February 9, 2025 SERMON

Obsessed with Jesus

Matthew 4: 18-22

I received a devotional recently with a word in it I became obsessed with. This word caused me to really, really do some thinking.

The word I saw and thought about and became OBSESSED with was the word “OBSESSION. You can look around today and see folks everywhere OBSESSED with something.

I want to say the Christian life is more than a casual admiration of a good man called Jesus; if it is anything it is an OBSESSION with the most wonderful, incomparable, person who ever lived, and still lives in us through His precious Holy Spirit.

Jesus called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew to follow Him; He says: follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men.

That word “follow” did not and does not mean just to tag along behind. In those words, there was an invitation to become what He was. 

To follow Jesus, to be a disciple of Jesus means to observe, to study, to walk where He walked, literally for those disciples it was to step in the prints that His feet had made, to learn, to watch and study with the expectation of doing the same thing. 

They watched Jesus cast out Devils and heal the sick, they watched Jesus open blind eyes, they watched Jesus touch the Untouchables like the leper who came to Jesus full of leprosy and Jesus touched him and made him whole, they saw Jesus speak to the storm and the storm had to obey His voice. It all started with an invitation to follow Me and the invitation to make Jesus their OBSESSION.

OBSESSED: “To preoccupy the mind excessively; to have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic”. The word EXCESSIVE means “going beyond the usual, the necessary or proper limit or degree; beyond what is proper”.

I began to think “Is there anything I am OBSESSED with today?” I can’t think of anything materialistic that “PREOCCUPIES MY MIND EXCESSIVELY.” 

Then I thought about when I was growing up. Me and my brothers, our friends might have been OBSESSED with cars, having fun, playing outside. When I got older, I saw folks OBSESSED with girls, with drinking, with money, with sports, etc. 

Maybe I was OBSESSED with myself as I blocked everyone else out and hid in my little bubble.

Read with me Matthew 4 beginning in verse 18. 

18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
 

Let’s pray: Loving Father, thank You for Christ’s victory over Satan on our behalf. Help us to walk in newness of life and in the power of the Spirit, knowing that without You we can do nothing but that in Christ we have the victory over Satan, sin, the world and the flesh. I praise you for still calling disciples to follow you, in Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

Let’s place ourselves in this story. What would you have done if you had been in their positions? Some of you might have chosen to keep on fishing. And you can substitute anything you like to do in the place of ‘fishing’. Whatever you come up with, is the thing that Jesus wants you to give up.

I am talking about giving up whatever it is that drives our lives, controls our life. What kind of relationship we want with Jesus is not the question. The question is simply, “What kind of relationship does Jesus want with us?”

Many Christians today do not have the kind of relationship with Jesus that we ought to have because we are driven by our own selfish desires, and we think nothing of our true commitment to Christ.

Each one of us has been given a ministry by God. It might be a ministry within the church, and it might be a ministry where you help others outside the church. But there is something all of us have been called to do.

He calls us to leave the world and all the CRAZY things in it that we have an OBSESSION with and be totally OBSESSED with Him and His service.

The CRAZY OBSESSION we hold onto can be anything in our life that keeps us from being a true disciple of Jesus – anything that keeps us from focusing fully on what He wants us to do. We need to Learn to Let Go of it.

We need to learn that we are weak without Jesus’ Spirit, and we need the strength of God helping us. To get His help, we must trust Him with our lives.

If we want to have the best life we can, we need to learn total dependence on God. And the one thing we must do before we can accomplish that is to humble our attitudes so that we can humble our hearts. If we don’t do that, we lose everything.

God puts the full weight of our responsibilities in our hands. We need to remember that we are too weak to carry that load without the strength of God helping us. And to get His help, we must trust Him with our very lives.

God is not interested in what we can do for Him, but He delights in our trusting Him in all He can do for us.

All the people that Jesus talked to fell into three categories; the ‘curious’, the ‘convinced’, and the ‘committed’. The disciples that left their nets, their boats, and their father were not just curious, they were way past convinced, they were committed.

The curious show up to church but don’t try to get involved in the church. They want to show up physically but have no desire in showing up spiritually. These people will forever be on the outside, looking in.

The convinced are somewhat dedicated. They get involved in the church, and they know God is real. But since they will not give up their CRAZY OBSESSIONS of the world, they can only know about Jesus, they cannot know Him personally.

They are too OBSESSED with what they can gain in the here and now rather than what Jesus offers them. They know very well what is desired of Jesus but are just unwilling to totally accept His full complete call. 

The committed are the ones who have made a definite decision in life to walk with Christ no matter what the consequences are. The mark of a dedicated Christian is their dependence on Jesus and allowing Him to lead them, no matter what direction it happens to be. 

And that leads into the third thing we need to learn. We need to learn to stop trying to lead ourselves and allow Jesus to lead us.

