Followers Blessings – 1st February 2009 pm
Imagine for a moment that a highly respected corporate executive has phoned you and asked you to be his personal assistant. He has decided you would be the best choice to handle his business, you would probably feel honoured by such a privileged offer. Wouldn’t you
Most people would jump at chance to work for and serve Alan Sugar. They line up to get on his show, The Apprentice. Maybe it would be a privileged honour to work for a business executive like Alan Sugar.
But today I want to remind you that we have been called by Someone far greater than any business executive, God has given every Christian the job of serving him. There are certain spiritual blessings for followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
I. Spiritual Wisdom – Proverbs 9:10
Wisdom is God given. Knowledge is acquired by us. Wisdom is the ability to rightly apply the knowledge that we’ve gained to a situation.
You can have all the knowledge in the world – all the qualifications etc… But that doesn’t make us wise.
We increase our knowledge of the Scripture and then God gives us the wisdom to apply those Scriptures to our every day lives.
II. Spiritual Light – John 8:12
In the court of the women where Jesus was speaking stood a huge candelabra, the lamps would be lit on the night of the Feast of Tabernacles. It symbolised the Shekinah glory which had guided Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness. The Shekinah glory had also shone for centuries in Solomon’s temple, but it left the city before the Babylonians invaded and had never lighted the second temple.
Like the copper shields made by King Rehoboam to replace the golden ones that had once shone in the temple and were stolen by the Egyptians, the Jews tried to keep up appearances with a make believe Shekinah.
It is against this background that the Lord Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Light of the world. A glory and a light far greater than the one that had shone in the first temple was now here. However, this was another light that was removed from Judea and Jerusalem when the Jews rejected their Messiah (Matthew 23:38)
Haggai 2 6-7 tells us that this light will one day be restored to Israel but at this present time and in this dispensation this light shines in splendour in the church.
Light is a characteristic of God 1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
It was the first thing that God Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Jesus said, He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. Those who followed the Pharisees, the priests, and the scribes walked in darkness. Those who follow Confucius or Buddha or Krishna or Mohammad walk in darkness. The end of their road is the darkness of death.
The person who follows Jesus walks in the light, and the end of that road is the light of life.
III. Spiritual Guidance – John 10:27
The Bible reveals that there are many voices in the world clamouring for our attention:
The voice of man is easy to recognize. It is the audible voice of another human being, but be careful listening to this voice Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Sometimes the voice of man may give wise advice, but anytime the voice of man conflicts with the voice of God, you must obey God.
The voice of Satan was first heard by man when he spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:4-5). Satan’s voice lies, deceives, and always attempts to lead man into sin away from God. You can easily recognize this when you read of the temptation of Jesus by Satan in Matthew 4:1-13. You can read of the type of conversations Satan has with God in Job 1:7-12 and 2:1-6.
The voice of self is man talking to himself - have you ever done that? We can convince ourselves to do anything… The Bible warns concerning this voice of self: Jeremiah 10:23 O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
The Voice of God. Jesus said believers could know the voice of God and distinguish it from "strange" voices that give wrong guidance: (See John 10:3-5) We are compared to sheep. It is the characteristic of sheep not to know where they are going. They must be led. Jesus said He was the shepherd or leader of the sheep. He said His sheep would know His voice and follow Him instead of the "strange" voices of man, self, or Satan.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and concluded that she was becoming hard of hearing. So he decided to conduct a test without her knowing about it. One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room. Her back was to him and she could not see him. Very quietly he whispered, "Can you hear me?" There was no response.
Moving a little closer, he asked again, "Can you hear me now?" Still no reply. Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but still no answer. Finally, he moved right in behind her chair and said, "Can you hear me now?" To his surprise and chagrin, she responded with irritation in her voice, "For the fourth time, yes!" The hearing problem may not be with God not speaking but with us not listening!
What’s required for the best conditions to really hear the voice of God? What makes His voice relevant (a strangers voice doesn’t mean anything to me because it is not relevant) to me?
John 8:47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God.
John 8:43 They were listening to what he had to say, but they were not capable of understanding because they did to want to understand. Those who will not give room in their hearts to His truth will not understand His speech.
In the Old Testament God spoke at many times and in a variety of ways.
Angels - Gen 16 / Visions - Gen 15 / Dreams - Gen 28 / The use of the Urim and Thummim - Exd 28 / In symbolic actions - Jerm 18 / A gentle whisper - 1 Kings 19 / Miraculous signs – Exd 8 / A burning bush – Exd 3 / A donkey - Num 22 / A cloud and a pillar of fire - Num 9.
