Hello Treasures, so the Fall Bible Study using FOLLOW ME Bible Study by David Platt has begun with Christie at Satisfaction Through Christ.
So initially I had purchased the book not the bible study.
I begin to read it and I really liked it. Then I found out it wasn't the correct one and I heard about all the ways the devil tried to stop this and we pushed back the enemy and decided to go forward with the study and so I ordered the bible study version from Lifeway Book Store here in California.
The book is a 6 week bible study and each week has 5 days of reading. I just got mine on Monday so its crunch time for me. For the 6 weeks, Christie of Satisfaction through Christ , myself and others will blog about that weeks topics and we can comment, link up our posts and just discuss what God spoke to us. I am late this week but still wanted to put something together. I have never done this type of bible study so I am really excited to get into this with the group and we'd love for you to join us.
WEEK 1: THE CALL
This week's scripture Memory
MATTHEW 4:19-20
“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fisher’s of men.” At
once they left their nets and followed him.
This week’s Focus
Was on that moment when
Jesus first called His disciples, along with several more of their experiences
and encounters during His public ministry.
Ultimately, we’ll find answers to this important question: What does it mean to truly follow Jesus?
This week in a daily break down
I will share what stood
out to me the most from each
day (There is a lot of good points throughout the days, from what I have read
but I will only share one. I will share
one paragraph and one question from the section plus share my answer and hope
that you will join us on this bible study and share with us what stood out to
you or ask questions or leave comments.
Day One - The Cost
Again there is a lot of
good stuff in this section but this is something that really struck me.
David Platt shares Matthew
4:18-22 (NIV) {Note the subtitle for this section}
Jesus Calls His First
Disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers;
Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the
lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus
said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once
they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and
his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing
their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the
boat and their father and followed him.
Question
What strikes you as most interesting in these
verses? Why?
What struck me the most on this was that when
Jesus told Simon Peter and Andrew, Come, follow me, scriptures tell us that AT
ONCE they left and followed him.
They had that blind faith and followed Jesus and they didn’t waver or
contemplate or get prayer or ask for advice but AT ONCE they stopped
what they were doing (their work, their lives, their agendas) and followed Him.
In verse 21, the same thing happens but with 2
other disciples, James and John, Jesus called them and scripture tells us that IMMEDIATELY
they left and followed him.
I know for me there were many
times that Jesus was calling me and I didn’t stop, drop and follow.
Day Two - Don't Invite
Jesus into Your Heart
This
day had my mouth dropping as I read.
David Platt uses a great analogy using his story of adopting Caleb Platt
and the gospel.
He says, “Caleb didn’t pursue us, for he was utterly unable
to do so. Instead, we pursued him.
This is the heart of
Christianity, and we're prone to miss it if we describe becoming a Christian as
"inviting Jesus into your heart". We don't become followers of Christ
by pursuing Christ or inviting Christ to do anything, for in our sin we're
totally unable to do so. Instead, we become Christians when Christ pursues us
and invites us to follow Him."
Question
What’s
your reaction to the previous paragraph? Why?
My
reaction as I read was my mouth dropping wide open. Reading through this day just really revealed
so much to me about Jesus and His amazing love and how it wasn’t a prayer that
was said or “inviting Jesus into my heart” but His love and His pursuit that
has me on this journey of, FOLLOWING HIM.
Day Three -
Understanding Salvation
This day was really deep for me. There were two very profound sections for
this day but I will share this one.
AWAY FROM ME
Here is part of this section…
“…Shouldn’t we who follow Christ be concerned that
the Scriptures contain no references to people asking Jesus into their hearts
or reciting a prayer of salvation?
Yes this is exactly what multitudes of professing
Christians have been encouraged to do. Worse, they’ve been assured that as long
as they asked Jesus into their heart, invited Him into their life, prayed a
prayer, raised their hand, signed a card, or walked an aisle, they’re
Christians, and their salvation is eternally secure.”
Question
What’s your reaction to the previous statements?
Why?
My reaction is that of surprised. I guess I really
never thought about whether or not it was even biblical to do the “sinner’s
prayer”. It’s just what I have been
taught all along. Each time the question was asked, “How many people have you
lead through the sinner’s prayers?” I always shrunk back as I have never done
it. As time went on, I quickly realized
it wasn’t as easy as saying a prayer. It took a lot more than that for my walk
with Jesus.
There is some other good things to ponder in this
chapter but this post is already so long. (God bless you for sticking through
this far)
Day Four - A New
Creation
Another great section about Jesus making us a new
creation and about superficial religion versus supernatural regeneration (read
Ezekiel 36:25-27)
“Spiritual regeneration is the heart of Jesus’ call
to follow Him. When you become a
Christian, you die, and Jesus becomes your life. To paraphrase Paul, “You have died with Christ,
and you’re not even alive anymore.
Instead, Christ is alive in you, and the only way you live is by faith
in Him” (Gal. 2:20, author’s paraphrase).
In other words, Jesus died for you so that He could live in you.”
Question
Have you experienced supernatural regeneration? How
can you tell?
I would say that I have experienced supernatural
regeneration according to this that David Platt explains, “What Ezekiel wrote
about (read Ezekiel 36:25-27) is exactly what Jesus came to do. He came to cleanse us of our sin through His
sacrifice on the cross; to wash us with “clean water” (v. 25). And in doing so, He gives us something
infinitely more valuable: a new
heart. We’re born again! He gives us His
Spirit to live in us and change us from the inside out. This is what it means to experience
supernatural regeneration.
Day Five - Make
Disciples
So David Platt, closes
up the week with this:
“Throughout the week
we’ve explored what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We’ve looked at several pieces of evidence we
can use to confirm whether we’re truly following Jesus rather than going
through the motions of cultural Christianity.”
He gives a recap of the week and then goes in to today. He says, “Today I want to explore the final
proof of what it means to live as a genuine follower of Jesus: the reality that true disciples of Christ are
supernaturally compelled to make more disciples of Christ.
He talks about being
Fishers of Men and Moving Forward.
Question
Will you follow?
Yes I will follow. Yes I want to taste this pleasure as
David Platt puts it.
“Follow me,’ Jesus
said, ‘ and I will make you fishers of men’ “ (Matt. 4:19). This isn’t a gently solicitation to tread a
path of superficial religion. It’s a
call to taste a pleasure that can be found only in a supernatural relationship
with Christ. ~~David Platt
Thank you for reading. I pray you were blessed. This book has my attention. Please make
sure to stop by Satisfaction Through Christ’s to read her discussion on the this week’s reading and also check back
with us every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks for the rest of this study.
God bless you and if you have any prayer requests please leave me a
comment or send me an email and we will lift up your needs in Jesus name.
