Fan or Follower - What is the Difference?
John 6:1-29
Being a Fan requires nothing
Being a Follower requires heart belief
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Thank you Margie. We appreciate PASS and all they do to help protect the life of the unborn.
I am excited to start this new year and one of the things we are doing that is new will be to each month highlight one of the missions we support and keep us all better informed and mission minded remembering that sharing the gospel in both word and action is our mission as a church.
So be looking for our Mission Moments on the second Sunday of each month.
I am also excited for another reason this year.
The Bears are in the playoffs.
Chicago Bears Fan
The Bears have a bye this week so they will be playing either Seattle or Philadelphia next Sunday.
And being the fan that I am and I know many others are, we adjusted our time for the Back to Basics Seminar until 3pm or right after the Bears game so you would not have to choose between the 2.
Now, I grew up in the Chicago area. I saw the Bears win the Super Bowl in 1986 (25 years ago) and attended the rally for them in Chicago. Being the fan that I am, I loved watching the Super Bowl Shuffle with the punky QB (Jim McMahon), the Fridge (William Perry), Sweetness (Walter Payton), and all the others.
I am still a fan, though I would not go to another Chicago rally to celebrate them. I had enough of crowds in 1986.
But being a fan doesn’t mean I have to go. There may be times I do celebrate and times I don’t celebrate. You don’t have to do everything to be a fan.
Facebook Fans
In fact, registering your support as a fan of something is so easy that it only requires clicking a button on Facebook. When Facebook was becoming popular, they had a button called “become a fan.” Today it is called the “like” button.
You press a button to register that you like something.
You could register your feelings toward Hickory Creek by becoming a fan of ours or by pressing the ‘Like” button.
You can like or become a fan of almost anything on Facebook. If you go to my Facebook page you will see that I am a fan of Reese’s peanut butter cups as well as various musical artists like Jason Gray and Cloverton among others.
You can even register your support of Jesus by becoming a fan.
Now this is not a bad or evil thing.
It is certainly not wrong to be a fan of Jesus, but is just being a fan of Jesus what he wanted for us?
You see there are a lot of people who are fans of Jesus, who might even claim to be Christians, but the reality is that they are only fans and not real followers.
Definition of Christian
The definition of being a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, not a fan.
Jesus did not call us to be fans of his. He did call us to be followers.
Over and over through the gospels, we see Jesus say, “Come, follow me.”
Now as we read through the gospels, we see that Jesus did have a lot of fans;
people who liked a lot of what He said,
who liked to hang around him and see what He might do next or
how he even might feed them;
but we find that many of these fans were not real followers.
Transition
This morning we are going to begin a series called not a fan.
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The idea for this series comes from Kyle Idleman, a pastor from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky, and I think he has done a good job of capturing in a contemporary phrase what the church at large is always in danger of becoming, a church full of fans instead of really being followers.
I think it is important for all churches to stop and assess where they are and ask difficult questions that may make some of us uncomfortable.
Over the next 4 weeks, we are going to look at some differences between fans and followers and ask some questions of ourselves so that we truly might grow into the followers the Lord wants us to be and not just a fan.
So this morning, we are going to open our Bibles to John 6:1-29
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We are going to look at some of the details around the story of the feeding of the 5000, not so much the story itself, but I want us to consider the people who were there and see what Jesus had to say to them, and as we do that, I want us to consider why it is that we are here today, why it is that we come to church and want to be around Jesus and ask if we are fans or followers of Christ.
We are not going to read the whole passage, but just some of the parts that tell us about the people and see what we might learn. So let’s begin.
John 6:1-2
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1 Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.
Pause
Ok, Here we see that Jesus had a lot of people who liked what He was doing. The text tells us that there was a great crowd that followed him. Now they all were not followers, but they were probably all fans of His at this point.
Then it goes on and says
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3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
Ok, we see here that these are not only fans, they are hungry fans. Further on in the text we find that there are 5000 men along with women and children, probably close to 15,000 to 20,000 people that Jesus sees out there. That is a big crowd, that is a lot of fans.
That would enough people to fill up all the seats and half the lawn at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (the World Music Theater).
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But Jesus doesn’t just see a crowd of fans. He sees individual people who need a shepherd, who need a teacher.
The gospel of Mark tells us that when He saw the crowds of people
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“he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34)
Jesus recognizes that these people are only just fans of his right now, but He wants to teach them and help them learn so they will be His followers and not just fans.
He wants that for every person here as well.
No matter if you are here today and it is your first time at Hickory Creek, your first time hearing about Jesus and you really do not know what to think about Jesus or the claim that He really is God and that He died for your sins and rose again, that is ok for the moment.
Jesus doesn’t just look out and see people who are not his followers and turn away from them. No, He has compassion and he loves and cares about people, about you and wants to teach you and be in relationship with you.
So Jesus has compassion on the people and teaches them and even meets some of their physical needs by feeding them all, even those who are not his followers. (Matthew 5:44)
Continuing on in John 6:14 after he fed them, it says…
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14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
So, it is not Jesus’ time yet, but all these people who really like what He is doing and that He is providing for them, but don’t really understand what He has come to do, want to make him king by force. So he leaves and the disciples get in the boat and begin to go to the other side of the lake. Jesus joins them in the middle of the night in the midst of the storm by walking on water. He calms the storm and they arrive at the opposite side of the lake.
Now read along with me beginning in John 6:22
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22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
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25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
They are only looking for Him because of selfish reasons, for what the Lord has done for them, not because they believe that He really is the Christ, God in the flesh.
They are fans of what he has done, but they are not yet followers of His because of who He is. They are coming to Jesus strictly for what He can do for them.