Today He speaks to us and guides us through The Holy Spirit Hebrews 1:1-3
The Bible 2 Timothy 3:16
IV. Spiritual Honour – John 12:26
Listen to that, the Father will honour those that serve Him, all of us who believe fall into the category of servants of God. The world doesn’t view it that way, though. The world teaches that servant hood, is below them.
A well known evangelist is introduced a lot of times with great introductions, some of them says he has this degree and that degree, attended this college and that college, honour this and honour that, but there is one particular introduction that he remembers the most.
He remembers it the most because, it exalted God, not him. A young man simply said. It is my greatest pleasure to introduce to you my brother, servant of the most high God.
What a Biblical, God honouring introduction… Servant of the most high God. And do you realize that every single person who is a born again believer is exactly that – a servant of the most high God.
The Bible calls us ambassadors, soldiers, servants, saints – but do you see yourself that way, or do you simply see yourself as a church member.
The Bible says you and I are servants of the most high God, I wonder if it has ever dawned on you how very important that title is. That God could not give you a higher honour, than to call you one of his servants.
He saved you with this idea in mind, that you would become one of his servants, to accomplish His purpose, His will, and His plan in this life. You may say who am I, I am only one, What could I do? Well everybody is only one. Maybe you’ve never given God the opportunity to find out what He would do for you if you just allowed Him to.
The highest honour God can place on you, is to serve Him. Preachers, teachers and missionaries are not the only servants of God, every single believer is a servant of God.
V. Spiritual Example – 1 Peter 2:21
The word "example" has reference to an original that is meant to be copied or imitated. We would all agree that the life of Jesus Christ is one that is to be imitated in a general sense. But this is far more specific than that.
In the Greek language the word "example" is actually plural. This is the only time in the whole New Testament when it is used this way. Not only are we, as Christians, to imitate His life generally (goodness, kindness, loving, etc.) but also in particular specifics.
Christ is to be our example in Suffering - In that He suffered at the hands of wicked and ungodly men for no other reason but that He was righteous.
Christ is to be our example in Submission - In that He submitted Himself to the authority of His earthly parents and to the will of His heavenly Father.
Christ is to be our example in Servitude - In that, at the Last Supper, He washed the apostle’s feet. In Matt. 20:28 He said, "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister."
Christ is to be our example in Sacrifice - In that He left His throne, glory, and position. So that He might offer His life as a sacrifice.
How would you describe a Christian? Saved (most people stop here); Baptized and a member of the church (some will include this); Go to church, pray, give money, Sunday School, teach, sing, visit (even fewer will recognize this).
Most people seem to think of the Christian life in the same way they might think of extras on a new car. The car is salvation. Baptism and church membership are the airbags (for safety). The other things are the A/C, radio, tilt wheel, etc. Consequently, the general idea (even among preachers) is, the more you do - the better you are. This kind of thinking leads people to believe that there are degrees of Christianity. The result is that everyone who is saved wants to wear the label of Christian, no matter how haphazard their witness.
What I’m telling you is that a person can be saved (believer) and even conveniently faithful and still not be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And here is the point -- THAT’S NOT O.K.!! How many claim true Biblical Christianity but have traded commitment for convenience, sacrifice for satisfaction, and service for selfishness.
None of these (commitment, sacrifice, service) will come until the heart is right. All the extras we discussed are great but they are of little value if the engine won’t run. There must be a sincere and honest desire in the heart to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
It is recorded 19 times in the four gospels that Jesus used the phrase "follow me". He meant for us to take note of His example and strive to follow after it. We are to be His copy, reflection to those around us. This is to be a voluntary following, motivated by the heart. It is possible to be a believer but not be a disciple as we will see in the next phrase.
"let him deny himself"
The point could not be any clearer. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ involves sacrifice.
"and take up his cross daily"
a. There is no excuse or justification for sin, no matter what the circumstances. There is only confession and repentance.
Notice that there must not only be sacrifice but what is sacrificed must be replaced with the "burdens" (cross) of Jesus Christ. In other words, what is most important to Him becomes what is most important to you. This is the difference between believer and disciple; salvation and service; convenience and commitment. It is only after all this that you may truly say that you are "following" after Jesus.
The question asked by one who is more concerned with his own comfort than with the cause of Christ would be, "Why must I suffer...submit...sacrifice...serve?" The answer comes back loud and clear...Because Christ did for you!
