Walking a Tightrope

[pray]

Start with 1 Cor text

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Cor 1:10-

“Not with words of eloquent wisdom, less the cross be emptied of its power.”

“Not with words of eloquent wisdom, less the cross be emptied of its power.”

What do we follow?

[explore]

Ultimately those things we follow - in real life and in faith - determine where we go and what we think and how we develop into the people we are.

That means, as long as we are following anything except Christ, we are emptying the cross of its power.

What do I mean by that?

Following people, or ideas brings division, it brings dissension, it brings divisive language, gossip, slander, and all sorts of behavior that would make people choose sides!

But Christ brings unity. Not because we will all think the same! But because we will learn to accept all things as being far less important than knowing Him.

[DFBC story...no names]

That is what happens when we follow something other than Christ!

[expand on reasons]

Our job isn’t to follow a cause, a tradition, a preference, a worship style, a social order or movement - our job is to follow Christ

Matthew 4:18–22 ESV

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

:

[read Gospel]

[read Gospel]

This is, in it’s simplest from, the job of all Christians. Our job. We are called to follow Him, no matter what we are doing, no matter what we want, no matter where we are. “Follow me,” Jesus says, “and I will make you (paraphrasing here) use your gifts, you jobs, your everything for me.”

I paraphrase it that way, because it turns out that Peter and Andrew had things they wanted to follow too. They had a life they were living. They had…

They had all the same things, relatively speaking, that we all have. And how hard it is to give it all up, and use what we have for His purposes.

That is the tightrope we all walk isn’t it? We have stuff we are doing, stuff we think God wants us to do, or to have, or to think, and then He comes along, right where we are and says “follow me.”

[pic of tightrope]

[segue to song I heard this morning…prompted the change in the message]

Some people long for a life that is simple and planned

Tied with a ribbon

Some people won't sail the sea 'cause they're safer on land

To follow what's written

But I'd follow you to the great unknown

Off to a world we call our own

Hand in my hand and you promised to never let go

We're walking the tightrope

High in the sky

We can see the whole world down below

We're walking the tightrope

Never sure, never know how far we could fall

But it's all an adventure

That comes with a breathtaking view

Walking the tightrope

With you

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between

Desert and ocean

You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream

Always in motion

So I risk it all just to be with you

And I risk it all for this life I choose.

That is the message, really of this text…

These men had no reason to leave immediately, but they did. They had no reason to follow Jesus! But they did! They had no reason to trust that this man walking by them could bring them to a life that was in any way better than what they had already cultivated!

I mean they were successful fishermen! They had everything they could ever want! A Career. Families. In a modern context, they would have had a big house, the newest devices, new cars, go out to eat every night. Kids were in the best schools, they had everything you could ever want.

And they left it all. They risked it all, just to be with Christ.

Church, today we all have to come face to face with reality. We have all that stuff. And what’s more, we have a Savior - with proof of His divinity! Proof of the end of all things from the beginning! And we have to ask ourselves if we are risking ANYTHING to be with Jesus!

After all, He calls us - right where we are in life - to come follow Him. To do our job. To use the skills He has already equipped us with to bring people to Him. Not to divide! Not to be able to say I follow this or I follow that. Not to act as if what we think or want is more important than what someone else needs! Not to forget that we are a part of a family that is called to love one another and honor one another!

We are all walking this tightrope together. And the more we divide, the more we let opinion or preference rule our hearts, the smaller that tightrope gets.

Our job is to use the gifts God has given us for His glory. Not for attention. Not for accolades. Not for anything that would benefit ourselves. But to quietly and patiently fish for people. To walk this tightrope of life with each other, and with our God.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

That is the power of the cross in our lives. We can abandon our wants, our selfishness, and come home to the God who is holding our hands as we walk this tightrope of life!

So follow Him home church. Follow Him - our everlasting God, our Cornerstone, follow Him at work, at home, online, in your opinions, in your actions, in your wants, and in your needs! Follow Him with all your gifts that He has given you! Follow Him to peace! Follow Him to joy! Because you won’t find those things in all that other stuff!

Church, we can’t follow Apollos home. We can’t follow Paul home. We can’t follow traditions home. We can’t follow a worship service, a song, our preference, our social groups - none of that will bring anything to our lives.

Only Christ can. Only Christ can hold our hands as we walk this tightrope towards our home. So take all that you are, all that you have and think; take it all and do it - do your job - and follow Him.