The Walk of Faith

Pacers and pacer groups are a standard part of any 26.2 mile marathon.  A pacer is an experienced marathon runner who runs a steady pace and keeps track of that pace so that those following them can run the race at a particular pace in order to finish with a particular time.  At any marathon, there will be a number of pacers standing at the starting line holding a sign with a goal time above their head indicating the pace they plan to run.  A pace group is a group of runners who run a marathon following a particular experienced marathon runner.  A pacer and a pace group provide tangible motivation and encouragement to finish a race and accomplish their race goal.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a pacer and a pace group for life?

READ:  Hebrews 12:1-2

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires ENDURING FAITH!  FAITH = Being fully convinced that Jesus Christ is to be the One who sets the PACE for your whole life from START to FINISH.  Jesus Christ stood at the beginning of the race of his life holding a sign above His head that read, “follow me”, “walk in the same way in which (I) walk (1 John 2:6).”  In other words, from birth to death, Jesus set the perfect pace necessary to endure the race of life.  The author of Hebrews says Jesus ran the race of life with “joy” even though it required “endur(ing) the cross”.  Jesus set the perfect pace with every thought, word, action, and decision of His life.  When running the race of life we need enduring faith to live in the same way Jesus did from the very beginning to the finish line.  How are we to run the race of life with enduring faith?

Running the race of life requires laying aside the WEIGHT and SIN that slow us down (Heb 12:1) – Running a marathon would be bad enough, but can you imagine running a marathon with a heavy backpack!?!  In order to keep pace with Jesus we need eliminate any “weight” or “sin” that slows us down in life.  Weight we need to lay aside might include worldliness or selfish priorities.  Sin we need to lay aside includes any way we choose to live our own lives that is in rebellion against God’s righteous standard.  Running with this worthless and destructive extra baggage will do more than just make running difficult, it will make running nearly impossible.

Running the race of life is a MARATHON and not a SPRINT (Heb 12:1) – A sprint is short and requires a brief burst of all the energy we’ve got.  It’s over almost as soon as it starts.  A marathon is long and requires a slow and consistent pace.  It goes on and on and you think you might never get to the finish line.  Many of us because we are running the wrong type of race, we run at the wrong pace, and aren’t running the race at all.  The race of life is not a sprint to church for an hour on Sunday.  The race of life is not chasing vigorously after the next “mountaintop experience”.  The race of life is a daily lifestyle that includes living like Jesus in all our thoughts, words, actions, and decisions.  This type of race is extremely difficult, but God promises to provide the endurance necessary to run it.

Running the race of life requires LOOKING to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) – A pacer in a marathon will do us no good if they are not the focus of our attention.  If we run our own race we will either go too fast or too slow, neither of which will be the right pace necessary to make it to the finish line.  In order to run the right pace we must continually, “look to Jesus”.  He is the “founder” of our faith, the starting line of our faith, the One who is its source and beginning.  Jesus is the “perfecter” of our faith, the finish line of our faith, the One who is our goal and ultimate measure of our success (Eph. 4:13).  Philippians 1:6 says that it is Jesus, “who began a good work in you (and) will bring it to completion”.  As we look to Jesus and keep pace with Him, we can be confident that we are running the race of our lives in a way that will get us to the finish line!

CONCLUSION
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Living like Jesus doesn’t add a heavy weight to our race, in fact, it lightens us to be able to be free to run.  Our race is lightened because Jesus carry’s our burden’s for us.  Jesus carried the burden of the cross so that our shoulders could be free to run unhindered (1 John 5:3).  Are you running the marathon of life carrying a heavy burden or are you running unhindered by living the same way Jesus lived?

The Walk of Suffering

Louis Zamperini was an Olympic track runner who enlisted into the US military in 1941 at the beginning of World War 2.  In 1943 Louis was captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war after surviving a plane crash and 47 days on a raft in the Pacific Ocean.  Louis spent 2 years as a prisoner of war being mistreated and severely beaten.  On one occasion, he was forced to hold a heavy wooden beam above his head at gunpoint.  At the end of the war Louis was freed and later became a Christian at a Billy Graham crusade.  As a result of Louis becoming a Christian, he miraculously returned to Japan to share the gospel with those who mistreated him and he once hated.

READ:  1 Peter 2:19-25, 4:1-5

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires SUFFERING for the sake of OTHERS!  SUFFERING = Enduring the pain and hardship of MISTREATMENT by others without RETALIATION.  Throughout Jesus’ life, after His arrest, all the way up until the moment He died Jesus endured constant mistreatment including criticism, rejection, insults, false accusations, threats on His life, betrayal, wrongful arrest, being spit on, punched, slapped, mocked, made fun of, and finally crucifixion as a criminal.  Amazingly, Jesus never did anything wrong to deserve any of this mistreatment!  Even more amazingly, although Jesus endured a lifetime of unjust suffering, He never once retaliated in any way!  Why did He do it?  Peter said that Jesus, “suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example, so that (we) might follow in His steps”.  Every time Jesus endured suffering He had us in mind, and He wants us to live our lives in the same way.  How are we to respond to the mistreatment of others?

When we are mistreated by others we should not REVILE in return (1 Pet. 2:23) – Teenagers and siblings are professional revilers.  They tend to say things intended to hurt or injure others’ reputations.  To revile means to “insult”, “mock”, or “speak abusively” to someone.  Sadly, when we’ve been mistreated with words, it’s hard for us not to return the favor.  According to Peter when, “(Jesus) was reviled, He did not revile in return”.  Jesus endured the verbal mistreatment of others by speaking kindly to them or remaining silent (Mark 15:16-20, 29-32; Luke 22:63-65, 10-11, 35-43)!  Throughout our lives we can expect to be abused verbally by people in varying degrees of intensity, and yet we are to have a similar response each time, we are simply not to return the same type of mistreatment to them.  When we do, we are sharing in the suffering of Christ!

When we are mistreated by others we should not THREATEN in return (1 Pet. 2:23) – “I’m going to kill you”!  I’ve heard this threat a handful of times around our house, any one of us might use this threat out of anger when we feel that we’ve been mistreated and we want the one who mistreated us to know it is our desire to mistreat them in return.  According to Peter when, “(Jesus) suffered, He did not threaten”.  Jesus endured the mistreatment of others by doing good to them.  When we have been mistreated we are to refrain from declaring that we personally are going to make sure they get what they deserve.  Not threatening in return may not bring an end to the mistreatment we experience, but it will free us of being guilty of mistreatment as well.  Threats will only escalate the issue, whereas responding with love and kindness provide a powerful opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation to occur.

When we are mistreated by others we should ENTRUST ourselves to GOD who judges justly (1 Pet. 2:23) - If we are not to stand up for ourselves when we are mistreated, what are we supposed to do?  According to Peter, instead of reviling or threatening Jesus, “continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly”.  Jesus did not consider it His responsibility to make things right for Himself, instead He fully trusted God to do it for Him!  Paul said in Romans 12:19, “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’”.  One day, God will judge everyone fairly and give them the consequences they deserve for what they have done to us, which frees us from the need to do it for ourselves!

CONCLUSION
Philippians 1:29 says, “it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake”.  Paul wrote these words joyfully while he was “imprisoned” in a jail cell “for Christ” (Phil. 1:4, 13-14).  We are not just called to believe in what Jesus did, we are called to participate in the life of suffering that He lived!  Do you merely believe in Jesus Christ or are you also sharing in His sufferings?

