What Does it Mean to Follow Christ?
(By Pastor Kelly Sensenig)
William Booth walked among the poor, hungry, sick, and lonely people of London, England. The people were crammed into crumbling buildings that were full of rats. They had no jobs. There was no one to help them. Worst of all, there was no one to tell them that Jesus cared. They did not know that Jesus died to be their Savior and lives again to be their Lord.
William Booth told his wife, "I have given myself to work for God among those sick souls." The work that was begun at that time is today known as the Salvation Army.
Years later when someone asked General Booth the secret of his success, he said, "I told the Lord that he could have all that there is of William Booth. From the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ would do for them, I made up my mind that God would have all there was of William Booth. God has had all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life." William Booth gave Jesus complete charge of his life. He made Jesus the master of his life.
Someone has said:
“As the earth revolves around the sun, so should our lives also revolve around the Son.”
Dear friend, the subject I am going to address in the next several weeks is a series of messages on what it means to follow Christ? What does it mean to really follow Christ in this day and age? What does it mean when we allow Christ to be Master of our lives and have complete charge of our lives? What does Christ really want from our lives? What is Christ looking for in our lives?
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
The word “teach” means to “become a pupil, disciple or learner through the use of instruction.” In this case, the disciples were to teach or discipleship the people who were newly saved and ready to be baptized. Jesus wanted other people to become a learner and follower of His precepts and instructions that He had handed down to the disciples. Jesus chose disciples to follow Him and His teachings while on earth. Today, He expects believers in the Lord to make disciples of others who come into a saving relationship with Christ.
There was to be a continual reproduction of Christ in the lives of people. This could only be done through the vigorous ministry of discipleship to new converts.
Each one of us is called to a life of discipleship. The word disciple simply means to be a learner or pupil of the person and words of Jesus Christ. It is someone who lovingly submits and follows the Lord’s will and way for their life. In short, a disciple is someone who learns how to follow Christ and then actively begins to follow Christ in their everyday living. A disciple is someone who listens and leans what Jesus says and then goes out and does what Jesus says to do. It is as simple as that.
John 8:31
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word (obedience), then are ye my disciples indeed.”
As the earth revolves around the sun, so our life should revolve around the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! All of our ambitions, desires energies and direction in life should be centered on Christ’s personal life and His teachings for Christian discipleship and living.
The heart of real discipleship is a commitment to be like Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 1:21 Paul said:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Discipleship is learning about Jesus and following Him. This should be what our entire life revolves around. We are to live for Christ completely. When we become preoccupied with everything else and our dedication to Christ and His will for our lives takes a back seat, then we are not a real follower of Jesus Christ. You see, our lives must be centered around Christ. The centrality of Christ in the lives of many Christians is missing. We are to serve Him more, meditate upon His wonderful person more, follow His word, be obedient to His commands, fellowship with Christ and love Christ in deeper fashion.
Many times our lives only revolve around the rapid pace of work and the ongoing pressures of the world. We become like a canary in a cage and feel locked into a ritual that has no meaning and real satisfaction. We feel something is missing. What is missing is Christ. He is not central in your life. You are not centering your life around Christ, as a true disciple should. Instead, you are only caught up in the rat race of life and find yourself with a certain emptiness in your heart.
The story is told of a couple who bought a beautiful, expensive painting of Christ. When it was delivered, they went from room to room, studying the best place to hang it. However, they could not find a place in their home where it seemed to fit. Finally their only solution was to remodel their home around the picture.
This is only a story, but it does get the message across to our hearts today. A true disciple of Christ will build their entire life around Jesus Christ. They will make Him and His Word first place in their life. They will remodel the days of their lives to fit into the program and person of Jesus Christ. There are those here today who need to do some remodeling and redecorating, so they can build their life around the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ must be first in everything that we do and say. He is to be the Master of our lives and the only person that we are to follow with great dedication and commitment.
The great problem plaguing the church today is that many Christians want to follow Christ on their own terms. They want to only go so far and then forget about the real life of discipleship and commitment to Christ. They want to have their own agenda in life and follow their own plans and goals in life, without really considering what God wants for their life!
The world, the flesh and the devil have a way of choking out your true commitment to Christ and your desire to really follow Christ. We must be on guard against these enemies of our soul (Ephesians 6:10). Likewise, there is what I call the summer syndrome of idols, such as sports, hobbies and family interests that choke out your discipleship and desire to really follow Christ (1 John 5:21). The cares or distractions of this world can also smother your dedication to follow Christ.
