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Luke 9:59,60,57,58,61,62; John 21:19-23;
Revelation 14:4
Many people profess they follow the Lord. While some follow Him
aright, others do not. To hear the Lord say, “Follow me” is
a great privilege and call. The response of some is, “Lord, suffer
me first to go and bury my father.” They prioritized on personal
obligations, pursuit and goals before responding to divine imperative. Christ
teaches that we should place the spiritual above the mundane, divine call above
legitimate personal obligations and leave earthly concerns that conflict with
God’s demands upon our lives for others to handle. Out of personal volition, some
other people say, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest”
without knowing the full implications. They soon renege on their promise
because of their unwillingness to pay the accompanying price. “I will”
indicates readiness, decision, determination to follow the Lord and fulfil
destiny in spite of difficulties and challenges that may come. Not to sound
frivolous, we need to thoughtfully weigh the words we speak in the presence of
Christ. “And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me
first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” This
represents yet another of group who express their desire to follow the Lord but
prioritize on self or other pressing obligations above Christ. All who are
called or seek to follow the Lord but do not give Him first place in their
lives are not “fit for the kingdom of God.” The word, “follow”
is repeated in verses 57,59 and 60. Christ’s call and demand from everyone to “follow”
is ever current. This call is personal, pertinent and peculiar. Christ teaches
that following Him requires erasing every other person, programme, project and
problem competing for attention from the mind and concentrating on Him. People
who take the decision, possess the determination and maintain the discipline to
follow the Lord through are those who will eventually get to heaven. Following
Christ till the end is His desire, demand and declaration.
1. THE
MASTER OF TRUE FOLLOWERS
John
13:13,15; Matthew 6:24; Luke 6:40; 2 Timothy 2:19-21; Exodus 21:1-6.
“Ye call me
Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.” Jesus is our
Master. Every believer must acknowledge
Him as his only Master who has no rival. Accepting Jesus as Master comes with
obligation: “that ye should do as I have done to you.” As our
Master and Model, we are to live like Him, obey Him in all things and serve
Him. No true believer can serve two masters at the same time. Two masters will
have conflicting perspectives, understanding, approaches, outlooks, worldviews
and projects. It is literally impossible to obey two masters. With Jesus as our
Saviour, Lord and Master, we cannot belong to two religions at the same time.
Neither can we take money, man, Satan or society to be our master. Our resolve
will be to follow, live, walk, pray, think and act like Jesus. Our yardstick
for decision on any issue regarding our faith will be, “what would Jesus do?”
Having been cleansed, “sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and
prepared unto every good work”, we will continue to “follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a
pure heart”. The covenant between us and the Master will
generate commitment from us towards Him. To own Christ as a loving Master who
gave us salvation, healing, deliverance and entitlement to heaven will lead to
reciprocal bonding to Him. While those who backslide lose all the privileges
and blessings they receive from the Master, believers who cleave to Him bear
the marks of divine ownership.
2. THE
MARKS OF TRUE FOLLOWERS
Matthew
16:24; Luke 9:23; John 8:12;12:24-26; Hebrews 12:14.
“Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF....”
Self and the Saviour are opposed to each other. Self with the flesh make unholy
demands for cigarette, alcohol, hard drugs, sinful pleasures/dresses and other
things that Christ disapproves of. True followers of Christ do not give to self
the things their Master hates and rejects; they will not accept worldly
dressing God forbids (Deuteronomy 22:5). People who claim to follow the Master
but live careless and indulgent lives are not true followers of His. God does
not have a separate Bible and lower standard for any indulgent group of people.
“And he said to them ALL, If any man will come after me, let him ... TAKE
UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and follow me.” Opposition, contradiction and
persecution with which unbelievers intend to crush our determination to follow
the Lord bring pressure, burden and pain to us. This is the cross Christ
instructs us to bear as a mark of true discipleship.
True disciples of
Christ do not also walk in darkness. They do not participate in idolatrous
feasts, worship and cult activities because they are done in darkness. They
continually yield to the Saviour for transformation. Professing believers who
retain sinful characteristics, who are ruled by self, who are uncontrolled by
the Spirit and untransformed by the Word are not true followers of Christ. True
disciples continue to serve and follow Him; they have undisturbed peace and
transparent holiness that make them God’s living epistles. Christ is the Prince
of peace; all His disciples do “Follow peace with all men, and holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord.”
3. THE
MINISTRY OF TRUE FOLLOWERS
Acts 6:4; 20:24; 2
Timothy 4:2-5; Colossians 4:17.
Followers of Christ
have a “ministry of the Word”. This involves ministering the word
of salvation to sinners and preparing believers for heaven. We must be dogged,
persevering and uncompromising to fulfil this ministry of the word in whichever
area we are engaged in the Lord’s service. In spite of temptations, trials and
challenges that may come, we are commanded not only to “Preach the word;
be instant in season, out of season” but also to “watch
thou in all things, endure afflictions...” Followers of Christ do not
become careless and frivolous but keep their gaze on Christ their Master. We
must follow the Master, possess the marks of true followers and get involved in
serving the Lord to receive full rewards in heaven.
Such a powerful word this week! I pray that as you take some time to listen that your soul is enriched in Jesus' name!
I will follow Master Jesus till the end in Jesus' name! Will you?
Be blessed!
-Charity
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