Sunday, March 18, 2007
“Follow Me”
Text: Luke 9: 21 – 27
As we continue in our walk with Jesus, we paused when he suggested Come Rest Awhile, we where stunned when he commanded to Be thou clean. And now he pronounces for us to Follow Me.
Interestingly, when Jesus first pronounced to his potential disciples – Follow Me; they followed because of his personality. Listen what he says, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. In others words, follow my personality and I will make you a personality. That’s a significant point. When a person first comes to Jesus, they come because of his personality. Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart. They learn that he is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. They find out that he is the Lilly of the Valley. They feel a kinship to his being a rock in a weary land. As a result, when he stated to the disciples that he would make them fishers of men; they dropped what they were doing and followed him.
Thinking that he was the Messiah, men answered his invitation with their own perspectives of what following Jesus meant. There were some who felt that he would mount an insurrection against the military and political power of Rome. Some felt that he would topple the intransient power of the temple priests.
Still others felt that he had mystical power that would dominate the many practices of the day and win for them a place of honor within the social and religious system.
As they followed him they witnessed signs that supported there positions and reasoning. He transformed tax collectors into being apart of a benevolent society. He causes the religious leaders to reevaluate their positions within the temple. His popularity was spreading and very soon he would amass the manpower to mount an attack on the Roman system. For three long years they followed him, witnessing miracles, listening to his teachings, and sharing in the spread of the gospel message.
Following him meant that for some there business interests where suffering; for others their medical practice lost patients, and for others the community zealots lost active participation.
Following him, placed all of the disciples on notice that their lives had forever been altered. They learned about a place called heaven which was likened unto little children. They learn that the complication of the Mosaic laws could be reduced to two truths: love the Lord thy God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourselves.
They learned that love was more powerful than hate and that compassion was a greater force than violence.
They learned that you can experience true fellowship on a boat, in the valley or on a mountaintop. They learned that God had a son and that the Son and God were one.
Jesus poses a question to them. Who do people say that I am? Wait a minute, after three years, after the many experiences, and after forsaking all Jesus is asking the question: who do people say that I am?
I guess the inference is that if you don’t know me by now you will never, never know me.
Who do people say that I am? The answers varied. Some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah. Others say that the old prophets have risen again within you.
Well, who do you say that I am?
This question moves the reality of Jesus from a mystical, messianic, messenger into a compassionate, comforting, companion.
Who do you say that I am?
This is the question that each of us must answer in our own spirit.
Who is He to you? Who is He to me?
Peter jumps in and says: you are Jesus the Christ, the son of the living God.
Wait don’t tell anyone what has just been revealed. While I may be the son of the living God, I am also the Son of Man.
As the Son of Man, Jesus realizes that he will have to go through terrible times. The storm clouds are hovering over him. The thunder is roaring about him. The lightening is flashing over him. Over my head there is trouble in the air. The shadow of Golgotha’s hill is looming in the very near future.
Jesus informs his disciples:
I will have to suffer.
I will be rejected.
I will be slain.
But, I will rise again.
Jesus says to Follow me. He makes a significant shift in this pronouncement. While the words Follow me are the same as he uttered previously. They have a distinctively different meaning.
This time he is saying, instead of following my personality.
He is saying to follow my purpose.
In other words its one thing to say you are a Christian – personality. It’s another thing to be Christ-like – purpose.
It’s one thing to follow a personality; it’s another to follow a purpose.
A personality is temporal; but a purpose is eternal.
A personality is limited; but a purpose is unlimited.
A personality is earth bound; but a purpose is heaven bound.
A personality can be killed; but a purpose never dies.
Jesus makes that shift from follow me as a personality; to follow me in terms of my purpose.
He makes his purpose clear: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
We learn four things from his purpose statement.
1. If any man will come after me – means to be led.
Jesus provides clarity about what it means to be led. He challenges the conventional thinking that great possessions are evidence of greatness. He states clearly. What does it mean to gain the whole world and lose yourself. If you try to save your life for your own purpose; you will lose it. But, if you lose your life for my purpose; you will gain it.
There came to Jesus a group of people who did not want to be led.
They wanted to come with him; not after him. There is a difference.
He explains the difference. A man comes to Jesus and says that he will follow him wherever he goes. Jesus says, “foxes have holes, and birds have nests; but the Son of man has no where to lay his head.
Another man comes and says he will follow him, but first he has to go bury his father. Jesus says what appears at first to be harsh words: “let the dead bury the dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
A third man comes and says he will follow him, but first let him say goodbye to the people in his house. Jesus says to him whoever places his hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom.
2. Let him deny himself – means to experience dread
Every one wants a degree of comfort and security in their lives. No one purposefully wants to experience anguish, terror and distress.
And he tells a story about a certain lawyer who stood one day and asked what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the law? Jesus asks. Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
The question was asked who is my neighbor and Jesus tells him the story of the Good Samaritan. The essence of the story is that the Good Samaritan was willing to give of his treasure, willing to give of his time; and willing to give of his talent for a stranger. He subjected himself to the danger of the Jericho Road, subjected himself to the ridicule of helping a stranger; and subjected himself as a debtor to the innkeeper.
Jesus asks the question when you compare his action to the Levite who not wanting to stop on a dangerous road kept going with the Samaritan who was willing to experience a dreadful situation - who was a neighbor?
3. Take up your cross daily – means to be ministry bred.
We mistakenly attribute situations which may be burdensome as bearing a cross. For example, you find yourself in a unfruitful relationship and decide to remain in it under the disguise that this is my cross to bear. Or, you are encountering some difficulties, and you comment to your friends – this is my cross to bear. I remember a friend had an old car that would break down every other block. When I asked him why you don’t just get rid of the car – he told me that was his cross to bear. Wrong!
A cross is that which you take up to expand the Kingdom of God. A Cross is what you do to bring someone to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and to keep them in the fold.
A cross is not a burden or suffering for the sake of suffering. A cross is only what you do for Christ that lasts.
Taking up your cross means that the cause of ministry to others is bred in your spirit everyday. It means that you are willing to sacrifice for the cause of Jesus Christ.
It means that you are willing to deny the creature comforts of this world to insure that others have food, that others have shelter, and that others experience a better quality of life. Taking up your cross daily means that a ministry is germinating in your soul that will not allow you to rest until it is birthed and comes to fruition.
Taking up your cross means that ministry is bred in your spirit everyday.
4. Follow me – means to be word fed.
You will find in 11th Chapter of Matthew you will find a dialogue between Jesus and a woman. She wants to comment on his upbringing by his mother and called that blessed. “Blessed is the womb that bare thee.”
Jesus responds by saying that the true blessing is the one who hears the word of God and keeps it.
Until your faith matures from following the personality of Jesus to following the purpose of Jesus you have missed the meaning of discipleship.
Following Jesus means that if God has placed a divine assignment in your spirit. It really doesn’t matter what people think, what people do, or what people think. You only goal is to please God and not man.
Following Jesus means that the applause of the crowd is meaningless. What you want is to hear is Jesus say that you have been faithful over a few things.
Follow me – allow yourself to be led by God; understand that in this life you will experience dread; be willing to be ministry fed; and allow the word of God to feed you until you want no more – be word fed.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
