But getting back to that magazine, it illustrates a fallacy, because it is filled with articles by apostates. Ninety percent of the contributors think that they are great leaders, urging people to follow them, yet they for the most part, are rotten followers themselves. Christ commands them to go in one direction, but they are boldly going in another.
Do you remember Jeroboam after the death of Solomon – he was a leader, and men followed him. They followed Jeroboam right into idolatry and apostasy. Lucifer was a leader as well, taking a third of Heaven’s angels into rebellion. Nadab and Abihu, Korah and his friends and the famous Jehoshaphat all had leadership qualities. Together they remind us that more important that good leadership is good followship. With its introduction here in this scripture, let’s think about the subject of followship.
Some people not good a following simply because they WILL NOT follow.
It is wonderful, beautiful and almost amazing that these four men heard the word “follow,” and they did. They left their boats, their nets, and to some degree even their families and they followed Christ. But they are the exception and not the rule. Most people are not good followers. They may blame their genes, their fate, the stars, their IQ and whatever else they can think of. They sometimes say that they can’t follow because they are “born leaders.” But the fact is that they often lack the necessary characteristics to be able to follow. They can’t follow because it is true – followship is not in their genes – it is contrary to their depravity.
Some people would have refused Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, because they lack self-denial. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Inherent in Christ’s words is the fact that He is the leader, and He is worthy of study, imitation and pursuit. But the lives of these four men had been going in one perfectly good direction, and now Christ is going in another. That means that their fishing boats, old friends, even fishing fathers had to be forsaken to one degree or another. The long held hope of cornering the local fish market was going to have to be laid aside. There was no hope of getting rich and retiring at the age of forty. To follow Christ demands self-denial.
Look at Abraham sacrificing himself – and even his son – in order to go in the Lord’s direction. Think of David, Paul and Jeremiah; there were so many in the Word of God. Some gave up little, because they had little to give; nevertheless they gave up everything that they had. The widow with the mite which she dropped into the treasury was a follower – and that is a good thing. And yet, no one gave up anything for the Lord, which has not been repaid either in this life or in the next.
Self-denial is necessary for good followship, and so is its cousin humility. God desires humility in all of His creation, but especially in His people. For example, it is an essential element in salvation – one aspect of repentance. “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” One of the reasons that Egypt was destroyed by the the plagues was her lack of humility. Moses came to Pharaoh and said unto him, “Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.” What if Pharaoh had rushed after Israel in order to join the exodus – as a follower? One of the reasons that Israel wandered in the wilderness so long was a lack of humility. “Remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” In scripture after scripture God commands humanity to have humility. And He promises to reward it as well – “He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
No one can properly follow another unless he is willing to admit his inferiority before his leader. Inferiority is not a complex; in certain situations it is a fact and a necessity. Some refuse to obey the scriptures because they have been taught by a pastor who is not as fine a Christian as themselves. But the fact remains that the scriptures are God’s holy Word, and we are all subject to them. It is true that some men are superior to others – using a hundred different criteria – but it is appalling for anyone to think of himself as superior to the Lord. When Christ says “follow,” humble yourself, leave your nets and boats and follow.
