"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Tag: Disciple

Fixed Obedience.. John 21:15

 “‘So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?'”

Luke 14:25-34 clearly lays out Jesus’ unadorned, blunt definition of what being His disciple entails—at least in part. Bottom line—it’s sacrificial at its core. That’s not so surprising when we consider that we, His disciples, are the students of a sacrificial King. It would rightly follow then, that we too would be expected to sacrifice…

There is a moment after the worship has ended and the sermon’s been preached when emotions are running high. In researching Luke 14, it became clear that Jesus was actually thinning out the throng of would be applicants. He knew many were following on feet fueled strictly by emotion. Folks consciences have perhaps been pricked—they’ve been stirred. Moments later they are on their way to the altar saying yes to Jesus. Yes, I’ll follow you. Yes, I’ll do whatever it is you ask of me. Yes.

They say yes having no clue what saying yes to Jesus will actually cost them.

They failed to read the fine print on their application for discipleship. Often they are simply following  their feelings, or, equally, they’re blindly following another’s lead. They’d gotten caught up, as so many do, in the emotion and awe of seeing miracles performed—seeing friends and loved ones healed and, they wanted some of that for themselves. Who can blame them? Wouldn’t you want a healing if you or your wife, child, brother or sister, mother were sick? Yet, Jesus knew anyone who came after Him fueled solely by emotion would eventually die on the battlefield. Mortally wounded in the inevitable war waged against their pseudo-faith. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” 1 Corinthians 13:5.

Speaking the Truth in love He tells them this:

Here’s what it’s going to cost you to follow me; I demand your complete allegiance—your undivided loyalty. For some, following me will split your family, marriage, relationships in two. For others, not so much. Yet, even among those “not so much” there will still be moments when what I’ve asked you to do, where I’ve asked you to go, will not line up with the hopes, dreams, plans, or desires of those who love you. Those who think they know best. They will demand you follow their ways and not mine. Whose voice will you follow then? See here’s the thing, if it’s not mine, then it’s best you just stay in your seat. I get it, I do. I understand emotions better than anyone—I created them. Lived with them just as you do. But, hear me, they can’t be trusted and, they can get you killed. I know that’s hard for you to understand right now, your sight is limited to the here and now—this moment only. In that, I have a great advantage seeing your end as well as your beginning. Nonetheless, I assure you it isn’t your time—yet. Trust me and live another day. I am not finished with you. Trust my timing…

Some in that crowd had ears that heard and they decided in their hearts that, come what may, they would do whatever this Jesus asked of them. Most however, turned away. And, as foretold, over time their great swells of emotion ebbed, and life returned to normal. Even so, Jesus knew the few He had spoken to. He knows His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him anywhere He leads them…

Being a just God however, everyone must be equally informed of the cost of loving Him. Hence the Law and the Prophets. The cost of saying yes to Him—of dying that they may live. Of giving all away that they might have all that really matters. That they may not be found as a half-finished work, a mere shell of a building. A Shell constructed by one who builds with their emotions in the one hand and their lack of knowledge—gnosis, in the other.One lacking a sure foundation and the strength necessary to weather the storms. Ours is not a low-cost, low-risk endeavor. Rather, being a disciple of Jesus, having faith in Him, is an all-in adventure. But make no mistake, there will be perilous moments along the way.  “‘Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands]’ Matthew 7:22-23

Jesus will always have those that are willingly to follow Him from a safe distance. Crosses are not easy to carry, and flesh-piercing nails don’t play! Following this Jesus will cost you your life. A small price to pay for gaining your life…

If this the first time your hearing this little lamb—I know, it’s shocking—but I love you too much to leave you ignorant. More, Jesus loves you so much He made sure I wrote this. He also made sure you were here today to read it. See, He didn’t want you to take one more step in your pseudo-faith, go one more day, without knowing; “the Truth the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.” Why? He has a plan for your life. And, He’s about to move in it. You have heard His voice. He has singled you out of the crowd of emotional followers. He has called you to be a true believer—a disciple. It’s why you’re struggling right now. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father..? Hebrews 12:5-7. Take heart beloved, your application has been Hand selected—the job of disciple is yours. If, you’ll pick up your cross and follow wherever He may lead.

He’s got you! Just do as He asks. Do all that He asks. And, continue to follow Him. If you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’t deserve this” you’re absolutely spot on.  No one deserves this unfathomable honor! However, you’re in good company. Neither David or Peter or Paul. Neither did Abraham, Noah or Rehab the prostitute. None of them believed they deserved Jesus either. And yet…

Peter will vouch for me on this.

