Followers And Fakers

Real transformation cannot be faked forever.

Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

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In today's culture we like to pretend that truth isn't absolute, that reality is optional and that every view of God is a different path to the same place. Nobody wants to hear that there is only one truth and there are consequences for what you do with the truth.

The idea that there is more than one truth is really just a way of fooling yourself into believing that you can do what you want without being responsible to God. But what if you are wrong? What if there is a God who is perfect and has a set moral code for you to live by and truth that is absolute and unchanging?

Jesus made it very clear as soon as his ministry started that in order to please God and be blessed you need to have certain virtues. In Jesus first sermon he tells us that there is a better way to live that will result in blessings, he wants his followers to behave like citizens of a better country, and then he continues his teaching by making sure we know how to get to that better country. (Matthew 5:1-6)

Jesus let us know that all roads are not leading to Heaven, he told his listeners about the two gates, the two roads, the two fruit trees and the two foundations to build your life on. These are all black and white absolute truths and if you make the wrong choice the consequences will be devastating.

The two ways illustrate the start of the life of faith; the two trees illustrate the growth and results of the life of faith here and now; and the two houses illustrate the end of this life of faith, when God shall call everything to judgment.

-Warren Wiersbe

It is very easy in our culture to know about God and Jesus and seem to be a believer but if it is just head knowledge without real transformation and you still look like the rest of the world then there is much to be concerned about.

Head knowledge can produce religious activity but it doesn't prove you are genuinely a child of God. Don't forget about Judas, a member of Jesus small group, he was the best faker ever. The other eleven people had no idea that Judas was living a lie.

Matthew 7:19-20 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

The fakers can claim that Jesus is their Lord, they can seem like they are following his teaching, they can be emotionally involved in worship and they can be active in ministry but the presence of these traits do not authenticate anybody as a true Jesus follower.

Psalms 51:10, 17 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 17 The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

You can fake a lot of things but eventually the condition of your heart will have an effect on your behavior and then the truth about your heart will be revealed. If you really know the truth and it leads you to true repentance and submission to Jesus as Lord then you will obey him consistently although imperfectly. 

A real follower will stay when it seems more rewarding or easy to bail out, when being obedient is too much of a sacrifice the fakers are likely to count the cost and make their get away. Why suffer for what you don't really believe? Why do something for someone else when you can look out for your own interest? Why trade your pleasure and suffer to benefit someone else?

Matthew 7:24-25 "Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.

The fakers can build their house so that it looks exactly like a follower but someday when the weather outside is frightful the fakers house will collapse and his reputation will be ruined as he takes a look at the other houses around him that stood strong in the storm.

Video: Casting Crowns - Praise You In This Storm

We are all builders with complete control over what materials we will use, we decide if we will use the materials and the building codes that God has approved so that we can stand firm in the hard times. We will have peace and joy despite the storms because we know that we have a firm foundation for this life and the one to come

Someday the truth about the people that Jesus never knew will be revealed. There will be people that we thought we would see with us in eternity that will cry out to defend their actions but it will be too late.

Are you genuine? Has following Jesus cost anything? Are you really following Jesus?

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Follow

Jesus offers a simple invitation to learn more.

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow Me and be My disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed Him.

10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with such scum? "

12 When Jesus heard this, He said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do." 13 Then He added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

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Following any religion or spiritual teacher probably makes you think of the work that will be required to follow their rules. Most religious systems say "change these things and you can join us," so it may seem strange to learn that when Jesus asked people to follow him he said "come as you are."

When Jesus began his ministry, he looked for some men to partner with, men that were willing to check out what he was doing and get to know him better, they probably never intended to keep following for so long but there was something about him that they couldn't walk away from.

When the unlearned, dirty fishermen and the repulsive tax man began to follow Jesus they didn't know what they were in for. They didn't really know him or his purpose for calling them, they didn't believe or have faith in anything, they were just excited to learn more about Jesus.

God never did like religious people so it's no surprise that Jesus did not give the invite to any of those types of people. It reminds me of Jesus birth, the least likely to get the good news were the ones that got it, the dirty shepherds and the Gentile wise men were chosen while the religious Jews that were well acquainted with scripture missed it despite the heads up they received from the wise men.

But don't be too hard on the Pharisees, some of them were really sincere and devoted to pleasing God, the bad news for us is that we are not much different. Their sinful attitude is common among man since the beginning and it continues with us.

We tend to look down on other people, especially people that don't have Jesus' influence on their lives, we like to think that we are better than they are. The world sees our hypocrisy and it turns them off to following Jesus because too often our actions, our attitudes and our tongues prove that we are very similar to them. (Romans 2:1-3)

The more conscious I am of the work that God has yet to do on me the less critical I am of what God has yet to do in you.

