For our meditation today we will look at Luke 14:25, “Now a great number of people went with him.” (BBE)
There was a multitude of people who followed Jesus while He was here on earth. Though these people were from various vocations, they set them aside, to follow Jesus as He travelled and preached in various towns and cities. The reason for this was that Jesus spoke and taught with authority. Also Jesus did so many wonders and miracles that attested who He was, and the crowds followed Him eagerly to witness them.
The cost to follow Jesus
To such a large crowd Jesus looked back and declared these words as recorded in Luke 14:26, “When you follow me as my disciple, you must put aside your father, your mother, your wife, your sisters, your brothers—yes, you will even seem as though you hate your own life. This is the price you’ll pay to be considered one of my followers. (TPT)
A very surprising statement as generally, leaders want to have a huge following, and therefore they will only say those things that would appeal them, and cheer them on to follow. However, Jesus was forthright to pronounce to his followers that if anyone wanted to be His disciple, they were to have total commitment, failing which they were sure to flounder along the way.
Jesus did not say that they would have to literally hate all their earthly relations, but that they were called to love Him more than any other relationship that they held dear. Though there was a multitude that followed Him, Jesus was still looking for those few who were willing to be totally committed to Him.
There are many who claim to follow Jesus today, but the Lord is still looking for those few who are willing to surrender to Him. The reason for this is that Jesus wanted to continue His mission of saving mankind through these committed people.
In many occasions we find Jesus teaching his chosen twelve disciples, and training them in private. These He chose to be with Him so that after His resurrection they would proclaim the good news that there was no more need for mankind to live in sin, be crushed by its effects, and remain under its curse, for the Lord Jesus atoned for all of it on the cross of Calvary.
Let me explain this to you through an incident in the Old Testament.
The Israelites cried out to the Lord
We read in Judges 6:6, “And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.” (ESV)
The Israelites were opposed by the Midianites who were a powerful lot. Moreover, the Midianites belittled the Israelites and terrorized them. Many of the Israelites were filled with dread and hid in caves and mountains for fear of these Midianites. Whenever, the fields of the Israelites were ripe for harvest the Midianites would invade the land, and would dispossess them of all that was duly theirs. In the midst of such atrocities, when the people of Israel felt helpless and weak they cried out to the Lord.
There are many who are in such a state, and if we cry out to the Lord, He will surely have mercy and save us.
The great number that responded to the call
When the people of Israel appealed to God, the Lord raised for them a leader from among the people whose name was Gideon. He accepted God’s call to deliver the Israelites from this tyranny. As Gideon gave a call to the men of Israel to join him for battle against the Midianites, 32,000 men responded to that call. It was a remarkable response to his call.
Generally when there is something novel, many want to be part of it. When such a huge group responded Gideon was elated that he had a huge battalion who could fight and overcome the Midianites.
The group that parted out of fear
However, this is what happened in Judges 7:3, Announce to the troops, 'Whoever is scared or frightened should leave Mount Gilead and go back home.' "So 22,000 men went back home, and 10,000 were left. (GW)
God seemed to say to Gideon that while Gideon considered the outward appearance of the men who had gathered, God could perceive their hearts and He saw fear in it. God therefore asked Gideon to announce that those who were filled with fear were to leave, and go back home. It is interesting that 22,000 men left to their homes which left Gideon with just 10,000 men.
There are many who have decided to follow after Jesus, but sadly there is fear in many a heart. The fears are pertaining to their families, society, their future, their children’s future and the uncertainties of life. God’s word reminds us that perfect love will cast out fear. Do not be afraid for those are God’s word of assurance to those who are fearful. If we continue to live in fear everything pertaining to our Christian life, church attendance, worship, and this life of faith becomes a mere tradition. Let us claim God’s word to get rid of any sort of fear that may grip our hearts. If we too do not get rid of our fears quickly, we will find that these fears will surely cripple our lives.
Paul says it this way in 1 Timothy 1:7, For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control. (GNB)
Whenever we come to the Lord Jesus we will be transformed in many ways, provided we are willing to yield to Him. Everyone who came to Jesus experienced this transformation. The Spirit of God gives us power, love and self-control. Remember that God cannot accomplish anything through anyone who is fearful. We must be those who overcome fear, and claim the above verse for ourselves.
There are many elderly people who worry about what would happen to them in their old age. They are concerned about who will take care of them. Let me remind you that God will never leave you nor forsake you, and He has promised to uphold you with His righteous right hand. If we are filled with fear there will be no love, and vice versa if there is overflowing love there will be no room for fear of any sort.
