Now, this is a pretty famous chapter. Flip back, if you would, to 1 Kings 19, but this
is, of course, the famous chapter where Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and
Elisha is there to see him. And Elisha was the follower or protege of Elijah for
many, many years before this time. And it says in 1 Kings 19, 19, and of course
this is where Elijah first meets Elisha and calls him, but he says in verse 19 of
chapter 19, so he departed thence and found Elisha the son of Shabak, who was
plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him, and he went to 12. And Elijah passed by
him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah
and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will
follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee? And he
returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their
flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave unto the people and they did
eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him. Now before I
get into the subject of the message, just to point out a couple of great
things about these verses we just read. Number one, God is always looking
for people who are working, who are busy. Did you notice that? I mean, here's a guy
who's working hard. He's plowing with 12 yoke of oxen and he with the
12. I mean, he's literally pulling the yoke with the oxen. I mean, he's a hard
working man right away. Same thing as when Jesus found men who were fishing
and working and doing different things. So he's looking for a man who's a hard
worker, number one, to call into the ministry, to call and to be a preacher.
But the next thing I want you to see is that when he went to follow
Elijah, do you notice how he burned his bridges behind him? He took all of
his tools, all of the equipment that he used to do his work, and he
basically just lit them all on fire. Did you notice that in verse 21? He
used them to kindle the fire. He said, well, I don't need this stuff anymore.
Threw it all in, lit it on fire, cooked the meat for his family,
said goodbye, had a little goodbye party, and then took off. But what I
want to preach on tonight, I preached a sermon a while back that was
called Be a Leader. I preached it a while back and it's on the website.
But today I want to preach a sermon called Be a Follower, okay?
Because just as important as being a leader is being a follower. In fact,
every great leader in the Bible was first a great follower.
I'm going to show you some examples. If you look at Elisha, this is,
of course, a great example. He said, I will follow thee. He followed
Elijah. But look at the last verse. It says, then he arose and went
after Elijah at the end of verse 21, and ministered unto him. Look
at 2 Kings 3, just a few pages to the right of your Bible. 2 Kings 3,
this is after Elijah has gone up to heaven in the whirlwind. In 2 Kings 3,
11, it says, but Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the
Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king
of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of
Shaphat, watch this, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
You see, he started out as a servant. He started out as a minister,
and he started out as a great follower. In chapter 2, where we
started reading, you flip over there, we saw that everywhere Elijah
went, Elisha wanted to follow him. I mean, he wanted to be
right, even when he told him, Hey, you can stay here. You
don't have to come along. I've got to go all the way over
here. He said, No, I'm not going to leave you. I'm going to
be there. I'm going to follow you, and so forth. Look at
the key part of chapter 2. It says right here in verse 9,
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah
said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be
taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a
double portion of thy spirit be upon me. Notice, not the
Holy Spirit. He said, A double portion of thy spirit
be upon me, and he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing.
Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it
shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so.
Let me tell you something, Elijah was a great man of God.
He was a powerful, powerful man of God, and it was a hard
thing to ask, to say, I want a double portion of your spirit.
I mean, we're talking about a man who performed, I believe,
seven miracles that are listed. He prophesied all kinds
of great prophecies, but if you sit down and count up,
and I've done this before in another sermon, I don't want
to take the time right now, but I have counted up that
Elisha literally did twice as many miracles as Elijah,
and he made twice as many prophecies. I counted it up in
a different sermon, and to prove that from the Bible,
we looked at each prophecy and each miracle. I mean, here is a
great man, Elisha, who doubled the works of Elijah
that we see in God's Word here. Why? Because he started
out being a great follower. Look, if you would, at Joshua,
the second example, Exodus chapter 24. Look at Exodus
chapter 24, and there's a lot in the Bible about
Joshua, so we're just going to look at a few example verses
here. We're not going to go too much into this, but
Joshua is another great example of a powerful, powerful
leader, and a man who started out by being a great
follower. Look at Exodus 24, 13. It says,
And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua, notice the
wording there, a minister is a servant, and Moses went
up into the mount of God. Look at chapter 33, verse 11.
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man
spaketh unto his friend, and he turned again into the
camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young
man, departed not out of the tabernacle. Turn over
to Numbers 27, 18. While you're turning there, I'll
read for you 11, 28. And Joshua the son of Nun,
the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered
and said, My Lord Moses forbid them. Numbers 27, 18.
Here's the key verse. And the Lord said unto
Moses, Take thee, Joshua the son of Nun, a man in
whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him.
Look at Deuteronomy 34, 9. Deuteronomy 34, 9, the
next book in the Bible. You see that Joshua, and
I'm not even showing every verse, just because I
don't want to be too redundant here, but the Bible
is clear that Joshua was Moses' servant, Moses'
servant, Moses' minister, Moses' servant. And notice
the Spirit was there. You know, same thing, like
when Elijah got a double portion of Elijah's Spirit.
It says in Deuteronomy 34, 9, And Joshua the son
of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom. Why?
Because, he said, for Moses had laid his hands upon
him, and the children of Israel hearkened unto
him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. Now
why was the Spirit of wisdom, why was Joshua
filled with the Spirit of wisdom, according to
verse 9 here? Why? Because Moses had laid his
hands on him. Isn't that what it says? We didn't
get there on Wednesday night, so I can clean
up what I didn't do on Wednesday night in
1 Timothy 4, and we were just going through it.
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, you
remember this from 1 Timothy 4, which was
given thee by prophecy with the laying on of
hands of the presbytery. Did you hear that?
