27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Luke 5:27-28 NKJV
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Today I want to start by sharing two illustrations to provoke some thought about Jesus. In the world today, more thought about Jesus and who He needs to take place. The best place to start perhaps is by encouraging a fresh and new thought among followers of Christ.
Illustration: But it wasn’t just his new message that made Jesus irresistible. It was Jesus himself. People who were nothing like him liked him. And Jesus liked people who were nothing like him. Jesus invited unbelieving, misbehaving, troublemaking men and women to follow him and to embrace something new—and they accepted his invitation. As followers of Jesus, we should be known as people who like people who are nothing like us. When we invite unbelieving, misbehaving troublemakers to join us, they should be intrigued—if not inclined—to accept our invitation.
Taken from Andy Stanley Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World, Zondervan.
Illustration: If the world is sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mat Tea Party. The world says, mind your own business, and Jesus says, there is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says, follow me and be crucified.
The world says, drive carefully- the life you save may be your own- and Jesus says, whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law and order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get, and Jesus says, Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under the cross than under a delusion. “We are fools for the Christ’s sake,”
Paul says, faith says –the faith that ultimately the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, the lunacy of Jesus saner than the grim sanity of the world.
Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner, HarperOne, 1992.
The problem with following anyone, a leader, a president, a supervisor, a CEO of a company or Jesus, is that people don’t often know the person, or anything about them.
People are often compared to sheep. Sheep follow the one in front of them. A flock of sheep often moves in various directions because they are following the sheep directly in front of them, and that sheep is doing the same thing.
People are similar in their direction. People will choose to follow people and when asked why, they are not able to provide an answer other than, “I am not sure.”
Jesus asks the question to His disciples “who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?”
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. Matthew 16:13-20 NKJV
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus inquired of His followers. Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:15-16). The Lord asks us the same question, but without using words. There are numerous alternatives, but let us consider three biblical realities:
We must decide what to do with that information once we know who Jesus is. Some may choose to disregard what they have learnt, but the reality is that we only have two choices. Accepting or rejecting Jesus as Savior is a choice; avoidance is a sort of rejection.
So, how do we welcome Jesus into our lives? We must believe in Him, is the answer. This involves having faith in Christ’s person, understanding that His death on the cross at Calvary compensated for all of our sins. This is more than a philosophical knowledge; it is a complete surrender to Jesus as the only one who can forgive our sins and thereby reconcile us to the Father. We become children of the King the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Christians must likewise follow Christ’s example. Allowing Jesus to exercise His lordship in our lives requires us to submit our will and wants to His.
Jesus is the Lord of Lords. Let’s take a moment to consider what it means to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord.
Though lords exist in some regions of the world today, the title is generally used as an honor, making it easy to forget what it signifies. Lords were rulers who possessed authority, control, or influence over others throughout history. Lords in feudal cultures passed their titles from father to son, and their followers were expected to obey their lord immediately and completely.
However, Jesus is more than a lord. He is the Almighty. He is Lord of Lords, Lord of Righteousness, and Lord of Gloriousness. As a result, He is the Ruler of the Rulers, not just one of the few who govern. Many people who came to Jesus addressed Him as Lord yet refused to submit to His authority. Calling Jesus “Lord” but allowing Him no influence over our daily actions is a deception of our spiritual existence. If He does not have supreme authority over our activities, from life’s big decisions to the smallest daily minutiae, He is not our Lord.
Only aspects of our lives can be brought into submission to our Lord…. We may be assured that we are in good hands when we surrender to His authority in our life. Our Lord is motivated by goodness and righteousness, unlike earthly lords who are motivated by greed and pride. Because our best interests are inextricably linked to His, when we do what He says, we unavoidably do what will lead to a more abundant life of joy.
Christians are also expected to worship Him. Our hearts and mouths should be overflowing with adoration as a result of His presence.
Last but not least, we must communicate the truth with others. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus urged His followers to proclaim the gospel of salvation throughout the world (Matt. 28:19-20). God has gifted us with easy access to His Word. We must determine if we will completely surrender our lives to Him once we understand who He is. He yearns for a close, personal relationship with you. The question is, will you accept His invitation?
There is power in the name of Jesus. The phrase “pray in the name of Jesus” is often used by Christians, and it refers to the practice of praying to God and asking for His help, guidance, or protection.
Two things about the death of Christ. The first was that since one person died for and in place of everyone else, everyone had died. What is this death at the end? Either the death they deserved because of their sin.
It’s odd how we often acknowledge that we take on too much, and try to accomplish things in our own strength, and need to rely more on Jesus. And yet we continue to do the same thing over and over.
The conscience is a divinely given moral compass that can be swayed by many factors, such as our background, experiences, and thoughts. What is important is the truth that one has to inform their conscience.
Life is rough for most people today. Just when we have hope of a life returning to normal, we are seeing things none of us have ever seen in our lifetime.
To grasp the magnitude of our deliverance, we must first comprehend where we came from. We are not exempt from the repercussions of our actions because we are descendants of Adam.
