Follow Me
By
“The Breath of God”
“The Jesus Yoke”
“Compelled By The Love of God”
“Doing The Work of God”

Bringing The Kingdom of God
The Rule of His love
Matthew 28:18-20

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.” John 1:37-39

Believing
Belonging
Becoming
Begetting

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17

The Kingdom of God

• Mentioned 100 times in the N.T.
  
• Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7 – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
  
  • We were created as multi-dimensional beings.
    
  • We are made for heaven and earth!
    
  • Not a place far away but here in our midst.
• Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
  
  • The priority of placing the rule of His love, His Kingdom first and His justice results in our provision.
• Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
  
  • Relational not religious
• Matthew 11:12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
  
  • Johns violent death was a precursor to the opposition to the Kingdom of God.
    
  • Yet, the Kingdom is advancing by the force of our faith!
• Matthew 13:11 “He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
  
  • The Kingdom of God is a mystery to be discovered!

The Kingdom of God is like ...
Matthew 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52;
18:23; 20:1; 22:2; 25:1, 14

Follow Me - The Word of God

You “Do” what you believe!

Jesus command empowered by His grace!

“Come and see.”

Follow Me by:

• The Breath of God
  
• The Jesus Yoke
  
• Compelled By The Love of God
  
• Doing The Work of God
  
• Bringing The Kingdom of God

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
John 6:28-29

Man’s Systems and the religious environment of Jesus day

• Pharisees
  
• Sadducees
  
• Herodians
  
• Essenes

Believing ~ Belonging ~ Becoming ~ Begetting

A Life of Choice

• Deuteronomy 30:15-20
  
• An open the invitation with a promise
  
• Our prerogative – our choice!
  
• The options:
  
  • life or death
    
  • prosperity and disaster

Greater Works!

The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. John 14:12 NLT

• Peter is a great illustration
  
• The key to the greater work is prayer

I bow my knee before Your throne
I know my life is not my own
I offer up a song of praise
to give you glory Lord.

I seek the giver not the gift,
I know my life is to lift
You higher than all earthly things
I give You glory Lord.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah. Glory to the King.

Action Points

• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  
• Seek to understand the Jewish roots of our faith.
  
• Express our solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.
  
• Make a prayer journey to Israel.

Follow Me - Compelled by the Love of God

“For the love of Christ compels us”
II Corinthians 5:14

Believing
Belonging
Becoming
Begetting

Receive ~ Reconcile ~ Retrain ~ Release

Faith or Doubt

• Faith is essentially trust or confidence or reliance that results in decisive action.
  
• You “Do” what you believe!
  
• Faiths proper exercise crucially requires reason, evidence and knowledge to come to a conclusion for action.
  
• Faith is trusting what we have reason to believe is true.
  
• Christianity has always been a friend of reason and knowledge.
• Dealing with doubt:
  
  1. Identify the source of the doubt (an experience, the news media, a conversation, book or movie, etc.)
     
  2. Identify the particular assumptions that stand under the source (sense knowledge limitations and applicable faith – if I can’t sense it, I can’t believe it)
     
  3. Raise doubts about the doubt. Challenge the thought, its source, its motive, its credibility.
     
  4. Replace the assumption with a Biblical one

Receive The Breath of God

Genesis 2:7 ~ Matthew 3:11
John 20:21-23 ~ Zechariah 4:6

Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.

The Jesus Yoke

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29-30

Compelled By The Love of God

Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them. II Corinthians 5:14-15 NLT

Follow Me
Philippians 2:1-11