Come, Follow Me, and I Will Show You

Being No-Longer-Common 101 Part 8

Come, Follow Me, and I Will Show You

The further I get away from being ordinary, the harder it gets for me to remember everything normal people do. Here’s an example. Normal people read and listen to Bible teachings like a history lesson. It’s a good story or makes for a good movie. The “common” person thinks this has nothing to do with me. That sounds great. What a good message we heard today. The “uncommon” person says the same thing but in a different way. What does this have to do with me? They look for a parallel. How can this be applied to my life today, right now?

In talking about what happened to Peter, James, and John when selected to be disciples of Jesus, there is no present date application that parallels. Let’s do an up-to-date parallel.
Jesus gave us 3 steps to become uncommon: (1) come, (2) follow Me, and (3) I will show you…

Because He (Jesus) is not here with us physically, to make up the difference we must…

Come. Today this would mean we must go to where He is. Respond to Him. The easiest way to “come”, surprisingly, is not at your local church. While going to church is great, you can “come” simply by reading His word. You need to see what He’s all about. Unfortunately, this isn’t always demonstrated in our local church as it should. I’ll remind you that the church is a hospital for the “common.”

Read for yourself. This is the only way you and He (Jesus) can become acquainted-get to know Him.

Follow me. Following Jesus is more than accepting His original request. It means you have to stop doing what you are doing and follow Him. It’s a more dedicated and intentional action. It means you must stop going your way and go His way. You’ll need to study Him. To study means you grow and become more useful and skilled at the subject you’re studying. In this case, you must study what you need. What I mean by that is… If you’re a teacher, you study ways that He can use you as a teacher.

Be aware that no one has your answers but God.

What generally happens in churches is that people who want to follow Jesus hear the wrong message. Every message you hear should be used to teach you how to be you. How to use your skills and talents for Him. The uncommon constantly listen for the things that make them the fisherman that Christ wants, not to change them from a fisherman to a Pharisee-professional church-goer.

I will show you. Because Christ isn’t physically here to show you like He did for His disciples doesn’t mean He can’t still show you. You have to surround yourself with disciples. That means you have to find those that are like Jesus to be around. This is why attending church can be very important. At least at church it’s easier to find those who are disciples like you. The warning here is to remember not all disciples are created equal. There was a Judas-who betrayed Jesus, a Thomas-who doubted Him, and a Peter-who denied Jesus-in the list of named disciples. And they were all selected personally by Jesus.

People sharpen you, but you must look for the people who can. No one can sharpen you in every area. Each disciple brought to the table their own unique set of skills. You will have to find disciples who have the skills that you need to sharpen you in the way you should go. Everyone isn’t good at everything, but everyone is good at something.

As we bring this series of messages to a close, let’s review. Jesus was found walking along the seashore and He looks around the area and chooses four men that were fishing. What I never considered and what the church misses today is that Jesus used to teach in the church or the local synagogue regularly.
So God made me ask myself this question: why didn’t He choose the people in the church that he saw every week. Think about it, He was selecting people to be on his team but He didn’t use the people that he went to church with every week. He went down to the seashore, saw a bunch of men. He called out to them, come, follow me and I will show you.

Think about who he chose to make up His team. Here are just a few:
Bartholomew Nathanael, a missionary
James, a fisherman
John, a fisherman
Judas, a Jewish Nationalist
Matthew or Levi, tax collector
Simon Peter, fisherman
Thomas, a laborer

Why am I telling you? Jesus chose ordinary people when He could have used the people who were already in ministry. He went outside of the church to find people to be the church. He found the most common and diverse of men. Today, I want you to know that He chooses you.
You know what it means to be “no-longer-common”? It means you’re good enough to be on His team. When He is apart of your world, your gifts, talents and skills change from ordinary to extraordinary. You go from church-goer to disciple. From common to no-longer-common. In Jesus’ name!

Explore Other Great Resources and Content on this Topic:

Why Not Christianity 101?
Myths: A Result of Being Normal
Myths: The Number 1 Cause of Ordinary Living
He Sees You
C O M E
Follow
I Will Show You