-Andy Stanley

We like to make following Jesus a complicated list of rules or beliefs but when Jesus first invited someone to follow him there were not any prerequisites. Jesus didn't say you have to follow the rules or believe a certain way, he invited people to follow first, get the facts and learn more about him.

The church should be a place where those that are without Jesus feel loved, accepted and comfortable so that they can come close and learn more about Jesus. The church will never grow if people think that they have to obey our rules and be a better person before they can be welcome in our building.

Matthew 23:13, 15 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either. 15 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

To the people that do not know him he gives a warm invite but to the religious fakes that would not get serious about their relationship with God he was kind enough to warn them so that they could change their ways.

Religion says to believe right, behave right, change your ways and if you are successful then you can join us. Jesus says come as you are, come and see what I am all about, follow me and then you will find the power to change.

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Reacting To My Savior

Seeing the glorified Jesus will be overwhelming but I do not need to be afraid.

Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."

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When we think of seeing Jesus in heaven we usually think about the human Jesus that walked among the people and looked just like any other guy but if you study the book of Revelation you will realize that the Jesus that we look forward to seeing isn't going to look the same.

When John saw Jesus in the vision he didn't see a humble carpenter, he didn't look upon a familiar face and have an out burst of joy as we would when we see an old friend, John saw someone that was much different from the man that he knew.

Jesus is now in full glory, the glory that he has always shared with God, the Jesus that John saw in the vision struck him with fear and dread. John is overwhelmed by the holiness of God. John was instantly aware of his sinfulness and his depraved condition and was totally devastated. His immediate reaction is to fall down to the ground like a dead man. (Philippians 2:6-11)

John's reaction was fear but then Jesus reacted to John's fear with assurance. 

It was proper for John to react the way that he did but Jesus didn't want John to continue forever in fear, Jesus touched John and told him to "fear not!" This is similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 17:5-7 when the disciples witnessed the transfiguration.

John receives a touch from Jesus and an assurance that he doesn't need to be afraid. Jesus loves him and went to great lengths so that John could stand before Jesus without fear. Since Jesus is on our side and he will never die we don't have any reason to be afraid.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.

When we see God's glory contrasted with our sinfulness it will cause us to live differently. If we get close to God through studying his word and we see who he is then we will come to understand our situation without Jesus work on the cross. We will allow God to work in our lives and change us "into His glorious image."

A true Christ follower should be repulsed by their sinfulness, we should desire sin less and less as we get to know and see Jesus more, sin will look a lost less appealing to us and that will cause us to be a better reflection of God's glory.

Revelation 6:15-17 Then everyone--the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person--all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?"

We will all see what John saw and we will probably all fall down like a dead man! If you have a relationship with Jesus then you will not have to fear the appointment that we will all be forced to keep.

Transformed to Serve

God has changed me and I can't go back to the way it used to be.

John 21:3-6 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who He was.

5 He called out, "Fellows, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. 6 Then He said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

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What do you do when you are so excited and you are anxious to share the good news? Probably you don't go fishing. It must have been an unusual time from the resurrection of Jesus until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to go and make disciples.

They were so excited to learn that Jesus was alive again, one day they are defeated and discouraged, the next day they are probably ready to tell everybody, but it wasn't time for them to start their ministry.

Luke 24:49 And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.

Throughout the Bible you will find God telling people to wait. It seems like any major event on God's timetable is preceded by a period of waiting. I remember Abraham, Joseph, King Saul, Job and Simeon all having to wait on God, some of them being good examples and others showing us the hazards of not waiting. (Lamentations 3:25-26)

Peter didn't do a good job of waiting, he was going back to fishing for fish instead of waiting for men, and he also influenced his fishing buddies to go with him. Maybe Peter was tempted to go back to the way it used to be.

Seven professional fisherman spent the night catching nothing, maybe God is teaching them a lesson about waiting, fishing all night without catching anything is certainly a long and miserable night. It is just about an impossible occurrence for a fisherman that uses a net, catching nothing at all would take an act of God, it makes me wonder if Peter thought about the previous time when this happened. (Luke 5:1-9)

Peter had a surprise appointment with Jesus this morning, an appointment that is just as surprising as the first one that he had after an unsuccessful night of fishing, this meeting would change everything even more that the first one did.

Jesus came to the seashore that morning to restore broken relationships and to teach these men about their responsibilities as witnesses of the good news.

