Fan or Follower part 3
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In John 6 we saw crowds seeking out Jesus because of the miracles He performed, and the way He fed the crowd of 5000 men, plus women and children, from just two fish and five small barley loaves.
The people were amazed and sought Him out the next day, because they wanted Jesus to keep providing food for them.
Jesus told them they should not be seeking food for their stomachs, or physical bread, but they should come to Him for eternal life! They should come to Him in faith to enter a relationship with God!
The people did not get what they wanted. They did not get another miracle. They did not get more food for their stomach.
We read the conclusion in John 6:66.
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
This is what started us looking into this fan or follower.
Most Christians would claim to be disciples of Jesus. We say we want to learn from Him and follow Him.
But are we followers? Or are we like these disciples, who were more like fair-weather fans?
The first week we dug into John 6 and saw that fans:
Focus on themselves - “What can Jesus do for me?”
Focus on their past decision to seek Jesus - “I believed.” “I prayed.” “I received.” “I asked.”
Committed to getting what they want
Lack action
We went on to contrast that with followers. Followers:
Focus on Jesus - “What does Jesus want?”
Focus on the present - “I believe!”
Committed to what Jesus wants
Act on their faith
We concluded that week, looking at ourselves, and asking God to reveal: What do I focus on day in and day out? Do I focus on some past act of what I did to be saved, or do I focus on the present, I believe, therefore I act!
The next week, we looked at how Jesus called his disciples to radical action! He called them to up and leave what they were doing, and to follow him… and they did!
Why? What would make someone leave their old life behind, and just up and follow Jesus?
I believe we see the answer in what Jesus said about being a disciple on two occasions.
One time, when lots of people started following Jesus, He told them exactly what He was looking for in a disciple:
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
That is some strong language. Jesus is really lay on the line what he calls a disciple.
Jesus said it slightly differently when talking with his twelve hand-picked disciples on another occasion. Matthew records it for us:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
What would make the twelve disciples up and leave their lives behind to follow Jesus?
They loved Him more!
The question we needed to answer that week was, who or what do I truly love? Am I more interested in pleasing my family, or Jesus? Do I love my own life, more than I love Jesus? Who do I love more?
Jesus says we need to love him more if we truly want to be his disciples.
We concluded the first two weeks asking questions. We claim to be disciples, or followers of Jesus. But are we really followers, or just fans?
The questions we asked should reveal the answer.
Do I focus on me and what I want, or Jesus and what He wants?
Am I committed to getting what I want, or am I committed to what Jesus wants?
What do my actions show about what I focus on, and what I am committed to?
Do I really love Jesus more? Or, do I love my life? Do I love my family more? Do I love what people think of me more?
Good questions that really point out if I am a fan or a follower of Jesus.
Today, we are looking at what it is going to take for you and me to truly be a disciple. What do we have to do? What actions does a follower do?
We can see this by looking at what Jesus said after He talked about loving Him more. These are the same passages we looked at a couple weeks ago, but we are moving on to the next verse.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Did you catch what Jesus is saying? What is required of a true disciple, a true follower? What we we have to do?
“...take up their cross and follow me”.
Last time we talked about how when Jesus says something on two occasions, we need to really pay attention. What is scary is that Jesus actually said this on three different occasions!
Luke records the other setting in Luke 9:23.
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Jesus said what it takes to be a true disciple on three different occasions. This third occasion is sometime after the feeding of the 5000, and before the transfiguration of Christ, when Peter James and John got to see Jesus in His glory on the mountain.
What does Jesus say it takes to be a true disciple?
Let’s begin by looking at the first part, Deny self.
Deny Self
Deny Self
What does it mean to ‘deny self’? Well, first let’s look what it means to ‘deny’.
According to the dictionary, if we ‘deny’ in this sense, it is to:
a: to give a negative answer to 〈denying the petitioners〉
b: to refuse to grant 〈deny a request〉
c: to restrain (oneself) from gratification of desires
Now, if we apply that definition to self we get:
a: to give a negative answer to self
b: to refuse to grant a request from self
c: to restrain oneself from gratification of your own desires.
Easy enough, right?
Deny Self?
Deny Self?
Well, let’s think about that. This really goes against everything we are brought up to believe and achieve.
Our culture is a culture that is completely, utterly caught up in ‘self’!
