
well
and
in
that
moment
has
an
encounter
with
God
and
ministers
to
this
lady
who
needed
him
but
more
than
that
needed
Jesus
a
few
weeks
ago
I
was
sitting
in
a
coffee
shop
just
down
the
road
having
coffee
with
another
pastor
a
new
friend
of
mine
and
we're
talking
about
church
planting
and
churches
in
Hong
Kong
and
exciting
stuff
that
could
be
happening
into
the
future
and
the
whole
time
I'm
talking
to
my
friend
I'm
aware
of
this
lady
that's
sitting
next
to
me
I'm
talking
with
Seth
but
the
whole
time
I'm
just
aware
of
her
and
I'm
busy
praying
I'm
talking
with
Seth
but
quietly
I'm
praying
I'm
saying
God
what are
you
saying
what's
going
on
why
have
you
brought
this
person
to
my
attention
at
the
end
of
time
with
my
conversation
with
Seth
I say
hey
great
to
see
you
let's
catch
up
soon
I'm
going
to
stay
here
for
a
few
more
minutes
and
I
stay
behind
and
I
turn
to
this
lady
and
I
say
hey
I
know
this
is
unusual
my
name
is
Kevin
I
just
want
you
to
know
that
I
am
a
follower
of
Jesus
and
I
really
feel
like
Jesus
wants
you
to
know
that
he
knows
about
you
he
loves
you
and
he
wants
you
to
come
to
know
him
and
the
lady
was
a
little
confused
at
a
simple
time
of
sitting
in
a
coffee
shop
in
21st
century
Hong
Kong
miss
all
the
buildings
and
the
bustle
and
the
activity
of
our
city
there
he
was
able
to
encounter
Christ
and
to
be
an
agent
of
his
grace
friends
Jesus
2000
years
ago
came
to
some
disciples
walk
in
the
sea
of
Galilee
and
he
said
come
and
follow
me
come
and
be
with
me
come
and
learn
from
friends
even
today
Jesus
looks
us
in
the
eye
and
he
says
to
21st
century
Hong
Kong
come
and
follow
me
come
and
be
with
me
come
and
abide
with
me
come
and
remain
in
my
love
and
let
me
teach
you
what
it
means
to
be
my
disciple
let's
pray
let's
pray
Lord
Jesus
Christ
we
confess
God
that
so
often
we
reduce
our
discipleship
of
you
our
followership
of
to
a
bunch
of
rules
and
regulations
to
10
steps
a
couple
of
programs
things
that
we
need
to
do
in
order
to
tick
a
box
or
feel
like
we've
done
what
we
needed
Christ
this
morning
you
ask
us
to
come
to
you
to
be
with
you
God
want
you
remind
us
of
that
and
you
Holy
Spirit
come
and
draw
us
close
God
I
want
to
pray
especially
maybe
just
for
those
of
us
who
feel
unworthy
who
feel
like
we're
not
good
enough
Christ
want
you
remind
us
that
it's
all
by
grace
God
I
want
you
help
us
as
watermark
to
be a
church
that
walks
deeply
with you
in
the
day
to
day
to
day
realities
in
the
trenches
of
life
whether
we
are
at
work
at
university
at
home
with
the
family
when
we
on
the
bus
or
at
our
computer
to
be
those
that
are
centering
orientating
our
lives
around
you
Christ
to
pray
maybe
especially
for
those
that
are
not
followers
of
Jesus
maybe
for
10
years
we've
gone
to
church
we've
ticked
the
box
we've
never
encountered
you
in
a
life
transforming
real
way
Jesus
I
pray
this
morning
would
you
speak
into
us
call
us
to
follow
you
God
I
want
you
open
our
eyes
to
see
for
who
you
are
help
us
to
repent
of
our
sin
to
confess
our
need
for
you
and
to
come
and
to
follow
you
Jesus
we
pray
come
and
have
your
way
God
I
pray
that
even
this
week
as
we
go
into
the
city
of
Hong
Kong
as
we
go
about
our
lives
won't
we
go
not
just
as
Christians
in a
modern
sense
but
as
followers
of
Jesus
not
just
those
who
would
tick
the
box
of
Christianity
on a
census
form
but
those
who
are
walking
closely
with
you
aware
of
your
spirit
and
your
grace
anchored
in
your
love
those
who
are
remaining
in
you
pray
come
and
help
us
God
we
pray
these
things
in
your
gracious
and
your
powerful
name
Amen