Obey God implicitly
Now that there were 10,000 men Gideon must have thought he could use these people at least to fight the Midianites. Just then God gave another command to Gideon.
Whenever we decide to follow Jesus it is imperative that we learn to walk in obedience to Him without asking any questions whatsoever. There is no point for us to use our logic, and reasoning to find out if we should obey God or not.
When the angel of the Lord came to Mary, informing her about the birth of Jesus, though Mary was astounded this was her response, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.’ The response of the angel to Mary was that nothing was impossible with God. Even so when we obey God implicitly, we will experience the wonders and miracles of God in our lives.
At the marriage at Cana there was a wedding where the wine ran out in the middle of the celebrations. When the hosts were perturbed about this situation, since Jesus was invited the matter was taken up to Him. Jesus told them to use the water pots that were used to wash feet and fill them with water. The servants never questioned Jesus, but did accordingly and by them doing so, water was turned to wine, and the need was met bountifully.
In the Old Testament we read about the walls of Jericho which were immovable and unyielding in human perspective. God commanded Joshua and his men to walk around the city wall for seven days, and on the seventh day they were to blow their trumpets loudly. Gideon was a mighty warrior well versed in methods of warfare, but he set aside his strategies to obey God, and the result was unbelievable victory.
It is therefore important that though we may not comprehend all the God commands us to do, we do so, and thereby can experience God’s amazing victory in our lives.
God chose a small group for a huge task
The 10,000 men were then taken to the water, and this was God’s command to Gideon as found in Judges 7:5, “Gideon took the men down to the water, and the LORD told him, "Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue like a dog, from everyone who gets down on his knees to drink." (GNB)
These men were taken to the water front, and a majority bent over to lap up the water with their tongue, and a minority drank from their hands.
We read in Judges 7:6, “There were three hundred men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it; all the others got down on their knees to drink.” (GNB)
God again asked Gideon to separate this group of 10,000 and to choose just 300, who would accompany him to battle. The 32,000 were reduced to 10,000, and this was further reduced to 300. There were 10,000 who were all thirsty, but only 300 were cautious, and alert watching out as they realized that they were soldiers going into battle, while all the others were content to satisfy their thirst alone.
This reminds us that even after we decide to follow Jesus, the world will still draw us to itself. Though the desires of the world are strong, only when we fix our eyes on Jesus, and keep running this race can we fulfill the will of God in our lives. That’s what Jesus is looking for even today, those chosen few who are sincere and committed to Him. It is up to us to decide if we just want to be part of the majority who are satisfied that they go to church, fast and pray or be part of the minority who are totally dedicated to Jesus.
While Jesus was preaching once, there were 5000 men who heard Him, whom He also fed. Nonetheless, the once who devoted themselves to share the good news of the Gospel were just twelve men. The difference between these two groups is that the majority wanted to receive something from Jesus, and the minority who were zealous wanted to do something for Jesus.
The simple strategy
We read in Judges 7:16-17, “Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a burning torch inside it. Then Gideon told the men, “Watch me and do what I do. Follow me to the edge of the enemy camp. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do.” (ERV)
The weapons in the hands of Gideon’s men were a trumpet, an empty jar with a burning torch inside.
Have you noticed how sometimes the task given to us might be enormous, and the equipment in our hands might be meagre. We might wonder as to how we can do it, but if God calls us to do something we can be certain that He will grant us victory in that endeavor. We must understand that God does not need a huge crowd to accomplish His purposes, He only needs a few who are willing to obey Him, and submit to His will. With that small group God can accomplish great wonders.
Treasures in jars of clay
In the New Testament we can actually find something similar in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, “The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ. Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.”(GNB)
Anyone who comes to God will shine forth with the light of Jesus that radiates from their heart. This light, which is a spiritual treasure is hidden in this body of clay, which can easily be broken. Let us examine ourselves to see what we are achieving for the Lord. If the only thought we have is what we will get from the Lord we will waste precious years. There is still the minority who value the salvation and light that they have received from the Lord, and want to lead many into the Kingdom of God. The Lord lives inside of us, and it should be our prayer to yearn to do something significant for the Lord and His Kingdom. Only this will gladden the heart of God.
God used just 300 men to conquer the mighty army of the Midianites. We worship the same God today, and let us surrender our lives to God to be used for His great glory.
The question before us is whether we want to be in the majority who are always in need of something from the Lord or do we want to be in the minority who want to do what the Lord expects them to do, however challenging it might be!
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
