“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him (Mark 1:16-18).

We have been studying the gospel according to Luke for the past year as a church. One of the things that I have come to learn this year is how clueless the disciples were. To the very end, the disciples don’t get it. They don’t know who Jesus is. They don’t know what his ministry is all about.

• Peter is always saying and doing things to put his foot in his mouth
• Levi was a tax collector!
• Thomas was a doubter
• They argue amongst themselves about who will be the second in command to Jesus when Jesus restores Israel’s greatness
• They rebuke the children when they come to Jesus
• They could not cast out the demon throwing a young man into the fire
• They could not stay awake when Jesus needed them the most on the Mount of Olives
• Judas ends up selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver

Sheesh.

What was it about these guys that made Jesus choose them? Two things.

First, when Jesus came to them with the invitation, “Come follow me,” they followed him. Don’t miss this. They took steps to follow him. You can’t stay where you are if you are going to follow. They followed him. You can’t stay where you are if you are following him. You have to leave. You have to take steps. You have to take action to follow where Jesus goes.

Second, they left their nets and followed him. Simon and Andrew were fishermen. For them to leave their nets was to leave their previous life, identity, and livelihood behind. There needs to be a letting go of your previous life, identity, and security if you are to follow Jesus.

What did the disciples have that others did not have that made Jesus choose them?

1. They followed. They had a willingness to obey and take steps to follow Jesus
2. They left their previous identities, lives, and security to locate them in Jesus.

Are you ready to follow Jesus? Jesus beckons to all, “Follow me.”

“For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).

No one would ever fall for satan’s lies if he were to show up and declare, “Follow me. And I will completely destroy your life and the lives of everyone you love.”

So, instead, satan shows up as an angel of light. Think about this description. Angel of light – angel, light – those are good things!

That’s right. satan shows up with a lie. satan shows up pretending to be an angel of light. He never asks us to become his servants. He disguises submission to him under the guise of self-awareness, self-actualization, freedom. The serpent never once said to Eve, “I want to be your master. Submit to me.” The shift the serpent desired was to move one’s commitment away from God to commitment to self.

The temptation is never choosing God or choosing evil. The devil never couches it that way. Instead, the devil wants God’s children to choose their own self-awareness and reality over God so that, in the end, what rules and reigns is what I want and what I think.

And, when we do that, the devil’s got you.

You Christian – you always prioritize God’s rule, God’s reigns, God’s truth above all else.

“The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.” (Lamentations 2:14).

False prophets. How do you know when you’re in the presence of a false prophet?

There are several things the Bible tells us about false prophets.

1. The visions and prophesies did not expose sin. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. That’s the whole point of the cross and the resurrection! No one likes to hear that they are sinners. No one likes to hear that we will be held accountable and judged for our sins. No one. But that’s the truth. And the good news is that God made a way in Jesus to transform sinners into sons and daughters of God.
   
   If the pastor, teacher, prophet never exposes our sin and our need for a Savior, that’s a false prophet. They are lying to you.
   
2. False prophets deny Christ. 1 John 2:22 tells us, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist – denying the Father and the Son.”
   
   “Such a person is the antichrist.” Wow! Those are strong words. They are strong words because Jesus being the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world is the only way to the Father. There is NO OTHER PATHWAY TO SALVATION.
   
   False prophets deny the empty tomb. They deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. They deny that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the World. Anyone who proclaims that there are other pathways to God than Jesus, they are liars. They are the antichrist. They are false prophets.

Why do I tell you all this? Because there are those in our pulpits, in our denominational headquarters, and seminaries who deny Christ.

Beware. Measure the fidelity of your church, pastors, and teachers against the rule of Christ and against the truth revealed to us in God’s word.