Fan or Follower, Part 4
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We are looking at what it takes to be a true follower, a true disciple of Jesus.
What is shocking is that When Jesus was teaching, we find that many of his disciples turned away.
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
As we consider this, I believe those “disciples” were not followers. They were simply fans, out for what they could get.
The question is, are we like them? Are we fans out for what we can get from Jesus, or are we followers who want to learn from Jesus, and do what He says?
What does a true disciple/follower do?
What does a true disciple/follower do?
Well, in wanting to answer whether we are true disciples/followers, we need to know what a true disciple/follower is.
Thankfully, it is not just up to us to figure out, or come up with a list of rules. Jesus actually tells us what a true disciple/follower is.
We have been looking at a number of verses over the past weeks where Jesus told us what it takes to be a true disciple, a true follower.
We read what Jesus said to a crowd in Luke 14, and what He said to His twelve chosen disciples on another occasion in Matthew 10. Let’s review the Matthew passage quickly.
“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.
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
From these verses, we saw that a true disciple, a true follower of Jesus will...
Love Jesus More
Love Jesus More
We need to love him more than others, even our own family, who would not want us to follow Him. We need to love Jesus more than anyone, including ourselves, to be a true follower. Loving Him more than myself, means He is more important. What He wants is more important than what I want.
Which is why Matthew and Luke both record the next thing Jesus said, which was about taking up our cross to follow Him.
We found out last week, that Jesus actually talked about true disciples carrying their crosses on yet a third occasion, as recorded 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.
Here we see Jesus starting with how a true follower MUST...
Deny Self
Deny Self
To Deny myself means to restrain myself from my passions, or what I want.
That actually is a logical progression, isn’t it?
If I Love Him More, I want Him more than anything else. I want to follow Him more than I want to listen to others. I want to follow Him more than other things in my life.
Therefore, I will restrain myself from the things I naturally want, or have gotten into the habit of craving. Sometimes, those could even be good things. However, because I want what He wants, sometimes I go without some of those good things.
Jesus actually set the example for this. He left His position in Heaven to come down here to Earth. Not only did He come to Earth, He gave up His privileged position as God, Lord and Creator to be a man, even to the point of being a slave, serving human beings!
He expects the same from us. He expects us to deny ourselves, even of good things sometimes, to follow Him.
He is the Lord. We are the slaves.
Prayer
Prayer
Now, last week, I mentioned how I find that in prayer, I often pray as if I am Lord, and He is slave. I had a couple people mention that to me this week, so I wanted to take a moment to quickly examine how we should pray since He is Lord and we are slaves.
First Jesus does tell us to bring our requests to Him. We will get to that later in John.
But, when we pray, maybe our prayers should more closely resemble the way Jesus taught us to pray. Turn to Matthew 6:9-13.
In this passage, I think we find the way to pray to Him as Lord.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
It begins by acknowledging that He is Lord! He is the Holy One! He is the One to whom we bow and worship.
What is most important is that His will be done. Not my will. I truly want what He knows is best.
I do request that He provide what I need for the day. He knows what I need, when I usually am focused on what I want.
His will is that I forgive as He forgave me. I need to repent of where I have forsaken His will for my own, and get back in line as a proper slave.
I would request that He keep me from testing, but no matter what, deliver me from the prince of this world, who wants to deceive me and lead me away from my Lord.
I can and should absolutely bring my requests. But the whole point of this prayer is to acknowledge Him as Lord, and get myself in-line with His will.
I encourage you to take this up as homework this week. Let’s all begin to pray properly, the way Jesus said, with Him as Lord and Master, and us as the slaves.
Well, back on task.
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
A true disciple or true follower loves Jesus more, and then denies self.
The next thing a true follower will do is...
Take up cross daily
Take up cross daily
This also flows from love, doesn’t it?
If I love Jesus more, I will sacrifice myself for Him.
Jesus also set the example for us in this, didn’t He?
We looked at this in Philippians 2 last week.
As I considered what it means to take up the cross daily, I thought of three aspects of the cross.