There are too many people in church today who like to sing, “Wherever I Lead, He’ll Go.” Rather than “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go”. We have a CRAZY OBSESSION with our own self-importance. The problem is, we have no importance without Jesus in our lives.

If we were to stop trying to lead God in the pursuit of our desires and let Him lead us in the pursuit of His desires, the mission fields would be full; our pews would be full; and our lives would be full. 

If we are willing to let Jesus lead, just where will He lead us? I don’t know, but one thing is for certain. If you learn to be led, He will lead you to give up the CRAZY OBSESSION that keeps you from Him.

We’ve come to look at certain people among us as celebrities, some are movie stars, some are sports giants, and some are singers and performers who capture the attention and the imagination of millions.

These celebrities seem to produce among us another group of people; they're called stalkers because they go way beyond just a casual appreciation or enjoyment of their celebrity, and they become obsessed with them. 

They follow them everywhere they go; they find out everything about them, they study their habits; they are way beyond fans, they are fanatics; they're even beyond fanatics, they become consumed with their celebrity. 

They know their favorite colors or the kind of flowers they like, their favorite foods, they learn their daily routines and eventually they go beyond just extreme interest and they actually become invasive and intrusive in the life of the celebrity they're obsessed with. 

You’ve seen this on the news from time to time. 

These stalkers begin to walk in the same steps, they sit in the same chair, they eat the same foods, and they even start showing up in the same places at the same time. 

That's when the police get involved because at this point, they feel that the stalker is now a threat to the well-being of the object of their obsession or their celebrity.

As I was praying, I couldn’t get those words out of my spirit: (Obsessed with Jesus.)

As I pondered these words, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about Jesus and how far beyond any Celebrity Status He is. 

Any actor or any performer, or any sports hero all rolled together, doesn't hold a candle to how Excellent, how Perfect, how Beautiful, how Holy, how Passionate, how Compassionate, how Merciful, how Kind, how Long Suffering, how Forgiving Jesus is.

And I begin to understand the Holy Spirit is issuing an invitation to you and me to become Jesus stalkers, to be obsessed with Jesus, to be obsessed with knowing Him, watching Him, listening to Him, learning what makes Him happy, and what makes Him sad.

Looking at the kind of company He keeps, listening to the way He speaks, learning to see through His eyes feeling what He feels. To walk in His footsteps, to sit where He sits, to love like He loves, to forgive like He forgives, to hate what He hates.

And then I begin to feel this conviction of the Holy Spirit, so many in the church today are just Jesus fans; they’re like someone who sits in their home and watches their favorite celebrity or movie star on TV or like a spectator in the stands watching their favorite athlete or sports hero and enjoying their performance on the field.

We watch them for a while, maybe even play a little armchair quarterback for a while then we go to bed and forget all about them.

But I heard the Holy Spirit say to my heart, He is raising up a new breed of believers in the church and they are not just going to be Jesus admirers or Jesus fans. They're going to be Jesus stalkers, they're going to be Consumed with Jesus, they're going to be Obsessed with Jesus.

Every waking hour they're going to be stalking Jesus, studying His moves, looking at His eyes, listening to His voice, watching where He puts His hands, they're going to follow Him everywhere, they're going to be right on His heels just like Elisha was on Elijah's heels.

I hear the Holy Spirit saying the day for the Casual Christian is over. The Casual Christian is the person who just adds Jesus to their life like one of their television programs; they just add Him into their programming, like a little sprinkling of salt on your food, like coming to church at least once or twice a month so you can convince yourself that you're still saved.

I have a warning for all the Jesus admirers, and convenient Christians, Jesus lovers are coming and because Jesus has become and is becoming their one Magnificent Obsession, they are being consumed with Jesus.

The word Magnificent means majestic, opulent, exquisite, splendid, superb, dazzling in brilliance and radiance, that which is superb is above all others, the highest degree of excellence and elegance.

That’s Jesus, and every one of those words and a thousand more could not even begin to unveil His true beauty and glory.

The word Obsession means the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, or desire.

There is a group of people in the church, and I pray it’s us, who are sick and tired of dead religion and tradition, they are once again falling in love with Jesus, not a historical Jesus, not a religious Jesus, not a dead Jesus, but a living Jesus and their hearts are on fire again. They are being consumed by Him. Our God is a Consuming fire.

The Holy Spirit is sick and tired of an attitude that offers to Jesus bits and pieces of our lives yet say that we have given Him everything. It's a religious Spirit; it goes through the motions but there's no heart in it.

It's an attitude of self-preservation. It gives what is easy, comfortable, a little change in the offering, a little thank you Jesus, hallelujah, maybe even clap the hands. 

But when they get home, they never pick up their Bible, their family never hear them pray. They watch things on TV and the internet that would embarrass a sailor.

But they tell themselves that they’re alright because they know all the religious protocol, and they know how to look the part, that is a deceiving spirit. 