The Walk of Dying

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who stood against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.  Bonhoeffer was hung as a martyr for his Christian faith in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945 at the age of 39 for participating in a resistance against Hitler in support of the Jews.  He is most well-known for writing a book called “The Cost of Discipleship” in which he penned the famous statement, “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  This statement summarized Bonhoeffer’s belief that being a follower of Christ is not cheap but costly and allows us to, “live in the world without being of it” and to be “truly free to live our lives in this world”!  What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer believe that gave him the courage to stand up to Hitler in the face of death?

READ:  Luke 9:21-25

Jesus Christ taught and lived out what Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to believe and live out himself, that living life in the same way as Jesus did requires LOSING our LIVES!  Jesus said that He, “must suffer . . . and be killed”.  Jesus selflessly chose physical death for the benefit of sinful humanity.  In Philippians 3:10 Paul expresses his desire to know Christ by “becoming like Him in His death” (cf 2 Cor. 4:10).  Sounds a little morbid!  Who wants to be like someone who is known for how they died?  Paul did, and we should too!  It’s a profound paradox for those who want to live in the same way Jesus lived that by losing our lives we truly find life!  How do we lose our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ?

We lose our lives by FORBIDDING ourselves the LIFE we want (Lk. 9:23) – Forbidding ourselves things we want is hard to do.  Our golden retriever Daisy had zero ability to forbid herself something that she wanted.  She would spend 5 straight days digging a hole underneath a fence just so she could get to a ball.  Are there things in life that we react the same way towards?  We spend our lifetimes pursuing what we want when we should “deny (ourselves)” and live for God.  Our lives are not our own to do with what we want, we are the possession of God and therefore we need to use our lives for His purpose and glory (Rom. 14:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:19b-20a)!

We lose our lives by daily WRITING another page of our OBITUARY (Lk. 9:23) – An autobiography is an account of a person's life written or composed by themselves.  If you were to write an autobiography would choose the genre of an obituary?  Probably not.  The apostle Paul wrote his own obituary in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  Like Paul, by “taking up (our) cross”, we are to put ourselves to death in order that we may walk a new life in Christ (Rom. 6:3-7, 11)!  Daily we are to die to the desire to write the story of our lives, but instead let God author every chapter of our life.

We lose our lives by FOLLOWING Jesus Christ (Lk. 9:23) - Do you remember getting to be the line leader in elementary school?  How proud to be the ONE that marched everyone down the hall to recess or to the lunch room.  Is that not the position that we are encouraged to achieve in life?  Jesus does not call us to be at the front of the line, rather to place ourselves last and least among others and take up the humble position of following.  Jesus’ call to be a disciple is an invitation to leave the things of the world behind and follow Him (Mt. 4:18-22)!

CONCLUSION
2 Timothy 2:11 says, “If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him”.  In order to live for God, we must be willing to die for Him.  Jim Elliott was one of five missionaries killed at the age of 29 in 1956 while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to share the gospel with the Huaorani people of Ecuador in South America.  Jim expressed his willingness to lose his life eleven years before he died when he wrote in a personal journal, “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.  Jim understood something that we need to understand as we live in this world.  There is nothing in this world that is worth holding onto, even our very lives, compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing and following Jesus Christ!  Have you lost your life for the sake of Christ, or are you still trying to save it?

The Walk of Humility

Attitude is everything!  Charles Swindoll wrote, “the longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with (us) . . . we are in charge of our attitudes.”

Our attitude is something we are constantly in control of in spite of our circumstances.  Our attitude is not something that someone else can manipulate or decide for us.  Our attitude determines how we respond to difficulty and hardship.  Our attitude dramatically impacts and influences others.  Our attitude drives our decisions and shapes our priorities.  What attitude did Jesus Christ possess that we are to possess as well?

READ: Philippians 2:1-11

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires an ATTITUDE of HUMILITY!  MIND (ATTITUDE) = Chosen WAY of THINKING.  The NIV translates Philippians 2:5, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”  Jesus Christ’s attitude of humility was at the core of what made Him who He was.  Jesus’ attitude of humility was the source of His love and compassion.  Jesus’ attitude of humility was the source of His willingness to serve and sacrifice.  Without humility, Jesus would have held on to His “equality with God”, He would have never taken the “form of a servant”, He would have never been “born in the likeness of man”, and definitely would have never been obedient to “death on a cross”.  Jesus’ attitude of humility is the same attitude that we are to live our lives with!  What does it mean to have an attitude of humility like Christ?

Humility is an attitude willing to LET GO of a HIGH position (Phil. 2:6-7) – When we possess something valuable it is natural for us to act like a child in order to keep possession of it by holding onto it tightly, turning our backs, and selfishly screaming “MINE”.  The last thing we would do with something valuable to us is willingly open our hands and let it go.  In contrast, Jesus, although He possessed the valuable status of God, released His rightful “grasp” and “emptied” Himself of His high position and privilege.  Humility is a willingness to let go of any characteristic about ourselves that we might claim superiority over another person including appearance, intelligence, skill, or position.  By choosing to let go of our superiority we open a door to significantly impact others that is impossible to open in any other way.

Humility is an attitude willing to TAKE HOLD of a LOW position (Phil. 2:7-8) – In my youth group we had what was called the “Christian pencil”.  The “Christian pencil” was the pencil that no one wanted because it had no eraser, it was short and stubby, and had teeth marks all over it.  Only a super Christian was willing to take hold of that disgusting pencil.  In contrast, Jesus humbly chose to “take” the lowly position of a human being.  The word humble means, “to lower, to lay flat, to make small/insignificant, to place under.”  Humility is placing ourselves in a position that is lower, under, and below all others.  If there is one attitude that we must take hold of tightly and never let go it is the willingness to allow others in our lives to be more significant and important than us.

Humility is an attitude which is willing to DIE to SELF for the sake of others (Phil. 2:8) – It’s one thing to die of natural causes, it’s another thing to choose to die on purpose in place of someone else so that they can live.  Jesus humbly lowered Himself to the lowest place of “death on a cross”.  Jesus’ ultimate expression of humility was His willingness to be punished and die as a sinner in our place.  In a million small ways every day and, at times, in big ways, we must choose to die to our selfish desires by “count(ing) others more significant than ourselves” and by “look(ing) to the interests of others”.  Dying to self is painful, but it’s worth the sacrifice knowing that someone else’s life is better as a result.

CONCLUSION
What happens when we live with an attitude of humility?  Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”.  Just as “God highly exalted (Jesus)” for His humility, we must not exalt ourselves, but rather humble ourselves and allow God to be the one to exalt us higher (Phil. 2:9)!  Do you have an attitude of pride that exalts yourself higher or an attitude of humility that places yourself lower?

The Walk of Love

Anybody like grapes?  A cluster of grapes goes through quite a process for us to be able to enjoy.  Many of us get our grapes from Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart gets its grapes from a company called Sun World which has vineyards in California.  After approximately 150-180 days of development, at just the right time, when these grapes were ripe, they are cut off, put on a truck, and delivered to Wal-Mart where we can purchase and enjoy them.

For you and me to enjoy the fruit of salvation, Jesus Christ went through quite a process. He left heaven, He was born as a baby, He lived 33 years of a sinless life, He died on the cross, He was buried, and He rose again three days later.  A week before Jesus death, burial, and resurrection He prayed to His Father in John 12:27, “for this purpose I have come to this hour”.  The night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest John 13:1 says, “Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father”.  Just before Jesus’ crucifixion His life was ripe, His “purpose” and His “hour” had come.  Why?  So that all those who would believe in Him might enjoy the sweet “fruit” of salvation, the forgiveness of sin.