Our culture has always been about self, and continues to rapidly slip down the slope of self more and more each day.
It starts out simply when we are children.
What do you want to do today? What do you feel like doing?
How do you want that? With ketchup?
What do I want to do with your life?
As we go through life, this is fed more and more. Our lives revolve around self, and self gratification. Our culture feeds this self-gratification more and more every day!
Do what feels good to you!
Pursue what brings you pleasure!
No one has any right to tell me what is right or wrong. If it pleases me it is good!
It is my life, I can do what I want!
I want to sleep in!
I want to spend the day doing what I want!
Don’t tell me to clean up!
I’ll get to it when I want to! (And I likely won’t want to for a very long time… at least not until it is an inconvenience to me.)
Leave me alone, I want to have a break!
I want to spend the money how I want, for what I want! It’s my money. I earned it.
I want to watch this show. I don’t care what you think.
I want to look at porn.
I want some pleasure in life.
I want to forget it all.
I want to drink what I want, as much as I want.
Think about your life. Think about what you do each day. Think about what you do each evening. Think about where you spend your money. Where you spend your time. Isn’t a lot of it spent on what you want?
I read an interesting statistic. I am not sure how old this is, but at one point Barna research reported that 65 percent of 18 to 42-year-olds have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important. But then, the follow-up questions revealed that 77 percent of them believe sex outside of marriage is okay. 87 percent believe getting drunk is not a sin.
Somehow, we have gotten the idea that to be a disciple, to be a follower of Jesus means accepting Him as our savior, and then living for ourselves!
But what did Jesus say?
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Jesus said to be a true follower, we MUST deny self! There is not option. There is no try. There is no, ‘if you feel okay with it’. He says we MUST deny self!
To deny self, says I need to restrain myself from my desires and passions.
Yes, I desire to be the center of attention! But I need to restrain that!
Yes, I desire to be admired, but I need to restrain that.
Yes, I desire to be lazy, but I need to restrain that.
Yes, I desire to spend my money on my own wants, but I need to restrain that.
Yes, I desire to just get away from it all, through TV, or alcohol, or drugs, or whatever other escape, but I need to restrain that!
Yes, I desire to look at that girl, or that woman or that boy or that man. Yes I desire sexual gratification but I need to restrain that!
Yes, I want to spend all of my time playing the games I enjoy, but I need to restrain that!
Yes, I want to sleep away the morning, but I need to restrain that!
Yes, I want to spend time for myself, but I need to restain that!
Yes, I want to be in control, but I need to restrain that!
Yes, I want to be pampered, but I need to restrain that!
What is it that you want? Where do you want to spend your time for yourself? Where do you want to spend your money for yourself? We need to restrain that!
I need to start saying no to myself, and yes to what Jesus wants if I want to be a true follower of Jesus.
Jesus actually set the example for us didn’t he?
Look at Philippians 2 with me.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus' example
Jesus' example
Look again at verse 6. He was God. But He did not consider using that for His own advantage.
As God, what does He deserve?
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
He is worthy of being praised and honored day and night forever! He deserves to be shown the proper honor and respect He deserves as God.
In fact, as we go through the scriptures, we know that God does have desires! He desires to be loved, honored and worshiped as He deserves!
But Jesus denied Himself. He did not hang on to His position, His desires. Instead, He came to this world.
He went through birth as a man! He was born lowly, in a stable, laid in a feeding trough. Wrapped in swaddling clothes.
He could have stayed in Heaven!
Or, if He really want to come, He could have chosen to come into a wealthy family. He could have been born into privilege.
No. Jesus denied Himself. He gave up everything, to come as a what?
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
That word translated servant so many times in our modern translations is really the word, slave.
He came as a slave.
Does a slave think about his rights? Does a slave think about what He wants to do?
No. A slave does not have rights. A slave does not consider what he wants. A slave does what his master wants.
Jesus came as a slave. He did what the Father wanted. He served people! He served over and over again, even though they did not want to listen to Him. He served over and over again even though they rejected Him. Even up to the point that they killed Him, He was serving them, not thinking of what He wanted, but doing what the Father wanted, doing what was necessary for us to be saved!
That is the example we are to follow! That is the attitude we are to have. We are to consider ourselves as slaves.
