The Process To Destiny – Part 4

“And He said to them, “Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.”      (Matthew 4:19 AMP)

We have been walking through part of the journey that Jesus took from training (testing) to purpose to destiny. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

Jesus Didn’t Walk Alone

I love it that Jesus wasn’t a Lone Ranger while he walked the earth. EVERYTHING that Jesus said and did on the earth is an example of how we are able to live in the 21st century – today. If He was living as a man today, I don’t think there would be too many television stations that wouldn’t be screening at least some of the miracles that Jesus was doing – even if it was just to attack Him, complain about Him or to try and dismiss away his actions with scientific reasoning. Good luck with that!

Jesus didn’t walk alone. He called people to follow Him. Here are a few of the many reasons.

1. So that He could teach others how to live, act, speak and listen as He did – and His teachings and example still apply today. (Matthew 4:19)

2. So that He could have fellowship with other likeminded people. (Matthew 26:26)

3. So that He could have an army of people walking alongside Him who would minister to a searching people and to practically help them meet their needs, both physically and spiritually. (Matthew 14:13-21)

The First Disciples

In Matthew 4 and Mark 1, Jesus is calling His first disciples to follow Him. I find it very interesting that He chose 2 sets of brothers: Simon (Peter) and Andrew, then James and John. All 4 of these men were fishermen. All 4 of them left EVERYTHING to follow Jesus as His disciples; accepting Him as their Master and Teacher, walking the same path of life that He walks, and allowing Jesus to mould them and train them into becoming fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).

I am intrigued as to why Jesus chose two sets of brothers to be His first followers/students. Have you ever noticed that? Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 comes to mind. Verses 9 & 10 say, “Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labour; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up.” Is it possible that Jesus chose these men because He knew that slander and persecution were coming so He wanted them to have family around to support them and encourage them in the faith? Also notice that in verses 18-21 of Matthew chapter 4, that the four men were all fishing close by one another. This suggests that they knew each other well if only in a business sense. Do you find it easier to cope with struggles and much more fun to rejoice in victories when you are surrounded with friends and family who love you and care for you? Could it be that Jesus purposely chose these very first disciples because they already had relationship and trust with each other? This would suggest that support, likemindedness, loyalty and friendship would already be ripe among these men so Jesus could get on with God’s business instead of worrying about personal dynamics. Just a thought.

I believe the biggest reason that Jesus chose people to follow Him was simply to teach them how they could live a Kingdom life, how to build each other up in the faith, and to set the example of how we can live today. Before you say, “I couldn’t live like that. I’m not one of Jesus’ disciples.” Well, that’s not what the Bible says. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, according to Romans 8:11, we have the same Spirit in us that rose Jesus from the dead. That’s no small feat! Jesus’ body was completely ripped apart by the scourging He received. Isaiah 52:14 (NLT) says that “His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.” Not only did the Spirit raise Jesus again after He had been dead for 3 days, He was given a totally healed and renewed body! Wow! That is the exact same Spirit that descended upon Jesus like a dove at His baptism (Matthew 4:16) AND gave Jesus life again after His crucifixion. This is the exact same Spirit that lives in YOU!

You don’t really have an excuse anymore do you!

As a side note, (which is a whole other post in itself) notice that these everyday men left everything to follow Jesus. Their livelihood of fishing, James and John walked away from their father, they walked away from everything that they knew and had comfort in. Have you done that? Are you willing to lay down EVERYTHING about your life before Jesus and say, “Here I am. Here is my life. Use me as You will.” If you haven’t, it’s never too late. Be brave, be bold and step out today and give Jesus everything. You will be amazed at what He will do in you and through you.

When we look at Jesus’ example of choosing people to ‘do life’ with, we see Him sharing with us that we aren’t meant to ‘do life’ alone. You are not meant to be alone. You were created to have fellowship with others. You are meant to have people in your life that you can both teach and learn from. Satan is a roaring lion who prowls around, seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). He especially likes to prey on those who are alone. It’s a whole lot easier for the enemy to attack a person who stands alone than it is to attack a group. Besides, Jesus said where two or more are gathered, there He is among them (Matthew 18:20).

If you don’t have fellowship with others, pray for the Lord to bring people into your life that will encourage you, help build your faith, basically ‘do life’ with. It’s more fun with others. He knows who are the right people are for you. He knows who you need. He knows who needs you. He knows everything. You can trust Him.

Life is hard enough without you trying to do it alone. Jesus didn’t, so neither should you.

Let Jesus be your example today.

In the last part of our study we are going onto the REALLY exciting part. Matthew 4:23 –  ^“And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people [demonstrating and revealing that He was indeed the promised Messiah].” (Emphasis mine)

I love it!

As always, I would love to hear your comments or questions. Write them in the comments below or you can contact me here. If you are enjoying these posts, it would be great if you would share them with your friends.
I am praying for you.

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