Let God Be Magnified

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” – John 10:27

The phrase “Follow Me” is one that Jesus used frequently. With those two words He summed up His desire for those that call Him both Lord and Savior. Usually, the Savior part is easy. But many times we forget about the Lordship that Jesus carries. So what does it mean to “follow” Jesus and what does it mean for me?

Notice that He doesn’t say, “I’ll back you up. I’m right behind you! Walk in front of Me and I’ll take care of you.” Rather, He takes the posture of leadership. He asks us to follow Him which necessitates that He is in front. He does not ask us to do anything that He Himself is not willing to do. He sets this up in the book of John when He says,

“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent great than the one who sent him.” – John 13:14-16

Jesus Himself points out that the life He lived here on earth was as an example for us to follow. I’ve always maintained that if it was good enough for Jesus it should be good enough for us. We are definitely not greater than our Master. I think we would all agree upon that. But it becomes more difficult to want to agree with it when you read things like this:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” – John 15:18-20

In the book of Mark there is a key sequence of events that take place that can sum up the believers life. They are as follows:

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’ As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” – Mark 1:14 – 18

Now, there are many things to focus on in this passage, but I think for our purposes the order of events is imperative:

1. Jesus sought out those that are His (“going along the sea”)

2. Jesus called out to them (“repent and believe” and “follow Me”)

3. They responded positively (“immediately”)

4. They followed Him

This is exactly the experience that a person has when they experience Salvation. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and need of a savior, we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we respond to its calling and are pulled out of darkness and into the light by God. But it is the final aspect that interests me.

What does it mean to “follow” Jesus?

There are approximately 16 verses in which Jesus says “follow Me.” In Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17 He says it to Simon and Andrew. In Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, and Luke 5:27 He calls out to Matthew. And finally in John 1:43 we see Him call out to Philip with this phrase.

It is the other instances where we can glean what is involved when we follow Jesus.

1. We are to proclaim the Kingdom of God

“And He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But He said to him, ‘Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go an proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’” – Luke 9:59,60

Jesus was not trying to be rude when He stated this. He was merely casting light on the importance of proclaiming the life giving gospel of God rather than dealing with those whom you are unable to help. Also, by using this extreme example He was stressing how important it is to tell others of the good news. After all, it is the great commission that He bestowed upon us in Matthew 28:19,20.

2. We must walk away from our past way of living and turn towards righteousness and godliness for Jesus

“Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” – Luke 9:61,62

This statement by Jesus was made immediately following and in the same context of His admonition to proclaim the Gospel to all. He is merely saying that once you decide to follow Jesus (“putting his hand to the plow”) we should not look back to our former life and yearn for it. Remember what happened to Israel when they were called out of Egypt. Once they waked away from Egypt, which is a metaphor for the world, they began to grumble and moan. They kept complaining to Moses to let them return to Egypt (the world) because they didn’t like where they were. God, in His wrath, denied them passage to the promised land (Canaan) and made them wonder the desert for 40 years until that generation that yearned for Egypt died. They were not fit to enter into the land of Canaan.

Likewise, we are not fit for the Kingdom if we continually yearn for what we were. We are supposed to walk away from those things that are unrighteous, unholy, and sinful. However, it will not happen overnight but it should be the continual and deliberate pursuit on the part of the believer. It is what is called Progressive Sanctification – the process of turning more and more away from the darkness to the light through the power and support of the Holy Spirit. It is the process in which we desire to become more Christ-like.

3. We must not be ashamed of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and publicly acknowledge who He is to others

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” – Luke 9:23

When a prisoner was condemned under Roman rule, they were required to carry their cross through the public streets as an affirmation of their guilt. In essence, they were admitting that the Roman Empire was right and that he was wrong.

Similarly, Jesus asks us to carry our cross. The cross represents the necessity for the atoning work that Jesus did for us on the cross. By carrying our cross we admit that Jesus was right that we needed a savior for we could not atone for our sins in and of ourselves. It was only through the perfect obedience and perfect blood of the spotless Lamb that we are saved. By carrying our cross we demonstrate to others whose we are and we show others that we are not ashamed of the Gospel for, as John writes, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Finally, notice that it is asked of us to carry our cross “daily” and not when it is convenient or when we are only around believers.

4. We must live sacrificially for and unto God

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” – John 12:24-26

Jesus is speaking of our priority of love. Do we put God ahead of all else – our families, our friends, ourself? Or do we put something ahead of Him – idolatry?

Since we were unable to save ourselves it is logical to believe that we cannot do great things in and of ourself for God apart from God. We must make Him the priority – for through Him and in Him all things flow. He is the root, we are the vine. Without Him, we cannot bear anything for Him.

5. We must not cling to those things that are temporary, but look upon those things that are eternal

“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, “DO NO MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.”’ And he said to Him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.’ Looking at him, Jesus felt love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” – Mark 10:17-22

The pursuit of possessions or the love of possessions can hinder us from being useful to God. When we decide to follow Jesus, we prioritize Him above all else. Ask yourself this question: is there anything that you would not give up if were asked of you by God? What about your life? That is the ultimate possession, isn’t it? Nevertheless, it is something that He has given to us and can, at His whim, take it away. As Lot says, and I paraphrase a bit, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” There should be nothing in a believer’s life that he/she would not give to the Lord if they were to ask it of us.

6. We need to follow Him even when we don’t know (or if we think we know) where He will take us

”’Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old,you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.’ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them (i.e. John); the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’” – John 21:18-22

We see that Peter shown how he would die for the Lord. In typical Peter fashion, he spoke before he thought and asked essentially, “Well, what about John? Is he going to die like this too? It’s unfair!” But we see that Jesus rebuked him.

We don’t know where our Lord will lead us. Today could be our final day on earth. It could be tomorrow or it could be 60 years from now. We have no real control over that. We are told only to “Follow Me.” And we should say, “Yes, Lord.” But realize that there is no where that our Lord Jesus Christ would ask us to go that He hasn’t already been.

If Jesus is truly the Lord and Savior of your life then really let Him be Lord. It’s easy to let Him be Savior but our love for Him really shines when we let Him be Lord of our life. Remember what He said in the beginning?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” – John 10:27

Do you hear Him?

later Eriek