I Have Decided
1 John 2:6
Introduction – Have any of you made any life decisions today? Maybe not. Have you ever thought about how profound a statement it is when someone comes to you and says, “I have decided…” About six weeks ago Chris came into our bedroom and said that he had decided to go to Northern Illinois University. That was and is a big decision, because whenever we make a final decision and decide to do or not to do something it is in light of all the other things that vie for our attention.
OK, maybe you didn’t make any life choices today, but what about the daily choices you were asked to make. Did you decide to follow Jesus today? Or have all the other choices that you have before you out weighed your decision to follow Him?
There is something that we need understand if we are going to purposefully follow Christ: Fellowshipping with Him is walking as He walked. Each of us throughout the day have decided whether or not we will follow Jesus. Tomorrow we will have to decide again, and then the day after that, and the day after that, and so on until we are face to face with Christ in eternity.
With that in mind—like it or not—the question comes back to you: What have you decided today? Can you honesty say…
I. I Have Decided to Live in Jesus
When we decide to live in Jesus, we are choosing to remain with Him, to dwell with Him, to find the source of our daily life in Him.
That perpetual presence of Christ in our lives speaks of the “relationship” we have with Him as Christians.
Paul told those gathered at Mars Hill in Athens who were ignorantly worshipping that “in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 Jesus is our life!
It is this life, given by God to us that defines who we are, and gives us the substance of our existence. We exist in Christ, and for Christ. John recorded Jesus as saying, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5
These verses clearly teach us that Jesus and Jesus alone is the one who gives us life.
Before we can make Jesus our life we have to have some strong beliefs about Him that we will not waver from. We have to believe that Jesus is God the Son born in human flesh. That Jesus totally paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross. That Jesus rose from the grave to give us life, abundant and eternal. That Jesus is right now preparing a place called heaven as
the eternal reward for all those who believe in Him.
That Jesus continues to make the offer of salvation to all people everywhere who will confess and believe in Him. That Jesus will one day return to claim His bride, the church, and will take us to our eternal home.
Do you all believe those things? Is your commitment to that set of beliefs causing you to unconditionally follow Him? Is your relationship with Jesus drawing you closer to Him so as to allow you to follow Him regardless of where you are and what you are doing?
Can we honestly say that we are living in such a way that as best we are able what we are doing is a reflection of our personal relationship with Jesus?
Al Kaline, was a brilliant outfielder for the Detroit Tigers in the 60’s and 70’s and is know a member of the baseball Hall of Fame. At the time of his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame he was honored at dinner that was attended by 2,500 people. After he was introduced with a long litany of his baseball achievements he came to the podium to a standing ovation. During the course of his remarks he said “There must be something more to life than this—chasing a lot of fly balls, getting a lot of base hits, and making more money than you can spend.”
Is your heart asking, “There must be something more to my life relationship with Jesus than this?” Maybe you have substituted involvement with a project called church rather than a person called Christ. Have you worked up this neat belief system that you can turn
to rather than entering into a relationship with the Savior?
There is something more than this, but we will never know it until we follow after the One who calls unto us saying: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
II. I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
This is the answer many have been seeking. “walk as [Jesus] walked.” This speaks of a decision that we must all make. We need to make up our minds and our hearts to follow Jesus. To walk as he walked means that He is your teacher, your mentor, and we need to go to school in His life and live as the Scriptures teach us He lived.
In John 13:35 Jesus said “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Make the decision to start following. Let your relationship with Jesus reform your heart so that
your beliefs about Jesus will bring Him to the center of your being. We need to stop being people who travel along with Jesus and become transformed followers of Jesus.
The decision to follow begins with…Opening the door of your heart to Him. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20
We associate this verse with the lost when in reality John is writing to people like you and me—the church!
Have we pushed Jesus off to a comfortable distance where we can live the way we want and not feel guilty
about it? It’s time to open the door and let Him in!
By pursuing Jesus. “And you will seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 Is Jesus the single passionate pursuit that defines all other aspects of our lives? We need to start pursuing Him in a manner that we might find Him.
By putting Jesus first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 First place means that He is head above all other things seeking our attention and our affection. That’s tough because when Christ is before anything—He is before family too.
By Being Where Jesus is. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24 One of the things that I find myself most guilty of is asking Jesus to follow me, and bless my work. We need to look around and see where He is and follow Him there. If we are going to be a follower there is no other choice.
By Seeing Jesus in People. Catholic nun Mother Teresa was once asked how she could go into the streets of Calcutta day after day and touch the lives of so many people. Her answer was “I try to see Jesus in the man who lays in the clutter. I try to see Jesus in the one who is dying with leprosy. I minister to Jesus.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
Jesus Christ is and was passionately addicted to people
It’s that kind of radical reformation that we need in heart and life to follow Jesus with no turning back.
Conclusion – Earnest Hemmingway was an adventurer, a real man’s man. Much of what he wrote reflected that adventurous spirit. But he tragically ended his life with a gunshot blast to his head. Most don’t know that Hemmingway grew up in an evangelical Christian home in Oak Brook, Illinois. He grandparents were missionaries and his father was one of D.L. Moody’s best friends. Hemmingway was active in the life of his church and even sang in the choir.
What happened? Maybe he stopped being a follower of Jesus. My point is that we all need to make the conscious choice to follow Jesus. Today, tomorrow, and every next day after you decide. The One who died for you is calling…“Follow Me.”