Too often, we consider ourselves our own masters. But we are supposed to be His slaves. Look at Matthew 10:24 with me.
“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.
I like the first part of this verse. I like being a student and Jesus being my teacher. But the second part of the verse I don’t like. I don’t want to be a slave. And that word for master is actually the word for Lord. Is Jesus Lord, and am I slave?
I pray all the time saying Lord. But too often I am using that word like I am calling Him God. Lord does not mean God. Lord means master. But listen to my prayers… Lord, give me… Lord grant me… Lord make this work out for me… Lord…
I am actually talking to Him like I am the Lord and He is the slave.
But the scriptures are clear, He is the Lord and we are the slaves.
Did you know that the most common way the earliest Christians referred to themselves was as a slave of Jesus? Look at the introductions to most of the letters written in our bible, we call the epistles. The books that come after Acts. Actually in Acts, their was a demon possessed girl following Paul and Silas saying these men are slaves of the Most High God.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4:5 we preach Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.
They understood that calling Jesus Lord, meant He was the master, and we are slaves. We are to deny ourselves. Instead of saying I have the right to do what I want with my time, my money and my life, we are to say, I am a slave of Jesus. My time, my money, my life are His! I am to use them as He wants, and that is played out by me being a slave to others, like Jesus did!
We see that in Philippians.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
If we want to know if we are a fan or follower of Jesus, we can best see it in our relationships. If our relationships revolve around us, and our desires, we are not followers of Jesus. If our conversations are about us, if our time is spend on us, if our money is spent on us, we are following selfish ambitions. If we do not value others around us more important, we are not denying self. We are not true followers.
This is serious!
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
If we want to be a true disciple, we MUST deny ourselves. That is a first step.
We have been on this journey asking whether we are fans or followers. We say we are disciples of Jesus, but are we true disciples?
Do we focus on Him?
Do we focus on believing in the present or just some past event?
Do we really love Him more?
Jesus says a true disciple will deny self. Let’s look at our lives this week. What are our desires? Where are we spending our time, our money? What are we doing? Is it for our own selfish desires?
Let’s embrace being His slaves, and come to find out that being a slave to Jesus is more freeing than following our desires! Where my desires leave me empty and unsatisfied, Jesus makes me fulfilled. Where my desires leave me hungry for more, Jesus satisfies.
Where my desires leave me lonely and cut off, Jesus brings me near. Where my desires truly do enslave me, Jesus calls me brother and friend.
Let’s start denying self, and being slaves of Jesus this week!
Homework
Read Luke 9:23. Ask the Lord to show you what your desires are this week. Keep a journal of what you want through the day, and how you spend your time and money. Ask, why did I do what I did. Mark all of the times you did because you were fulfilling your own desires.
Read Philippians 2:1-8. How did Jesus deny Himself?
Read Matthew 10:24. The first part of the verse is typically easy for me to read. I am the disciple, Jesus is the ____________? But the second part I don’t like so much. I am the _____________, Jesus is the _____________. Sure I say the word for ‘master’ in my prayers all of the time. The word here is actually LORD. How many times do we call Him Lord? Do we realize when we call Him Lord we are acknowledging we are the slaves? Do we live as the slaves? Do we pray as the slaves? Or, are my prayers more like “Lord (though I mean you are the slave, and I am the Lord), give me… grant me… do what I want… Lord (though I am actually talking to you like my slave.) According to this verse, I am not above Him. I am the slave. He is the master.
Read Luke 17:7-10. Is verse 10 my attitude in life? Do I come to church to do God a favor, or because I am His slave? Do I come to church because I want to get something from God, or because I am His slave to serve Him? Do I go through each day for what He will do for me, or for what I am to do for Him?
Read Philippians 2:3-4 again. Whether I am truly denying myself to serve Jesus will often be seen in how I act toward others. Jesus said the first command is to love the Lord. The second comes from this, and is to love my neighbor. Jesus came to serve others. We are to be like our master and serve others. How am I doing in my relationships? Do I seek my own personal interests, or the interests of others around me? With my spouse? With my parents? With my children? With my coworkers? With my friends? How much of my interactions really come back to me loving myself, and thinking of my own interests? If I am truly a follower of Jesus, I will be a slave, looking for others’ interests, and serving them for Jesus!