READ: John 15:1-17

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires producing the sacrificial FRUIT of LOVE!  Jesus lived His life to display God’s love to a sinful world.  Jesus produced the greatest fruit of love when He died on the cross in order that we might enjoy the fruit of salvation. Since the disciples didn’t get it from the life He lived, He told them in John 15:12-13, “this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends”.  Sacrificial love is the fruit that Jesus wants His disciples to display to others.  How are we able to exhibit the sacrificial fruit of love?

Our ability to sacrificially love others is the natural result of being loved BY GOD (John 15:9-10) – A vital part of what it means to abide in Christ, and producing sacrificial love, is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt how immeasurably much God loves us.  Jesus ability love was the result of the fact that “the Father loved (Him)” and “abide(d) in His love”.   Paul prays in Ephesians 3:17-19 that, “(we), being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge”.  Christ’s love for us is far beyond what our minds can comprehend.  Christ overwhelmed us with love on the cross.  Only when we have believed in Christ’s love for us on the cross will we be able to sacrificially love others.  1 John 4:19 says, “we love, because He first loved us”.  For us to bear the fruit of sacrificial love that others can enjoy we must first accept and experience God’s sacrificial love for us.

Our ability to sacrificially love others should be EVER-INCREASING (John 15:2-8) – Jesus subtly communicates with this metaphor of vine and branches that His disciples are capable of producing more and more and more fruit.  In verse 2 in distinguishing two completely different branches, He says there are branches who by nature of their unity with Christ “bear fruit”.  In verse 2 He says there is a process through which a branch can go in order to bear “more fruit”.  In verses 5 and 8 He says there is a branch that bears “much fruit”.  This multiplied production of fruit happens as God the Father, the vinedresser, prunes branches abiding in the vine.  Pruning is a process of cutting away excess and unnecessary growth in order to produce a higher quality and greater quantity of fruit.  In order to allow space for a higher quality and greater quantity of sacrificial love in our lives, God removes things that are get in the way or prevent increased growth from happening.  We should not be surprised if this is a hard and even painful process.  And yet, it is a process we should invite and welcome in our lives (2 Thes. 1:3).

CONCLUSION
Jesus said in John 3:16, “God so loved that world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”.  Jesus lived His life so that the world would taste and experience the fruit of salvation.  He may no longer be physically present on the earth, but He is present in a way even greater than when He was on the earth.  Jesus miraculously multiplies Himself through us.  Jesus is the true vine, He produced the fruit of sacrificial love on the cross, we are the branches, and now we must bearing the fruit of sacrificial love as well!  Are others enjoying the fruit of sacrificial love that is being produced in your life?

The Walk of Servanthood - Part 2

“Dirty Jobs” is a TV series on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe does a real life strange, nasty, and messy job alongside regular employees.  Mike joins these employees and works alongside of them to complete whatever disgusting, degrading, or dangerous job they do.  Every job is even more difficult than expected and Mike often expresses admiration and respect for the workers' willingness to do a job that most of us would avoid.  According to Mike, one of the worst dirty jobs ever was sewer inspector where he trudged through human waste to repair sewer lines. Most of us avoid these types of jobs, but Jesus did one specific job much like this (not as a gimmick for a TV show), to show an important way in which we are to live our lives . . .

READ: John 13:1-17

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires SERVING others in MENIAL ways!  MENIAL = A LOWLY or DEGRADING job.  Menial jobs are boring, dirty, unpleasant, unglamorous, unrecognized, unappreciated, and unrewarded.  Who wants to sign up to do that job?  Jesus did!  Jesus did the menial job of washing the disciples’ feet in order to help them understand just how much He was willing to sacrifice for them (John 13:7, 12).  If Jesus was willing to do the menial job of washing feet, we need to be willing to do jobs that we are way overqualified for as well!  Why is serving others in menial ways so important?  

Serving others in a menial way is a TOP-NOTCH expression of LOVE (Jn. 13:1) – We might be willing to love others through some pretty difficult things, but at some point, our love has its limits.  One of the true tests of the extent of our love for someone is if . . . we are willing to clean up the mess after they throw up!  Cleaning up vomit for someone else is a true expression of love.  Jesus “loved (His own) to the end”.  By washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus displayed that there was NO LIMIT to the love He had for His disciples.  Jesus was willing to do anything and everything for those He loved including dying on the cross. If we are going to truly love others, there must be no limits to the love that we exhibit toward others.  We must be willing to lay down our lives for others in the most lowly and degrading ways so that there is no doubt in their minds that we love them.

Serving others in a menial way is a TANGIBLE expression of LOWLINESS (Jn. 13:2-5) – When I graduated from Lincoln Christian Seminary in 2007 I was given a towel to remind me that my primary job in life is to lower myself and serve others.  Foot washing was a lowly job of hospitality done by servants when a visitor entered a home after walking the dusty, dirty streets.  Jesus, lowering Himself to the menial job of a servant, “poured water in to a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him”.  Although Jesus was above the disciples as their “Teacher” and “Lord”, He did the menial of washing feet in order to show them how lowly and humble He was willing be in order to serve others. Menial jobs show others that our lives are not meant to be used to serve ourselves but to serve others.

Serving others in a menial way is a TRUE expression of LEADERSHIP (Jn. 13:12-17) – Leadership today is thought of as being out front, taking charge, and exerting control over those under us. Jesus redefines leadership saying, “if I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do just I have done to you”.  Jesus wanted to multiply His method of servant leadership among the disciples, but rather than just tell them what they should do He showed them with His own life as an example.  If we want to lead others we must do it by example and be willing do whatever job we might expect or demand someone “beneath” us to do.

CONCLUSION
Jesus washing the disciples’ feet was symbolic of the cleansing that He would provide by dying on the cross.  1 John 1:7 says that, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”.  Jesus did the menial job of dying on the cross so that we could be washed clean of our sin.  Jesus willingly did this painful, shameful, and unjust job so that we would never have to do it!  Have your sins been washed away by putting faith in Jesus Christ?

The Walk of Servanthood

Who wouldn’t want to be considered GREAT!?!  For some, greatness is winning a championship as a professional athlete.  For some, greatness is having thousands of fans cheer while you are performing on stage.  For some, greatness is making money as the CEO of a large corporation.  For all of us, greatness is ascending up a ladder of success, popularity, or authority as high as possible.  We want to be singled out as the one on top or the winner.  We want to be elevated to places of honor or recognition. We want power and authority to control or influence others.  While this is the definition of greatness for some, is it possible that such a desire is what prevents us from becoming truly great?  What if greatness is a descent down rather than an ascent up? Jesus Christ took a different path to become great.  How did Jesus become great?

READ: Matthew 20:20-28

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires becoming GREAT through SERVANTHOOD!  Jesus defines greatness and becomes great Himself in a very different way than anyone would expect.  Jesus, using His own life as an example, said the He, “came not to be served but to serve”.  In a great reversal, Jesus declares greatness is not a selfish process of ascending higher in order to be honored, admired, or served by others, but instead a sacrificial process of descending lower in order to serve others.  Jesus willingly exemplified this by exchanging His greatness for our worthlessness, “giving His life as a ransom for many”.  As a ransom (the price paid to buy a slave’s freedom), Jesus served us by purchasing our freedom as sinners with His blood.  That is true greatness and the type of greatness that we should be striving to emulate.

TRANSTION:  How do we become great through servanthood? 

