A Christ Follower
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34 "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16
What does it mean to be a Christ follower? What does this look like? When God saves you through the blood of His precious Son Jesus, He places His Spirit within you. God lives on the inside of you. When this happens, you begin to change. God gives you His desires so that you want to please Him. He changes your way of thinking. You no longer do the things you once did. Things that once held you captive; this could have been wrong thinking, alcoholism, sex, drugs, all sorts of addictions, lying, cheating, lust, pride, selfishness bitterness or hatred...I could go on and on. Through Jesus, we are set free from all sin and bondage. That's why God tells us in His word, "whom the Son sets free is free indeed." He has freed us from our sins by His blood. Revelation 1:5 Yes, you will still sin because it is our nature, however, you will not sin habitually. His Holy Spirit who lives on the inside will not allow you to continue. He will convict you so that you repent or in other words turn from your sin. Throughout your life you will continue to grow in Christ, this process is known as transformation. Friend, none of us have "arrived" yet. God will continue to change us, making us more like His Son. Paul, one of the greatest apostles of all time said in Philippians, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14
When Christ saves you, it is immediate, however, the process of us growing in Him and being His disciple is lifelong. His word tells us several times that: "those who endure to the end shall be saved." God tells us this in Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:13 and Mark 13:13. God's call is irrevocable, in other words, not able to be changed or reversed. Romans 11:29 Once He saves you, it is forever. You are sealed with His Spirit until the day Jesus returns for you. "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 God gave us His Spirit as a down payment on what is to come.
As a Christ follower, we are to be obedient to our Lord-whatever He asks of us. Jesus tell us, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30 Jesus asks us to come and follow Him. We know His voice and will not follow any other. Whatever Jesus asks you to do, He has already equipped you for the task and paved the way. Jesus said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28
There are many in the world who profess to be Christ followers, but you look at their life and it does not match up with what they say they believe. These same people are in church every Sunday morning. They have a head knowledge of Jesus, but they have not put their life upon Him and truly received Him. I think that is why Paul tells us to "examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless of course you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5 Take a good look at your life. Are you really living out what you believe or are you simply just going through the motions? Are you only trying to appear righteous before men? Without the Holy Spirit living inside of you, this is not only hard, it is impossible. Friend, God knows your heart. He is the only One who can remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
I want to leave you with these words from Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21:23 These words are for those whom Jesus never knew intimately. These people did many great things in the name of Jesus, however, they did not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. So, I am praying today, that you who are reading this will take a moment right now to examine yourself and your motives. There is still time while you have breath to call upon the name of the Lord. He promises that "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:9-13
What does it mean to be a Christ follower? What does this look like? When God saves you through the blood of His precious Son Jesus, He places His Spirit within you. God lives on the inside of you. When this happens, you begin to change. God gives you His desires so that you want to please Him. He changes your way of thinking. You no longer do the things you once did. Things that once held you captive; this could have been wrong thinking, alcoholism, sex, drugs, all sorts of addictions, lying, cheating, lust, pride, selfishness bitterness or hatred...I could go on and on. Through Jesus, we are set free from all sin and bondage. That's why God tells us in His word, "whom the Son sets free is free indeed." He has freed us from our sins by His blood. Revelation 1:5 Yes, you will still sin because it is our nature, however, you will not sin habitually. His Holy Spirit who lives on the inside will not allow you to continue. He will convict you so that you repent or in other words turn from your sin. Throughout your life you will continue to grow in Christ, this process is known as transformation. Friend, none of us have "arrived" yet. God will continue to change us, making us more like His Son. Paul, one of the greatest apostles of all time said in Philippians, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14
When Christ saves you, it is immediate, however, the process of us growing in Him and being His disciple is lifelong. His word tells us several times that: "those who endure to the end shall be saved." God tells us this in Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:13 and Mark 13:13. God's call is irrevocable, in other words, not able to be changed or reversed. Romans 11:29 Once He saves you, it is forever. You are sealed with His Spirit until the day Jesus returns for you. "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 God gave us His Spirit as a down payment on what is to come.
As a Christ follower, we are to be obedient to our Lord-whatever He asks of us. Jesus tell us, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30 Jesus asks us to come and follow Him. We know His voice and will not follow any other. Whatever Jesus asks you to do, He has already equipped you for the task and paved the way. Jesus said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28
There are many in the world who profess to be Christ followers, but you look at their life and it does not match up with what they say they believe. These same people are in church every Sunday morning. They have a head knowledge of Jesus, but they have not put their life upon Him and truly received Him. I think that is why Paul tells us to "examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless of course you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5 Take a good look at your life. Are you really living out what you believe or are you simply just going through the motions? Are you only trying to appear righteous before men? Without the Holy Spirit living inside of you, this is not only hard, it is impossible. Friend, God knows your heart. He is the only One who can remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
I want to leave you with these words from Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21:23 These words are for those whom Jesus never knew intimately. These people did many great things in the name of Jesus, however, they did not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. So, I am praying today, that you who are reading this will take a moment right now to examine yourself and your motives. There is still time while you have breath to call upon the name of the Lord. He promises that "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:9-13
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