"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed."
John 8:31
One of the greatest foes you will face after you Find your course--is time. You will hear people talk about Jesus coming back. Most of them will warn you that he could come back any minute. "You know not the day or the hour" they will say. And they are right.
There has not been one effective minister of the gospel since Jesus walked this earth that didn't believe that the Lord was coming back to rapture the church in his own lifetime -- and that includes Jesus, himself. (See John 21:20-23)
We preachers rely on scriptures like Ephesians 5:14-17 and Romans 13:11-14 to reinforce this line of thinking and you should give good heed to these words of warning.
Having said that, it is also important to note that Jesus left this earth over two thousand years ago and many generations of believers, just like you and me, have lived and died looking for his return.
The delay in his coming is purely a function of the merciful longsuffering of God--longsuffering which "is salvation" (2 Peter 3:9-19). But even that longsuffering creates a challenge, because you don't really want to see Jesus if all you are doing with your time as a Christian is looking for him--mistaking his longsuffering for slackness or maybe even a change of plan.
When the Lord does come, you want Jesus to find you doing--doing what he said.
- Get Saved --You must be born again. (Have you Found your course?)
- Be Baptized--Repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- Learn the word of God--Jesus said "you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31,32). He also said "take my yoke upon you and learn of me" (Matthew 11:28-30). Finally, he said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
- Fellowship with the saints--There is some debate about whether Jesus expect you to join a church. He did establish the church, but there are some variations on the original construct that I'm not so sure the Lord would stand behind. That notwithstanding, there is no ambiguity in Paul's admonition that we "not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). That day is the great and terrible day of the return of the Lord--which, I might add, is closer today than it was yesterday.
- Holiness--Without holiness, no man shall see God. Holiness and Sanctification are love driven commitments to keep your relationship with God through Jesus in its proper place--FIRST. (Romans 12:1,2 / Exodus 20:1-3 / Matthew 6:24-33)
A member of my church called me early one moring and informed me that she had a son living in Las Vegas, who had been a homosexual and an intravenous drug user for over twenty-five years. He had called his mother the day before and informed her that he had full blown A.I.D.S. and only three days to live. He asked if he could come home to die.
I told her that our church would buy him a bus ticket and encouraged her not to worry. I didn't realize how long it would take to make the trip. Almost ninety-six hours later, on a cold Sunday night in February, Franky arrived at the Greyhound terminal in Greensboro, North Carolina.
My Administrative Assistant, a 225 pound former Greensboro police detective, picked Franky up and brought him to Chapel Hill. One of our teenagers was preaching that night and I was cheering him on from the front row when Lewis and Franky turned the corner. Franky was six-foot-one (almost as tall as Lewis) and weighed ninety-six pounds. The comparison was riveting.
The deacons wisked him to the kitchen in the back of the church and I issued some hollow command to carry on with the service. When I got back there, Franky was death personified. He looked like a skeleton with bad skin draped over it. He had made the trip with only a red blanket and a bottle of water. He was certain he was going to die.
Before I could speak he said, "Pastor, I know I have been living a lie. I've been telling myself that my lifestyle was okay and that God still loves and accepts me. But I realize now that I need to repent. I really want to get saved."
I chuckled and said, "I guess you do want to get right with God Frankie--all evidence indicates that you're going to see him any minute." He smiled and nodded in agreement. Franky had lost a lot of weight and just about all hope, but he hadn't lost his sencse of humor. I liked him immediately.
I ask him one simple question. "What if you live Franky?" I said. "What if you wind up sticking around for a while? Are you willing to submit to the Lordship of Jesus, learn the word of God and be a real Christian until he comes?"
He looked somewhat surprised. He thought about it for a minute. And then, Franky reached out to take my hand and he gave his life to Christ.
I don't remember praying for Frankie to be healed. I prayed (preaching while I prayed) that he would really give his heart to Jesus and prepare to serve the Lord fully for as long as he lived. I do remember that while I was praying, I felt a hand wipe the sweat from my brow. I thought it was his mother and didn't think much of it at the time.
Franky's mom was crying. I was crying. Everybody was crying glorious tears of rejoicing as we exited that kitchen and introduced Franky to his new family in Christ. All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. (Luke 15:7)
Franky's mom had nine children. Most of them lived near her , and they were terrified of their brother's illness. They didn't want him to go home with their mother so they took Franky to the hospital that night. A.I.D.S. was very new to us all at the time. None of us knew very much about if or how it spread.
