Follow Jesus Together

Follow Jesus Together

6th August 2023

John 15:1-11 & Ephesians 4:1-16        

Over four weeks we are exploring together the practice of ‘Following Jesus’.

We started this exploration last Sunday examining Chapter 1 of John’s Gospel,

where disciples faced a decision-point to ‘Follow Jesus’.

And we noticed that for each disciple the nature of the decision to follow was different.

One common feature of following Jesus was a curiosity.

And this was expressed by the invitation “Come and see”.

So, we understand that to ‘Follow Jesus’ is making a response to the call of Jesus, and continuing to walk in step with Jesus.

Can we agree that this is true for us?

That to ‘Follow Jesus we both need to make an initial decision;

 AND make daily choices to remain close to Jesus?

“When we choose to follow Jesus, to become a disciple, we are choosing to be taught and formed into someone who is Christlike. Jesus shows us what we are choosing: restored fellowship with God and one another.” (from the start of the Foundational Essay)

Following Jesus is choosing to put Jesus first.

This is what Jesus wants.

Jesus’ teaching was ‘self-centred’.

By that, I mean he draws attention to who he is.

We hear this again in today’s reading from John’s Gospel:

“I am the true vine…” (v1)

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.” (v4-5)

To follow Jesus is to put him first.

To say ‘yes’ to Jesus is to say ‘no’ to other things in life.

We can recognise this in the way Jesus called one of his other disciples.

Listen to this calling of Matthew…

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

(Matthew 9:9)

Jesus is inviting some unexpected people to follow him.

And this highlights something very important about following Jesus;

we don’t follow alone; we follow Jesus together.

This is our focus today.

In our four-week exploration of the practice of Following Jesus, we are learning about following Jesus together.

The practice of following Jesus together is the assumption in our second Bible reading today.

In this letter to the early church the author teaches about following Jesus together using a metaphor;

the metaphor for the church community is a human body.

We see in this metaphor, that there is:

1) one-ness in diversity

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” (vv4-5)

2) coordination

“speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (vv15-16)

Think about how a toddler learning to walk.

A couple of weeks ago little 18-month Leon was up the front here showing his progress in learning to walk (the steps were proving a little tricky!)

A toddler learns to walk well when all parts of the body are coordinated together (working in concert) – the same is true for the Church community.

We are to help one another mature and grow as disciples, practicing together how to follow Jesus.

This is something we can together, as people from different backgrounds, different genders, different ethnicities and all different ages.

Following Jesus is about relationships.

And I believe following Jesus together is something God wants – for our sakes.

When we recognise following Jesus is about relationships,

we are open to practicing shared experiences together – teaching one another,

listening to one another,

loving one another,

sharing with one another,

and serving one another.

In other words, following Jesus together is about experiencing the blessings of learning from one another, in all that following Jesus entails.

These four weeks are deliberately about faith practice, and so I want to finish with something practical for us.

If, by following Jesus, we expect to be formed into someone who is Christlike – how might that happen?

What does that look like?

One central practice of following Jesus together is prayer.

Prayer 1) keeps us faithful to our relationship with Jesus,

and 2) shapes the relationships we have with others.

Firstly, how does prayer keep us faithful to our relationship with Jesus?

Prayer is a connection to God.

Prayer may look like something we start;

an activity we do;

but prayer is God's work in us.

Prayer is not us trying to persuade God to be nice to us,

or to get God interested in us.

Prayer is opening our minds and hearts and saying ‘Yes’ in response to the call to follow Jesus.

Sometimes you may not feel you are close to Jesus.

You may be confused, unmotivated, even depressed.

As you pray, it may feel nothing is happening.

That’s fine.

Stay with it there even so.

Even when your prayer might simply be ‘Save me’.

You’d be practicing something millions of other followers have done.

Prayer keeps you faithful in your relationship with Jesus.

Prayer is your practice of being there for Jesus, who is there for you.

That’s the first way prayer is part of following Jesus.

The second way prayer is part of following Jesus is shaping the relationships we have with others.

Prayer keeps you following Jesus closely, and your life becomes more and more in step with His.

Your whole life increasingly becomes an “Our Father”.

You are less trapped by selfishness, fear of others, or the desire to succeed at others' expense.

Instead prayer draws you toward reconciliation, mercy, and freely extending the welcome and the love of God to others.

Think for a moment of the important relationships in your life.

Think also of the relations between people and groups that you know in the wider world.

Are any in need of healing?

If so, how might your prayer help in that process?

Let’s stick with pray and put it into practice.