New Year’s 2008
Mark 1:17, John 21:22
Over the course of this past week, we have set off on a journey. We have entered a new frontier. We are boldly going where no human has ever gone before. A journey into the unknown - a journey into the year 2008. Well, maybe it's not as “boldly” for some of us as it is for others, but welcome to the New Year, anyway.
New Year's Day is really just like any other day, isn't it? It has the same 24 hours, the same 1440 minutes, the same 86,400 seconds as any other day of the year. And yet it is unique because New Year's Day represents a natural milestone in our lives. Television, radio, newspapers, friends and family will all reinforce the idea of looking back over the year just past and reviewing the major events that occurred. New Year’s is a natural time of reflection and evaluation. It is also a time for planning, looking ahead and goal-setting.
Some people resist this phenomenon of New Year’s evaluation and goal setting. Mostly because they recognize the usual futility of it – the fact is that most resolutions are broken before the end of the first week of the New Year – sometimes before the end of the New Year’s Day! But I believe that the practice can be a good one. If you look through the history of Israel, you will see that set aside days each year to remember God’s faithfulness in the past, or to confess sin and bring an offering for atonement, or to give thanks. I don’t think the issue is so much the practice of evaluating and goal setting – I think the issue is how we evaluate our lives, and what the goals are that we set.
Today, at the beginning of this New Year, I’d like to offer a suggestion for each of us. It’s pretty simple – in fact it’s just two words – but I believe these are two words that can change everything. They are words that have been changing lives for 2000 years, words that, as we will see, “bookend” what it means to be a Christian. We’re going to look at them in two places in Scripture – Mark 1:17 and John 21:22.
Beginning in Mark 1:16, we read,
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me, Jesus said, “And I will make you fishers of men.”
“Come, Follow Me…” I want us to watch a video clip from Pastor Rob Bell that makes the significance of these words clear in a very special way – please watch:
[Nooma Video: “Dust”] Begin: “Jesus is a first century man…” End: “changed the course of history.”
I must admit to you that I love this video! It completely reframes the scene of Peter’s call to follow Jesus for me! It makes it so much more meaningful to recognize the cultural setting, doesn’t it? It makes it personal for me, too – because I know what its like to be “unpicked,” to not be selected, to the last guy standing when the teams are selected for basketball, to be a “not good enough.” Maybe some of you know how that feels, too.
Now, turn to John chapter 21. In John 21, we find ourselves along the shores of the same sea, Jesus is talking to the same person, and even though three years have passed, the words are the same. Follow along as we read:
[John 21:15-22]
Isn’t it amazing that the first and last words we have recorded from Jesus to Peter were exactly the same? “Follow Me.”
Think about it: Peter has denied Jesus three times when He needed him most. He is once again feeling like a reject! Like a “not good enough.” He’s sure he’s blown it - there’s no way he can ever be one of Jesus’ disciples again! And Peter wasn’t alone in that feeling – the other disciples may have felt the same way – when the Angel appeared to the women who had come to the empty tomb on Easter morning, he told them to go and tell the disciples, and Peter, to go to Galilee and Jesus would meet them there. “And Peter…” Peter was on the out. He had blown it – he knew it, they knew it. It was over. Everyone knew it. Except for Jesus.
“You Must Follow Me…” Jesus’ last words to Peter were the same as his first – “Follow Me.” Jesus is saying to Peter, in effect, “I still know you have what it takes to be my disciple. No one else may think so, YOU may not think so, but I know it!” And look at the context of his last words to Peter – “If I want him [John] to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me.”
“Get your eyes off other people, don’t worry about what anyone else does, or about their opinions, or where their path of following Me takes them – you must follow Me!”
Maybe today you feel like you’ve pretty much blown this whole disciple thing, too. You look over the year just ended and realize that you’ve not acted much like a disciple. Oh, you’ve heard Jesus call to follow Him, and you’ve responded, maybe enthusiastically, and you were all gung-ho for a while, but now you feel like you’ve pretty much blown it by compromised living, and marginal commitment to Jesus. You feel about as much like a disciple as Peter must have after denying Jesus three times…
Hey, guess what? Jesus still wants you to follow Him! His invitation is still there! He wants you to follow Him – to “forget what is behind and press on,” to use the words of Paul. He still loves you! He still thinks you have what it takes to be His disciple! He still wants you to follow him! In fact, I’m convinced that what Jesus wants in His church today is not more and better leaders, but more and better followers! And how do we follow Him? Well, how do we follow anyone, or anything? We keep our eye on Him! We follow His directions!
So in the year ahead, here’s what I’d like to encourage you to do: Begin each morning with a prayer of commitment: “Lord, I am going to follow you today! Help me to follow you, wherever you lead me!” To follow Him, we need to have our eyes on Him, so we will need to spend time in the Word, listening to His guidance. And at the end of the day, finish it with a prayer of evaluation: “Lord, help me to see where I followed my own path today, and took my eyes off you.” You know what? As you sincerely pray those prayers each morning and evening, the Holy Spirit will make you more and more sensitive to His leading. Your path may not look like my path, or the other people around you – but YOU MUST FOLLOW HIM!
As we conclude our service today, we’re going to have multiple opportunities to worship the Lord through various means.
Ø You can worship in song, as Shane comes and leads us. You may stand or sit, you may sing along or simply close your eyes and meditate on the words.
Ø You can worship in giving at the offering table in back. Our giving must always be an act of worship and obedience to the Lord.
Ø You can worship in prayer by joining an elder at the table in the rear where you can be prayed with, and anointed if you desire.
Ø You can worship through communion here in the front. Member or first time visitor, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are invited to come and worship here.
Even if you’ve never been to Gateway Community Church before, we invite you to worship through any of these means. More importantly, we invite you to follow Christ. It may be that you’ve never responded to Jesus invitation before. In these moments, as people are worshiping, listen for His call to you. “Follow Me.” Two words that will change your life. He knows you better than anyone – and He wants you to be His disciple. Come, follow Him…
Pray…
Give…
Prayer: As you leave this morning, I want to give you a reminder of Jesus’ two words that can change everything. Place this somewhere you will see it as you start and complete each day, maybe a dresser or nightstand. Hear His call, and follow Him.
Lord Jesus, help us to hear you call to follow you. Help us to respond to it by placing our eyes firmly on you, getting rid of anything and everything that comes between us, and walk after you. Strengthen us for the days ahead, forgive us when we stray, remind us of your grace, and of your call. May we reach the next New Year and find that we have drawn closer to you in the days between now and then. Amen.