Saturday Scripture Gold with Bibi: Do YOU Have What It Takes to Walk With Jesus?

One of the greatest military victories of all time was when Henry V and his troops went into France to face the enemy at Agincourt. Although the French army greatly outnumbered the English army, the French lost the battle and suffered approximately 10,000 casualties to only 400 English causalities. This battle has been immortalized by Shakespeare.

On the morning of the battle, Henry's men grabbed the dirt beneath them and placed the dirt in their mouth to symbolically pledge they were prepared to die on that ground. What level of commitment are we willing to pledge our King?

Is it possible to encounter Jesus, but miss who he really is, because of our preconceived notions of who he is, or who we think he should be and what he should be like? I think it is possible to become so comfortable in our beliefs about Jesus and the Christian faith that we settle for the inferior version of what other people have told us, rather than the reality of who he really is.

And, that additionally it's possible to be so influenced by our modern culture, that we miss the radical, and exciting person waiting to be discovered in the New Testament. We, like the people in the scripture that I will refer to today, have so accommodated our faith to what we want it to be (an easy and comfortable perversion of truth), that we have been lulled to sleep, and live in complacency.

We really think we understand it all, and that is precisely the problem. We are content with shadows and we are uncomfortable with light. Light means we will have to think new thoughts, and see things in new ways. We will have to stop wanting Jesus to just be a part of our comfortable lives, and begin to seek first his kingdom. We will have to give up our cozy Christianity that has been adapted to the ways of this world, and be true Christians after the calling and model of Jesus.

Our Christian life has become a play thing, a good luck charm, rather than a radically new way of living. It means that we will have to stop preferring shadows to reality and see life through new eyes. But, that may mean that we have to face the challenges that Jesus brings. It may mean changes in our priorities and values.

This week, I will use John 6 as the basis of our discussion. Jesus had just fed the five thousand. He had proven that He could meet man’s physical needs. Now the crowds began to gather around Him. Truthfully, they cared little about Him, only what He could do for them.

They weren't interested in Him as a Savior, they simply wanted something for nothing. So Jesus preached a sermon to them; a sermon in which He appealed for them to surrender their lives; a sermon in which He demanded that they give instead of receive.

These people were willing to follow Him as long as He was feeding them and requiring nothing in return. But, when He began to tell them what would be required and expected of them if they continued to follow Him; the great crowd turned away and went back to the world (John 6:66). Unfortunately, it’s the same way today. Here's what I mean.

Just let a pastor, or preacher sermonize about the free grace of God; let him tell of all that a man receives as a Christian; let him tell of Heaven and the joy therein, and men will follow Him and call him a great preacher. But... let him call upon people to forsake the world and follow Jesus; let him ask for money for the work of Gospel.

Let him ask them to go out into the world to witness for Christ; and the majority will turn their backs and walk away. It's easy for some people to say "Amen" when the pastor speaks about what Christ gives us, but they are strangely silent when he speaks of what we should give Christ, or the pastor. 

Yes, as the crowd began to leave, Jesus sadly turned to His disciples and said, "Will you also go away? And bold Peter, who often say the wrong things, said the right thing this time. He said, "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words to eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God! (John 6:68-69)

So, what does it take to follow Jesus? What it doesn't take is treating Jesus and his teachings as a religion which is added to one’s life like an extra room is added to one’s home. This isn't about having your normal life and having Jesus too. It is about tearing down the old house and following him. It isn't about having Jesus as a part of your life, it is about seeking him as life itself.

The Bible says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7). This growth in our pursuit of Jesus leads to joy and thankfulness, but sadly it is a life that not everyone is willing to live, even those calling themselves Christian.

Therefore, what it means to follow Jesus is: abandonment of our worldly lives. Allow me to briefly expound on this. Do you remember the stories of people coming to Jesus wanting to follow him? Here is how the Scripture relates it: “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ (Luke 9:58; Matthew 8:20)

He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.’ Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:57-62). Jesus calls for us to abandon our worldly lives to follow him.

Dear readers, no human being, no matter how great they are, can meet every need in our lives. But, there is One who can meet our every need. His name is Jesus Christ! He truly is an adequate, and all-sufficient Savior. He only can profoundly meet our every need in life. In Him, and with His help, we can face whatever problems life might serve up.

I say that there are essentially two types of followers of Jesus: Those who want bread, and those who want The Bread; Those who are disappointed and offended with Jesus and follow him no more, and those who, even in their confusion, say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Which one of these is you?

Scripture: Colossians 3:17; Romans 12:1; Galatians 2:20; Romans 3:23;  Romans 12:2; Luke 14:27; Mark 12:30  

Now, let's pray...

O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen

Until next time...

Have a blessed week!

Bibi