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So That You Might Follow

I remember trudging behind my dad in the deep snow when I was little.  My short legs had a hard time just lifting out of the hole.  At some point he must have looked back to see me struggling because he began encouraging me and lessening the length of his stride.

We think of the gospel as only Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, but His incarnation and intercession are essential as well.  John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us ….”  There’s more than just His work on the cross and tomb; Jesus’ example shows us how to live our lives in the flesh (1 Peter 2:21-24) … and His footsteps are not always easy to follow!

I.  1 Peter 3:8-11.  We are called to follow Jesus’ example, but His steps lead through Gethsemane and onto Golgotha.  He did all that because of our sin and for our sin.  What a heavy burden it was to bear, and what a burden we too must bear if we truly place our feet in the deep depressions His feet have made.  But, we see the cross as God’s wisdom and power.

II.  1 Corinthians 1:18-29.  Jesus led by facing whatever challenges were before Him by faith.  He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly, and so must we!  Through that same lens of faith, the ‘nots’ see the world differently.  As Jesus’ suffering brings a blessing to us, we consider wise the things the world finds foolish and find a stepping stone in what the world considers a scandal.

III.  Acts 2:22-39.  Jesus did all of that so we might die to sins and live for righteousness.  Many choose not to after they initially obey the gospel by believing, confessing ‘Jesus is Lord,’ repenting, and being baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.  Faithful living, however, must characterize the lives of the ‘nots’ as all we have to boast in is Jesus’ faithful walk while in the flesh.

Obeying the gospel is an event; living as a new creation takes a lifetime.  Jesus gave us an example of how to do it.  The path is difficult, but He is with you.  Are you willing to follow in His steps?

 

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Where He Leads, I’ll Follow

In A Christmas Story set in post-WWII America, Ralphie swears while helping his dad change a flat tire but doesn’t want to let his parents know that he had heard that word from his father when his dad daily battled their ancient furnace.  Fathers can be a bad example or a good one to their kids; they are certainly always influencing and leading.  Our heavenly Father’s example is always good, and He always leads us in good ways.  Are you following where He leads?

I. Matthew 8:18-22.  As Jesus urges His disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee when the Capernaum crowd begins to press in upon Him, a scribe asks to follow.  Jesus tells him of the hard life that will befall those who obey the gospel (Ephesians 2:1-6) and don’t make this world their home (2 Corinthians 5:1-4).  But it is a life full of sweet promises as the title song tells us:

Sweet are the promises, Kind is the word, Dearer far than any message man ever heard; Pure was the mind of Christ, Sinless I see; He the great example is, and pattern for me.

II. John 13:12-38.  Another disciple coming to Jesus at the same time desires to follow Jesus as well but wants to wait until his father dies.  Jesus tells him that following Jesus has urgency and priority in life.  So much love did He have for the living that He doesn’t want us to die outside of Him.  So, He led the way for us to love others by giving us the example of dying for them (1 John 3:16-18).

Sweet is the tender love Jesus hath shown, Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known; Kind to the erring one, Faithful is He; He the great example is, and pattern for me.

III.  Matthew 11:25-30.  Peter state emphatically that he will follow Jesus even to death but is told that he will soon deny Jesus three times.  Actions speak louder than words, and Jesus’ led to the cross.  So, we have a traveling companion in our following so we won’t grow weary.  We can believe or trust or lean upon our Savior who leads the way (is the Way) to our eternal home (John 14:1-6).

List to His loving words, “Come unto Me!” Weary, heavy laden, there is sweet rest for thee; Trust in His promises, Faithful and sure; Lean upon the Savior and thy soul is secure.

There’s determination in the chorus: Where He leads I’ll follow, Follow all the way; Where He leads I’ll follow, Follow Jesus ev’ry day.  You may sing, “Where He Leads, I’ll Follow,” but do you?

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Let my teaching be incisive

  1. Help me, Father, to put people face to face with your Word.
  2. Make me a faithful proclaimer of the Good News.
  3. May I be an example, not a stumbling block, to others.
  4. Show through my life the blessed state of life in Christ.
  5. Keep me from speaking in generalities.
  6. Let my teaching be incisive, addressing directly people’s needs.
  7. Put people in my path to be reached by your grace.
  8. Prevent me from getting in the way of the working of your power.
  9. Give me a humble attitude, while showing certainty of my faith.
  10. Thank you for making me a part of your plan to save others.
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Immerse Yourself in Them

There are two ways to enter a pool: cannonball or creep.  Those who creep endure a slow, inch-by-excruciating-inch torture of cold water on their feet, ankles, legs, knees, etc. and usually complain loudly at each step of the way until they finally put their heads under and exclaim, “It’s alright once you get in!”  Those who jump right in skip the torture in a split-second shock … and usually splash (and annoy) those creeping in.

