FAN VERSUS FOLLOWER Part 1 A fan is

FAN VERSUS FOLLOWER Part 1

A fan is defined as: An ardent follower and admirer.

Matthew 7: 21 " Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, ' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? ' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

2 Corinthians 13: 5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified.

Luke 14: 27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- 29 "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish. ' 31 "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Matthew 19: 16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? " 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. " 18 He said to Him, "Which ones? " Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder, ' 'You shall not commit adultery, ' 'You shall not steal, ' 'You shall not bear false witness, ' 19 'Honor your father and your mother, ' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ' " 20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack? " 21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. " 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

How committed are you to Christ if you only come to worship God once or twice a year? What is keeping you from being here every other Sunday?

He purchased the church (Acts 20: 28).

Hebrews 10: 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

How much are we considering others and stirring them up when we are rarely there? Can you honestly say that you are a follower of Christ when you only assembly with the saints once or twice a year?

Why do I only attend on Sunday morning? Why do I not come to Bible class?

Acts 26: 20 that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

Luke 17: 7 "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do. ' "

John 14: 15 " If you love Me, keep My commandments. Matthew 5: 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

1 Corinthians 9: 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

FAN VERSUS FOLLOWER Part 2

John 3: 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. " 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. " 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? " 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again. '

8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. " 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be? " 10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. "

Has following Jesus cost you anything? What changes have you made in your life because of Jesus?

So how about you? Have you simply decided that Jesus is someone great or have you made the commitment to follow Him all the way?

James 2: 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, " but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 ¶ But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works. " Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. " And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Luke 6: 46 " But why do you call Me 'Lord, ' and do not do the things which I say?

I think it's interesting that you find Jesus saying “believe in Me” 4 times, but He says “follow Me” 20 times throughout the four gospels.

BELIEVE

John 7: 25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 "But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? 27 "However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from. " 28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 "But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me. " 30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done? " 32 ¶ The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come. " 35 Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 "What is thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'? "

37 ¶ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. " 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 ¶ Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet. " 41 Others said, "This is the Christ. " But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was? " 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 45 ¶ Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him? " 46 The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"

47 Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? 48 "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 "But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. "

John 7: 50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing? "

John 7: 52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. "

John 19: 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.