Follow me...

What doe it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Some people prefer to not use the term “Christian” but rather “Christ follower” because of the bad name some have given the term “Christian.” I am reading a book called, “Tea with Hezbollah” and one of the disturbing things mentioned in the book is the behavior of a group of Christian in Lebanon during the war in 1982. They invaded homes of Muslims and raped and killed thousands of people. For many people the name “Christian” has a horrible significance. The same thing could happen to people who call themselves “Christ followers” should a segment of this group commit acts that will label them as evil.

What we call ourselves has meaning but the most important thing is how we live our lives as followers of Christ. As we begin a New Year, I want to challenge each of us to live as true followers of Christ. I want to look at some scriptures that talk about being a follower and what that means to each of us.

Mat 4:18-22 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Personal

When Jesus launched his ministry, he personally called people to follow Him. He came to each of them and personally gave them an invitation to follow him. Jesus was invited them to a close, personal relationship with him. Jesus cares about each one of us and his invitation is extended to all. He is not a discriminator of persons, everyone is equal before him. He chose common, ordinary men to follow him. He desires our friendship. He is every bit as much personal as we are. For many people this is a difficult concept to understand. “God with us…Immanuel”. Each of us must have a personal encounter with Jesus in which we respond to his call to follow him.

Compelling

We are not sure how much the disciples knew about Jesus at this time but evidently they knew enough that they were willing to leave their profession and family to follow him. The Jews had been waiting for thousands of years for the Promised Messiah and when Christ began his ministry and announced to these men that they should leave all to follow him they left it all behind to follow him. Perhaps they followed him with wrong motivations based on lack of understanding of what the Messiah would do when he came but nonetheless they followed him.

There is something about the call of God on each of our lives that must be as compelling as what the disciples felt. Jesus does not call us to “try him” but to “trust him” and follow him. A.W. Tozar said that we have to make the call a challenge to the people. If it is made to be an easy thing in his experience people left the faith easily. The call is to abandon it all to follow him.

“As is”

Christ comes to us just as we are and invites us to join him in the work he wants to accomplish in us and through us on the earth. He did not wait for the disciples to make themselves better or more worthy. One of the things I encountered in Haiti is that some of the people felt unworthy to come to Christ as they were. They felt that they had to take care of some things before they would be acceptable to him. We can never make ourselves good enough to be acceptable to God in our own righteousness. We all come as equal sinners unable to do anything that can meet God’s standards of holiness and righteousness. We have to come to him in humility just as we are. God is happy to take us “as is”. If you have ever bought a car “as is” you know that there are no guarantees because the car has issues. In buying it you accept the fact that you will need to fix and repair it. Jesus takes us just as we are with full knowledge that we need fixing and he is happy to take us because he know exactly what we need.

Purpose

Jesus had a purpose in calling people to follow him. He promised to make them become “fishers of men.” I am sure that they had no understanding of what this would mean at the time of the calling. The disciples seemed to not understand much of what Jesus said to them until after the Holy Spirit was given to them and he taught them what Jesus’ words meant.

Jesus is in the people business and he wants to teach us how to reach people and bring them to him so he can fix them. He wants to use each one of us to bring people to him. Sadly very few people actively share their faith. One statistic regarding evangelism is that 95% of N. American Christians have never personally shared their faith. Fishermen know that fish do not normally jump in the boat. They have to go to where the fish are and have a strategy to catch them. This is our mission, our life work to bring people to Jesus and allow him to change them to become like him.

Adventure

Jesus called these men to a life of adventure. They did not know what they were getting into but history records what they experienced during their time with Christ and after his ascension into heaven. The disciples saw miracles of healings, multiplication of food, supernatural events like walking on water and changing water into wine, resurrection of dead people and hearing the audible voice of God just to name a few. They also experienced difficult times like being beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, abandoned and financial challenges. Yet through it all God was faithful to bring them through every trial. Following Christ will bring us to places and people we never thought possible. Life with God is never boring and if it seems that way to you then you really don’t know him. To me this is the greatest of all adventures is knowing God. Discovering God’s character and nature is something that we will experience throughout eternity. When we respond to become a follower of Christ we enter into a new life that has its entire focus on being obedient to what Christ asks of us. Christ himself becomes the only one that can bring true satisfaction to life. Knowing him becomes our greatest joy and brings the greatest satisfaction in life.

Priority

When Christ calls us, he must become the priority of our life. He does not want to be something we add to our life; he wants to become our life. Many people who call themselves followers today live compartmentalized lives in which Christ is really only a part of their life. He wants to be our life!