I believe the reason the Holy Spirit led me to our Scripture verse rather than one taken from Luke 14 is because of the lesson we witness in its reading. Peter, hand-chosen by God, is being restored to ministry. Peter, this legend of the faith—this vessel of divine revelation, this courageous father of the faith chosen to help birth God’s Church fell—and he fell hard. After having his great revelation of who Jesus was, after having walked and talked and eaten and lived with Him for three years, after having witnessed His miracles, after having performing miracles of his own—Peter not only denied knowing Jesus three times; He ran off and abandoned Him during His final hours on earth!

Peter left Jesus high and dry all-the-while Jesus was dripping the Blood that had saved Peter.  Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:74-75.

Failure does not mean your finished. More, that God is finished with you. Three times Peter denied knowing Christ. And three times Christ in turn asked Peter, “do you love me.” Agape love that is. Greek for unconditional love. Jesus was using these final moments with His friend to both restore Peter and to teach him. Unbeknownst to Peter however, Jesus was stretching him for the weight of the ministry he was about to walk into. And, if one’s ear is keen they’ll hear Jesus’ prophetic Word spoken over their life as well. Restoration is coming!

From this moment in Scripture on, until he was martyred for Christ’s sake, Peter followed after the example of fixed obedience set in place by His Lord…

Yet, God saw fit to use the whole of Peter’s earthly life to extract every last drop of promise He had placed in him. God used his every sin, his betrayal, lies, every moment he’d displayed lack of faith; God used to crush Peters flesh that He would extract from him the pure oil that He had placed within Him.  His restoration completed in Christ, Peter finally heard, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master” –Matthew 25:23-24.

Be encouraged today my friend. Fix your eyes on the Author and Finisher of your faith. Fix your heart on Jesus. Allow Him to remove your dross. Every sin of rebellion, unbelief, idolatry, every impurity that remains in you. And, let no man, job, wife, child, desire, or dream deter you from putting Jesus first—above all else. Those in the crowd were followers Jesus however was speaking to His disciples. Let those who have ears hear. “A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple” –Luke 14:25-27. Emphasis my own.

Friend whether you’re here for the first time or the tenth time, it’s no accident. Jesus is speaking to you. What is it He’s asking you to turn from, to let go of, that you might fully turn towards Him? Ask, and He will be faithful to show you—that is, if He hasn’t already. And, if you’re here today and have not yet accepted Christ, now is the time. Today is the day. Jesus is calling you. Won’t you answer His call?

The answer to this one question will change your life. “…do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?

 

Not by Sight…Habakkuk 3:17-19

 Though the fig tree does not blossom And there is no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive fails And the fields produce no food, Though the flock is cut off from the fold And there are no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord;I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation! The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet And makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].”

So, what do you do when God chooses to cut away what you’ve become accustomed to? When you hear doors closing in the Spirit realm? When He asks you to leave your home, church, family, friends, and job to follow Him—yet again? When He leads you to what you know is only a “temporary” shelter, a right-now place to call home; giving you no further instructions—no clear direction?

You go.

You just do it and then you wait. With legs shaking and tears flowing—with a million questions swirling around in your head and with dragons, not butterflies, in your belly—you say, “Yes Lord.” And, if you’re anything like me, you quickly start asking the Holy Spirit to show you the hidden sin in your life. There must be something wrong after all—right? Why else is God stripping everything I care about away from me?

The answer? Love.

That is what love does. True Love.

Real love never lets you settle for second best…

Love doesn’t allow you to wither on the vine. Love prunes you that you might bloom—again and again. Love seeks your highest good. Love wants the absolute best for you. Can that be painful? You betcha! A little scary—oh yeah! But, it’s not as scary as having nails driven through your hands and feet. Mercifully, I was not asked for such a sacrifice. He simply asked  that I return some stuff that I’d been given to use. It’s in these times of being stripped down, deeply pruned—re-calibrated, these moments when God asks us to “return” just a few of the many gifts He’s blessed us with; things such as our home, job, church family, money, health, etc., when we can incorrectly assume we’re being punished for some sin, some short-coming, some-thing.