The power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit,
being a great leader, being a great man of God,
was transferred from one man to another. With
Timothy it was the case. He received it from
the presbytery, which is just the elders of
the church. Other great men, other great
leaders in the church that were senior to
Timothy, laid their hands on him, and that's
where he got the power to be the great
leader that he needed to be. Same thing with
Joshua. Moses laid his hands upon him. He was
a great follower before he was a great
leader. He followed a great man of God and
he became a great man of God. David, another
perfect example. We can just look at one
quick example. Look at 1 Samuel 18. Do I even
need to go into David? The man who was the
faithful servant of Saul, even when Saul had
turned on him, even when Saul was trying to
kill him, he would not lift up his hand
against him. He would not badmouth him. He
was just straight down the line as a great
follower, therefore he became a great leader.
Look at 1 Samuel 18. Here's an example of
what kind of follower David was. It says in
verse 25, and Saul said, Thus shall you say
to David, The king desired with not any
dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the
Philistines, to be avenged of the king's
enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall
by the hand of the Philistines. So, Saul is
trying to do dirty by David here. But look
how great of a follower David is, even with
a leader that isn't the greatest leader in
the world. But he was a man who was filled
with the Spirit at a time. There was a time
when Saul was filled with the Spirit. In
fact, the Bible says more about Saul than
any other man in the Bible, that he was
filled with the Spirit. But then you
remember how the Spirit of the Lord
departed from Saul. And then it
basically, the evil spirit from the Lord
troubled him. But look at verse 26,
And when his servants told David these
words, it pleased David well to be the
king's son-in-law. And the days were
not expired. Wherefore David arose and
went, he and his men and slew of the
Philistines. How many? Two hundred men.
And David brought their four scans, and
they gave him a full tale to the king,
that he might be the king's son-in-law.
And Saul gave him Michael, his daughter,
and his wife. Here's a great follower.
Oh, you want one hundred? Let me give
you two hundred. You know, I mean,
this is a great follower. It's kind of
a graphic story, I understand. But
anyway, you know, he's a great follower.
Here's a man who followed Saul and
was one of his most faithful servants,
Jonathan came to David, or came to
Saul in 1 Samuel 19-4, and Jonathan
spake good of David unto Saul his father,
and said unto them, Let not the king
sin against his servant, against David,
because he has not sinned against
thee, and because his works have been
to thee were very good. People were
saying, look, Saul, David has been a
great follower. David has been your
faithful servant. That's why he made a
great leader, because he's been a great
servant. Now let's go into the New
Testament. Let's go to 2 Thessalonians
chapter 3. 2 Thessalonians 3, toward
the end of the New Testament.
While you're going there, let me read
you some scriptures from Proverbs 15.
It says in Proverbs 15, 10, you're
turning to 2 Thessalonians 3,
Correction is grievous unto him that
forsaketh the way, and he that
he didth reprove shall die. Verse 12,
A scorner loveth not one that
reproveth him, neither will he go
unto the wise. Verse 31, The ear
that heareth the reproof of life
abideth among the wise. He that
refuses instruction despiseth his
own soul, but he that heareth
reprove getth understanding. The
fear of the Lord is the instruction
of wisdom. And listen to this,
and before honor is humility.
Before Elisha had people
literally just thronging to him
saying, you're our leader in
chapter 2. Remember that? All
the 50 prophets, they ran to
him, and they made obeisance to
him and said, you are our leader.
Before that, he had the
menial task of just pouring
water on the hands of Elisha.
Before Joshua had the whole host
of Israel following him, he was
just a servant, a young man, a
minister that followed Moses.
Before David was the great king
of Israel, he was the man who
was treated poorly even by his
leader, but yet followed the
leader. And before honor comes
humility, there's never been a
great leader who wasn't first a
great follower. Because let me
explain something to you. Poor
followers make poor leaders.
It's a fact. A poor follower is
always going to be a poor
leader. See, I don't want to
follow anybody. How are you
going to follow Jesus Christ?
I'll follow Jesus Christ. You
know what? If you'll follow
Jesus Christ, then you'll be
able to follow a man of God
if you're going to follow
Jesus Christ. Because Paul
said, follow me as I follow
Christ. Now look, let's get
out of the spiritual realm.
We're going to come back to
2 Thessalonians 3, but let
me tell you something. You
need to learn to be a great
follower in every area of your
life. Children need to learn
to follow their parents. Because
let me tell you something, and
let me speak to the girls.
Teenage girls, young girls, if
you won't obey in the home,
if you can't obey mom and
dad, if you can't follow the
leader you have right now,
how are you going to follow
your husband someday? Think
about that. Because it's the
same character trait of
someone who will not follow.
Someone who has a problem
with authority in one area,
someone who has a problem
with authority with their
parents is never going to
be able to follow good
authority at work, or follow
good authority in their home
life. For girls that grow
up and get married, they're
not going to follow their
husband if they won't
follow mom and dad. And
every parent is first a
child. And the obedient
child will make a great
parent. This is a biblical
principle. Because you start
out being a great follower,
and if you can't obey mom
and dad, you will not be
the parent that you need
to be. Now we've all been
on the job and run into
people who just have a
problem with authority,
haven't we, at work? Have
you ever known people at
work like that who just
have a problem with
authority? Oh yeah. They
cannot stand reproof. They
cannot stand being corrected.
They cannot stand being
told that they're wrong.
This is a character trait
that will cause you to
fail in life and never be
a great leader. Now you
say, well Pastor Anderson,
you're this guy who's
just this renegade, you
don't follow anybody, you
blaze your own track. You
know what? It's not true.
It's not true. Let me
tell you something. I am
not a natural born leader.
Anyone who knows me well
knows that I am not a
natural leader. I'm not.
I'm just being perfectly
honest with you. I am a
natural born follower. Now
I've become what I need
to be because I know that
God wants me to pastor and
to start a church and to
do what I'm doing. I know
I'm doing the right thing
and I know God wants me
doing what I'm doing.
But let me tell you
something. I've had to
work hard to become a
leader because I was more
of a natural follower.
But you know what? I
think that's why God's
using me as a leader,
because I am a follower.