Application
I am certain that among those here today, there are people who like Jesus, who are fans of His, because of what He has done for you here on earth or because of what you want Him to do for you here on earth.
Jesus did not come to make your earthly life easy or comfortable. He came to make a way for you to experience eternity with Him.
When we are only striving for things of this world and are treating this world as the end all and be all of life, we are seeking out things that are only temporary and will perish. That is what these fans of Jesus were looking for.
Listen to what Jesus says to them.
John 6:27-29
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27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Ok, so through this entire story and up to this point, Jesus has been teaching and showing compassion to those who were coming to see Him.
But we have come to a point where Jesus is basically saying to these fans, it is
Time to Define the Relationship.
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He is confronting them with why they are really seeking Him out.
And he is saying it is time to separate the fans from followers.
Bringing it to today
Maybe there are a few here who have been confronted with a “Define the relationship” conversation from a significant other.
For those of you who are out of college and dating someone, a girlfriend or boyfriend, as time passes, you want to know where the relationship is headed.
Is one of you just in it for the fun of going out or is it going somewhere?
Why are you in that relationship?
Jesus is exposing the reasons that some want to be around Him and is saying, you need to move beyond being a fan, beyond looking for just seeking to satisfy earthly desires and realize the truth of who Jesus actually is and become his follower.
Jesus did this with the crowd of fans here.
He does this same thing, this time of defining the relationship, with many people.
The Apostles
We see him do it with the Apostles.
They came to a point and Jesus said to them it is time to come follow me.
They had to choose if they were going to be fans or followers.
For Andrew and Peter as well as James and John, the Bible tells us that they left their boats and nets and followed Him. (See Matthew 4:20, 22)
We see the same thing with Matthew.
Jesus came to him at the tax collectors booth and said come follow Him and he left the tax collectors booth and followed Him.
They were saying, I am not in this for the here and now because if I were, I would be making as much money as I could, I would be enjoying the pleasures of this life above all.
No, they were saying, “I am in this for eternity, because I know who this Man is, He is God in the flesh, and He is the only one that I should follow and it showed in how they responded.
Application
What about you? Why are you here today?
Why do you come out to church on Sundays?
Just showing up on Sunday does not make you a follower.
Do you come because you like the people here and you feel good about hanging around them?
We see from Scripture that there were many who liked to be around Jesus and it made them feel good, but many were only fans. They even liked what he was saying, for the most part.
But, there comes a point that you need to have a “Define the Relationship” type moment in regards to Jesus.
Are you a follower of Christ? Or are you just a fan?
I will tell you what being a fan is going to require of you.
Being a fan requires nothing
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Oh sure, it may mean you come on Sunday and spend an hour at church singing, and listening, and giving a few dollars, but being a fan is going to require no change from you as a person. As a fan, you will be able to do the same things you have always done.
It doesn’t require that you serve.
It doesn’t require that you sacrifice
It doesn’t require that you care.
You come because you like hearing what Jesus had to say and it makes you feel good, like you are doing something to show that you are a pretty decent person.
Wait you may say. I thought the gospel was free, meaning it doesn’t require anything from us, all we have to do is believe, no?
I want to go back to what Jesus said to the crowd.
John 6:27-29
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27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
The gospel is free, but it does require that you believe in Christ.
Believing in Jesus is not some mental exercise of knowing some truth.
It is a real belief that has real effect.
Going back to our human relationships, we can be going out with our girlfriend or boyfriend, but if we really believe this is the one we want to spend the rest of our life with, we act in ways that are consistent with that belief, by proposing and getting married.
Being a Follower requires Heart Belief
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A heart belief is not just some knowledge of the truth of some fact, although that is included.
Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It is the realization that Jesus is really God and He is holy and He has made the one and only way for you to be in a relationship with the God of the universe and apart from Him you will get exactly what you deserve, eternal damnation.
Being a follower will cause you
to care about the eternity of the lost souls that are all around us.
to sacrifice for the benefit of other people
to serve in ways that will minster to the needs of people and
to help people hear the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done.
Jesus calls us to follow Him.
Are you a follower, or just a fan?
Now let’s get real for a moment here.
If we are honest with ourselves, we will recognize that none of us are the follower that Christ wants us to be.
Paul recognized that about himself as well. When he spoke with the Philippians about this life we are seeking to live in Christ’s power, he said:
Philippians 3:10-16
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10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
He is saying, I want to live my life like Christ completely. But he goes on and says…
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
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15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Being a follower of Christ is not about being perfect.
It is about maturing and growing and living up to what we have already attained.
As the Lord works in our life and reveals sin, or areas we need to grow, a follower will take those difficult and hard steps.
It depends on where you are in your relationship with Christ as to what those steps may look like.
To some it may be a step of obedience in baptism
To others it may be sacrificing significant earthly treasures for the sake of seeing others come to Christ.
For still others, it may be quitting some area of addiction or pleasure that is stealing your devotion from Christ.
The life of a follower should be marked by faith, hope and love evidencing itself through humbly caring about what Christ wants and about other people and their eternity.
Are you a fan or a follower?
Conclusion
Over the next 3 weeks we are going to look at some of the particulars of what it means to be a follower of Christ and not just a fan.
Maybe there are some here today who have today defined their relationship with Christ and see they have only been fans.
I say to you come and follow Jesus. If you are not at the point of making that decision yet, then I want to encourage you to be here the next 3 weeks to further see what Christ had to say and to respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
For those ready to be his follower as the Holy Spirit has brought you to this point, then follow what the Scripture says in Romans 10:9 and “Confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved.”
If today you want to be His follower, then pray with me now and confess your heart belief to Him.
Pray
