"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men"

Matthew 4:19

"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men"

Jesus invited them into a RELATIONSHIP where they would spend time WITH HIM, become LIKE HIM and then, as a result DO WHAT HE DOES.

In the faith bucket, relationships tend to get reduced to information.

We know a ton ABOUT Jesus

• We know where Jesus was born
• We know who was there when He was born
• We know some things about his childhood
• We know some things about the time that his parents lost track of him a big city only to find him in Temple discussing faith with religious leaders
• We know some of the things that he said and taught
• We know that how other religious people felt about him and what they eventually did to quiet his influence
• We know that he was innocent of any crime, but that didn't keep him from being arrested
• We know that he willingly gave his life to pay the cost of my sin
• We know that he was buried in a borrowed tomb where he laid dead for three days
• And we know that he rose from the dead, appeared to a ton of people before ascended into Heaven.

Our relationship with Jesus can start at church but can't stay at church.

Jesus invitation isn't just an invitation to make a decision about my eternity, it was an invitation to change the direction of my life.

"Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

John 3:16

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already..."

John 3:18

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life..."

John 3:36

"Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life"

John 5:24

"Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up. at the last day"

John 6:40

"If you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins"

John 8:24

"The one who believes in me will live, even though they die... whoever lives by believing in me will never die"

John 11:25-26

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart... you will be saved"

Romans 10:9-10

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Romans 6:23

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..."

Acts 16:30-31

"It is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by work, so that no one can boast"

Ephesians 2:8-9

WHAT IF I ASKED.....

I want to have a relationship with you that really benefits me. Would you mind telling me the bare minimum of things that I have to do to have a relationship with you that benefits me without demanding too much from me?

"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men"

Jesus invited them into a RELATIONSHIP where they would spend time WITH HIM, become LIKE HIM and then, as a result DO WHAT HE DOES.

A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS

• .....might start at church, but it can't stay at church
• .....affects your eternity, but it's so much more than just eternity
• .....isn't about the "bare minimum" requirements
• .....overflows into the rest of your life

WHAT MDO YOU WANT OUT OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS?

The motivation of your relationship with Jesus will determine the direction of your relationship with Jesus