Follow Me

Weekly Update – July 20th, 2023

The Biblical command issued by Jesus throughout the gospels to those who would be his disciples is, “Follow Me.”  Every passage in the New Testament in some way or another gives us this command too.  Hopefully this has been clear the last several weeks as we have been walking through Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  But, for the sake of even greater clarity, lets take an overview look at what the command from Jesus to follow him actually looks like in our lives as Christians. 

First, when confronted with the call to follow Jesus there are only two responses:  turn and run or bow and worship.  As we saw briefly two Sundays ago, eventually everyone will respond through bowing and worshipping Christ as Philippians 2:10 says, “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow.”  The question is when?  If it is now in this life, then we will bow in praise looking forward to the forever joy of being with our savior.  If it is after this life is over, then we will bow in submission as a conquered foe being sent to exile and forever separation from God.  When confronted with the majesty of God and the glory of Christ shown through his sacrifice on the cross, bowing in worship should be our only response.  Bowing in praise and worship in this life is more than a verbal affirmation though.  It is life devotion, repentance from sin, and a desire to serve Jesus Christ in everything.  Follow Him today by bowing in worship.

Second, following Jesus means that we will be transformed.  If we believe in Christ, we are then united to him.  This means that everything Jesus accomplished in his life, death and resurrection is now ours.  Through this uniting we have a wealth of the resources at our finger tips.  We have the righteousness of Christ covering our sin and we have the power of the Holy Spirit within, just to name a few.  And through this uniting and all that comes with it, we are transformed in our thoughts, our desires, our will, our relationships and even our purpose in this life.  This transformation process takes our entire lives, as we saw last week, as this transformation grows in our hearts and minds, we grow in greater satisfaction and contentment with Jesus.  This is how Paul can repeatedly write about his joy, even in the midst of his circumstances (Phil. 1:4; 1:18; 2:2; 2:17; 3:1; 4:1; 4:4; 4:10).  Follow him today and be transformed.

Thirdly, following Jesus means we give God a blank check.  This is a fundamental point to what it means to be a Christian.  Jesus is working in this world to advance his kingdom, he is worthy of all glory and our absolute surrender and he has clothed every single believer with his power.  We now all have the same purpose in this life – preach the gospel to the world.  The world is lost, God’s word guarantees the salvation of many and we all have been given the Holy Spirit; therefore what other option do we have?  Giving God a blank check means that we respond with open hands desiring God to take and use our lives as he wishes for his purposes (Phil. 1:18).  God’s will is for his glory to be known throughout the entire world, following Christ means that this is our goal as well.  Follow him today by giving God a blank check. 

Following Christ is more than simply a call to pray a prayer or sign a card and then live your life however you please.  It is a summons to lose your life in this world and devote all that you have to worshipping and serving King Jesus.  To rightly know Jesus, to properly serve Jesus and to longingly see Jesus one day, it is imperative that we understand what this command means.  I pray that as we walk our way through Philippians that this command will show itself clear as we continue to examine the call of Christ to follow him through living lives that are full of joy, content in Jesus Christ.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson