Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, June 5th. Jesus said to his disciples, Follow me. The Savior's call didn't end when he left Earth. It still challenges believers today. Here's part two of Following Christ.
When we talk about the requirements of following the Lord Jesus Christ, Sometimes we want to formulate our own. But there are specific requirements that God has given us. And you see, once Jesus began to talk about the requirements, it's amazing what happened to his congregation. Oh, as long as they could see signs, miracles, and wonders, and he was feeding them with bread and multiplying the loaves and the fishes. I mean, he had the crowds.
I mean, you couldn't count them. They were coming from everywhere to hear him. But then when he said, this is the message. This is what you can expect if you follow me. Even his apostles, it appeared, were going to leave.
Now what are the requirements? Requirement number one. Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We cannot see him, but Because we cannot We have to develop a very keen sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so that when the Holy Spirit, who does not shout, I've heard him speak much louder than that. on the inside of me so loudly I absolutely could not avoid it under any condition.
The Spirit of God On the inside, giving us guidance, we must develop a very keen sensitivity to Him so that, listen. Listen, the sharpness of our spirit is so sharp, so needle point sharp. That when the Spirit of God speaks, we just know that it's the Spirit of God. The second requirement of following Jesus is service. It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ and close our eyes, our ears, our lips, close our hands and still our feet.
It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ without giving ourselves away to other people. Was not Jesus Christ a servant? Serving the Lord is giving yourself away to other people to the glory of God in their behalf in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The third requirement is sacrifice. Listen to what happens in this passage.
Verse 20, And they immediately left the nets and followed him.
Now, what did the net represent to Peter and Andrew? It represented their life. They'd been fishing since they were kids. It represented their security. It represented their lifestyle.
Peter was thinking about his family. Listen to what it says in the 22nd verse. James and John and they immediately left the boats and what? their father and followed him. What have you ever laid down?
That really cost you emotionally. In order to be obedient to Jesus, Was it a relationship? Was it something you really wanted badly? had worked for, slaved for. And when the time came, the prompting of the Holy Spirit said, Do not do this.
You see, a follower of Jesus is one who is willing to pay the price of sacrifice.
So, I want to say to all of you who are listening carefully. If God has said to you, lay it down, it doesn't make any difference if it's money, if it's relationships, if it's vocation, it makes no difference what it is. If you don't lay it down, you will spend the rest of your life wondering what in the world God would have done with you had you been willing to obey Him and to follow Him. You declare yourself to be a follower of Jesus. If you are, my friend, is there anything too much to sacrifice for Him?
Look what He sacrificed for you. The fourth requirement is self-denial.
Now, I want you to watch this because this is where we have to get down to the hard, cold, solid spiritual facts. about whether you and I are following Jesus Christ or are we not. To follow the Lord Jesus Christ means That I am willing to ask this question, Lord. What do you want to do with my life? How do you want me to invest this life which belongs to you?
Where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do? This life is not mine, it's yours. I transfer total possession, total control, total use of spirit, soul, and body. Lord Jesus, what is it that you want?
To deny myself means I am willing to listen. To lay down my plans, my goals, my ambitions, my desires, my pleasures, what I think will meet my needs and my desires in life, and to offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ upon His altar to say, Lord, not I, but Christ Jesus living within me. I choose to follow you. No matter where it leads me, what I have to lay down, what I have to separate myself from, I choose to follow you. And my friend Most of us have played with that.
most of our Christian life. Several months ago, when I began to think about following Jesus and what that really implied. I went away for a couple of days and just Got along with the Lord and began to pray and ask the Lord, first of all, to search my heart. God, I don't want to preach this sermon. No, first of all, you have sifted me through what you said.
Looking at every aspect of my life. We all have our own different ways of praying, and I sort of stretch out on a the palette that I have and So I was getting ready to get out and just say, okay, Lord. Here I am. But for some reason I couldn't get down there. I walked around the room and I talked to the Lord and I listened.
And all of a sudden it dawned on me. Lord, are you trying to say that there's something in my life that is not Hasn't been laid down. Is there something that I'm holding on to? Is there something you're trying to get my attention? It took me about 40 minutes before I could stretch out to say, okay, Lord, here it is.
