Matthew 4:18-25

When Jesus called His disciples, they immediately dropped everything and followed Him. We might think, The Christian life must have been simpler for them than for us. When Jesus started walking, they fell in line behind Him. As He taught, they heard His voice. By watching His interactions with people, they learned from His example. But how are we to follow Jesus, since He’s no longer on earth? We can’t touch, see, or hear Him the way they could.

When Christ was about to leave this earth, He promised His disciples that He would send them a Helper who would never leave them. In fact, this Helper would actually live within them (John 14:16-17). Today we follow Jesus by hearing and heeding His indwelling Holy Spirit-that’s the closest guidance we can ever have.

The Spirit does for us all the things Christ did for His disciples. He guides us each step of the way and teaches us the truths of God. But His work actually goes beyond that. The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out and enables us to serve and obey the Lord. He helps us discover God’s will for our lives and then give us the desire and strength to follow the path He’s planned for us. All we have to do is follow.

An essential requirement for following Jesus is sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s voice. The more yielded you are to His guidance as He speaks to you through God’s Word and during prayer, the greater your spiritual hearing will become. Hearing Him is the only way you’ll ever progress in your Christian life.

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