Title: Who Will You Follow? /Matthew 4:19
Contents
[Chief Choi] Who will you follow?
who will you follow?
“He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Not long ago, such a bizarre accident occurred in the United States. (cut1) A 15-year-old student living in Tampa, Florida, USA, actually drove a light plane and crashed into a bank in the United States. What surprised us even more was that the friend said, 'I did that to imitate bin Laden'.
When the evangelist is the size of our friends, when we go to school, sometimes some of our friends put a cast on their arm or injured their foot and came on crutches. There are many reasons for the injury, but among them, there were friends who were injured while jumping off the roof like this person (cut2).
We may laugh at these events or stories, but if we look at ourselves quietly, we will see that I am also following something. Isn't it? It's not like that.
We humans want to depend on something from the moment we are born, and we are made to follow it.
Satan knows us all too well. So Satan takes advantage of this form of us and drags us around to make us his side.
According to the Bible, when Jesus was passing through a village, a man was led by Satan and ran through the tombs, screaming like crazy and abusing his body. At that time, Jesus had compassion on the man and set him free from Satan's charms.
Do any of you have a friend who is led by Satan like this and runs through the graves at night? isn't it?
That's right. There is no one who walks through the graves under the guidance of Satan fortress like this. But one thing that is so frightening is that we must realize that Satan is still approaching us in various ways to tempt us. How will you come?
In the form of our favorite game...(cut3)
Sometimes as close friends...
Sometimes in the form of my favorite singer...(cut4)
Or in any of my favorite ways...
that it is coming to us.
'Preacher! The thing I like the most is unconditionally the appearance of Satan.' Of course not. However, if you like these things more than God, then Satan has come to us in disguise.
Being late for worship because of entertainment... or thinking that worship time is less important than other times I like... or chatting with a friend next to me during a sermon... Instead of coming to church to sing a song of praise from my favorite singer If the song is always on your lips... you are being drawn to the disguise of Satan.
To put it simply, it looks like nothing is wrong on the outside and the church comes out well, but in reality, it is like leaving God and being so miserably led by Satan that we are being dragged around as Satan tells us to.
Are you following Jesus while listening to the Word now, praying every day, and reading the Bible?
Or do you live for a week, led by Satan in disguise, who has no Bible or prayer and is just full of things you like?
Our faith never grows by attending church for a long time. Even if you go to church for a month, if you really try to follow Jesus, then that person is definitely a senior in your faith than someone who lives according to your will every day even if you go to church for 10 years.
So, what does it mean to live by following Jesus? People who are not interested in the growth of faith and just do what they like comfortably do not need to listen to them. But for those of you who are really curious that I am following Jesus to grow up, listen.
So, what does it mean to live by following Jesus?
Today's Bible verse is what Jesus said when he first called his disciple Peter to be his disciple. To Peter, the fisherman, Jesus commanded, “Follow me!” What would Peter do about this? Look at the next verse (cut5)
It says, 'At once they left their nets and followed Jesus.' What did you throw away? That the fisherman has thrown away his net. Just as a gun is life to a soldier, a net is life to a fisherman.
But the Bible says that Peter left their nets and immediately followed Jesus. This Peter was called by Jesus as the disciple whom Jesus loved the most, and after that, as we know, he was used as a great worker for the kingdom of God.
To follow Jesus like this requires the pain of giving up something that is one's own. I can't take what I have and never follow Jesus.
When do I read the Bible or watch my favorite cartoons?
When will I pray to God when I need to meet and talk with my favorite friend?
I think a friend's birthday party or a school event is more important than going to church.
If you fall asleep in the morning and go to church a little late, who would say something?
You can never follow Jesus in this way. You can never follow Jesus properly by taking care of everything you have first, carrying everything you love, and holding on to the net that is like your own life.
If you really want to truly follow Jesus, you have to put in the effort of giving up your own things.
Rather than playing my favorite game, I need to take the time to read the Bible.
You must put the effort of giving up some time to meet with your favorite friends and having time to meet God instead.
Even if I can't sleep, even if I can't go to a friend's birthday party, I must go to church.
You must have the effort of throwing away the net that is like life for you.
Such a person is a true follower of Jesus.
Such people are precious to God. God is not deceived by imitation. Because God looks at the heart of a person.
Dear Friends of Uidong Church! Now we want to be freed from the miserable image of being deceived by Satan and seeking only the best for ourselves.
And in order to truly follow Jesus, I want you to make the beautiful effort of giving up little by little of your own.
We want to expect that God who will fill us and change us with a beautiful image that we cannot even imagine when we give up little by little of our own.
Even if it is a little difficult, I want to make time to read the Word, have conversations with God, and become friends who value worship.
That is why we want to become the elementary school of our Wooidong Church who truly follow Jesus.