The cross is a symbol of:
Love
Forgiveness
Death
Love
Love
Please look with me at John 15:13.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Jesus loved us while we were still His enemies. That is why He died. He loved us.
Now, if we are true followers, we will love Him more, deny ourselves, and give up our very lives for Him!
That is what Romans 12:1 is all about.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Each day, we should offer all that we are and have for Him out of gratitude and love for Him!
We have a hard time with Luke 14:33.
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Am I really ready to sacrifice all I have, even my own life to Him? That is what we are called to do daily!
that is probably one of the hardest things a person can do. It is drilled into us, “It’s my life! I can do what I want!”
Though that is what we a constantly told, that is not the truth!
Remember, He redeemed us from our empty way of life, handed down to us by our forefathers, 1 Peter 1:18.
Jesus says, “Die Daily.” You life is not your own, you are bought with a price.
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
If I want to be a true follower, I have to remember He bought me with His life. I must die to myself daily, and give my all to Him!
This week, may our prayers, and actions be: “Lord, I love you. I give you my life, my possessions, my money. Your will be done.”
The cross is a symbol of our love.
So, I need to die daily, and love Him more, and love others. Remember, the second command flows from the first.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
We need to love Him, and love our neighbor. That requires sacrificing ourselves for them.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
The whole point of the cross is that we could be forgiven, and bought out of slavery to sin.
Forgiveness is not forgetfulness. Forgiveness is purposeful. Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness costs a life.
Two weeks ago, a number of us went to see the Least of These. This is the story of missionary Graham Staines...
At the end, Gladys Staines forgives the men who did this, and the man who instigated the killings.
I found this quote from Gladys Staines.
“I feel sad that I do not get to see my sons growing up. Christ has been my companion, but at times I miss the support of my husband. God gives me great support, and the prayers of people has been
a source of great consolation…It is Jesus who is the source of every consolation and support. God gives us the strength to be able to carry our cross and to live in
His will. Our life and our work here on earth has to go on according to His holy will.”
“I forgive the other, because I have first received forgiveness from Jesus Christ – I have encountered the presence of Jesus in my life and this is the spirit I share. When we forgive, there is no bitterness and we live our lives and continue the task entrusted to us – with His grace and peace… All Christians who have known the intervention of Jesus in their lives will have this gift to forgive and to be the witnesses of His peace and presence. Support them with your solidarity and prayers.”
~ Gladys Staines
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is costly. But is it required of a true disciple.
This is a daily dying to self, and our desire for revenge, our desire to make the other person pay. Forgiveness is hard. I don’t even like them because of what they have done… Oh… then I must not be loving them as commanded.
The cross is a means of loving and forgiving. I need to die to myself, and my feelings. I need to choose to love and choose to forgive.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Jesus died so I could be forgiven. He bore the weight of all that I ever did, and all that everyone has done. I need to bear the pain and weight of what others have done, die, and forgive. The miracle is that when we die and forgive, the burden is light!
But often, because of our flesh, this is a daily ritual. We must die daily. I forgive. I will not dwell on this. I will not hold this against them, just as Jesus does not dwell on my sin, nor does He hold it against me.
To take up my cross daily, is to forgive, daily.
Die Daily
Die Daily
To take up my cross is to love, forgive and to die.
To love Christ more, I need to die to myself. It isn’t about me. It is about Him.
To forgive others, I need to die to myself. It isn’t about me hurting them back, or protecting myself from potential insults. It is about loving Christ, loving others, and forgiving.
In both of these I need to die to myself. The cross is a symbol of my death.
But it is more than just dying to my love for myself, and my rights, or my claim to my life. It is more than just dying to my ‘rights’ for payback.
Ultimately it is about dying to my own sinful passions and desires.
The Bible has a lot to say about us dying to ourselves and our sinful nature and passions.
Listen to these verses.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
We were slaves to sin. Our way out of slavery to sin is death to sin. Dying to my old master of sin. Isn’t that what sin feels like? I have been getting angry, or gossiping, or slandering, or speaking in appropriately, or watching things I should not, or drinking or using for so long that it seems like there is no other way to live. It really seems to control me.