Because I always tried to
follow my God-given
authorities in my life.
When I was a child and
my parents saw, there
were times when I was
rebellious and so forth.
And I always, when I
turned 18, I always just
wanted to move out when
I turned 18. Isn't that
what a lot of kids
think today? They're
counting down. I mean,
you know, one year and
three months. They're
counting down. They want
to get out of that
house. And I was the
same way I was counting
down. I'm just telling
the truth. But there
came a time when I was
17, I got into a good
independent fundamental
Baptist church. And
when I got right with
God, it's amazing how
I got right with my
parents when I got right
with God. Because I had
friction with my parents,
but when I got right
with God, I got right
with my parents. Because
if you're a child
living in the home and
you're not right with
your parents, you're not
right with God. Because
that is the God-given
authority set up over
you in your life. I
mean, stop and think
about it. Where does
anyone in this whole
world derive any
authority? Only from
God. Only from God.
God is the one who
gives parents authority
over their children. He
gives it to them in the
word of God. God is
the one who gives the
husband authority over the
wife. God is the one
who gives the boss at
work authority over the
servant, over the
employee. God is the
one who gives human
government the
authority over us in
the United States of
America. Now, of course,
our government is
totally overstepping the
authority that God
spelled out in the
Bible what that
authority should be.
But they would have
no power at all. They
would have no authority
at all except that God
had given them that
authority and that God
had given them that
power. And when you
were a child, when
you were living in your
parents' house and you
were their child, you
are under their
authority, even Jesus
Christ. Would anyone
argue that there's a
better leader than
Jesus Christ? I mean,
we're talking about
the greatest leader of
all time went home
at 12 years old and
was subject unto his
parents. In Luke chapter
2, it says that he
went home and he was
subject unto them.
Subject unto them.
Everybody know what
sub means? He put
himself under their
authority. The
greatest leader of all
time was a great
follower. Jesus
Christ himself, God in
the flesh, followed
and obeyed his
parents. And if you're
a child in the home
and you're not right
with mom and dad,
you aren't right
with God. And it's
amazing how when I
turned 17 and got
into fire-breathing,
fundamental Baptist
church and started
going soul-witting
and winning souls
to Christ, I got
right with my parents
and I began to have
a great relationship
with my parents. And
when I turned 18,
I did not move out
of the house. I
stayed living at home
with my parents and
I stayed living at
home with my
parents until I got
married. Because the
Bible says, and I read
this verse and was
convicted by it, it
said, therefore shall a
man lead father and
mother and shall
cleave into his wife
and they too shall
be one flesh. And
I said, well, that's
the plan I want to
follow for my life
right there. You
know, other people
are in different
situations through
circumstance and
through events. But
you know what? In
a perfect world,
that's God's plan.
In a perfect world.
In a perfect world,
that's the program
right there. You
know, other people
have gotten in
different positions
just because of
different events in
life and so forth.
But you know
what? That's what
I teach my
children. And you
young people that
are young and
you're in the home
right now with
mom and dad, let
these words sink
down into your
ears. Pastor
Anderson is telling
you the truth
tonight that you
shouldn't be
counting down
until you're 18.
Just count down
until you get
married. That's
the countdown
because that's
when you're to
move out and to
do your own
thing. That's
what I believe.
I don't agree
with you. You
go believe what
you want to
believe then. I'm
just telling you
what I believe
from the Bible
that that's
God's plan. And
let me tell
you something. I
got along with
my parents and
obeyed my
parents and
followed them
while I was in
that home
until I got
married. Then
they were no
longer an
authority figure,
but I still
respect and
have honor and
love for
that. But
I'm telling
you, I obeyed
them and got
along with
them. The
church that
I went to
at the time, I
can go back
into my
mind to that
time, I
went to Regency
Baptist
Church. I
was never a
troublemaker
in that
church. I
followed the
church. I
followed the
pastor. I
followed him
on soul
winning. I
followed him
on all these
great
things. Now
look, you
know, was
he perfect?
If he said
something that
was unscriptural,
was I
just going to
blindly
follow him? No,
but he
was preaching
God's Word
faithfully. He
was winning
souls to
Christ, and
so I
followed him.
And I
didn't come
in and
try to
change
everything and
tell, you
know, I
followed, and
anybody who
knows me
during that
time, I
know that,
knows that
I
followed. Anyone
who knew
me from
the time
that I
was in
the pew,
not behind
the pulpit,
knows
that I
strove
to be
the best
follower I
could
possibly be.
I wanted
to be a
great
follower.
And
I
love
being a
follower.
Part
of the
reason why
I
started
church is
just
because
there's
such
a
void
in
this
country
of
solid
Bible
believing
so
many
churches.
I
just
felt
like
somebody's
got
to
stand
in the
gap.
Somebody's
got
to do
this,
but
you
know,
it's
more
blessed
in
many
cases
just
to be
a
follower
than
a
leader.
And
if
you'll
be
a
great
follower,
God can
use you
one day
to
be
a
great
leader.
Because
God
knows
that
we
need
some
great
leaders
in
this
country.
We
are
starving
for
great
leaders
in
this
country.
We
are
starving.
I mean,
we
look across
this
country
and
how
many
Christians
are
like
sheep
without
a
shepherd.
We
can't
find
the
leaders
that
we
need.
But
I
wonder
if
it's
because
people
aren't
being
the
followers
that
they
need
to
be.
That
God
can't
call
them
to
be
the
leader
that
they
need
to
be.
I
mean,
we
see
it
all
through
the
Bible.
Every
great
leader
was
a
great
follower.
Let's
get
some
New
Testament
scriptures
on
this.
It
says
in
2nd
Thessalonians
chapter 3
verse
oh
and by
the
way
before
I
forget
this.
What
is
the
problem
with
the
with
a
bad
follower.
Let's
think
about
pride.
Who's
the
person
who
can't
stand
being
corrected?