Greatness through servanthood is NOT craving a POSITION or AUTHORITY (Mt. 20:20-21, 25-26a) - We do not like to be told what to do, we like to be the one in charge telling others what to do.  James and John’s mother asked Jesus if her sons could, “sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom”.  She wanted her sons to be given positions of importance and authority in Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus rebukes this request later saying that they should not want to be like the “rulers” and “great ones” who “lord” and “exercise authority” over others.  Being higher and above others are not indicators of true greatness.  Power and authority only feed our selfishness, pride, and mistreatment of others.  Beware of needing to be in front, on top, and in charge, this craving is a major hindrance to us becoming truly great.

Greatness through servanthood is NOT confidence in OURSELVES (Mt. 20:22-24) – The Little Engine That Could is known for his attitude of “I think I can, I think I can”.  The story encourages us to be optimistic, believe in ourselves, and work hard.  Not bad qualities, but NOT what makes us great.  James and John answer Jesus’ question, “are you able to drink the cup I myself am about to drink?” with a confident, “we are able”.  James and John did not realize that when Jesus used the phrase “drink the cup” He was referring to the suffering of God’s wrath that He would endure on the cross for sin (Mt. 26:39).  James and John had an entirely different idea of what it meant to be great in mind and were overly confident in their own ability.  Our greatness does not depend on our ability, our talent, our personality, or our skill.  Beware of trusting in our own ability, this self-confidence will prevent us from becoming truly great.

Greatness through servanthood is a choice to SERVE and ENSLAVE ourselves to others (Mt. 20:25-28) – Servants and slaves in Jesus’ day were the lowest, most insignificant members of society because their job was to do anything and everything that someone else told them to do.  Doing what someone else tells us to do is hard, degrading, and humiliating.  According to Jesus, being “great” and being “first” among others requires living the life of a “servant” and a “slave”.  These are characteristics of lowering ourselves and willingly putting ourselves under the authority of others.  These are not characteristics that seem like they lead to greatness, but according to Jesus they are the only path to becoming truly great!

CONCLUSION:

Jesus said in Matthew 23:11-12 that, “the greatest among you shall be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”.  Servanthood requires humility.  If we reject servanthood and choose a different path to greatness, a day will come when we will be humbled and our greatness will be exposed for what it really is.  But if we humble ourselves and walk as a servant as Jesus walked, a day will come when we will be exalted and considered truly great!  Are you willing to humble yourself in order to become a servant?

The Walk of Obedience

Dogs are man’s best friend, right?  Why?  A big reason is because dogs are obedient.  A dog can be trained and they seem to naturally want to do what their master commands.  A dog can learn to sit, roll over, crawl, and play dead.  A dog can be trained to balance food on their nose and only eat when they are given permission.  A dog can be trained to go through an intricate and complex obstacle course.  Dogs seem to have a natural instinct, more than other animals, to want to obey and follow the leading of humans.  In contrast, human beings do not have a natural instinct for obedience.  We want to be independent, self-sufficient, and not have to submit to anyone’s authority besides ourselves.  Obedience is a desirable characteristic and yet it is a characteristic that does not come naturally at all to humans. And yet, . . .

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires perfect OBEDIENCE to GOD’S WILL!  Hebrews 5:8 says that, “although (Jesus) was a Son, He learned obedience”.  The greek word υπακοη translated “obedience” means “to RESPOND with SUBMISSION to a spoken word”.  Throughout His entire life, Jesus Christ listened to the Father through prayer and did exactly what He was told.  The only moment we get any impression that Jesus debated His Father was in the garden of Gethsemane the night before He would be arrested and crucified when He said, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”, but even then He responded with submission saying, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:39).

What does it mean to live a life of obedience to God?

Obedience is doing NOTHING on our own WITHOUT God (John 5:19, 30, 8:28) – Very early on, children want to start doing things by themselves . . . “I do it, I do it”.  This attitude of independence and self-sufficiency continues with us throughout our lives.  In contrast, according to John 5:19, 30 and 8:28 Jesus did “nothing” independent of God.  He never spoke or acted without listening to God and doing exactly what He was instructed to do.  We are utterly incapable of making it through life without God.  Obedience begins with the recognition that we are not independent or self-sufficient but rather desperately dependent on God.

Obedience is doing things that are PLEASING to God (John 8:29) – There are some individuals who are people pleasers.  People pleasers are individuals who always want to make others happy and never want to offend anyone.  Jesus Christ was a God pleaser, He “always” did things that were “pleasing” to God.  No matter how drastic of a people pleaser we might be, we will never be able to do enough to please God.  Romans 8:8 says, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  It is impossible to please God in the flesh.  It is only the Holy Spirit in our lives that will produce the righteous thoughts, words, and actions that will make God happy!

Obedience is how we show the WORLD that we LOVE God (John 14:31) – Gary Chapman wrote a popular book called “The 5 Love Languages”.  In the book Gary explains how everyone has a preference of how they would like others to show them love including words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch.  Does God have a love language?  1 John 5:2-3 says, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And his commandments are not burdensome.” God’s love language is obedience.  Jesus Christ displayed His perfect love for the Father by “doing as the Father commanded”.  If we want the world to know that we love God, we must be willing to submit ourselves to God’s will and do whatever He commands.

CONCLUSION:
Philippians 2:8 says, “being found in human form, (Jesus) humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”.  Not only was Jesus obedient enough to become part of the sinful world, He was even obedient to die a sinner’s death on the cross.  Jesus obeyed His Father’s will His whole life, all the way to the cross!  Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father so that we could be saved from the eternal consequences of our disobedience.  Are you willing to suffer in order to be obedient to God’s will in your life?

Our Response to Jesus Invitation to Follow Him

Have you ever been astonished by anything?  Astonished in the English dictionary simply means to be “greatly surprised”, “impressed”, or “amazed”.  I was astonished in Jr High when my family took a vacation to the west coast.  During our trip we traveled through Arizona to see the Grand Canyon.  It was breathtaking to stand on the edge of such a vast chasm.  It’s hard to imagine anything more astonishing than that.  I was astonished in 1999 on a mission trip to the east coast.  On the way to New Hampshire we stopped by Buffalo, New York to see Niagara Falls.  I was in awe of the power and the deafening sound of the rushing water flowing over the falls.  I was astonished in 2008 when I lead a mission trip to Guatemala where the orphanage we stayed at was high on a cliff overlooking a beautiful lake and active volcanoes in the background. One evening there was a thunderstorm that came through and we witnessed lighting in the clouds below the elevation we were standing.  It was awe inspiring!

It takes a lot for us to be astonished.  To be greatly surprised, to be impressed, or amazed.  Jesus Christ is the only one worthy of following with our lives.  Jesus attracts us to Himself by initiating a relationship with us and revealing Himself to us.  The second part of Luke 5:1-11 gives us an example of what it means to respond to Jesus' invitation to follow Him.

READ:  Luke 5:8-11

We must RESPOND to Jesus Christ out of our ASTONISHMENT of Him!  As a result of Jesus initiating relationship and revealing Himself to Simon, James, and John through an enormous catch of fish they were all “astonished”.  The word translated “astonished” in verse 9 is from the two greek words “θαμβος” which means to be “alarmed” and “περιεσχεν” which means to “encompass”.  Together they mean to be completely overwhelmed with a sense of shock or fear.  No matter how astonishing of an experience we have had, there is nothing that is more astonishing in all existence than Jesus Christ.  There is no scenery, no event, no experience that can top who Jesus is and what He has done.

Astonishment is the foundation of our response to Jesus Christ.  Responding to Jesus is more than intellectual knowledge, but a personal experience with the God of the universe who initiates relationship with us and reveals Himself to us.

How are we to respond to Jesus taking initiative to reveal Himself to us?  One way we must respond to Jesus taking initiative to reveal Himself to us is by . . .