It's amazing how little subtle things creep into our life that we rationalize. And we think nobody's perfect. That's not the issue. Jesus didn't say perfection. He said Follow me.
To deny ourselves and to take up our cross means That self That is the fleshly desires, the natural person. what you wanted, what you were like before you were saved. that that is not in control of your life, but the Spirit of God is in control because you have issued Him control of your life. Denial of self does not mean that I deny myself of this thing, that thing, and the other thing, though it may end up being part of that. But to deny myself and to take up my cross and follow Him means that I'm willing to say, Lord Jesus.
I won't. Your plan. And I choose to suffer whatever is necessary in order to obey your will for my life. My friend, Are you a true follower of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to deny yourself?
of all that self desires to be gratified with. in order to pursue a life that has eternal consequences. That is, You choose to walk the way of God, no matter what it means. Whatever he tells you to lay down, I guarantee you he's going to replace it with something that will be much more fulfilling.
Now here's the satanic trap. Listen carefully. God has a direction for your life. And Satan just at the perfect timing. interjects His plan.
He always says You can have this now. That's always his offer. If you want it now, This is where you can get it now. You can get your needs met. You have pleasure in life.
You can have a fulfilling life. This is the way to go. Jesus says I want to tell you the truth. It's going to cost you to take this trip. But I'm going to give you everything you need.
And I am going to personally design. everything I send into your life that will perfectly fit you. I'm going to glorify my Father. through your life. I'm going to make your life worthy.
and useful. You're not going to waste your life frivolously trying to meet needs, which I would have very easily met. Only to find yourself at the end of the way disappointed, disillusioned. Because you spent your life trying to get something. that God intended you to give as you gave yourself away to others.
Look at the two directions. One is a get-get get. Only to lose it all. And the other one is the give, give, give. only to receive it all.
But watch this, Satan is very subtle. just when you're about to choose the right path. He comes in to offer you A detour and a substitute for life at its best. The fifth requirement is suffering. These men suffered as they followed the Lord Jesus Christ.
In fact, it is said of the Apostle Peter that he was crucified head downward, that is, upside down, because He chose, if they were going to crucify him, he did not feel worthy to be crucified in the same position as the Savior. Many of those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ suffered martyrdom. There are people today suffering martyrdom because of their willingness to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. There is suffering in following him.
Now I want you to see how this goes together. Let's go back to John chapter 12 for a moment. You remember in this passage What he says Verse 26 says, If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
To follow the Lord Jesus Christ requires serving Him. If you and I are going to serve other people... We're going to have to suffer. Let me tell you why. Because bleeding is essential to blessing.
That's just the principle. If you and I are going to be a blessing to other people, we must be willing to suffer. Look at the Apostle Paul. You know what Paul said? He said, the two things I want to experience above all else in light.
I want to know the Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of His resurrection power. And secondly, I want to know the Lord Jesus Christ. in the fellowship of his suffering. If you're going to be a blessing to someone else, My friend, you can just get ready to suffer because serving is helping other people getting under their load. Encouraging them, helping them in time of need.
Who are those that do that best? Those who've been there, those who've hurt, those who've suffered, those who've wept? And you see, sometimes we look around and say, Well, I know so-and-so is living a Christian life, and God's blessing them, and they're not suffering. How do you know that? You see, you can't look on somebody else's face and tell what they're suffering on the inside.
Jesus didn't walk around with a long face, but he suffered much criticism, much persecution before his crucifixion. But there was something about him that just drew the children. That's why I know that Jesus Christ's face. Was radiantly, beautifully appealing. There was something magnetic about it.
What was it? It was his oneness with the Father that shone right through his eyes. You can't look at somebody's face and tell whether they're suffering or not. Those of us who are following the Lord Jesus Christ must be willing to suffer whatever God sends us through or allows in our life, and we must be wise enough to grab hold of every experience. Look at it, analyze it, sift it through our life, and ask the question, what is God teaching me?