The
proud
person,
right?
Nobody's
going
to
tell
me
what
to
do.
I'm
not
going
to
follow
anybody.
Now
hold
on
a
second.
Can
you see
how
pride
could
be
a
really
bad
trait
in
a
leader?
Think
about
that.
Remember
what
brother
stop
for
being
was
preaching
on
the
camping
trip?
About
being
a
great
leader
is
about
being
a
great
servant,
about
being
a
myth.
It's
about
doing
for
others,
not
what
people
can
do
for
you.
What
does
the
pastor
call
how
many
times?
A
minister,
a
servant,
okay?
And
so
if
I'm
going
to
be
a
great
leader,
if
I'm
going
to be
a
great
pastor,
I
have
to be
humble.
And
the
opposite
of
being
humble
is
prideful.
And
the
prideful
person
is
the
bad
follower.
And
a
prideful
leader
is
a
very
bad
leader.
Because
the
prideful
leader
is
basically
just
in it
for
himself.
He's
not
there
to
serve.
He's
there
to
be
served.
The
prideful
leader
can't
be
corrected
when
he
needs
to
be
corrected.
The
prideful
leader
can't
follow
Jesus
Christ.
And
therefore
he'll
probably
lead
people
astray
if
he's
not
following
Christ.
Pride
is
a great
attribute.
You know,
refer
to the
servant
that we
heard
on the
camping trip
by
myself.
The
same
thing.
Jesus
Christ
was
not
filled
with
pride.
The
Bible
says
that
he
who
being
in
the
form
of
God
thought
that
not
robbery
to be
equal
with
God.
Here's
a man
who's
equal
to
God.
I mean
he's
Jesus
Christ
and
God
in
the
flesh.
But
made
himself
of
no
reputation
and
took
upon
him
the
flesh,
and
became
obedient
unto
death,
even
the
death
of
the
cross.
So
Jesus
Christ
was
a
humble
man,
even
though
he's
God
in
the
flesh.
I
mean,
if
anybody
didn't
need
to
be
humble,
you'd
think
it's
Jesus.
He
doesn't
need
to be
humble.
He's
God.
But
yet
when
he
was
robed
in
human
flesh
when
he
was
on
this
earth,
he
humbled
himself
before
his
parents.
He even
humbled
himself
before
his
followers.
He
humbled
himself
before
his
disciples.
When
he
got
on
his
knees
and
washed
their
feet.
That's
a
pretty
demeaning
job
to
wash
somebody's
feet.
But
he
was
humble,
wasn't he?
The
bad
follower
is
filled
with
pride.
He's
going
to be
a
bad
leader
because
he's
going
to be
a
prideful,
arrogant
leader.
He's
not
going
to do
what's
best
for
the
follower.
2 Thessalonians 3
verse 7,
this is
Paul
speaking.
He
said,
For
yourselves
know
how
you
ought
to
follow
us.
For
we
behave
not
ourselves
disorderly
among
you.
Neither
did
we
eat
any
man's
bread
for
not,
to
rot
with
labor
and
travail
night
and day,
that
we
might
not
be
chargeable
to
any
of
you,
not
because
we
have
not
power,
but
to
make
ourselves
and
then
sample
under
you
to
follow
us.
So in
verse 7
he said,
you
ought
to
follow
us
at
the
beginning
there.
In
verse 9,
he
said,
to
make
ourselves
and
sample
under
you
to
follow
us.
Look
at
1st
Corinthians.
Go
back
to
1st
Corinthians
chapter 4.
1st
Corinthians
chapter 4.
1st
Corinthians
chapter 4,
the
Bible reads
in
verse 16.
Wherefore
I
beseech
you,
be ye
followers
of
me.
This
is
Paul
speaking.
Follow
me.
Look
if
you
would
at
chapter
11
verse 1.
That
was
chapter
4
verse 16.
He
said,
Wherefore
I
beseech
you,
be ye
followers
of
me.
Look
at
1st
Corinthians
11
1.
He
said,
be ye
followers
of
me,
even
as
I
also
am
of
Christ.
You
see,
everyone's
a
follower.
Even
the
leaders
a
follower.
Because
no
matter
how
high
on the
totem
pole
you
are
at
your
job,
there's
one that's
higher
than you
and that's
God.
No
matter
how
high
you
are
in
human
government,
let
me
tell
you
something.
The
leaders
of
this
world
are
accountable
to
God
and
will
be
judged
by
God.
Whether
it
be
the
President
of
the
United
States
or
these
other
people
all
over
the world
who
call
themselves
kings
and
rulers
dictators
whatever.
They're
accountable
to
God.
They
can't
just do
they
may
think
they
can
do
whatever
they
want
and
get
away
with it
but
they
won't.
They
have
an authority
and
that's
God.
Everyone
has an
authority.
You
say,
well,
you
know,
you're
the
pastor
of
the
church
so
you're
just
an
absolute
no.
I
I'm
following
Christ.
I'm
following
Jesus
Christ.
I'm
following
the
Bible.
I
mean
I
don't
have
any
more
authority
than
you
do.
I
mean
I'm
following
Christ.
Now,
look,
if
someone's
not
following
Christ
and
they're
a
spiritual
leader,
don't
follow
them.
Follow
someone
who's
following
Christ.
Now,
on
your
job,
it
doesn't
matter
whether
your
boss
is
following
Christ
or
not.
He's
still
your
boss.
It
doesn't
matter
whether
your
parents
are
following
Christ
or
not.
They
are
the
boss.
Being
a
great
follower
is
following
mom,
following
dad,
following
the
boss.
When
you're
in
church,
the
pastor
has
certain
authority.
Now,
my
authority
does
not
extend
into
your
home.
Okay?
Who's
the
head
of the
home,
according
to
the
Bible?
Dad,
the
man,
the
husband.