Even though the conversation recorded in scripture is between Jesus and Peter, all of the disciples had failed Jesus, the truth of the lessons that Jesus taught were for all of them and they apply to all of us as believers today.

My Responsibility As A Believer:

Obey Jesus 

Cast your net when and where Jesus tells you. (John 21:1-8)

These guys spent the night working very hard, doing work they were not supposed to be doing, and they probably complained about the results. Catching men is their new job that Jesus has been training them to do for the past three years. After the Holy Spirit comes they won't have time to bother with fishing for fish anymore.

Allowing Jesus to be in control is the best way to avoid wasting your life. This reminder for them is for us as well. I will accomplish what really matters when I am depending on Jesus and submitting to his timing and authority. (John 15:5)

Love Jesus 

Check your love for Jesus and his family often. (John 21:9-18)

Fixing relationships is what Jesus is all about, he asked Peter to confess his love, something he had already boasted about but failed to live out during Jesus' trial. Jesus made the connection between truly loving him and showing it in obedience and service to him.

Do you love Jesus? If you do it should show in the way that you live. We should be fishers of men and we should also help tend the flock. If you love Jesus then you will want to be near the flock and you will be concerned about the health, protection and guidance of the other believers in the flock. (Philippians 2:3-6)

Follow Jesus 

Consider the cost that may be required of a believer. (John 21:19-25)

A repaired relationship with Jesus must have been an amazing blessing for Peter, in Peter's mind that would have been a great place to end this conversation, but Jesus continues to share important information that isn't so easy to hear.

Jesus takes the conversation from Peter's life and ministry to his death as a martyr, Jesus never dodged the issues so that he would have more followers, he was always upfront about the trouble and hardship that his disciples would face in this evil world.

Following without turning away and staying focused on Jesus despite the circumstances are some of the greatest daily challenges for a follower of Jesus. It is a struggle which must be dealt with constantly if we are going to die to self and become a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2)

Following without meddling in what Jesus is doing in another believers life is another challenge. It is easy to look at what God is doing with somebody else and allow that to change our focus and our direction. (John 21:21)

The lives of the disciples were radically changed from the moment that Jesus called them to follow him but the transformation was just getting started. They still needed the helper that Jesus promised to send after he is gone.

The Holy Spirit's power in their lives would change these ordinary men, men that failed so often, men that didn't understand Jesus teaching, men that walked away when the going got tough. They would be powerful and they would speak with wisdom that is unheard of from a group of unschooled fishermen. (Acts 4:13)

2 Corinthians 5:15 He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

Jesus Christ is transforming lives today, he is changing us from our old carnal state into a people that will represent him well and serve his purpose on earth. The easy life is not my goal, pleasure and riches are no longer the main desire to be fulfilled.

God has changed me and I can't go back to the way it used to be! I will live for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. I will set aside the evil desires and the pride that drives men to live for self. I will live to honor my Lord and fulfill his desire and plan for my life.

The Abiding Life

Abiding with Jesus has a lot of benefits for now and eternity.

 

John 15:7-11  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

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Today's scripture is a continuation of the study that I recently did in John 15:1-8, in those verses Jesus told his disciples "I Am The Vine." In that lesson Jesus taught the disciples that a real Christ follower is attached to the vine, he is getting his nourishment from the vine and he will be pruned so that he can produce more fruit. (John 15:2,5)

A vine and the branches is just one of the ways that the Bible describes the intimate relationship of a Christ follower. The Bible also illustrates this relationship as a body and its many members (1 Corinthians 12:1-31), a bride and the Bridegroom (Ephesians 5:25-33), and as sheep and the Shepherd (John 10:1-18)

These illustrations show us that abiding is a dependent relationship, the Christ follower must depend on Jesus as well as other believers in order to survive, yet it is still a friendly and intimate fellowship where we live and work together in harmony to please God and advance his kingdom.

The "abiding life" has many benefits, Jesus continues to tell us in today's scripture that abiding in him is the only way to get our prayers answered and it is the only way to live in love and obedience just like Jesus did.

The abiding life has prayers answered

Psalms 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Are your prayers being answered? Does it seem like nothing is happening? Whatever is asked for from a clean heart that is living for God's will and seeking to promote the kingdom is going to get answers.

When we are abiding in Jesus we will ask for the right things, he will keep us from asking for things that we shouldn't ask for, we will pray for the things that please God instead of the prayers that please ourselves. 

The abiding life will live in Jesus love 

Ephesians 3:17 Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.

"What the world needs is love, sweet love, Its the only thing that there's just too little of" is the lyrics to a song by Dionne Warwick, she saw the problem but she did not know the solution, she didn't know that God's perfect love is what we need to end the love shortage that she saw.