Followship also demands patience and stamina. Look at the lives of the early apostles; they had a hard time of it for three years. At times they thought that the Lord was going far too fast for them. They couldn’t keep up with His teachings, asking Him over and over again to repeat what He had said. Then when he steadfastly set His face toward Jerusalem, they tried to slow Him down. At other times they thought that Jesus was far to slow for them. They were looking for the Millennium, but it wasn’t developing. And there He sits at the lip of the well of Jacob talking with a common harlot – an adulterer. He stoops to help a lonely soul; He blesses a few runny nosed kids. “Jesus, your friend Lazarus is sick unto death. Let’s hurry to his bedside.” And He replies, “Follow me, but let’s take our time.” To follow the Lord sometimes can make our heads spin. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
Another requirement in following is love and the commitment which love requires. What makes the puppy follow his master through the pouring rain – is it wisdom? Is it humility, common sense, depravity? None of the above – it’s just plain puppy love. But you and I aren’t puppies so maybe the illustration is faulty. Do you know why many Christians won’t follow Christ in tithing and giving to missions? Puppy love. Do you know why many spend more on their puppies than then do on the Lord? Puppy love. Why do we pray so fervently for our sick loved one, but not for the Lord’s glory? Puppy love. Often the reason that potential disciples don’t follow the Lord is that they love themselves more than they love their Saviour. Puppy love. Certainly that is not what they say – rather they have other excuses, but it’s still a matter of puppy love. Love does the impossible, through sickness, through weakness and through penury. Paul said that the love of Christ constrained him to serve the Lord. The honest truth is that very few people are willing to follow the Saviour, because they don’t love Him well. When we get to Heaven and many of our questions are answered, will the lack of Christian pastors be revealed to be a lack of love? Christ was calling these four men to become under-shepherds for Christ – pastors.
A fifth requirement for following the Lord well is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. No one can follow unless he knows where he is going, and that requires a guide. You can’t know the Word of God without the Holy Spirit; neither can you know the Will of God without Him. Jesus said, “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” I suppose anyone might have doubts about forsaking his fishing nets to follow Christ, but the man who is filled with the Holy Spirit will have comfort, confidence and God’s counsel to support him in his decision.
To be good followers it requires: self-denial, humility, love, patience, stamina and the Holy Spirit. I assume that John and Peter, Andrew and James had these, so they followed as commanded.
And what were the effects of their following Christ?
As I’ve told you many times, there is a trip that I’d like to take some day, when I’m rich and blessed with lots of time on my hands. I’d like to sail up the ”Inside Passage” to Alaska. It’s called the ”Inside Passage” because it is sheltered from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and a hundred other islands further north. The trip would require a boat for several days, and then I’d like to ride the train from Skagay, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. In my imagination, I can picture mountains rising out of the sea, glaciers running into the sea, whales jumping out of the sea, and a hundred other spectacular sights. But to follow the Saviour, riding on His grace and wisdom, is equally exciting – and far more rewarding. In fact, I will not be disappointed if I never make that trip up the ”Inside Passage,” because, I’m on a far better trip right now.
When Jesus said to Andrew and James, “follow me,” did they know that he’d be taking them through a wilderness of suffering? Isn’t that where He went Himself, with denial, misunderstanding and opposition? How often did people pick up stones with which to kill the Saviour. Don’t forget that on some of those occasions, Peter and James were standing right beside Him. How often did Christ hold the diseased hand of someone whom He could help? How many of those diseases were infectious and contagious? After Jesus’ departure, weren’t the roads often really rough for those disciples? “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” The scriptures say, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” May I paraphrase that to read “All that will follow Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” There is not a missionary – there is not a pastor – who has been in the ministry very long who has not had a knife plunged into his back. “Et tu, Brute?” Despite the problems, we never read of any of these four men quitting or running off.
As we look at Jesus Christ, we see that in His tribulation was displayed His greatest strength. And as I said last Wednesday, the Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul, Christ’s humble follower replied, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In weakness, but following orders, Moses smote the rock and the water poured out. And in weakness, Gideon’s army was reduced to just a few hundred, giving God the opportunity to defeat the mighty Mideonite hoards. It certainly wasn’t human strength which brought down the walls of Jericho – it was followship.
Followship carries with it special promises of knowledge and guidance. “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” – Hosea 6:3. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” – John 8:12. We are living in a wilderness of fiery serpents and poisonous people, making it especially important to be good sheep. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” When Israel was traveling, they had the blessing of the Pillar of Cloud and Fire. When Israel was not following the Lord, they lacked the light and direction of that Pillar.
One of the greatest effects of following Christ is described in John 12:26. “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” What this says is that despite the hardships, we can’t go wrong in following the Lord. Following Satan will lead you to hell; Following men will lead you to death. Following philosophy will lead you to error; Following details may lead you no where. But following Christ will lead to the praise of the Lord and the glorification of the Saviour.