Radical Follower

Here are some of my thoughts on Liberty's convo from this morning by Dr. David Platte.

Our world is full of people who are in deep, but quenchable need. The majority of people in the world die of easily curable diseases or a lack of clean water. As Americans, it's a pity that we don't really understand this.

Nearly a third of people across the globe claim to be Christians.
Now, with this in mind contemplate with me some of the DEMANDS that Jesus Christ, the leader of the Christian faith has made:

Matthew 16:24
"If any man may come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Luke 9:57-62
As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him,
"I will follow You wherever You go!"
Jesus told him, "Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Then He said to another, "Follow Me."
"Lord," he said, "first let me go bury my father."
But He told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God."
Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house."
But Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Luke 12:22-34

Then He said to His disciples:

"Therefore I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.

"Consider the ravens: they don't sow or reap; they don't have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren't you worth much more than the birds?

"Can any of you add a cubit to his height by worrying? If then you're not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

"Consider how the wildflowers grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon^" in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you—you of little faith?

"Don't keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don't be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

"But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don't be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won't grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.^"

Matthew 28:19-20

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

I know that some of this stuff is often seen as metaphors, but when taken literally, these commands are very demanding.

Quite different from the fluff Salvation we have created for ourselves, using Jesus Christ's death as a ticket out of Hell, as an escape from an evil past, as a safety net to use for our own desires and plans. This is so varying from the true Gospel message.

As we have seen from the info posted a few days ago from John MacArthur, throughout the entire Bible we are called to be the Slaves of God, not simply servants.

Who of us is actually willing to obey the Creator of the Universe and do as He commands?

1. The command from Matthew 16:24 says that we are to pick up our cross, which was the main instrument of torture back then (our contemporary equivalent to the electric chair or water boarding) and Jesus tells us to carry it around on our shoulders. He also commands us to deny our own wants and say "no" to ourselves and "yes" to Him.

2. Luke 9:57-62 holds three comments from Jesus on what our Christian life will hold for those who decide that they will follow Him. In the first, Jesus tells us that we are not guaranteed a roof over our heads as believers. Jesus also says that we cannot look back onto our old lives once we become a follower of His. The two latter statements deal with giving proper good-byes to our family members, which He says cannot have precedent over King Jesus. Difficult though this may be, He deserves no less than our full devotion.

3. Jesus shows that even though His commands seem more demanding than we could ever bear, He tells us in Luke 12:22-34 that He will take care of us fully. He reminds us of all the other beings He cares for such as the ravens in the sky and the wildflowers on the fields, who are cared for with a watch eye by their Creator in heaven.

4. Lastly, the great commission given in Matthew 28:19-20 commands the Christian to go out, despite the fiery arrows the devil will hurl, and show people what Christ was truly all about. The message is not all fluff, as the popular vision of today's church says, for He is worthy of every breath to be used in the glorification of Himself. Our lives are to become dedicated to Him, the One who is worthy.

This is what my faith has the power to do: take an evil, self-loving sinner, and turn this person into a being who seeks only to give glory to the Creator, who is humbled in the presence of an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God.