So,
it's
not
right
for
me
to
come
and
tell
your
wife
what
to do
or
come
to
tell
your
children
what
to do.
My
authority
is
in
the
church.
Basically,
I
have
authority
in
this
church
to
lead
this
church.
You
lead
your
home.
I
don't
want
to
lead
your
home.
You
lead
your
home.
Other
men
lead
businesses.
Women
are
leaders
in
the
home
as
they
lead
the
children.
The
pastor
leads
in
the
church.
Other
men
in
the
church
can
sometimes
rise
to
a
point
is
that
every
leader
is
a
follower
and
no
great
leader
was
not
a
great
follower.
All
through
the
Bible,
all
through
the
scripture.
Look
if
you
would
at
First
Thessalonians
chapter
one.
First
Thessalonians
chapter
one.
While
you're
turning
there,
I'll
read
you
another
verse.
Philippians
312.
Paul
said
not
as though
I
had
already
attained,
either
were
already
perfect,
but
I
follow
after,
if
that
I
may
apprehend
that
for
which
also
I
am
apprehended
of
Christ
Jesus.
Verse
17.
He
said
brethren,
be
followers
together
of
me
and
mark
them
which
walk
so
as
you
have
us
for
an
in
sample.
First
Thessalonians
one
five.
For
our
gospel
came
not
unto
you
in
word
only,
but
also
in
power
and
in
the
Holy
Ghost
and
in
much
assurance
as
you
know
what
manner
of
men
we
were
among
you
for
your
sake.
And
he
became
followers
of
us
and
of
the
Lord
having
received
the
word
in
much
affliction
with
joy
of
the
Holy
Ghost
so
that
he
were
in
samples
to
all
that
believe
in
Macedonia
and
Akai.
Now
this
church
first
they
followed
Paul
but
then in
verse
seven
they
became
an
example
to
others.
See
they
started
out
following
in
verse
five
and
six
and then
by
verse
seven
now
they're
leading.
You
see
that?
Look
if
you
would
at
First
Thessalonians
2
14.
For
ye
brethren
became
followers
of
the
churches
of
God
which
in
Judea
are
in
Christ
Jesus.
For
you
also
suffered
like
things
of
your
own
countrymen
even
as
they
have
of
the
Jews.
Look
at
Hebrews chapter
six.
Hebrews
chapter
number
six
says
this
that
you
be not
slothful.
Slothful
means
lazy.
But
followers
of
them
who
through
faith
and
patience
inherit
the
promises.
Do
you
see
that?
Find
people
who
through
faith
and
patience
inherit
the
promises
and
follow
them.
Verse
13
or
chapter
13
Hebrews
chapter
13
same
book
just
look
over
chapter
13.
Verse
seven
remember
them
which
have
the
rule
over
you
who
have
spoken
unto
you
the
word
of
God
whose
faith
followed
considering
the end
of
Jesus.
And we can go on and on.
I have
page and
page of
verses
here
about
following
Jesus.
I mean
where
Jesus
is
constantly
saying
to
people
everywhere
it
goes.
Follow me.
Follow Jesus.
Follow me.
And my
favorite
of all,
Matthew 4
19.
Follow me
and I
will make
you
fishers
of
men.
Want to be a
great
soul winner?
Follow
someone
who's
a great
soul winner.
Want to
learn
how to
win souls
and
follow
that
person
and
learn
how to
win souls
to
Jesus
Christ
by
being
a
follower.
And
then
when
you
learn
to
win
souls
to
Jesus
Christ
by
being
the
follower
then
one
day
you'll
be
a
leader
and
then
you'll
have
a
silent
partner
with
you
and
you'll
teach
them
how to
win
souls
to
Christ.
But
before
you're
going
to be
a
leader
you
got
to be a
follower.
You
got to
learn
to
follow.
You
see
when
Pastor
Anderson
was
a
young
man
reading
the
Bible
going
through
the
scriptures.
You
know
I
didn't
grow
as
fast
as
a
lot
of
you
would
grow.
I
didn't.
I
grew
in my
Christianity
at a
much
slower
rate
than
many
of
you
in
this
room.
I
mean
I
could
point
I'm
not
going
to
but
I
could
point
out
many
people
in this
room
some
of whom
got
saved
at
our
church
others
of
whom
maybe
got
saved
somewhere
else
but
they
hadn't
really
been
taught
anything
or
even
baptized
or
discipled
whatever
the
case
may
be
but
I
could
name
even
just
people
who
got
saved
here
at
our
church
they
got
saved
and
baptized
here
and
they
are
doing
great
things
for
God
winning
so
I
mean
they
grew
way
faster
than
I
grew
in
my
christian
life
you
know
why
because
they're
following
a
leader
that's
why
but
see
without
a
leader
to
follow
and
this
is
what's
wrong
with
america
today
I'm
serious
I mean
this
is
the
problem
without
a
leader
to
follow
it's
a
lot
harder
to
grow
in
the
lord
it's
a
lot
harder
to
move
forward
in
your christian
life
and
so
there
were
times
in my
life
when
I
had
good
leaders
and
when I
had
those
great
leaders
my
growth
was
accelerated
when I
had
great
leaders
but
there
were
other
times
in
my
life
where
I
didn't
grow
hardly
at
all
and
yet
I
was
reading
the
bible
and
trying
to
do
what
was
right
but
it
is
so
much
easier
when
you've
got
a
great
leader
when
you've
got
somebody
to
get
behind
when
you've
got
somebody
who's
doing
right
and
you
say
oh
my
leader's
not
perfect
look
nobody's
perfect
was
paul
perfect
I could
show you
some
things
that
paul
did
that
were
pretty
dumb
remember
what
he
did
when
he
went
in
the
book
of
acts
and
shaved
his
head
and
went
and
did
that
whole
jew
thing
that
wasn't
right
that
was
what
he
preached
against
you know
but
I'd
say
overall
paul
was
a
great
