A few weeks ago, my family and I started going to a Wesleyan church and the pastor was in the middle of a series asking the basic question "Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?" I really enjoyed the services and got a lot out of it. It is a good question because being a follower of Jesus is a high calling that requires dedication and trust in God. So, our family decided to keep looking at some other churches, so we went to a new church this week, in a different town with a different pastor and guess what question he was asking? The same one: Are you a fan or a follower. Not only that, but the passage was in Luke 6, which is a chapter I had looked at the day before.
So, now I am starting to feel a little paranoid and maybe a sense that someone is trying to say something to me that I didn't get the other three messages. The pastor at the Summit Church in Kernersville pointed to the question in Luke 6:46 "And why do you call Me "Lord, Lord " and do not do what I say?" This is one of the questions Jesus poses in his Sermon on the Mount to his disciples. Jesus is telling us that if we call His Lord then that means we will do what He says.
I said earlier in this post, that it means that you trust the Lord also. Because if you are going to follow someone, then you are saying you believe that they have an idea of where they are going. It means that you believe the person is a trustworthy guide to get you from point A to point B. In the case of following Jesus though, it means more than just you want to follow passively, but your "all in". Your giving Jesus everything that you have and if he's wrong there is no "do over".
One of the points the pastor made this morning is that he asked the question do you spend more time in prayer asking God to do things for you or to asking what he wants you to do? That is not saying that asking for things is wrong. But, the point is that God is not the servant. I think that is a mistake that many people make. They treat God as if he is the one who is suppose to be the giver, when he has already given His Son on a cross. Now, he requires us to give and to sacrifice and to show how much we love Him. I don't know about you, but I think this is a good message because even though I am a follower of Jesus, I know I could do better than I am.
So, now I am starting to feel a little paranoid and maybe a sense that someone is trying to say something to me that I didn't get the other three messages. The pastor at the Summit Church in Kernersville pointed to the question in Luke 6:46 "And why do you call Me "Lord, Lord " and do not do what I say?" This is one of the questions Jesus poses in his Sermon on the Mount to his disciples. Jesus is telling us that if we call His Lord then that means we will do what He says.
I said earlier in this post, that it means that you trust the Lord also. Because if you are going to follow someone, then you are saying you believe that they have an idea of where they are going. It means that you believe the person is a trustworthy guide to get you from point A to point B. In the case of following Jesus though, it means more than just you want to follow passively, but your "all in". Your giving Jesus everything that you have and if he's wrong there is no "do over".
One of the points the pastor made this morning is that he asked the question do you spend more time in prayer asking God to do things for you or to asking what he wants you to do? That is not saying that asking for things is wrong. But, the point is that God is not the servant. I think that is a mistake that many people make. They treat God as if he is the one who is suppose to be the giver, when he has already given His Son on a cross. Now, he requires us to give and to sacrifice and to show how much we love Him. I don't know about you, but I think this is a good message because even though I am a follower of Jesus, I know I could do better than I am.
