Latest / Time with God with John North / Following Jesus Pt. 5

Transcript

Following Jesus Pt. 5 · Time with God with John North

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Good morning. As we head into the weekend, we want
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: to wrap up this question we've been asking all week
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: at this time each weekday morning. What does it really
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: mean to follow Jesus?
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: It starts with putting your trust in him, and that
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: means stopping putting your trust in the other things you've
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: been chasing after to try and find meaning in your life,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: to try and fill the void in your life. You
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: may find yourself drinking too much, you may find yourself
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: taking drugs, you may find yourself pursuing sexual pleasure in
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: ways that are not pleasing to God, and all of
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: these things you're chasing after thinking this is what's gonna
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: make me feel good about my life, and
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Of course when you're in those things, it feels great,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: but pretty soon you're feeling empty again and you know
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: they're not the answer to your life. Well, following Jesus
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: starts by recognising that and saying, OK, I accept.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: That real meaning and answers in my life will be
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: found in my relationship with Jesus and turning to Him
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: in faith. It grows then as you start spending time
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: with Him, and this is the point each day of
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: opening your Bible, reading about Jesus, listening to Him, allowing
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: him to shape your life, that's how you follow Him.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: It moves on from there by
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Obeying him as he shows you what he wants in
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: your life, saying no to things that are unpleasing to him,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: saying yes to things that are in line with him
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: and putting his agenda before your own agenda, not just
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: making your Christianity a convenient thing and being a casual Christian.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: And then yesterday we saw that it also means counting
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the cost. Counting the cost. It's gonna cost you to
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: follow Jesus. It's not always going to be easy. If
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: you follow Jesus wholeheartedly, it may turn off some of
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: the people, even in your own family. There may be
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: conflict there, because you're putting Jesus first in your life.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Count the cost. Are you prepared for that? Before
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: You commit to following Jesus with your whole heart. Think
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: about what it might mean. He might call you to
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: leave a place that's comfortable to you, leave a workplace,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: to leave your location, even your country, to follow him.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: He may call you to do any of a number
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: of things it's going to cost you. Are you prepared
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: for that? But
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: In the end you will realise you gain everything by
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: making that choice. And then what I want to end
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: this week with is this. Following Jesus means enjoying the
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: loving favour of God in your life. Here's what Jesus
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: said to His disciples after his whole time with them
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: of them following Him. At the very end, he said
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: to them in John 15, if you
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Make your home in me and my words make their
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: home in you. Ask whatever you wish, and it will
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: be done for you. By this is my Father glorified
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that you bear much fruit and so prove to be
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: I loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: my commandments, you will remain.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: In my love, just as I have kept my Father's
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: commandments and remain in his love. These things I have
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: spoken to you, so that my joy may be in
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: you and that your joy may be full.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: A few chapters earlier he had said to them, I
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: came that they may have life and have it abundantly,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: and that word means overflowing life. You're not only fool,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: you're overflowing into the lives of the people around you.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: You know, having chosen to follow Jesus and put him
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: first in my life, put his agenda before my own agenda,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I've paid a lot of costs to follow Jesus, things
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: he's called me to leave behind.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: But when I sit down to spend time with the Lord,
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: a big smile comes across my face almost every time.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: When I spend time in prayer with Him, I feel
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: a deep contentment. When he calls me to step out
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: of my comfort zone and start a spiritual conversation with
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: someone I just met. I feel his pleasure as I
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: do that.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: When I listen to music and songs that express gratitude
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: for what God has done in my life, I tear
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: up a lot.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Because having chosen to follow Jesus puts me in a
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: place in my relationship with God that I would not
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: trade for anything in the world, and you can have
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: that experience too. Learn to put Jesus first in your
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: life and enjoy his loving favour. I'm John North.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.