leader
wouldn't
you
I
mean
I
can show
you
mistakes
that
Moses
made
I
can
show
you
mistakes
that
Elijah
made
I
mean
Elijah
got
depressed
and
down
and
wanted
to
die
you
know
I
mean
he
had
some
times
that
he
went
through
where
he
wasn't
doing
too
hot
either
I
mean
you
look
at
every
great
leader
in
the
bible
and
guess
what
very
human
being
saw
definitely
wasn't
a great
leader
but
let
me
tell
you
something
saw
was
filled
with the
spirit
and
people
got
behind
him
and
they
learned
and
became
great
leaders
even
though
he
failed
later
on
in
life
he
started
out
a
really
great
leader
he
started
out
a
really
great
guy
and
those
who
followed
him
became
great
leaders
themselves
let
me
tell
you
something
if
you
can
get
in a
great
church
with
a
pastor
who's
serving
god
I'm not
saying
he's
perfect
but
if
he's
winning
souls
to
Christ
if
he's
preaching
god's
word
you
are
going
to
grow
a
lot
faster
than
when
you're
just
trying
to
be
the
leader
yourself
before
you
have
followed
sufficiently
you
see
if
I
mean
if
I
would
have
started
leading
when
I
was
18
19
20
years
old
I
wouldn't
have
been
the
leader
that
I
was
when
I
started
after
had
a
little
bit
more time
to
follow
other
people
you
know
right
before
this
church
I
was
going
to
a
church
where
the
pastor
was
not
a
great
leader
okay
and
I'm
not
talking
about
the
church
that
I
was
sent
out
of
Sacramento
I'm
talking
about
before
that
I
was
going
to
a
church
where
the
pastor
was
not
a
great
leader
but
let
me
tell
you
something
there
was
a
guy
in
that
church
there
was
a
man
in
that
church
who
I
was
following
great
preacher
that
was
doing
great
things
for
God
and
I
got
under
this
guy's
wing
and
I
mean
I'm
talking
very
short
time
before
I
started
the
church
and
I
humbled
myself
before
him
and
got
under
his
leadership
let
him
show
me
the
ropes
out
slowly
I
did
solely
for
years
and
years
but
I
let
him
teach
me
more
I
let
him
show
me
many
things
out of
the
Bible
let
me tell
you
something
that
guy
dramatically
helped
me
to
grow
in the
Lord
spiritually
in a
powerful
way
just
a
layman
at
the
church
but
he was
a
great
soul
winner
great
preacher
he
knew
the
Bible
very
well
he
taught
many
of the
things
that
I
preach
he
taught
a lot
of
methods
that
I
use
out
soul
winning
I
learned
from
him
you
know
he
was
a
leader
in
my
life
he
was
somebody
that
I
follow
I
didn't
just
say
well
I
don't
need
this
guy
you
know
no
I
said
you
know
what
I
I'm
looking
at
this
guy
and
I
see
things
in
him
I
see
the
spirit
of
God
here
I
see
the
power
of
God
in
this
guy's
life
I
said
I
want
to
follow
this
guy
and
get
what
I
can
from
and
it
takes
humility
to do
that
you
know
takes
humility
it's
about
Jesus
and
the
kingdom
of
Jesus
Christ
is
gonna
is
gonna
be
moving
forward
at
the
fastest
rate
when
you
can
look
and
realize
hey
wait
a
minute
here's
somebody
who's
beyond
me
spiritually
you know
here's
somebody
who's
winning
souls
here's
somebody
who knows
the
bible
here's
somebody
who's
a
great
leader
I
want
to
follow
that
leader
and
one
day
I
can
have a
double
portion
of
their
spirit
one
if
I'll
follow
that
leader
I
will
have
the
double
portion
I
can
do
great
things
for
God
that
exceed
and
I
hope
that
my
children
will
follow
them
I
hope
my
children
are
listening
to
me
preach
right
now
will
grow
up
and
follow
me
and
I
hope
that
they
will
do
twice
as
much
for
God
as
I've
done
in
my
life
I
hope
they
do
double
what I
do
I
hope
they
win
twice
as
many
people
to
Christ
I
hope
they
lead
twice
as
many
people
to
become
a
soul
winner
and
great
hey
I
hope
that
they
do
double
and
I
hope
that
you
will
have
the
sense
to
say
you
know
I'm
fifteen
I
don't
know
everything
you
know
I've
been
saved
for
six
months
or
I've
been
saved
for
a
year
I
don't
know
everything
I've
read
the
Bible
through
cover
to
cover
you
know
uh
once
I
don't
know
everything
you
know
you
gotta
realize
there
are
people
that have
read
through
the
Bible
many
more
times
than
that
have
read
through
the
Bible
scores
of
time
there
are
people
who've
won
you
know
thousands
of
people
or
several
hundred
people
to
the
Lord
there
are
people
who
are
beyond
you
and you
need
to
just
get
behind
them
and
follow
and
learn
from
them
don't
get
to
the
point
where
you
can't
learn
you've
always
got
to
be
learning
I'm
willing
to
follow
anybody
who
has
something
to
teach
me
even
at
this
day
July
25th
2010
I
will
follow
anyone
who
has
something
to
teach
me
seriously
I
would
love
it
I'm
looking
for
a
leader
you
know
and
I've
got
Jesus
Christ
is
a
leader
but
you
know
if
there's
somebody
else
that
can
lead
me
somewhere
that
can
teach
me
something
I
would
love
to
sit
down
and
learn
something
I
like
to
listen
to
preaching
you
know
I
don't
listen
to
as
much
preaching
as
you
do
because
I'm
usually
the
one
doing
the
preaching
but
you
don't
any
thousands
and
thousands
of
hours
of
preaching
I
listened
to
before
I
ever
became
a
pastor
and
even
now
I
love
every
chance
I
get
on
a
week
night
to
go
somewhere
and
get
some
preaching
and