Franky said that the the orderlies simply laid him on a gurney that first night and left him to die. When he was still alive the next morning, he said they gave him a sucrose IV and left him with the same morbid expectation. When he was still alive the next day, he said they began to administer small doses of a new drug called AZT.
In a few weeks, Franky had regained his weight and was released. Franky found two jobs. He got a car. He got baptized in water and became a fixture at church.
We were renovating a new meeting space at the time and Franky came to help us tear down the old interior walls. That work site was a testimony in testosterone. Men were gladly doing what men do best--hammering and tearing up things. The music was loud and Franky was obviously one of the guys. There was a lot of debris laying around and nails and screws were hanging everywhere. That's how Frankie cut his leg.
Sudden fear flooded the room like an air borne virus when Franky's bright red blood broke through the protective covering of his battle worn skin. And just as quickly, the Lord rose up a standard and said "Fear not! Lay hands on him--right on the cut--blood and all." We obeyed and rejoiced that Franky was healed. A few days later, about twelve to sixteen weeks after he arrived, a peculiarly plump Franky walked into my office, smiling, and dropped a stack of papers on my desk.
He said, "don't worry about reading the medical jargon Pastor. I just came to tell you that my doctor says he can't find a trace of the A.I.D.S. virus in a single cell of my body." We were ecstatic. Franky was healed and now we had medical evidence to mingle with the faith we had been walking by.
That was almost twenty years ago and I wish I could tell you that Franky is still alive and doing well. But Franky had and adversary bigger than A.I.D.S. to face. He had to face the same adversary that you and I must face if we are going to Follow our course. Now that Franky had been healed, Franky had a lot more time.
Paul asked a question on the road to Damascus, the day he Found his course. He asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The answer required that Saul of Tarsus make best use of his time. "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" Jesus said.
While Saul was hearing these words, another disciple receiving similar instruction from the same Lord. "Arise and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for behold he prayeth" (Acts 9:1-18).
Paul the Apostle, received "the heavenly vision," (Acts 9:1-18 / Acts 26:1-20) a broad stroke answer to his question that day which spoke to the end of his journey. But his life from that day forward tells the tale of the practical details that must be attended to as you Follow your course.
A man under authority: Faith, at its core is a function of being willing to do as you are told. If you won't take orders, you can't walk by faith.
- Fear not! (Mark 5:21-43)
- Rise, take up thy bed and walk. (John 5:1-9)
- Bring all the tithe into the storehouse. (Malachi 3:1-12)
- Neither do I condemn thee: Go and sin no more. (John 8:1-11)
If you are going to Follow your course, you are going to have to begin by accepting the fact that the operative word is FOLLOW.
Jesus said to his disciples, "follow me." Paul instructed the Hebrews to; "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." He further admonished them to, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:7-17).
Jesus said of the centurion who begged him to heal his servant, "I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel" (Luke 7:1-10).
That centurion worked no miracles. He hadn't raised the dead. He hadn't multiplied fish or bread. He couldn't even relieve the suffering of his own sick servant. He simply understood the fundamental force of submission to authority. He said, "I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." If Frankie had understood that--If Frankie had stood under that--he might be alive today.
Name-Rank & Serial Number:
Four things happened to Saul immediately after he asked what God would have him do.
- His name was changed to Saul.
- His eyes were opened.
- He was water baptized.
- And he got filled with the Holy Ghost.
Now that you have given your life to Jesus, you are a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) You may not change the name on your birth certificate, but you need to agree with the change of identity in your heart. Solomon said, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
Old things are passed away. All things are become new. We are instructed by Paul to take off the old man and put on the new man. Follow orders!
When King Saul of Israel was anointed by Samuel the prophet in 1 Samuel 10:1-6, three similar things happened to him. Samuel told him that the donkeys he was searching for had been found. (God healed his situation and took care of his past.) Then Samuel told him that he would meet prophets who would give him food. (God promised to take care of his present--his daily bread,) Finally, Samuel told King Saul that he would meet musical prophets who would prophesy and Samuel instructed Saul to "prophesy with them," promising him that if he would, he would be "turned into another man."
One of the most challenging aspects of Following your course, is agreeing with your new surroundings. You are saved. You are forgiven. You are healed. You are the head and not the tail. The word of God is filled with equally wonderful promises--God's great and precious promises to you. (2 Peter 1:1-5)
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Scripture References:
"Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee" (John 21:20-23)? back...
"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:14-17). back...
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:11-14). back...
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Peter 3:9-18). back...
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31,32). back...
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). back...
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1,2). back...
"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:1-3). back...
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6L24-33). back...