WORSHIP and REPENTANCE (Luke 5:8-9) – In 2014 our youth group went on a mission trip to Mississippi. The Wednesday night of our trip we were planning to go to the beach for a campfire, but it was raining so we were forced to stay inside.  Our worship and prayer time began with a “shout out” time when students had the opportunity to encourage others in the group.  I began our prayer time by saying, “we’ve spent a lot of time shouting out to each other this week, I think it’s only appropriate that we spend some time shouting out to God and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives.”  I gave a few more instructions and we began to pray.  Students began to pray and within a few minutes the prayers go very real and emotional.  Students were praising God, confessing sin, asking for help with struggles, and praising God for literally feeling His presence in the room.  I never looked at a clock, but I am confident we prayed for 45 minutes to an hour.  After I closed our time in a final prayer we gave one another a big group hug.  That night 5 students came to me and said they wanted to get baptized.  Within a 24 hour period, 10 students said they wanted to be baptized.  That night our students genuinely experienced worship and repentance.

As a result of Simon’s obedience they “enclosed a large number of fish”.  The fish were jumping in the boat like the lake was on fire and the boat was the only place of comfort.  There were so many fish their “nets were breaking”.  There were so many fish they needed to call another boat out to “help them”.  There were so many fish that both boats were filled and “began to sink”.  For a moment Simon forgot Jesus was even in the boat as he and all who were with him were “astonished” with the catch of fish they had just made.  I can picture Jesus in the boat watching as Simon is caught up in trying to collect all of the fish.

It’s in that moment of astonishment that Simon realizes that the reason they were able to collect so many fish was Jesus Christ.  In that moment of astonishment Simon responded with worship by “(falling) down at Jesus knees”.  In that moment of astonishment Simon responded with confession by saying “depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”.  In that moment of astonishment Simon recognized WHO Jesus was.  It was no longer about the fish but about WHO He was in the presence of.

Simon’s response was similar to a few other characters in the Old Testament . . .

READ: Exodus 3:1-6

God astonished Moses through a burning bush.  He was “keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro” when an “angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (God initiated).  At the moment that the Lord saw that Moses had “turned aside to see, God called him out of the bush” (God revealed).  Moses was instructed to take his sandals off because he was standing on holy ground.  As a result of God entering into Moses’ life and revealing Himself to him he, “hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God”.  Moses worshiped God out of fear and reverence for who He was.

READ: Isaiah 6:1-7

God astonished Isaiah through a vision.  In a vision Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting upon a throne . . . the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke”.  As a result of the Lord revealing Himself to Isaiah through a vision he said, “woe is more! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”. Isaiah confessed the sin of His lips out of being in the presence of the Lord.

If we are ever going to genuinely worship and repent of our sins we need to be astonished at who God is!  We can manufacture worship, we can fake repentance, but if it is ever going to be real we must have a moment when we are blown away at who God is and what He has done for us through Jesus Christ.  We will never fully follow Jesus Christ if we haven’t been astonished by God and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is the only one worthy of us following.

Simon’s initial response was worship and repentance, but there was one other response yet to be made.  Jesus did not just want a one time experience, a mountain top high.  Jesus wanted a long-term whole life commitment.  Another way that we must respond to Jesus Christ when He takes initiative to reveal Himself to us is by . . .

FOLLOWING Jesus with our LIVES (Luke 5:10b-11) – During my early teenage years I tried to live my life as a Christian (I wasn’t into drugs, alcohol, etc) but it was obvious by my priorities that I was into myself and not 100% on Him.  I loved athletics (played baseball, basketball, golf), especially the game of baseball.  I spent nearly all of my time and energy practicing or playing the game of baseball.  My dream for my life was to pursue playing baseball as far as my talent and my effort would take me.  It was my dream to one day be a professional baseball player.  That is what I wanted for my life.

But at the age of 16, during my sophomore year, God made it clear to me that He wanted me to LEAVE BEHIND playing baseball and FOLLOW Him with my whole life.  He made this clear to me through a man named John Cox who invited me to be a counselor at the Bible Camp where he was the director that I grew up attending.  John’s invitation led to a crisis of belief because high school baseball was during the summer.  Playing baseball and God’s will for my life conflicted and I had to make a choice which one I would do.  Although John extended the invitation, it was through these circumstances that I knew it was God who was calling me to leave everything behind that I had been living for and follow Him completely.  I remember distinctly feeling God saying, “you can either live the rest of your life for yourself or for me!”  I debated my response for a season and questioned if God knew what He was doing, all the while knowing what I should do.  I knew trusting and following God meant letting go of my own life and letting Him have His will for me.  Not knowing what the future would hold, or what the rest of my life might look like, I told God that I trusted Him and that He could do whatever He wanted with my life.  I gave up all of my own personal aspirations in life for His sake, I gave up my pride and confidence in myself and put my confidence in Him and decided not to play baseball and worked at Bible camp the next 4 summers.  I ended up going to Bible college and going into ministry where I’ve been for 22 years!

The purpose of Jesus’ encounter with Simon, James, and John was for much more than a momentary emotional response.  Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”  From that powerful moment on, their lives were to be different.  The text says they, “left everything and followed Him.”  This was a commitment that involved their whole selves for their whole lives.  They were no longer living their lives for their own purpose but for the purpose that God had for them.  As a result of their astonishment of Jesus, Simon, James, and John followed Him with their lives!

Verse 11 says Simon and his partners “left everything”.  Fishermen made a better-than-average income, so leaving their job is an act of radical commitment that they would expect to adversely affect them economically.  Stop and think about that for a minute.  Why?  These men’s livelihood depended on their nets, their boat, their being fishermen, and yet they were willing to walk away from it all in order to follow Jesus with their lives.  They understood that there was something GREATER than them, their livelihood, their identity.  Jesus was inviting them to be a part of the ultimate purpose for a human life.

Do we want to be living for the ultimate purpose that can be experienced in human life?  When we have been astonished by Jesus our life’s purpose changes.  For these 3 men For a police officer this would mean “putting people in jail for Jesus”.  For a teacher this would mean “instructing pupils about Jesus”.  For a doctor this would mean “providing the medicine of Jesus”.  When we have been astonished by Jesus we follow Him personally and completely.

CONCLUSION
There are many who have been astonished by Jesus at some point in their lives, . . . but it has faded.  You are no longer worshiping God and repenting of your sin.  John writes to believers in 1 John 1:9, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.  When we have a personal and powerful encounter with Jesus Christ, our lives are changed!

There are others who have been astonished by Jesus at some point in their lives, but you’ve never responded by following Him with your whole life!  In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”  Maybe this is the moment that God is convicting you of something that you need to leave behind and commit to living your whole life for Him.  Remember, He is the only one truly worship of following with your whole life!

Finally, there are some who have never been astonished by Jesus.  He’s initiated a relationship with you, He’s revealed Himself to you, you’ve heard the message that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, and rose again three days later in order to confirm who He was, but you’ve never responded with worship and repentance.  John 3:16 says, “for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life”.  Maybe this weekend is the moment that you have been astonished by Jesus Christ and respond with worship and repentance in order to be saved from your sins.

Jesus Christ: The One Worthy of Being Followed

You’ve heard of the story of the Pied Piper, right?  Does anybody actually know anything about the details of the story? In 1284, while the town of Hamelin, Germany was suffering from a rat infestation, a piper dressed in multicolored clothing appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the mayor a solution to their problem with the rats. The mayor in turn promised to pay him for the removal of the rats.  The piper accepted and played his pipe to lure the rats into the Weser River, where all but one drowned.