This is how it is with a living out of our faith (1 Timothy 4:15-16).

I.  Revelation 3:15-16.  We’ve all been around those who have truly realized the gospel, obeyed it, and then been “on fire” for God.  If we’re ones creeping into our Christian walk, then we might have even found ourselves splashed with a little more church or Jesus than we’re acclimated to.  Paul’s advice to Timothy is immerse himself into His Christian walk.  God does not like lukewarm Christianity!

II.   James 3:1.  Even the first duty of someone seeking to be a shepherd over God’s flock is to watch himself first (Acts 20:28-31).  That is Paul’s next piece of advice to the young evangelist, but it is not just for ourselves that we pay careful attention to how we walk.  We also are to be careful of what we teach to make sure that whether in word or deed we do all according to God’s Word (Colossians 3:17).

III.  James 1:2-12.  Anyone can do right as an event (even a stopped clock is right twice a day), but it takes someone truly committed to walking as Jesus did (1 John 2:6) to persist in living out God’s Word.  If we persevere, Paul tells Timothy that he will save both himself and his hearers.

This doesn’t happen by those inching their way into their Christian walk.  It’s time to cannonball in!

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Command & Teach These Things

Timothy was a young evangelist, and yet Paul told him to “command and teach” the things that he had been writing to him about (1 Timothy 4:11-14).  The bigger issue was how could Timothy (or us for that matter) be the kind of Christian that when he would command and teach that others would want to listen and learn?

I. 1 Corinthians 11:1.  The first thing to remember is that we are not asking others to follow the best version of ourselves that we can put forth.  No, we want others to follow us as we follow Christ.  So, Jesus is the example to others that we must follow ourselves, so that others in our sphere of influence can listen and learn from us.

II. Acts 2:42.  To ensure that our example of Christ is one to follow, we must be devoted to God’s Word.  We have the example of the early Christians who, among other things, devoted themselves to the public reading, exhortation, and teaching of Scripture.  When others we hope to command and teach see our devotion, then they will want to listen and learn from us.

III. 1 Corinthians 12:14-31.  The illustration of the church as a body with all of its parts working together and arranged just where God has placed them is a powerful one.  When others see us encouraging and ministering in whatever way God has blessed us to work for the whole of the body and not just ourselves, then they will want to listen and learn from us.

Whether young or old, rich or poor, educated or unschooled, God has a place for you and work that He has prepared in advance for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).  When we are about it, only then are we in a position to “command and teach these things.”

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Lord, Teach Us to Pray

As a teacher, I am amazed at how Jesus was a master teacher.  Without any training or degree from a university to know how to do so, He employed so many techniques to bring about the greatest retention of essential Kingdom concepts, such as prayer:

Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I. Prayer, Jesus had previously taught, was a private thing between the person praying and God.  It was not to be done as a show, but this is not what Jesus was doing.  A master teacher will model his teaching through his life.  His disciples either saw Him praying or just knew that He had been, but Jesus, though without sin and despite being God in the flesh, allowed them to see His example of constant interaction with our Father.  If He needed to pray in this way, how much more do we?

II. Knowing that Jesus prayed prompted the request from a disciple that Jesus teach them to pray.  Next, Jesus laid down the principles of good prayer, a mixture of ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Notice that Luke’s version is different than Matthew’s as it is not a rote recitation of specific words that tend to become meaningless babble after a while.  But, we and the disciples need to understand the types of concepts that should be included in prayer.

III. Finally, Jesus as the master teacher illustrates the concepts of prayer and the relationship between us and our Father.  There is no need to be timid when approaching God’s throne in prayer.  Because God is a good Father, we can be bold in our asking, seeking and knocking.  So pray!

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Eyes and ears

Lord, how much we’re affected by negative thoughts and worldly conversations around us! How badly we turn to bitterness, anxiety, resentment, worry, and selfishness! Renew our minds daily. Put the word in front of us. Remind us that we have every reason to rejoice.

Thank you for the gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ, meaning that we can enjoy your presence and blessing. Thank you for the gift of the spiritual family, who befriends us in Christ and prompts us to grow. Thank you for your gift of the Spirit, who dwells in us and produces that spiritual fruit which remains forever.

Help us to use our eyes and ears for spiritual gain. Help us to learn wisdom. Help us to see our neighbor’s need and hear the emptiness of his heart. Help us to speak that word of encouragement, that message of salvation, that he has yet to obey.

While the world rants about politics, corruption, and injustice, let us give example of righteousness, self-control, and honesty. Thank you for the possibility of doing this through your strength and character.