Follow GrK. Akolootheo
which means Walking the same road
Christian GrK. Christianos which means Messiah Follower From the GrK. Christos which is Messiah 1 kings: 18; 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD'S commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." Now Baal was a term commonly used for various deities such as Asherah and Ashteroth it was even for a time used in Israel to indicate Yahweh, until it became evident that a distinction needed to be made between the God of Israel. And all the other Canaanite gods, whom Paul much later described in Corinthians as no gods. The particular Baal that Elijah is dealing with in this incident was "El Baal". he was considered the chief of Canaanite gods, known as the storm god. The significant points for us in this passage are, First,The answer Elijah gives to Ahab when he is accused of being a troubler of Israel. V.18 "I have not made trouble for Israel, "But you and your father's family have. "You have abandoned the LORD'S commands and have followed the Baals No-one can say they are following the Lord if they are ignoring His word The word Baal also carries with it the meaning owner, or lord, also master, suggesting that anything we allow to become a Baal or a god in our lives, becomes our master, in opposition to the one true God who says. "You shall have no other Gods before me" The second point to note is that we have a choice to make, Elijah Said "If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." Joshua made a similar statement to the Israelites in his farewell speech Joshua 24: 14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." The choice is yours God never twist's anyone's arm. Don't wait for God to force you to be a Christian that's Calvinism. God certainly calls us all, but we have freedom of will to choose Matt. 4: 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Note the words regarding Peter & Andrew "At once", and James & John "Immediately". The apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 6: 2. "I tell you, NOW is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation You can't get any more immediate than (Now) Some people have said to me "It doesn't happen for me, I've tried but God hasn't shown himself to me yet." That's not the way it happens. If you have heard the Gospel God has called you. Perhaps you haven't been listening, Perhaps you don't believe it, Perhaps you don't want to believe it. As Joshua pointed out. If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you. That's your choice. But to Follow the Lord you must step out of the boat, and say to your relatives and friends. In the words of the well known Hymn "I have decided to follow Jesus" and mean it But It Is important to first consider the cost. There is some small print you need to read, and it's found in the bible In Luke 14:28 we're told " Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? You need to have a good foundation Before you build Sadly some start on their Christian life without acknowledging there is a cost, and consequently like "Cowboy Builders" (1) they ignore some vital parts of the structure. And then they either wonder why their faith begins to crumble, or continue deceiving themselves that they are following the architects plan. And make excuses as to why they can ignore certain instructions They think they know better than the Architect. That may be true occasionally in the world, but not in the Christian life. To Follow Gods plan is to follow it to the letter. Matt. 8: 18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Are you prepared to trust the Lord WHEREVER he leads you? My wife and I once gave hospitality to a lady who worked on the Christian book ship 'LOGOS'. she told us that in many countries they visited they considered themselves fortunate if they had a tea chest for a table, and a pile of hay for a bed. IIf we say, wherever it means anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstances. Luke 5: 27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Are you be prepared to leave everything behind if God said specifically to you follow me You know, It's easy to make statements and promises regarding what you would do for the Lord, if at the same time you don't really believe that God would ask YOU personally to do these things Matt. 10: 37 Jesus said. He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; Luke's Gospel puts that a bit stronger, there Jesus talks about our needing to hate Mother and Father if we are to be his disciple. 'Question' Does God really mean that? I'll tell you a true story A good friend of mine once told me that as he was on his knees praying one night alone while his wife was upstairs in bed, when the Lord brought into his thoughts this question. "If I asked you to leave your wife at home and go where I told you without her, would you go?". He told me that the thought was so forceful, that he knew deep in his heart it was from the Lord, and he cried and said to the Lord, But she's my wife! I love her, why would you want me to leave her. But he said the thought persisted in his mind until finally he had to say in his prayer. "Lord if you say so then yes I will". And then he went to bed fully convinced that the Lord had something special he wanted him to do. In the morning his wife told him that she'd had a dream in the night where she had told the Lord that if He wanted to use her husband in any way at all, she would not stand in his way. That man never did have to leave his wife. and continued to serve the Lord, and still does. But the Lord knows that he was willing to put Him first. In Gen. 22: 1-2 we read God tested Abraham, and said to him, take your son your only son Isaac whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall tell you. Now we all know the outcome of that story in the bible. With hindsight we could say God never intended for Isaac to be sacrificed. However Abraham didn't know that. But he trusted God in the situation. In Luke 9: 23 we read Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Jesus here is not asking us all to be Martyred for our faith, But to put Him first in our lives. And learn to trust Him He knows best In John 3: 3 In reply to Nicodemas Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. V: 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again What does it really mean to be Born again. It means to start life over again with God in the driving seat, And deciding not to be a back seat driver. The news we see and hear every day shows us that the world is bent on taking us all to hell. Jesus tells us to, "Be in the world but not of it" Matt 8: 21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." To Jesus, those in the world who deny Him, are dead already In Eph. 2: 1 Paul tells us "And you; Jesus made you alive when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world. People in the world without Christ are as good as dead. Jesus said in John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. You would think everyone would be clamouring to Follow Him. But we still get people like the rich young ruler Luke 18: 18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ( It's The same old Question ) ( How can I earn my salvation?) V.19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honour your father and mother." "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Jesus is not here giving us a way of earning our salvation Jesus is saying I want you to learn to put me first, and trust me Jesus can fill the place of any lack of worldly goods you might covet John 10: 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (we need to Listen to God's word and act on it) Do you recall Ezekiel's Prophecy regarding the dry bones, and how Ezekiel was instructed to make them live again?. God said Prophecy to them. They needed to hear the word of God again. Why? Do you know what the dry bones were an illustration of? God said, in Ezekiel 37: 11 "These bones are the whole house of Israel." Behold they say, "Our bones are all dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. "Therefore Prophecy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God. Speak to them they need to reminded as to what the Lord says Because The word of God brings life. 'A question' (How well do you listen to Sermons?) John 21: 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, Do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me? " He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. (Does the Lord Know that You love him) are you feeding his sheep Joshua and Caleb were the only two who were over 20yrs. old when they came up out of Egypt who were allowed into the promised land. Do you know why? Num. 32: 11tells us It was Because they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.' Matt 26: 57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest . 'Another question' (Do you follow Jesus at a distance)? ( Do you recall the Rich ruler who was asked to sell everything he had Let me read the discourse that followed as reported in Mark 10: 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!" 'Question' ( Have you left everything for the lord?) (Does God come first in your life?) "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel. who will not receive a hundred times as much in this time homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields. and with them, persecutions. and in the age to come, eternal life. When the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch the expression was used sarcastically and meant as a derogatory term. Following the Lord, brings Joy and blessings and fulfillment and persecution. 1 Pet. 4 16. Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 'The question remains' Are you a Messiah Follower Now is the time to decide 1/ In Britain shoddy builders are known as Cowboy builders . |
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