And having learned the lesson now, how can I apply this to someone else's life? How can I be an encouragement to someone else? Suffering is a part of serving God. If you wanted ease, comfort, and pleasure, I want to tell you, you won't ever be worth much in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, Follow me, and I'll make you fishes of men.
He says, Follow me. And he says, I want to tell you, foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Does that mean that We'll always suffer the physical, the material. Not necessarily, you can be physically healthy all of your life and have every material thing you want.
And be mightily used of God, but only because in some other area of your life you are going to walk through the valley of suffering. It is absolutely essential to building saints, building character, and making the servant effective in service. Ease, comfort, and pleasure was never found on the cross. But shame Suffering and death. We're always there.
Are you willing to be sensitive to His Spirit and follow Him? Are you willing to serve him? Are you willing to... Sacrifice. For him to deny yourself.
Are you willing to suffer for Him, or are you just carving out your own little way over here? Going to get your needs met. Going to live your life of pleasure. Going to your thing, and one of these days end up having never found. What you were looking for in life.
Because you see, you can't follow. You can't follow the inclinations of the flesh. You can't follow the allurements of the world. You can't follow the appeal of the world. and follow Jesus at the same time.
They go in opposite directions.
Now the least important part of this message is the third part. And that's the rewards. That's what I've been waiting for. You and Peter. Look, if you will, at the 19th chapter of Matthew.
I'm sure Peter must have thought about this before now, but he finally gets around to asking Jesus about it. 19th chapter of Matthew. You remember that Jesus has just been talking to the rich young ruler? And Jesus said to him, If you want to follow me, you go sell your possessions, give it to the poor, and then follow me. They began to talk about how hard it was for a rich man to get into heaven, and then Peter says, Having no doubt looked at this young man with all of his riches coming to Jesus, Peter said.
Behold, that is, look. We've left everything and followed you. What then shall there be for us? Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that you who have followed me in the regeneration, When the Son of Man will sit in his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Now, if he'd just stopped at that, we'd have said, Hey, what about us?
So he said. And everyone. Who has left houses? or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, or children, or farms for my name's sake, shall receive many times as much and shall inherit eternal life. Did you know?
that you absolutely cannot Follow the Lord Jesus Christ without being rewarded. You can't. Listen, some of it is the natural overflow of following him.
Some things God will send into your life, some relationships. Listen, the greatest reward of following the Lord Jesus Christ. Is not finances. You see, today we've got everything narrowed down if it's green and you can count it. The greatest rewards of following Jesus Christ are not things you can count, nor things that you can touch.
Lying down in your bed at night. And knowing my friend, that you have walked with Jesus. That day That you have shared his truth. that you have encouraged someone. That your life that day has amounted to something that has eternal consequence.
The loving relationship that you enjoy with the Savior. The peace that passes all understanding. The joy that overflows in your heart. the character God is building in your life. The acceptance you feel from Him.
The faith that you have in him, the confidence that you have in him. The growth that you experience in your life. The rewards of following Jesus are innumerable. If you're one of those persons who's trying to count.
Now, if I follow Jesus and do what he says, what's he going to cost me? I'll tell you a better question. Here's the better question. What am I going to be like? If I follow him.
The next question is, what am I going to be like? if I choose not to follow him. Because when all the things are gone, The one thing that you cannot escape is what You are on the inside. You can't run from it, no matter what. What?
I know a lot of folks who'd like to take that trip back and start all over again, but as the years go by, You can't take a second back, let alone a year or decade or generation. And I want to ask you, my friend. More than likely, the vast majority of you have already declared that you're a follower of Jesus Christ. Would you say that your life is characterized by obedience to Him? That you attempt to yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life.
That's your heart's desire to be obedient to Him and to follow Him, and that your life would glorify Him and count for Him. Or are you meticulously trying to carve out? Your way, your plan, your relationships, your things. Squeezing out of life every bit of pleasure you possibly can. I want to tell you that is a futile, endless, disappointing route.
It'll never work. and you'll be sorry. before you get to the end of the way. Jesus said, follow me. If you want life, at its very best.
And if you want eternal life, Forever and ever. Thank you for listening to part two of Following Christ. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