Jesus says, the way out is to die daily.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Our way to truly live, is to be free. To live by the power that God will provide through the Spirit.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I need to believe that He is in me, wanting to live through me, today. Surrender to Him is not something that is once and done. I keep reverting back to my own thoughts, my own ways. I need to purposefully, daily die to self, and allow Him to live in and through me, giving me the power to live a new way.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
I wish it was a once and done to confess and stop living for my own sinful desires and passions. Don’t you? However, as long as we are in this body, there will be those sinful passions rearing their ugly heads. It is like a garden. It needs to be weeded daily. Let it go for a few days, and what happens? They come back quickly, and overtake the good plants. We need to die daily to those passions and desires because, as the context says, there is a war between the flesh and the spirit. And the enemy doesn’t take vacation days!
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
I need to die to the world, and all the enticements it lays before me daily. Those enticements are geared to my sinful nature. They are geared to my self-gratification. Those enticements want to conform me to the image of the world which is all about self-love, and my rights, instead of loving God and others.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
What is in me that needs to die? What is in you that needs to be put to death daily?
If we want to be true followers, true disciples, of Jesus, we MUST deny ourselves, and die daily! There is not other way.
Am I a Fan or a Follower?
Am I a Fan or a Follower?
How am I doing? We have been looking at what a true disciple does.
A fan gets excited about what he can get. A follower focuses on Jesus.
A fan is committed to themselves. A follower is committed to Jesus.
A fan is passive. A follower does.
What does a follower do?
A follower loves Jesus more.
A follower denies self.
A follower dies daily, to love, to forgive and to put to death the passions and desires of the flesh.
Am I doing that? Will I do that this week?
Homework:
Homework:
Review: Matthew 10:37-39; Luke 14:26-27; Luke 14:33; Luke 9:23. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His word this week. What stands out to you most from these passages? How would you share this with someone? What does it mean to love Him more? In what tangible ways does that play out in your life? What does it mean to deny yourself? What does that look like in your life? Share what God is teaching you with someone this week.
Lord’s prayer. Matthew 6:1-13. What does Jesus tell you about how you have been praying? What needs to change? Take verses 9-13 and write out what they mean in your own words. How would you express these things to God in your everyday prayer life? Commit to praying this way daily if you are not already.
Love. Read John 15:13-14; Romans 12:1; Luke 14:33; 2 John 6. If I love Jesus, what should I do? What does it mean to die daily in reference to loving Jesus? What does it mean to lay down one’s life for one’s friend? Obviously, there is sacrifice to save another in a dangerous situation like a fire. But how do we lay down our life for someone we love without physically dying? How do we lay down our lives for Jesus daily? What are His commands? Do you squirm at Luke 14:33? I read in Kyle Idleman’s book something-to-the-effect that the more we try to work around what Jesus said in this verse, the more we may need to act on what Jesus is saying. If we struggle with this, maybe we are not really loving Him more? What do you think of that? Does that remind you of anyone that spoke to Jesus? Hint: He was rich, young and a ruler.
Forgive. Read Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25f; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13. Who in your life have you not forgiven? How do you feel toward them? They may have truly done wrong to you. We certainly sinned against Jesus. So, what does it mean to forgive as God in Christ forgave us? How can you be kind and compassionate to them? How can you do good to your enemy this week? Sometimes, following through with kindness helps when we are working to spiritually and mentally forgive (put behind) us, while carrying the burden and pain of what was done as we die to self and revenge.
Die. Read the following: Rom 6:6; Rom 8:13; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:24; Gal 6:14; Col. 3:5. What areas of your sinful nature do you still follow? What do you want that you do those things? What do you want that you think that way? We need to confess, and die to that sinful passion and desire daily to follow Jesus. What can you do in place of what you have been doing? What would be the fruit of the spirit, and what would it look like to act on what the Spirit is working in us?