Despite the piper's success, the mayor reneged on his promise and refused to pay him the full amount. The piper left the town angrily, vowing to return later to take revenge. On Saint John and Paul's day while the Hamelinites were in church, the piper returned dressed in green like a hunter playing his pipe. In so doing, he attracted the town's children. One hundred and thirty children followed him out of town and into a cave and were never seen again. Three children remained behind: One was lame and could not follow quickly enough, the second was deaf and therefore could not hear the music, and the last was blind and unable to see where he was going. These three informed the villagers of what had happened when they came out from church.

What most people remember about the story is the irresistible attraction that the children had to follow the Pied Piper wherever he went, even to their death.  Obviously, the Pied Piper was not someone that the children should have followed.  There are lots of “Pied Pipers’” in life that we must resist following, but there is One person that we must follow in life.

READ:  Luke 5:1-7

JESUS CHRIST is the only one worthy of us following with our lives!  The greek word “ακολουθεω” translated “follow” means to “go behind”, to “go along with”, or to “go in the same way/direction”.  The childhood game of follow the leader is really a pretty good example of what it means to follow Jesus.  We copy or emulate His movements.  We reduplicate the places He goes and the things He does.  Jesus invitation to follow is much more than a physical game of follow the leader, but an invitation to get close to Him, to get near to Him, and to imitate His life.

There are a number of people and things that we can follow after in life.  Some of us are following after popularity, we simply copy or emulate the clothing, the hair style, the lifestyle of the most recent fad in an effort to get as many people as possible to like us and want to be our friend.  Some of us are following after achievement or success, we copy or emulate our favorite athlete, musician, or artist in an effort to get others to acknowledge the greatness of your accomplishment.  Some of us are following after security, we work hard, make money, buy nice things in order to feel safe or important.  These are things, that at least at this stage of our lives, we are depended on, they are the oxygen we breathe in order to be alive and have purpose.  Are these things that we are following after worthy of our lives?  I would suggest that there is ONE THING, ONE PERSON, that is worthy of our following with our lives.  Whatever it is that we are following is a gigantic waste of time compared to following Jesus Christ . . .

Jesus does some specific things in His relationship with Simon, James, and John that can help us see why He is worthy of us following Him and understand how He relates with us.  What is it that Jesus Christ does to attract us to follow Him?

Jesus INITIATES (Luke 5:3-5) – The word initiate means to “cause a process to begin”.  To take initiative means to make the first move, to move from a state of doing nothing to a state of doing something.  Taking initiative is important in almost every area of life.  We need to take initiate in our school work, we need to take initiative in our job, we need to take initiative in relationships, we need to take initiative in order to learn any new skill.  We cannot just wait for things to happen or nothing will ever happen.  We cannot just sit back and hope that things will get accomplished or nothing will ever get accomplished.  Being an initiator is extremely important in life.

When it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ, He is the one who takes initiative.  We are not the initiator of our relationship with God, He is.  Colossians 1:16-19 explains how Jesus Christ is the initiator of all initiators, “by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together . . . in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through the blood of His cross.”  What does all of that mean?  Jesus is the beginner, the starter, the initiator of everything in all existence.  Nothing in all existence exists or comes about without His initiation!  Jesus is the initiator on a massive universal scale and He is the initiator on a more minor, but no less significant, scale.  Jesus, the Creator and Initiator of the universe, takes the initiative to come to the worksite of 3 professional fisherman, Simon, James, and John.  Very simply, He shows up in their real lives.  Obviously, fishing was these 3 mens’ occupation.  They probably went fishing 6 days a week to provide for themselves and their family.  Fishing was important!  On this particular day when Jesus shows up they had been “toiling all night” and caught “nothing”.  Do you think these guys were in a good mood?  Do you think they were No way.  No fish.  No income.  No food.  Exhausted.  Frustrated.  Disappointed.  Jesus shows u

Interestingly, this wasn’t their first interaction with Jesus.  The night before, Jesus had been at Simon’s house.  Luke 5:38-39 says, “Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to Him on her behalf.  And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them”.  Not sure how many other interactions Jesus had with Simon and the other 2 men, but the point is . . . Jesus showed up in their real lives.

One final observation, in both of these instances Jesus shows up in the midst of difficult and hardship.  First when Simon’s mother-in-law was ill and second when they’d had an unproductive night of fishing.  In a few moments when these men were scared and anxious, Jesus takes initiative and shows up in their lives.

Jesus is the one who takes initiative to relate with us, not us!  Jesus jumps into the boat of our lives and relates with us.  Jesus often initiates relationship with us in moments of difficulty and hardship.  In moments of difficulty and hardship we tend to respond in one of two ways 1) we blame/reject God and turn away from Him or 2) we embrace God and turn toward Him.  Times of difficulty and hardship are crucial moments in our lives, they are moments when God initiates relationship with us.

What difficulty and hardship have you experienced?  Who in your life has experienced hardship or difficulty?  In those moments when we experience hardship and difficulty we need to look for Jesus Christ because we can be confident that He is doing something to take initiative and show up in our lives.

A second thing that Jesus does to attract us to follow Him is . . .

Jesus REVEALS (Luke 5:6-7) – One thing that makes Christianity distinct from other religions is the fact that God has revealed Himself in the flesh.  No other religion claims what we celebrate on December 25, Immanuel (God with us).  In all other major religions God reveals Himself through a prophet, enlightenment, or rational thought.  John 1:14 says, “(Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us”.    Hebrews 1:3 says that, “(Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”  When we look at Jesus Christ, we are looking at God.

READ:  Romans 1:16-20

The gospel, the message of Jesus Christ, reveals to us the righteousness of God.  In verses 16-17 Paul says he is, “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed”.  The gospel is the good news of the historical reality of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.  God revealed His righteous character . . . His perfection, His power, His holiness, His love, His grace, His mercy, His compassion, His glory, through the person of Jesus Christ.  None of us can make the excuse that God is unknowable, we have seen Him in the testimony of the incarnate Christ in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Another way that God reveals Himself to us is through creation.  According to Romans what can be “known” about God is “plain” to us because God has “shown it to (us)”.  God made known his “invisible attributes” (things we cannot perceive or see) through the “creation of the world” (something we can “clearly perceive” and see)!  When we consider any aspect of creation we are taking a glimpse into God’s “eternal power” and “divine nature”!  Since we all have access to observe creation, we are without excuse, God’s amazing creation is sufficient evidence of His reality.

Jesus revealed Himself to Simon, James, and John by asking them to trust Him with something important in their lives.  Simon, James, and John were professional fisherman and they had been fishing all night and caught nothing.  It would have made more sense that these men would have rejected Jesus request to “put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”.  Instead of arguing, debating, or flat our saying “no thanks” Simon was obedient and trusted Jesus Christ with the request.  The men were probably tired, they were probably almost done with the clean-up process, and yet they head back out onto the water and trusted His “word”.  As a result of their trust and obedience God revealed Himself to them in a miraculously powerful way.

If we will trust God in moments of hardship and difficulty and be obedient to what it is He is leading us to do we will get to experience the miraculous power of God in our lives!  God is not going to force His way into relationship with us.  We must respond with some level of belief in order to experience a fuller revelation of Himself that He wants to give us.  No matter how difficult or how hard our lives might be, we must be willing to trust God, to be obedient, and when we do, He will reveal Himself to us in new and powerful ways that will inspire us to follow Him with our whole lives.

CONCLUSION
Satan and His power within the world is like the “pied piper” who entices us to follow Him with our lives.  If he can get us to follow ANYTHING, worship ANYTHING other than Jesus Christ, he wins.  We must see through Satan’s deception and see the truth of who Jesus is and be willing to leave behind anything and everything this world has to offer and follow Him!  When we have a personal and powerful encounter with Jesus Christ, our lives are changed!