To follow him means we must leave behind anything that will be a hindrance. These disciples left behind their business to be able to dedicate their complete lives to following Christ. It was not that their profession was evil but the call of Christ was to leave it all behind because he had something more important for them to learn and do. He wants us to willingly lay down anything that is a hindrance so we can experience his best and his fullness in this life. For many people is will mean separating themselves from people who will not be in agreement with their decision. It may be breaking off of a relationship that you know is going in the wrong direction. It may mean selling all to follow him.

Costly

As Christ was preparing his disciples for his eminent death he spoke some very challenging words.

Mat 16:21-26 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

To be a follower of Christ is costly. Peter did not understand things from a spiritual viewpoint. He interpreted from his human perspective when he rebuked Jesus for his prediction of his death. Peter wanted to preserve Christ’s life but Christ’s purpose in coming to earth was to give his life as a ransom for our sins. The challenge Jesus gave to his disciples was that they too must be willing to deny themselves and their human reasoning, take up their cross which meant experiencing a cruel death reserved for the most vile criminals and follow him. Being a follower of Christ means that we view things from an eternal perspective and make decisions based on it. It means we are willing to die as Christ died for a cause that is greater. The disciples would face death in the future, a form of death that was cruel. When Christ called his disciples to follow him, he made it very clear that it was not going to be easy but it would be rewarding. In losing their lives they would find true life. We have many examples today of believers who are being persecuted for their faith. They are being tortured, their homes and churches destroyed, they are denied work and suffer discrimination for their faith in Christ. As followers we must be willing to accept this to prepare us for a time when we may experience it. Self-denial and suffering are part of the call to be a true follower of Christ. We must be willing to pay the cost of being a disciple just as Christ was willing to pay the price for our salvation.

Rewarding

Mar 10:28-30 Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, Peter responded that they had left all to follow Jesus. Peter had placed his all on the altar to follow Jesus. I love the reply that Jesus gave to Peter when he said that those who truly have left all to follow him will receive 100 times more of the things people value most in this life and also would receive more in the life to come. Yes it is costly to follow Jesus but it is also rewarding. What we lay down for him, he gives back to us in a different way. When we become followers of Christ a whole new world is open to us in the Body of Christ. I have been blessed by the Body of Christ not only here in the USA but also in the other countries I have been able to visit and minister. There is something about the hospitality of the family of God that is a huge blessing to me and many who have traveled. God takes care of his children and he uses his wonderful family to do it. The rich young ruler was unwilling to depart with his possessions to follow Christ. He overestimated the value of his possessions and underestimated the riches that are only found in following Christ wholeheartedly. It is not what you own that is important; it is who owns you that really matters. When Christ takes control of our lives, we begin to experiences the tremendous riches he has for us.

What is your ambition?

As we begin a New Year, I pray that each of us will be obedient to follow Christ where he leads us. He has new adventures for each of us in this journey of faith. There is much to do to fulfill his desire that all men will have the opportunity to hear the gospel. There is much to do as we labor to make disciples of those who have placed their faith in Christ. There is much to do to reach out and meet the needs of people who are suffering, being abused and exploited, experiencing hardships and trials, persecution and the challenges of overcoming poverty. Perhaps this year Christ will lead you into a new arena of faith to meet the needs of people around you or people in another country. There is always more to do and as Paul wrote in Romans it was his ambition to go to Spain to preach the gospel.

Rom_15:20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation,

He had accomplished many things in his life but there was still more to do. As a follower of Christ what will be your ambition in this New Year?

I want to close with a story that has and continues to impact my life. It is the story of Father Damien. He was a priest in the Catholic Church who gave his life to minister to a group of lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. When the need was presented to the group of priest serving in Hawaii to go to the island of lepers, Father Damien and three other priests volunteered to go and live among the people to minister the love of Christ to them. Originally he was to serve only 3 months and then be replaced by the other priests. He was the first one sent out and after a short time he told his superior that the people needed someone to be there all the time with them and he was willing to be that person. He was told before going to the island that he was not to touch the people lest he get leprosy. He found this impossible to do. How can you love someone without touching them? Father Damien build homes for the people, attended to their medical needs as much as he was able, ministered to their spiritual needs, built coffins and buried them. He gave his all to the people and in doing so contracted leprosy after spending 12 years with them. He died 3 years after contracting leprosy. The people in the leper colony wanted him buried on the island where they lived but his home country of Belgium also wanted him buried there as he became a hero for his sacrificial love. His body was taken to Belgium but at the request of the people of Molokai his right arm and hand were brought back to be buried on the island. It was his hands and arms that embraced them, loved them and served them for the 15 years he was with them.

Each of us has the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people and as we truly follow Christ, he will provide those opportunities and give us the ability to do what he has called us to do. We are called to be fishers of men and to demonstrate the love of Christ to fallen humanity.

What will be your ambition this year as you follow Christ? What has he placed in your heart to do that will be different this year? He has something for each one of us and we must be willing to follow him wherever he leads at whatever cost.