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13 Sept: How Do We Follow Christ???
Last week we looked at why we have the Bible. Scripture itself tells us that we have these recorded words so that we can believe (and have eternal life) and for our instruction (to live a life which is pleasing to God. We know that in walking like the Lord we are walking in a way pleasing to the Lord. Jesus’ instructions for walking in His path is found in Luke 9:232 “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
When I read this verse the first piece that catches my attention is the idea of following Jesus. (I think most of us, having a Christian background, would want to say that we do in fact want to follow Jesus. We know that that is the expectation behind saying we are ‘Christians’. What does the word ‘Christian’ mean? It means ‘Christ-like.’ So, what does that mean???) Jesus gives us a hint as to what that means when He says that following Him means taking up our cross. If you remember, Jesus gave us some advance warning: John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage – I have overcome the world.” Considering the word ‘Christian’ which means ‘Christ-like’, if we are taking up a cross in order to follow Jesus that suggests to me that there may very well be some suffering that is going to be in our lives!!! But remember, Christ spoke to this “suffering” issue and offered us the encouragement that He has overcome the world.
So, if we are going to follow Jesus – how might that suffering occur? To get that answer a clue might be in looking at the life of Christ. According to Heb 1:6 God brings Jesus into this world and in Heb 2:7 we are told that the Lord placed Jesus into the womb of a woman (for a little while lower than the angels) to be born as an infant boy. Phil 2:7 “Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
So the first hint regarding our suffering is that we might find ourselves being humbled and be considered less than we might want to be. Isn't that the message in the Sermon on the mount when we are told to go two miles with the soldier’s gear or to sit at a table on the side rather than the head? Isn't that clearly the message when Jesus washes His apostles’ feet and tells them to do likewise. Consider Mtt 23:11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.” Lk 9:48 “…. For the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
So the first quality we see in a Christian is one of humility and service.
Continuing in our look at Jesus’ life we see His next appearance is when His parents are looking for Him at the age of 12 and finding Him in the temple: Lk 2:46,47 “then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” Answers??? At the age of 12 He was giving answers that amazed those around Him. Isn't that level of understanding something we should all be striving for? Not for the sake of pride but for the sake of knowing God’s will. Luke 2:40–52 records that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature,” showing that in His human nature He grew in mind and understanding, including knowledge of God’s Word. We see the fruit of those years when He resists the temptations of the devil by quoting Scripture. We see His knowledge and understanding coming up again in Lk 24:27 “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Peter speaks something about this knowing God’s Word: 1 Peter 2:2 says: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” If you recall Paul chastises both audiences in Heb 5:12,13 and 1 Cor 3:2 because they were not growing up in the knowledge of God’s word but were remaining as infants. And Timothy is instructed by Paul: 2 Tim 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
Remember last week, Scripture was written for our instruction – this assumes therefore that we are reading and following said instructions! 1 Peter 3:15 says: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”.
So the second quality we see in a Christian is being a student of the Word.
In continuing the examination of Christ’s life, the next appearance of Jesus is in Mt 3:13ff where Jesus is baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. To avoid examining a multitude of baptism examples in Acts let’s consider what happens with the Ethiopian eunuch: Acts 8:25ff – 34-37 “then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road and came to water, the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Apparently telling the story of Jesus includes the necessity of being baptized, and as Acts 2:38 includes – being filled with the Holy Spirit. We see the message of the Holy Spirit in a number of passages:
Romans 8:9–11 – If the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit; the Spirit gives life to your mortal body
Ephesians 3:16–19 – God strengthens the inward man with His Spirit so that Christ may dwell in your hearts
John 14:16,17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” Rom 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
1 Corinthians 2:12 “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
So a third quality of the followers of Jeus is being baptized followers and receiving the Holy Spirit.
After Jesus’ baptism He then goes out into the wilderness for 40 days and suffered His temptations by Satan. His wandering for these days sets the precedent for His life during the next 3 years. At one point He tells a potential follower: Mtt 8:20 “And Jesus saith unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Mtt 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” The rich young ruler is told to sell all that he has and then come follow. Where and why does Jesus have this lifestyle? Consider: Phil 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.” John 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”
Jesus’ homelessness reveals his sacrificial love and commitment to God’s mission. It set an example for His disciples to follow. He lived without a home base or possessions. This demonstrated his complete commitment to traveling, preaching, teaching, and ministering to people during his earthly ministry. Jesus denied himself and made sacrifices in order to fulfill his purpose. Jesus’ willingness to detach from material possessions reflected His strong faith in his Father. Jesus did not worry about food, clothing, or shelter as he traveled and taught God’s message, because he knew God would provide what He needed. This is seen clearly in passages like Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 12:22-31, where Jesus teaches his disciples to trust God for their needs too.
Like the rich young ruler, all aspects of this life which infer with our devotion and obedience to the Lord must be removed and forsaken. Mtt 16:25,26 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
A fourth quality of Christ followers is a willingness to give up any and all things that prevent our completing God’s work given for us to do (“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:19).
