My pastor, Dr. Michael Lewis, has been preaching a sermon series titled “Fan or Follower” based on the tags on Facebook and Twitter. He has demonstrated how a “fan” is more like someone who knows about God, cheers Him on, is a bit confused about eternal life, and isn’t fully committed to God. A “follower” is more like one who has given their heart to God and chooses to follow His’ ways and share God with others. They will follow Jesus wherever, whenever, and will do whatever He says and does. (simplified version here)
Throughout all the scriptures today in Joshua 24:14-28, Luke 19:28-44, Psalm 53:1-6, and Proverbs 12:17-18, I kept being reminded about our choice to be a “Fan or Follower”.
In Joshua 24:15, Joshua says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” He proceeds to remind the people what all God has done for them. Later they all cheer out that they will serve the Lord too. (I kept thinking, “Yea, yea, we’ve heard that before from you guys. How long will this “I will serve the Lord” thing last?”) They reminded me of “fans”.
Are we so different sometimes? We can see where God has been there for us, yet we may still hold onto something from our sinful life that we think brings us satisfaction, only to discover later that it brings about misery. When we do remember all the blessings He has given us, we may get excited and cheer Him on. But is it for a moment or has all He done really changed our life and makes us more committed to “follow” Him. He instructs us not to serve two masters. We need to choose and stay with God.
In Luke 19:37-38 it says of when Jesus was entering into Jerusalem as King, “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Again, many of these were cheering and praising Him on, but weren’t these some of the same ones who didn’t stand up for Jesus in front of the Pharisees of other officials later? “Fans” or “Followers”?
Standing up for Jesus is not something we need to do when it is only convenient for us. We need to be strong and not be ashamed of God all the time.
In Psalm 53:1 is says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Ouch! Let me just tell you that there is a God and He is God alone! When I read this it made me think about the Phillips, Craig, and Dean song, “You are God Alone” In the chorus they sing,
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone
Then the bridge of the song says that God is: Unchangeable, Unshakable, and Unstoppable. All I can say is, “AMEN!” (See the link to the video to this song, http://youtu.be/hMXpHhr_NkA )
Then in Proverbs, we read again about the cause and effects of good vs. evil. The choices we make not only affect us, but others. Remember that.
Do you choose to be a Fan or Follower?
John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
| May 1 |