Yet, the odd beauty of it is: in those very moments of questioning, of wrestling and searching is when we must draw closer to God—as backward as that may feel. Why? Because He is desiring for us, wanting us, to draw closer to Him. Look more like Him. Most of us instinctively flee from anyone or anything that we feel is causing us discomfort or pain. Resist that urge where God is concerned. He can be fully trusted. Instead, turn and run towards Him!In our flesh it’s our default response to place blame.  Our first parents did it to each other—placed blame that is. Blame is combated best by Truth. It must be combated by Truth if we are to grow and flourish in all God has for us. It’s during these wilderness seasons—these “moments of seeming estrangement”, of stripping away, of barrenness, that it remains crucial to hang on, white-knuckled fisted, to every-single-thing that God has ever revealed to us concerning Himself and His love, plans, and intentions for our lives. Why? Because we may be tempted to let go. To give up, throw in the towel. Yet what may appear as a loss, may actually be a set-up for our next level—continued growth in Him. Oxymoronic I now, but true nonetheless. Just hold on! So often in Scripture we witness this example of loosing that we might gain. Becoming poor to be rich, blind to see, empty in order to be full…

Nonetheless, it is in these sacred moments of surrender that our intimacy with God grows richer, deeper, and our trust in Him is strengthened. Where the milk of the Word is left behind—replaced by solid food. Growth occurs. New levels of faith are required to let go and step out when everything in our flesh is screaming for us to hang on tighter than ever! Yesterdays faith won’t do today. God is doing a new thing. In these moments of surrender, God teaches us to be water-walkers. To Trust Him anew. Peter will vouch for this. So will Job, Abraham, Moses, and David. Elijah too… “the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you” –Jeremiah 31:3. Yet before any of us gets too heady—begins to take ourselves too seriously, crediting our following His call to our own abilities, allow me to point out (to myself first) that it is God alone who enables us to act so boldly. Outside of Him we can do nothing of eternal value. It is God alone who prompts us. Enlivening us. Calling us to follow Him. Stirring up within us the very desires, thoughts, and actions required to answer His call. Stirrings that most surely appear to be of our own creation. Ideas to do this or that—say this thing, or the other. He alone nudges us from our torpor; our satisfied sameness; just as an Eagle nudges the chicks she cares for out of the nest they’ve gotten all-to-comfortable in.

Comfort kills our growth—content causes us to stop chasing after God…

All the while it is—and has always has been, the Holy Spirit within us that’s been leading and guiding us, stirring us up, directing us towards all that God has already done for us. Prepared for us. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” –Philippians 2:13. Remember, He does not send us anywhere He’s not already been. Going before us as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, He clears the path for us to walk upon. Yet, as our Scripture indicates, even if this God who has given us everything—literally, chooses not to bless us with one thing more or asks us to return everything He’s already given us, unto our very lives; our answer to His every request should still be—must be, a resounding yes! Even if our voice is trembling in our assent. Christ alone is all we ever need and far more than we deserve. His power, not ours. Gifts or no gifts. Favor or no favor. Blessings or no blessings. To have been chosen by God is more than any man, I speak for myself here, could ever hope for. And was certainly never expected! Holiness came straight to the well to find one such as me. Into the mire of the pig pen! “Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God” –2 Corinthians 3:5

So, what does one do—what did I do, when He asked me to leave a new home, my Church family—my son and granddaughter, job, my familiar everything—the place I most certainly thought I’d be going home from, and follow Him once again? What do you do when He asks you to trust Him and walk on water?

First I gulped! I cried a little—it hurts to let go. Then I stepped out…

And gradually, through His loving-kindness, His infinite mercy and undeserved grace, He calmed the tumultuous waters of change that all too often presented themselves as life-threatening. And His peace was restored—calm. Mind you, He never got nervous, stirred up, or cried. I did that. I did it the second I took my eyes off of Him and focused them instead on all the change that was swirling around me! “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” –Matthew 14:29-31

I still don’t know, as of this writing, where I will end up—or what it is He’s called me back here for?

I know this a week in: He is teaching me how to care less about all the stuff, people too—their opinions of me that is. How better to focus my time and energy on Him instead—be with Him. To live with my hands wide open—fingers stretched, holding everything loosely. Every-thing. And I can’t image being in a better place than here, freed from distractions, to sit with Him—and share with you. Trusting, that in due season, He will show me, allow me to see, His purpose for leading me here. And restoration of the “thing'” will come. But even if they don’t…“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” –Galatians 2:20.

Until then—I will stand firm in the faith He has blessed me with and I will praise Him. Simply because He is…

Friend if you’re here for the first time know that it’s Jesus who’s led you here. If you’ve not confessed your sins to Him, today is the day—now is the time. Won’t you ask Him to be your Lord? He loves you. He has a great plan for your life. It’s never too late to call on God. But why wait? No man is promised tomorrow…

 

 

© 2024 Sonsofthesea.org

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