Jesus’ life of ministry comes to a close with His arrest, flogging and crucifixion. So the qualities that followers of Christ have are four-fold:
The first quality we see in a Christian is one of humility and service.
Jesus had to humble Himself to be obedient to His Father, even death on the cross.
The second quality we see in a Christian is being a student of the Word.
Jesus had to know the Word in order to know God’s will in order to do it. (not My will …)
The third quality of following Jesus is to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
It was the Holy Spirit which led Jesus (Rom 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”)
A fourth quality of Christ followers is a willingness to sacrifice to please God.
1 Peter 2:24 explains, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”)
6 Sept: Why Do We Have the Bible?
If somebody asked you what is the Bible supposed to do, I would say that it shows God trying to have a relationship with His creation – more specifically, His children.
You see that first in the story of the Garden where God would walk in the cool of the day and meet with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8). Then later (Gen 6) when the earth was corrupt and filled with violence God decides to remove it from existence, but finding favor with Noah (Gen 6:8) He guides him to build an ark and save Noah’s family with a remnant of the creation to start fresh. He also makes a covenant with Noah, and essentially with all of mankind, not to destroy the world again with water.
With the water receded and the ark emptied Noah’s children began to complete Adam and Eve’s purpose to be fruitful and multiply. From Noah’s descendants we next see God connecting with Abraham and promising to make from his descendants a great nation and to eventually bless all the families of the earth (Gen 12:2,3).
As Abraham’s descendants unfold the Scriptures tell of God’s relationship with Joseph, a great descendant of Abraham, and how He was with Joseph in all that he did. This leads to Joseph saving his family from a world famine and moving his family to Egypt where they become slaves there for 400 years. This slavery comes to an end when God comes into the presence of Moses in a burning bush and leads Moses in freeing Israel, Abraham’s descendants, from Egypt and brings them to the land of Canaan. This was the land promised to Abraham for all his descendants to possess. When Moses dies God transfers His allegiance from Moses to Joshua who then leads Israel into the possession Canaan.
In the course of the next few hundred years God guides Israel through its existence working through prophets, priests and kings working to fulfill His promise to Abraham: Gen 17:& “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.”
This promise is then repeated for Israel through Moses: Ex 6:7 “Then I will take you for My people and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” God again speaks to Israel through Ezekiel 36:24,26,28 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers so that you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
Eventually God speaks through Malachi 4:5,6 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
This ends the story of God working and guiding Israel in a personal fashion. The next ‘God’ event is prophesied by Isaiah - Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God’”. This prophesy is fulfilled 700 years later in the life of John the Baptist: John 1:23, saying: “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord’”
This message: "one crying in the wilderness" is a powerful biblical metaphor for a prophetic voice calling people to prepare for God’s coming which is supremely fulfilled in the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
The question we must ask ourselves is – what are we going to do with this book which we hold in our hands??? John 20:30,31 tells us: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Paul tells us 1 Cor 10:11 “Now these things happened to them for an example, and they were written for our instruction”. Paul then assures us that reading, following and implementing this book’s teachings into our lives is the right and only thing to do: 2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness – so that the man of God my be adequate, equipped for every good work.
With this information we must remember what the Lord told His disciples and what we have been told. In the 14th chapter of John we are repeatedly told what is summarized in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” The Apostle John affirms this: 1 John 2:3,5,6 tells us, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” “Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this (keeping His word) we know that we are in Him; and the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
And how is it that Jesus walked; how did He live His life??? Jesus answers this question Himself when He offers the prayer found in John 17: “ (1st) Jesus spoke these things; (why do you think Jesus spoke these things OUTLOUD? – in connection to our previous passages – it is spoken in order that it might be recorded for our benefit. In other words, we are hearing what we need to learn and understand.” “and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You”. “(4th) I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do.” (Remember last week’s lesson? We do our good deeds in order that God may be glorified. We see here Jesus stating that He has done the same thing. ) “(18th) As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” “(20th) I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word”. (We have all been sent out and given the responsibility to be ambassadors in the world – to be God’s righteousness in this world. Just like the Good Samaritan responded to someone in need by the Love of God so we respond to those who are naked, hungry, thirsty and even in jail.) Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We have all been told to love our neighbor and we have been given the example of the Good Samaritan to follow.
Verse 20 in John 17 continues the Lord’s prayer: “that they may may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (This is why we have been given the Hebrew 10:24 message to encourage one another to love and good deeds and we have been given the example in Acts 4 where the church is selling their goods in order to help those of the church who are in need.)
So why do we have the Bible???
We have the Bible so that we can know God’s will; the Bible shows us that it is God’s will to love us (John 3:16); the Bible shows us how we can respond in a way that is pleasing to our heavenly Father. John 8:31,32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The Bible shows us that if we are His disciples then we will have His protection (Armor of God – Eph 6); the Bible shows us that if Christ is in us then we will have an abundant life (John 10:10) the Bible shows us that if we are faithful then we will receive our crown of life when this life is over. (James 1:12). THESE are the reasons we have been given the Bible!!!