If you feel unloved then check out what Jesus tells us in verse nine, he says that to the same degree that God loves Jesus is the amount of love Jesus has for me, you can't get loved any more that that. What an incredible thought, that stupid dirty sheep that are so unworthy can be loved so much!

The abiding life will obey God just as Jesus did

Luke 22:42 "Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine."

Jesus was obedient to his Father's will  and he expects us to do the same. There isn't any other way to prove your love to him than to see your old sinful ways as detestable and move toward doing the things that please God.

It is very dangerous to think that you can be a Christian and still live in your old sinful, disobedient ways. True repentance sees how detestable our ways are and the cost that was paid on our behalf and it refuses to live that way anymore. Without true repentance we cannot abide with Christ, we will not produce fruit and we will not please God.

Colossians 1:9-10  So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.  10  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

The "abiding life" is not a supernatural resource that you tap into to fix life's problems and then return to your old carnal ways. Once you have begun to cultivate this deeper communion with Christ, you have no desire to return to the shallow life of the careless Christian, you will remain in Christ through the good and the bad times.

The "abiding life" seeks to glorify God, when people see the fruit of the Holy Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” in us, God will be glorified. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Help me Lord to live the "abiding life." I want to know what pleases you and apply it to every area of my life.

Do You Really Know Jesus?

Church membership, small groups and even faith doesn't mean you really know Jesus.

 

John 14:7-11  If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!"  8  Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."

9  Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking Me to show Him to you?

10  Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak are not My own, but My Father who lives in Me does His work through Me.  11  Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen Me do.

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Do you know Jesus? I mean really know him? It isn't a strange question. There was a time in the United States when just about everybody knew who Jesus is but those numbers have slowly declined. But just because they knew who he is doesn't mean that they really knew him as a close personal friend.

The Bible tells us that in Jesus' small group they didn't all know him and some of them knew him better than others. We saw recently that Judas didn't get it at all and he wasted three years of his life living a lie. The other disciples didn't really know him fully or they wouldn't react to situations the way they did.

Philip proved that he didn't really know when he asks Jesus "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus has been with them for all this time telling them that he is God (John 10:30-33) and yet they are still confused.

Philip is the same guy that Jesus asked “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” (John 6:5) If he really knew Jesus he wouldn't have any doubt that Jesus could feed them even if there wasn't a basket of bread and fish.

I cannot criticize Philip for what he didn't know, I have to ask myself if I really know Jesus, does the average church attender or small group participant really know Jesus? What level of intimacy is my relationship to Jesus?

The average person in Jerusalem may have had physical or factual knowledge of who Jesus is but it didn't have an affect on their life. Even the people that were against Jesus had this much knowledge of him but because they stopped there and didn't go any further in their relationship with him, out of ignorance they came to the wrong conclusion about him.

We need to know Jesus deeper through a relationship built on faith or else we will be in danger of forming the wrong opinion about him. This is the depth of knowing that scripture refers to between Adam and Eve in Genesis 4:1 and this is the depth of relationship that Jesus uses in John 17:3.

John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

The apostle Paul mentions a deeper knowing of Jesus in his letter to the Philippians. This deeper knowledge of Jesus causes your perspective of worldly things to change.

Philippians 3:8-10  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ  9  and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.  10  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,

The value of knowing Christ and holding him above any other love in this world is pretty radical. Paul was educated, he had position in the religious system and he was known for being a devout Jew that obeyed the law but none of this was important to him after he received a deeper knowledge of Jesus.

We can be too much like Paul, we know enough about Jesus to make us dangerous, we can come to some radical opinions about him and do some stupid things. We can value our own ability and our social status above the value of knowing Jesus better and allowing him to be in control.

Perfect Unity

John 14:19-21  Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live.  20  When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. 21  Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them."

The Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father takes up residence in the life of a believer!  This is such an incredible thought! Jesus will send the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate, he will live within us and help us know the truth so that we can live in unity with the three persons of the trinity. (John 14:16-17)

John 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

I need to go beyond just knowing Jesus and take it to a deeper level. The burning desire of every believer ought to be to know God better, to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I mean really KNOW them and be a real follower of Christ.

I should be diligent to be "Digging the Word" so that I might know and I should allow what I know to affect the way that I live. Once I began to cultivate this deeper communion with Christ it made me hungry for more, I have no desire to return to my previous shallow life being a careless Christian.

I need to remember Jesus words at the beginning of John 14 and realize that I can live with a heart that isn't troubled if I have faith and if I live it out my faith in obedience to his commands. (John 14:1)

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