learn
something
and
sit
down
and
be
fed
and
be
led
you
know
we
just
went
and
heard
a
pretty
sorry
you
know
I
was
fed
by
that
I
enjoyed
I
learned
something
from
that
you
know
and
I
hang
on
every
word
when
I
listen
to
preaching
cause
I'm
trying
to
learn
something
you
know
my
best
friend
brother
he
met
his
family
this
year
you
know
and
he's
starting
a
church
on
September
5th
that's
somebody
who
I
taught
a
lot
of
things
you
know
back
in
the
day
you
know
that's
someone
I
knew
when
he
was a
teenager
he
taught
him
all
kinds
of
things
now
he's
a
great
leader
now
he's
leading
the
way
he's
ready
to
lead
but
you
know
what's
interesting
you
know
and
I
he
followed
me
for
a
while
I
taught
him
all
I
think
back
when
we
were
teens
we
were
in
the
same
church
and
I
was
young
married
and
he
was
a
teen
but
you
know
what
I
would
love
to
learn
from
him
I
love
it
when
he
preaches
I
want
to
follow
him
you
know
I
want
and
my
natural
tendency
is
to
follow
I
want
to
follow
somebody
who's
a
man
of
God
I
want
to
follow
somebody
who
knows
the
Bible
and
knows
God
and
maybe
that's
why
I'm
a
leader
and
maybe
that's
why
you'll
never
be
a
leader
you
don't
think
about
that
for
a
little
while
maybe
that's
why
I'm
up
here
as a
pastor
and
leading
because
I
love
to
follow
and
to
this
day
I
still
love
to
follow
and
I
long
to
follow
maybe
that's
why
I'm
a
leader
stop
and
think
about
this
is
a
profound
truth
and
it's
not
just
something
that's
mentioned
a
few
times
in
the
Bible
because
as
I
prepared
this
sermon
it was
just
what
am
I
going
to
leave
out
you
know
what
I
mean
it's
just
like
all
these
verses
just
follow
follower
and today
you're
criticized
oh
you're
a
follower
and
let me
tell
you
something
being
a
follower
can
sometimes
be
a
bad
thank
if
you're
following
the
wrong
leader
don't
ever
be
a
blind
follower
don't
ever
just
you
know
don't
ever
be
a
blind
you
see
who
is
the
great
church
somebody
helped
me
out
who
is
the
great
church
that we
looked
at
several
scriptures
who
was
a
great
following
church
and
who
Paul
kept
telling
to
follow
what
verses
were
we
just
looking
at
over
and over
two
books
that
we
kept
going
to
them
that's
the
lonians
right
first
and
that's
the
second
that's
one
it's
first
and
second
that's
like
that
was
a
great
following
church
but
you
know
what
they
needed
they
were
told
you
need
to
search
the
scripture
daily
because
in
the
book
saying
you
know
what
you
need
to
bring
it
in
the
bible
you
need
to
say
but
by
the
time
he
wrote
first
thessalonians
he's
just
lavishing
praise
on
them
as
being
the
greatest
church
around
before
he
criticized
he
said
well
this
other
church
in
Berea
was
better
but
then
he
said
no
by
the
time
he
wrote
first
as long
he
said
this
is
the
greatest
church
in
master
he
said
every
other
Berea
is
following
them
all
the
church
around
thessalonians
are
following
them
you
see
you
don't
want
to
ever
be
a
blind
follower
you
know
you've
got
to
search
the
scriptures
daily
to
see
whether
you're
being
taught
and
led
the
right
way
you
don't
want
to
just
go
to
school
and
follow
the
crowd
you
know
you
don't
want
to
ever
follow
a
crowd
you
want
to follow
the
one
you
want
to
follow
the
minority
you
don't
follow
the
crowd
of
people
you
follow
moses
you
don't
just
follow
the
most
i
mean
there
were
a
lot
of
sons
of
the
prophets
who
were
preaching
a
lot
of
messages
eliza
wasn't
following
those
50
guys
he
didn't
just
fit
in
with
the
50
guys
no
he
followed
eliza
you
know
timothy
followed
paul
you
know
these
people
followed
a
leader
that was a godly right
say
i'm not saying
be a
blindly
live
a
blind
all
i'm not
saying
to just
be a
conformist
and to
just
go
with
the
flow
and to
be
like
everybody
else
but
what
i'm
saying
is
if
you
want
to grow
slowly
and
don't
follow
just
do
your
own
thing
and
you
know
if
you're
not
a
follower
you'll
eventually
figure
out
how
to
win
souls
and
you'll
eventually
figure
out
how
to
live
for
god
and
you'll
eventually
figure
out
how
to
raise
your
children
and
have
your
wife
you know
just
for
reading
the
bible
just
on
your
own
without
following
any
man
even
and if
you
never
go
to
church
you'll
eventually
learn
things
and
figure
things
out
but
you
hope
don't
you
want
to
i don't
know
everything
therefore
i will
go
to
we
were
knocking
on
doors
who
was
i
with
somebody
helped
me
out
if
you
were
with
me
on
this
day
i
think
it
was
i
think
it
was
you
for
the
matt
we
were
knocking
on
doors
and
this guy
just
told
us
that
he
pretty
much
already
he
said
well i
already
know
more
than
pretty
much
ever
pastor
so
he
said
really
going
places
for
god
i
mean
just
as
you
hear
that
story
does
that
sound
to
you
like
a
spiritual
giant
why
what
bothers
you
about
that
story
pride
and
he
thinks
he
knows
everything
and
it
turned
out
from
talking
to
the guy
for
30
seconds
it was
pretty
clear
matt
wasn't
the guy
didn't
know
nothing
he
knew
nothing
but
he
pretty
much
knows
more
than
any
pastor
no
and then
he
starts
telling
us
all
this
dumb
doctrine
then