Mark 4:19
“And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
There are a great many “cares” in this life that can interrupt your commitment to Jesus Christ. They are things that may not be bad in and of themselves. In fact, they may be things that are necessary for living, such as work and earning sufficient money for survival. Also, there are the added cares of family life, such as spending time with the family and seeing that the children are being cared for properly. There are also the cares of keeping your home looking nice and your car in good running condition. There is the care of the day to day schedule, which can grind away at you over the months and years.
All of these cares and matters in life are important. However, whenever you begin to be sidetracked from following Christ and His will for your life because of the cares of this world, then you are no longer really following Christ, as you should.
In Luke 14:16-20, Jesus spoke of the distractions of this world, which can get in the way of people becoming Christians and true followers of Christ.
“Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
The distractions of this life can override a person’s desire for salvation and their desire to ultimately commit themselves to what Christ wants them to do in life. In this portion of scripture, we can see people who were more interested in the cares of this world instead of the eternal destiny of their soul! They were more interested in their occupation, merchandise and family instead of their lost estate before God. What a picture of our day!
These earthly interests actually kept these people from salvation and ultimately from becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. The same is true in our own day and time. We have multitudes of people who are trying to excuse themselves (vs.18) from salvation and the cost of being dedicated to Christ and truly following His instructions and ways for their life.
In Luke 9:57- 62, Jesus also spoke of the same type of distractions that lead people away from salvation and ultimately from following Him as a disciple.
“And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
In verse 59, one individual wanted to go back and actually wait for his father to die, so he could inherit the father’s estate. This man’s father was not dead or even at the point of death. This disciple was simply saying he wanted to return home and wait until his father died. Then he would return and follow Jesus. His request demonstrated he felt discipleship was something he could pick up or lay down at will. He put material concerns ahead of Jesus, for he apparently wanted to receive the estate when his father died.
In verse 60 Jesus was saying that a person must make a radical commitment to Christ and allow the spiritually dead people in the world to take care of their own physical dead. The lost people of this world should be concerned and overcome about the mundane things of this life. The true disciple should be concerned about the spiritual matters of preaching about His earthly kingdom that He was establishing and people’s need for salvation in order to enter that kingdom.
In verse 61, another individual wanted to go home and say good-by to his family. It is not that this man would never see his family again; however, there was to be an immediate response to Christ. Jesus’ words underscore the fact that His message of the kingdom of God was more important than anything else - even family members. The message and the Messiah cannot wait. Jesus’ servants should not have divided interests, like a farmer who begins plowing and then for some reason looks back and neglects his own performance as a farmer. A plowman looking back cuts a crooked row and loses sight of his real job, which is cutting a straight furrow.
Since Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, the man had to make up his mind right then as to what he was going to do. Likewise, you must make up your mind concerning what you are going to do with your own life. Jesus wants you to follow Him when He calls you. This man was not to ask Jesus to bring the proposal for discipleship the following week. He was to make a decision right then regarding his discipleship. He was to follow Christ immediately.
And Jesus is asking you to follow Him right now! There is no time to argue or to be lazy. Are you going to really follow Christ or follow the distractions and cares of your life, which are keeping you from becoming a true follower of Christ? There are those here today who need to make a choice! Jesus is calling you to true discipleship today, which is a life of real commitment and obedience such as you never had before.
In both scriptural passages in Luke, we can witness three cardinal hindrances to discipleship:
1. Material comforts.
2. A job or an occupation.
3. Family and friends.
Please understand what Jesus is saying. All of these cares of life are not wrong in and of themselves. However, they can overtake our lives and keep us from our loyalties to Christ and what He would want us to do. Christ must reign in our heart without any other rival, even our own families. What we do for Christ in perspective to what we do for our families really proves our loyalty to Him.
Here are few examples:
When you want to stay home from church on Sunday and have a family day, Christ is saying that you should have a family day at church. Follow me! Do what I would do if I were here today. Jesus would be committed to church and be at prayer meeting and be involved in edifying the lives of others. You must remain loyal to what Christ expects you to do with your family and life.
You may have a job and other activities that interfere with your faithfulness in church attendance and your duties of being a servant of Christ within the church. If this is the case, then you need to make adjustments in order to be at church. These adjustments are necessary so that you can be a committed follower of what Jesus Christ wants you to do (Hebrews 10:25)!
By the way, what Jesus expects out of your life and wants you to do is clearly revealed in the Bible. His own words, which He spoke while on earth and the words that He revealed to His disciples after His departure through the person of the Holy Spirit, would reflect the mind and desire of Jesus Christ for your life (see John 16:14).