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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The Cross and Our Commitment

The cross should be life changing for all of us.

John 19:38-42 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body.

When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.

40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

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For the past three years there have been crowds of people eager to follow Jesus everywhere that he went, just a week ago there were plenty of people that cheered for him as they declared him to be their Messiah, but where is everybody now? Where are the people that saw Jesus call Lazarus out of his tomb?

I remember there used to be a powerful group of seventy disciples that Jesus sent out to do a short term mission trip. This group gave up their time, left their families and their stuff behind to obey Jesus command to go, they returned with awesome testimonies but then they are never mentioned again. (Luke 10:1-24)

Even the twelve that spent almost every moment for three years with Jesus, only one came to the cross to be with Jesus mother in her darkest hour, they had given up so much to follow and yet now they are gone.

The small group at the cross was probably shocked to learn that two people from Jesus past stepped back into the picture to give Jesus a proper burial. These two guys had encounters with Jesus earlier but they didn't reach a decision until later on and they never came forward and expressed their conviction or show any commitment to Jesus.

It seems likely that Joseph and Nicodemus have been in the garden waiting for Jesus death, the tomb site so close to Golgotha made it unlikely that this tomb was ever intended for a rich man like Joseph, it was the best location to bury Jesus body quickly, so they waited in secret nearby with the spices already prepared.

When they took Him from the cross, they defiled themselves and were not able to eat the Passover. But, what difference did it make? They had found the Lamb of God!

-Warren Wiersbe

It seem like these guys planned ahead to work as a team on the burial.  The work that they set out to do could not be done in secret, they had to get Jesus buried in the daylight before Passover began. They would be found out but they didn't care, they were no longer ashamed to be identified as believers. While every other disciple was hiding out these two guys were coming out of hiding and stepping up their commitment to Jesus.

We do not know what happened to make them realize that Jesus is who he claimed to be. I have to wonder when these two men got it and decided that Jesus is the Messiah. They did what we all need to do, they showed courage and faith at record levels. These two would have to miss this Passover because they were considered unclean but that didn't matter anymore since this was the last lamb that would ever need to be sacrificed.

We do not know what happened to these two as a result of coming out to honor Jesus. Any show of sympathy for a condemned criminal could bring trouble on yourself. How would Pilate react? What about the other religious leaders? There must have been a price to pay at the office when the rest of the guys found out about the work that these two had done to give Jesus a proper burial. The rest of the religious leaders must have scorned them and they probably lost their jobs and were not allowed in enter the synagogue ever again.

John 12:42-43  Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

It is remarkable that the secret disciples came out of hiding like first responders running toward trouble despite the consequences. When everybody else ran and hid these two reached a new level of commitment and dedication to Jesus.

It is easy to assume that a weak brother cannot be used for the Lord's purpose but it isn't our job to judge him and put him down for his struggle. You would think that the weaker brother would be the first one in hiding but they overcame their fear and openly followed Jesus.

Ask yourselves whether you have sometimes held your tongues because you knew that if you spoke people would find out where you came from and what country you belonged to. Ask yourselves, Have you ever accompanied the witness of your lives with the commentary of your confession? Did you ever, anywhere but in a church, stand up and say, ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, my Lord’?

When these men came for Christ’s corpse and bore it away, what a sharp pang went through their hearts! How much these two men lost-all those three years of communion with the Master; all His teaching, all the stimulus of His example, all the joy of fellowship with Him! Neglect of duty puts barriers up between you and God.

-Alexander MacLaren

There isn't any room in the kingdom for secret disciples. You can be a secret sports fan or a secret follower of a particular social or political issue and then come out when the battle is over and squawk loud about your belief in the cause but where were you during the battle?

The cross should be life changing to the point that silence and hiding out should never be an option. How can we look upon Jesus and realize the evils and terrors that he went through for our sake and keep our love for him silent? How can we serve him without passion and excellence?

Stir a passion in my heart, God
Let it overflow, let it overflow!

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