Jesus Christ is the One in all existence worthy of following.  Satan will do his best to tempt us with other people and things, but there is only One worth abandoning everything, giving up everything, sacrificing everything to follow, and that is Jesus Christ.  Unlike the Pied, Piper, Jesus Christ is no mythical character that we learn a moral lesson from.  He is the real God of the universe who has taken the initiative to reveal Himself to each and every one of us.  There is no doubt that He alone is worthy of being followed!

The Walk of Prayer

Human beings are communicating constantly!  We communicate with parents, siblings, friends, neighbors, teachers, even random strangers, etc.  Except when we are on our phones, we are constantly communicating with others in relationship.  We communicate by asking lots of questions . . . How are you doing? What are you doing this weekend?  We communicate lots of emotions . . . uugggh, happiness, sadness, excitement, frustration, anger, confusion, disappointment.  Every once in a while we will even communicate something thoughtful like . . . I love you.  I miss you.  Great job!  I’m sorry.  Jesus’ whole life revolved around relationship.  There is one particular relationship that Jesus made a priority of communicating with.  Who did Jesus regularly take time to communicate with?

READ:  Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35

Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires communicating with GOD through PRAYER!  The gospels record 33 different times when Jesus communicates with God through prayer.  Christ began His ministry in prayer (Lk. 3:21) and His life ended in prayer (Mk. 15:34-39).  Jesus prayed all night before calling the 12 disciples (Lk. 6:12).  After intense moments or days of ministry Jesus prayed (Mt. 14:23).  The night before Jesus went to the cross He prayed (Mt. 26:36; Mk. 14:23; Lk. 21:41-44).  Prayer was Jesus’ way of renewing His energy and determining His next step.  The more demanding Jesus’ life became, the more He prayed.  Prayer was central to who Jesus was and central to His being fully human.

TRANSTION:  Jesus Himself prayed frequently and He told His disciples the importance of praying as well.  In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, “whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”  In Matthew 7:7-11 He said, “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened to you”.  Jesus’ disciples knew that communicating with God was important to Jesus, that’s why they did not ask Jesus to teach them how to do miracles or how to preach, but instead they asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  How did Jesus instruct us to pray?

READ:  Luke 11:1-4 (cf Matthew 6:9-13)

PRAISE God (Lk. 11:1) – Prayer is simply an opportunity for personal worship.  Praise is an opportunity to make thoughtful statements to God.  To tell Him you love Him.  To thank Him for his attributes of grace, mercy, and kindness.  A time to express our reverence and awe for who HE is and what He has done in our lives.  Praising God is an opportunity to thank Him for all the things He has done for us from our physical life to our spiritual life.

Ask God, “What the PLAN?” (Mt. 6:10) – Prayer is an opportunity to ask and listen to God for His will for a particular need in your life.  Romans 12:2 says, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable, and perfect.”  God has a specific “kingdom will” for each and every one of our lives.  He wants His Kingdom to be experienced in and through us.  We should communicate with God concerning any and every decision we make.  There is no aspect of our lives that is too small or too big to not talk and listen to God about.

Ask God for daily PROVISION (Luke 11:3) – Prayer is an opportunity to express our dependence on God for what we need.  Whether we realize it or not anything and everything we possess is a result of God graciously granting it to us.  We don’t need much.  1 Timothy 6:8 says, “if we have good and clothing, with these we will be content.” There is a big difference between what we need and what we want.  Prayer is not like a genie lamp that we ask whatever we wish and “poof”, it happens.  Asking God for daily provision is recognizing that God is the source of everything and we should be in constant dependence on Him for everything.

Tell God we are PENITENT (Luke 11:4) – Prayer is an opportunity to receive and give forgiveness.  To be penitent is to be remorseful or repentant.  1 John 1:9 says, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  As a Christian, sin continues to be a part of our lives and so repentance is more than a one time event when we come to Christ.  It is continually being aware of our own sin and God’s forgiveness that allows us to have an attitude of forgiveness toward those who sins against us.  Colossians 3:13 says, “forgive each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”  It is talking and listening to God that allows us to be right with God and be right with others.

Ask God for spiritual PROTECTION (Luke 11:4) – Prayer is an opportunity to ask God to help us avoid sin and evil that is constantly pursuing us.  1 Corinthians 10:13 say, “no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let your be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”  We do not have to give into temptation.  There is not temptation you will ever experience that God won’t give you the strength and courage you need to overcome.

CONCLUSION:
If communicating with God through prayer was a priority in Jesus’ life, then it should be a priority in our lives.  Life is full of demands that challenge our humanity, and just like Jesus, we need to communicate with God in order to gain the energy, strength, and direction we need.  How important of a priority in your life is communicating with God through prayer?

The Walk of Following

We are obsessed with following people.  We “follow” all kinds of people on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.  We “follow” our friends and family.  We “follow” celebrities and personalities.  We “follow” businesses and organizations.  We will follow people we don’t even know.  We spend hours looking at photos and reading posts of all those we follow.  Our lives are full of following individuals and things that we are interested in.  We don’t hesitate to follow anyone and everyone so why are we so hesitant to follow Jesus?

READ:  Matthew 4:18-22

Jesus Christ was way ahead of His time.  Even before the internet, before smartphones, before Facebook, before Twitter, before Instagram, before Snapchat, . . . Jesus invited people to “follow” Him.  Following Jesus is much more than keeping up with His status or His daily story.   Living life in the same way as Jesus did requires RESPONDING to His INVITATION to FOLLOW Him with our LIVES!  Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.  The invitation to follow Jesus is no casual invitation.  Following Jesus is not like social media where we observe or admire someone from a distance, it is entering into the same life as He lived.  The greek words “δευτε οπισω” together translated “follow” mean to “come along behind”.  Jesus invitation to follow was not physical follow the leader, but an invitation to get close to Him, to get near to Him, and to imitate His life.  For the disciples, following Jesus meant a dramatic shift in the overall direction and purpose of their lives.

What response does Jesus’ invitation to follow Him require?  Andrew, Simon, James, and John all did two things in response to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him.  This is how we are to respond to Jesus’ invitation as well.

Following Jesus requires an IMMEDIATE response (vss 20, 22) – Most of us want immediate everything, . . . except when it comes to making major commitments. When we receive an invitation, we wait until the very last minute in order to keep our options open.  We like to consider the possibilities before we go all in on anything.  If we commit too early, we might miss out on something better.  The disciples responded to Jesus invitation to follow Him “immediately”.  They didn’t wait for a less demanding leader, they didn’t wait until their life circumstances were more favorable, they didn’t wait until they knew all the details of what following Jesus would mean.  If they would have waited, they would have missed out!  At any moment we sense Jesus inviting us to follow Him, we must not wait.  We must respond immediately with our whole lives!

Following Jesus requires LEAVING behind ANYTHING in life that we DEPEND on (vss 20, 22) – We would be considered foolish if we just left things of value behind.  If we study at the library, we don’t just leave our laptop behind in the cubicle.  If we go to a friend’s house, we don’t just leave our cell phone behind on the counter.  If we drive to the store, we don’t just leave our car with keys in the ignition and walk home.  That would be foolish.  And yet, why would Andrew, Simon, James, and John “leave” their nets, boat, and father behind to follow Jesus?  Because they understood that accepting the invitation to follow Jesus was the most important, most valuable, and most meaningful thing they could do with their lives.  There is nothing in life worth holding on to if it means missing out on following Christ.