I pray Obsessed with Jesus folks are coming, they’re coming to our town, they’re coming to our church, they may not be the majority and that by contrast they may be few, but the fire of their Obsession and the fire of their love and the fire of their devotion is going to shake hell.

This new breed of fire baptized Jesus lovers are not only going to shake hell they’re also going to shake up churches that have slipped into a long distance relationship with the Lord and all they have left is a casual admiration and appreciation for the savior.

So many churches in America have become dull, insensitive and indifferent, they've lost their passion and their Zeal; they've lost their first love and didn't even know it happened.

But Thank God many of those who fell asleep are going to wake up, many of those who have lost their fire and their Zeal and their passion for Jesus are going to get it back. 

Praise God, their eyes will be Anointed, and they will see the Savior again and they will fall in love with Him again, and they will be consumed with Jesus.

But it’s going to wake up another group in the church, those who are satisfied with a casual long-distance religious affiliation with the name of Jesus.

They will also wake up, but they will wake up upset and resentful and critical, they will resent the passion and the fire the devotion and the zeal.

They will resist the Holy Spirit, and they will wrap themselves up in religious grave clothes and they will die on the pew sitting in the church singing I shall not be moved.

Jesus said if you're not for me you're against me. He said that if you're not gathering with Me, you’re scattering abroad. He said I would rather you be hot but because you are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm I will spew you out of my mouth.

Jesus never called for fans; He called for followers. He's called us to be obsessed with Him, to burn with holy zeal and holy love and passion for Him.

That's why we need the Holy Spirit so badly. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus to our heart.

Remember when Jesus asked His disciples in Matthew 16:13-17who do men say that I the Son of Man am? and they begin to answer, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some, Elias and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But who do ye say that I am, then Peter all of a sudden with a flash from the glory world, said thou art the Christ the son of the Living God.

And Jesus answered him blessed art thou Simon bar-Jonah for flesh-and-blood hath not revealed this unto thee (no schooling no teaching no book learning) gave you this wisdom.

This Revelation came from Heaven; My Father in Heaven has revealed this unto thee. Jesus was saying this was a revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And only the Holy Spirit can put within us the same love, the same zeal, the same compassion, the same love for the lost that Jesus has.

I hate to say it but in general the church in America has become institutionalized and sterilized and it's becoming colder and colder and colder and more and more formal and powerless all the time.

The church was never meant to be an institution. The church was always meant to be a fiery, passionate, living organism filled with the presence and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church is to be His body in the earth, filled with the same Holy Spirit and power that filled Jesus’ life.

Let me go farther, if the world doesn’t see Jesus manifested in and through the church, they will never see Him.

The world needs to see in the church and through the church a vibrant demonstration and manifestation of a living savior that can save them, that can heal them, that can deliver them and set them free.

They need to see Jesus lovers, not just Jesus fans. They need to see us obsessed with Jesus and possessed by the Holy Spirit, on fire with His Love, consumed by His passion.

I don’t want to wait till I get to heaven to experience the glory and the power of God, I need it right here right now. I need it so I can give glory to God by making a kingdom impact in this world.

I need more than just His presence; as much as I love His presence, I need more than just the assurance that He is with me, and I need more than just a church affiliation.

I need P O W E R. Let me bring it Home where we live, church we need POWER.

Power to cast out devils, Power to heal the sick, Power to set the captives free, Power to undo the works of the devil.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God was with Him.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…

Luke 10:19 Behold I give unto you powerto tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Then Jesus said: John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall ye do also; and greater works than these shall ye do; because I go unto my Father.

You might say Pastor, I’ve never really felt a real need for the power of the Holy Ghost in my life, I’m just satisfied to bask in His wonderful presence.

Well, that may be fine for you, but what about that young woman or that young boy who is contemplating suicide? 

What about that man who is bound by lust, and drugs and alcohol, or what about that young person who is so messed up in their psyche that they don’t know whether they’re a boy or a girl. And some of them are even going so far as to remove body parts. 

What I’m saying is His presence alone is not enough to deliver the homosexual or set the drug addict free, it’s not enough to open blind eyes and unstop deaf ears.

Yes, His Presence is awesome, but His Power is for broken, wounded, sick, hurting, bound, and oppressed humanity.

Being obsessed with Jesus not only gives me His wonderful, glorious presence; He also anoints me with His power. He not only wants to bless us, but He also wants to anoint us with His power and make us a blessing.

Being a dedicated Christian is something that requires a very real commitment. Those that want to live with God, but don’t want to give up the things of the world will never fully receive all that Jesus has to offer. 

When we stand before God on Judgment day and hear “WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAILFUL SERVANT….ENTER IN…. Then we will know we have in fact succeeded!!!!

Come on; ask Jesus to help you make Him your obsession, your consuming fire. He’ll do it, that’s why He came. 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!