As we begin a new year our thoughts turn to the future. What will the year hold for us? Where will it take us? With the New Year will come decisions and choices that we all have to make. What better way to start the New Year than by reflecting on the invitation of Jesus to ‘follow me’?

Just as Jesus invited the fishermen to follow him on the shores of Galilee; so Jesus invites us to be his followers. We will think about 4 aspects of Jesus simple invitation to us:

1. Why follow Jesus
2. How to follow Jesus
3. Help for following Jesus
4. Who can follow Jesus

Firstly then, why follow Jesus? There are many competing voices that beckon us to sign up and commit our selves to their cause. I’ve recently joined Arsenal football club. I’m a red member. I get emails with news of what’s going on with the team, and even emails from Arsene Wenger the manager telling me of his reflection on the team’s performance and his aspirations for the rest of the season. I understand there are further steps I could take. I could put my name down on the waiting list to become a season ticket holder, I could become a silver member, or even a golden member.

Yes there are many voices out there beckoning for us to follow. The political parties would like you to join up as members to support them. We are tragically aware of the attraction to some young people to join up as members of al-Qa’ida, with the effect that has had on our world; and of course all the world’s religions beckon for people to follow their way.

Jesus’ call to the Galilean fisherman to follow him was on this basis; ‘The time has come; the kingdom of God is near.’ The reason to follow Jesus is quite simply that in him, the one, almighty, creator God has come near to us. No other religious leader can lay claim to that. The eternal God had come into the world in Jesus.

In his love he has reached out to his wayward creation. We should follow him because he has come to reveal God’s love for us and bring us into a right relationship with himself and with each other. Why follow Jesus? Because he is the one who restores us to a right relationship with God, he brings the kingdom of God near and his call to follow him is an invitation to come into God’s kingdom.

Secondly, how do we respond to that invitation to follow? The answer is clearly spelt out in verse 15; it is to repent and believe the good news. Repent means to change direction. It means to turn away from the things that spoil us and make us part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

We are all different, but we all have things that spoil our lives. For many people, fear is something that holds them captive. The call to repent is a call to turn away from our fears. Time and again Jesus would say to his little band of followers, ‘do not fear’. The call to repent is an invitation to turn away from unhealthy fears.

For some it is a call to turn away from anger. For many of us it is a call to turn away from pride. For other’s it’s a call to turn away from selfishness. For all of us it’s a call to turn away from any loves that are more important to us than love for Jesus, be it human relationships, love of money, or whatever.

But perhaps the best way to look at it is in the positive light of turning to Jesus. The answers we need to life are in Jesus. Things that in the past had been a mystery were made plain and explained by Jesus. Repentance is about seeking first the kingdom of God.

Jesus doesn’t call people to turn away from other things because he wants to spoil our fun or because he is a killjoy. He simply calls us to get our priorities right. The call is to seek first the kingdom of God, and then the other things will be given to us, they will fall into their rightful place.

But an important aspect of repentance is faith. The call is to repent and believe the gospel. Who do you believe? Who do you trust? I knew a lady once who didn’t believe the Americans had landed on the moon. She said that it was all a story that was made up.

Faith is a basic necessary commodity that we depend on for the world to function. Yes we know that sometimes people tell lies. We know that its sensible to get to know people, to get to know if they are trust worthy, to make inquiries regarding their reputation. But as we get to know people we usually find that we can trust them.

We trust that Tesco or Asda to sell us food that is safe and edible, and that what it says on the packet will be what we find when we open it. We trust Stuart to be here to unlock on Sunday mornings and get ready for us. I trust you to turn up to hear the sermon that I’ve been preparing.

The most important thing though, is to trust Jesus, to believe what he says, to believe the gospel. As we believe, so we know God loves us, we know we are forgiven. We know that Jesus loves us and that he died for us and rose again. If we believe we know the joy and wonder of those truths.

Following Jesus is having our faith in him, living by his truths and knowing his living presence in our lives. It is not necessarily going anywhere. It is primarily accepting that Jesus has come to us. Sometimes people make their religion an excuse to escape their responsibilities. Jesus squarely criticised people in his day who made a big display of their religion, but used it as an excuse to avoid their responsibilities to their ageing parents.

Spurgeon, the great preacher once had a woman tell him that God had told her to go to be a missionary. On talking to her a bit more it turned out that she had a husband and seven young children. Spurgeon assured her that her mission field was at home, that God had provided her with her family to be her congregation.

Yes, Jesus does call some to leave their homes go where he sends them; but for most of us he calls us to be his presence where we are. We follow Jesus by turning towards him, believing him and making him our first priority.
Thirdly, we have help in following Jesus. One thing is very obvious as we read Marks account of Jesus commencing his ministry. God’s power was so obviously evident in the life of Jesus. We people healed of all sorts of diseases. We even have evil spirits and demons cast out of those afflicted by them.

God’s power was at work because the kingdom of God had come near. It was clear to the ordinary people. Word soon got around and people were coming from everywhere for healing. It got to the stage where Jesus had to stay out of the towns because of the crowds. Nothing like it had ever been seen before.

The people of Jesus day knew the reality of demon possession. They knew what a powerful thing demon possession was. They knew that a person who was demon possessed was beyond human help. But Jesus had a power and authority that was greater.

I do not believe that on many occasions today we see the same powerful healing for all that Mark tells us of here, these healings marked Jesus out as the unique son of God. They are a sign that in Jesus God’s power is available to meet our deeper needs, the need of forgiveness, the need to be able to give and receive love.

Of course when Jesus returned to heaven, the same Holy Spirit that had descended on him to endue him with God’s power was given for all believers. By the Holy Spirit God gives us the strength and help we need to follow the ways of Jesus. Like Jesus though, we need to spend time in prayer, we need to give time to be alone with God to receive the strength that God gives.

Finally, who can follow Jesus? It is an open invitation. Whosover will may come. As humans we tend to be rather possessive. When Jesus disappears, the crowds search for him, they want him back. But Jesus does not go back, he moves on. There are others who need to hear the good news.

Because we are human, we all have limited horizons. Our natural inclination is to want to contain and control Jesus. We want to restrict what sort of people can hear and respond to the gospel. But Jesus insists that God’s kingdom has larger horizons.

In fact Jesus calls us to follow him that we might participate in spreading the good news. Jesus called the disciples to be fishers of men. In due course he was to spell out in very clear terms who the gospel was for. He told his disciples to go into the entire world and take the gospel to all nations.

We are only a small church. But we are never the less part of the one universal church. Christ’s invitation to follow him as we begin a new year includes the promise of his help; and it includes his promise to make us fishes of men, people who have his love in their hearts, people who can reach out to others with the good news that we our selves have found in Jesus.
 

Amen.

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