COME,
FOLLOW ME--VII
Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Come,
follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
If
anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his
cross (daily) and follow Me.
...go
and make disciples of all nations...
teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you....
Abide
in Me and I in you, and you will bear much fruit.
Walk
in the Spirit....Be filled with the Spirit.
You
will bear much fruit—30,60, 100 fold.
You
will bear much fruit—30,60, 100 fold.
What
might be the “fruit” of spending time with the Holy Spirit
showing us day after day what Jesus was, is, and always will be?
Let's
start with what Jesus said His last night. He
said,
“If
you abide in Me, and I in you,
you
will bear much fruit.”
John
15.5
Since
“abide” means “continue,” Jesus' words can read,
“As
you continue to follow/spend time with Me.”
These
men followed Jesus for three and a half years. They were impacted by Him in every way possible, directly and indirectly, body,
soul, and spirit.
At
the end, He told them that in His absence, the Holy Spirit would come
to do for them the very same things that He had been doing for them.
They
were to spend time listening the the Holy Spirit like they had spent
time listening to Him.
Listening
to the Holy Spirit is the main thing of “prayer.”
In
“prayer,” He tells us what to do, not the other way around. This
was exactly the case with Jesus. Jesus determined the time they
would spend listening to Him and what He would talk about. Whenever
they started to tell Him what they thought was supposed to be
happening, the Father stopped them saying, “This My Son. Listen
to Him.”
Just
so, the the Holy Spirit determines the topic, time, and place of our
prayers. This is not at our convenience, but at His command.
The
first part of our “prayer time” is to listen to the applications
of Scripture to our lives.
The
second part of prayer is “Question and Answer.”
Of
course! Those disciples had many questions and misunderstandings
about everything. They did not know what to say or do about much of
anything. So there had to be discussion and talk. The second part
of prayer is to seek specific applications of His teaching to our
problems and needs. This is the way it was with Jesus and the way it
must be with with the Holy Spirit today—
if
we want to
“bear
much fruit—30, 60, 100 fold”
for
the praise honor and glory of Jesus.
To
be a “disciple” of Jesus must mean “Follow Me.”
“Follow
Me” must mean, “Do what I tell you.”
“Follow
Me” must mean, “Obey My commands.”
“Follow
Me” must mean, “Come, Listen, Learn, Obey, and then Teach others
“all things whatsoever I have taught you.”
“Follow
Me” must mean, “We will do it My way.”
“Follow
Me” must mean we are to listen and obey Jesus Commands to build a
life that will make eternal contributions to others who want to
follow Jesus.
“Follow
Me” must mean, “Learn and implement the life that is outlined in
the Sermon on the Mount,” which immediately follows the command to
“Follow.” Three and a half years of teaching them how this
Sermon is to be lived is concluded by His sending them out to teach
others how to live by this “Sermon.”
The
Holy Spirit now directs all disciples to find and teach new disciples
to obey the Jesus' commands. From the first day, the new disciples
devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching
and
to the fellowship,
to
the breaking of bread
and
to prayer...
Every
day they continued...”
Acts
2.42-27
The
Holy Spirit says,
“Today
is the day we are to receive God's grace.”
2
Cor. 6.1-2
If
we follow the Holy Spirit today,
we
will
Bear
much fruit—30,60, 100 fold.