CONCLUSION
Jesus Christ has sent all of us a follower request.  Jesus didn’t just invite Simon, Andrew, James, and John, He invited all twelve of His disciples to follow Him and each of them responded yes with their lives. Jesus Christ invites all of us to follow Him.  The invitation is not an invitation to respond sometime in the future, but an invitation to respond right now today.  The invitation is an invitation that is going to demand that our lives dramatically change even if it means giving up something that we depend on in life. Don’t miss out on the most important, most valuable, most meaningful thing you can do with your life! What is your response to Jesus’s invitation to “follow Him”?

The Walk

What if for one day, Jesus became you?  Jesus woke up in your bed, wore your clothes, lived in your house, and assumed your schedule.  What if, for 24 hours, Jesus became you?  Your friends became his friends, your parents became his parents, and your teachers became his teachers.  What if for one day, Jesus became you?  Jesus had your voice, your hairstyle, you physique, and your personality.  What if for one day, Jesus became you?  Jesus faced your temptation, your struggles, your doubts, your fears, and your anxiety. What if Jesus lived your life for one day?

For all of us, it would be an understatement to say that those 24 hours of our lives would be very different.  It might  seem to those observing from the outside that an alien had taken over our body.  Our attitude and thoughts would be altered.  We would speak and behave differently.  Our priorities and schedule would be changed.  Most dramatically, our heart would be unrecognizably transformed. What expectation does God have for how we live our lives?

READ:  1 John 2:1-6

God expects nothing less from us than to live LIFE the SAME WAY Jesus did!  The word translated “walk” comes word from the περιπατεω which means to “live” or “behave” in a particular manner.  We are to emulate the pattern of living that Jesus exhibited during His life.  According to Romans 8:29, “those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (cf. Col. 3:10).  From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to use the Holy Spirit to transform us into people who are Christlike.  Christlikeness is more than an attitude adjustment or behavior modification, it is a Spirit-led way of living that impacts all of our attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions.  Christlikeness is a lifelong process and the ultimate pinnacle of God’s plans for us as humans!

What does it mean to live life the same way Jesus did?  There are 3 characteristics of Jesus’ life that we must emulate in order to become more like Him.  If we are going to live life the same way Jesus did we need to . . .

Live life using the same METHOD as Jesus (John 1:14) – Jesus’ method of relating with humanity was incarnational.  Jesus, God Himself, related with us by humbly putting on human “flesh” and “dwelt among us” (cf. Phil 2:6-7).  In order to be Christlike, Jesus’ method of being incarnational must become our method.  We are incarnational when we intentionally humble ourselves and enter into the world of others through relationship.  Jesus left the comforts of heaven in order to relate with us and we are to relate in the same way with others!

Live life proclaiming the same MESSAGE as Jesus (Matthew 4:17) – Jesus message was simple, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  Jesus spoke frequently about His relationship with the Father and the importance of believing in Him in order to be forgiven of sin and receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16).  In order to be Christlike, Jesus’ message of salvation must become our message.  Jesus proclaimed the message that believing in Him was the way to have a relationship with God (John 14:6), and we must proclaim the same message to others!

Live life with the same MISSION as Jesus (Philippians 2:8) – A mission is an extremely important assignment, an objective, or a goal to be accomplished.  Jesus mission in taking on “human form” was to “die on the cross”.  Jesus sacrificially paid the penalty of our sin so that we could receive the benefit of forgiveness.  In order to be Christlike, Jesus’ mission of sacrifice must become our mission.  Being on the same mission as Jesus means sacrificing ourselves for the benefit of others. 1 John 3:16 says, “(Jesus) laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers”.  Jesus sacrificed Himself for us and we are to live in the same way for others!

CONCLUSION
According to 1 John 2:5 “walking in the same way in which (Jesus) walked” is how we “know” we are in Christ.  We are in Jesus Christ when we believe that He is the propitiation for our sins.  Jesus walked through life in the humble and sacrificial way that He did because He loves us and was willing to pay the penalty for our sin.  There is no reason to try to live for Christ if we’ve never trusted in the fact that He died for us. We will never walk in the same way in which Jesus walked if we never put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Do you believe that Jesus Christ walked through life to the cross for you?  If we do, then we ought start walking in the same way that He walked!

In The Lord Strong

Our culture is currently in love with superhero movies.  All superheroes have one thing in common, . . . they all have an archenemy that they are fighting against including characters like Lex Luther (Super Man), The Joker (Batman), Red Skull (Captain America), Mandarin (Iron Man), Thunderbolt Ross (The Hulk), and Loki (Thor).  Archenemies are typically arrogant, greedy, and ultimately, for some diabolical reason, want to rule the entire universe.  Archenemies are opposed to what is good and right with no care or concern for anyone who might resist or stand against them.  That’s why we love superheroes, they fight against evil and do everything in their strength to stand for what is right and defend peace.

Archenemies are not just for imaginary superheroes.  All of humanity has a very real archenemy.  Who is the archenemy that we need to defend ourselves against?

READ:  Ephesians 6:10-20

In the Lord strong is our dependence on God to STAND FIRM in our BATTLE against the DEVIL!  Humanity’s archenemy is the devil or satan. DEVIL = A spiritual being who arrogantly OPPOSES God by trying to destroy PEACE with His creation (especially HUMANITY).  1 Peter 5:8 says, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  Deceptively, satan doesn’t appear in a form that is as ferocious as he really is, 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”.  From the very beginning the devil has been making efforts to create antagonism between us and God (Gen. 3:1).  While the devil has been allowed to have some power, God has provided us with everything we need to confidently stand firm against the devil’s schemes.  How do we stand firm against the devil?

We stand firm against the devil by putting on the whole ARMOR of God (Eph. 6:11-17) – All superheroes have a special skill, weapon, or armor that helps them in battle against their archenemy. Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s suit, Thor’s Hammer, Spiderman’s webs, Hawkeye’s bow and arrow, etc.  Without this equipment it would be dangerous for a superhero to do battle against their archenemy.  We too are defenseless against the devil’s attacks unless we take with us the spiritual armor and weapons that God has given to us.  A few of the armor and weapons we must put on to stand firm against the devil include “truth”, “righteousness”, the “gospel”, “faith”, “salvation”, and the “word of God”!  These are powerful spiritual tools necessary to, as James 4:7 says, “resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.  The devil is powerless against these weapons and armor, therefore, we should make effort to take them with us all the time, everywhere we go.

We stand firm against the devil by PRAYING at all times (Eph. 6:18-19) – It’s pretty obvious in the Avenger’s movies that all of the superheroes have a high tech device in their ear that allows all of them to be in communication with one another.  Communication together is an important part of them coordinating their efforts against their enemies.  After listing all the spiritual armor and weapons, Paul instructs those who are strong in the Lord to be, “praying at all times”.  Prayer is a believer’s unique ability to communicate with God and receive guidance and direction from Him.  We are not only to pray for ourselves, but for others as well, as we individually and collectively fight together against the devil.  God is fully aware of the activity of the devil and can give us important tactical information about how to defend ourselves and others against his attacks. Without prayer, we are disconnected from the Lord who is our greatest source of strength and might!

CONCLUSION
The devil’s evil schemes have eternally destroyed innumerable human lives since the beginning of creation!  We are the target of his attacks today.  That is why Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, in order that, “He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14)”.  We must not allow ourselves or anyone we know to be the victim of the devil’s diabolical efforts to destroy us.  We must “armor up” every day and be strong in the Lord!  Are you standing firm in the Lord or are you vulnerable to the devil’s attack?