we
like
tore
apart
his
doctrine
in
about
10
seconds
you know
i
mean
it's
pretty
easy
and
they
know
okay
yeah
i
see
what
you're
saying
and
it's
like
all
right
see
you
later
buddy
you
know
but
where's
he
at
is
he
here
tonight
i
don't
see
him
anywhere
in
uh
for
you
because
you
can't
teach
somebody
something
more
and
knows
everything
i
always
say
that
whenever
i'm
out
solely
oh
that
guy
already
knows
everything
we
can't
teach
him
anything
let's
go
to the
next
door
think
about
that
how
many
people
do we
run
into
with
that
prideful
arrogant
attitude
i
don't
need
church
i
don't
need
god
gave
you
a
pastor
god
gave
you
teachers
and
god
gave
you
other
godly
examples
in
this
church
there
are
people
in
this
church
who
are
godly
examples
you
ought
to be
following
them
you
ought
to
get
out
soul
winning
with
them
and
be
their
silent partner
you
ought
to
gravitate
toward
people
who are
a
great
soul
winner
and
get
with
them
and
learn
how
to do
it
learn
the
ropes
and
look
why
you
say
but
you
know
pastor
you
understand
i'm
a
natural
born
leader
you
know
what
is
there
really
any
such
thing
as
a
natural
born
leader
i
don't
know
because
i
don't
think
anybody
was
born
to
lead
you
know
when
you're
when
you're
six
months
old
i
don't
think
you're
leading
anybody
you
know
i
think
it's
just
great
followers
that
eventually
become
the
leaders
moses
was
a great
leader
wasn't
he
did
you
use
the
meekest
man
on
the face
of
the
whole
earth
the
bible
says
i
mean
god
who
knows
everything
look
down
and
said
that
the
meekest
person
in
the
entire
face
of
the
earth
was
moses
and
he said
that's
why
i'm
going
to put
in
charge
humble
yourselves
on
the
side
of
the
lord
it'll
lift
you
he said
you'll
be
exalted
in
due
time
you'll
be
lifted
up
to
a
position
of
authority
i
wonder
if
god
is
going
to
give
you
a wife
you
know
if
you
can't
be the
follower
that
you
need
to be
because
he
looks
down
and
says
well
this
is going
to be
a
poor leader
how
can
i
give
this
guy
a
wife
to
leave
when
he
can't
follow
his
leadership
when
he's
a
poor
follower
why
would
i
give
him
a
wife
so
you
could
be
a
poor
leader
why
would
i
give
him
children
so
they
can
lead
them
wrong
because
he's
not
the
right
leader
do
you see
if
god
looks
down
sees
a
great
follower
that's
probably
who
he's
going
to
want
a
more
blessed
with
a
wife
because
he
says
well
there's
a
weak
person
there's
a
humble
person
they're
going
to
be
really
they're
going
to be
a
great
parent
the
child
is
obedient
i
wonder
if
they'll
get
married
sooner
and
have
children
sooner
when
god
looks
down
and sees
an
obedient
follower
and
says
i'm
gonna
bless
them
when
somebody
to
follow
them
i
wonder
if
god
is
looking
for
pastors
tonight
i
know
he
is
i
know
he's
looking
for
the
pastors
of
the
next
generation
i
wonder
if
he's
looking
for
the
biggest
loud
mouth
blowhard
or
whether
he's
looking
for
the
best
follower
think
about
that
is
he
looking
for
the
big
loud
a
blabber
mouth
blowhard
know
it
all
or is
he
looking
for
back
when
i
was
the
follower
before
i
passed
to
the
church
knows
that
i
was
not
the
loud
mouth
blowhard
i
wasn't
i
was
not
a
person
that
went
around
throwing
my
weight
around
blowing
my
mouth
off
i
was
somebody
who
liked
to
learn
and i
still
like
to
learn
and let
me tell
you
something
god's
looking
today
for
husbands
and fathers
and
pastors
and
men to
run a
business
to
whatever
he's
looking
for the one
who's
a
great
follower
he's
looking
for the
man
who's
plowing
with
the
ox
with
right
there
with
the
12th
ox
he's
there
pulling
working
because
he's
not
above
that
the
hard
worker
the
man
who
is not
beneath
him
to
pour
water
on
the
hands
of
elijah
or
elijah
sorry
examine
your heart
today
you know
we heard
great sermons
on the
camping trip
apply them
to your
heart
apply
this
truth
to your
heart
and
understand
that
none
of us
has
attained
none
of us
has
apprehended
we
all
need
to
grow
i
need
to
grow
you
need
to
grow
i'm
gonna
follow
my
leaders
you know
i'm
gonna
follow
the
lord
jesus
christ
i'm
gonna
look
for other
people
that can
lead
me
they excel
me
in
those
areas
i want
them
to
lead
me
in
that
area
and
you
need
to
follow
the
leader
that
god
has
given
you
in
your
life
and
children
take
this
message
to
heart
your
parents
are
your
leaders
follow
them
as
far
as
that
word of
prayer
father
please
just
help
us
to
let
this
sink
in
your
god
it's
so
easy
sometimes
to
think
that
we
brought
to
think
that
to
direct
us
or
to
help
us
or
to
rebuke
us
to
correct
us
to
straighten
us
out
but
god
none
of
us
is
to
that
point
where
we
can't
be
reviewed
god
help
us
all
to
learn
the
meaning
of
being
a
follower
i
don't
know
if
i
can
even
preach
this
lord
i've
done
what
i've
tried
to
do
tonight
with
this
it's
just
gotta
be
something
in
people's
heart
that
makes
them
be
a
follower
and
father
i
just
prayed
that
you
would
help
us
all
and
give
us
all
the
grace
to
be
followers
that
we
need
to
be
so
that
we
can
someday
be
the
leaders
that
we
need
to
be
and
in
jesus
name