Proverbs 22-24
2 Corinthians 8
“From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” John 6:66-68
John 6 opens with a mega church of about ten to fifteen thousand people who were drawn to the signs and wonders of Jesus. They loved Him and even followed Him across the Sea of Galilee. But as the chapter wore on and the teachings of Jesus became difficult, many of them went from grumbling to outright anger and arguing amongst themselves. The crowd started to fall away and desert Jesus. By the end of the chapter, could we guess how many were left out of the crowd that still followed Jesus? Twelve. But even among the twelve, Jesus said, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (John 6:70). In reality, there were only eleven following Jesus by the end of the chapter.
How did we go from mega church to miniscule church in just 24 hours? Charles Spurgeon shed light on the reason when he preached, “You cannot have Christ if you will not serve Him! If you take Christ, you must take Him in all His Characters, not only as Friend, but also as Master. And if you are to become His disciple, you must also become His servant.” To know Christ is to embrace an emptying of ourselves—our preconceived ideas of how the world should work and what God should be like—and taking up the very nature of a servant. To serve Christ means submitting to His teaching and holding lightly to our own ideas. We are subject to His will, not subjecting His will to ours. We sit under His Word, not above it. We follow Him because His words are life.
What do we do when serving Jesus puts us at odds with the culture around us? Who will we serve? Will we hold on to Jesus or will we follow the crowd? Losing the crowd is one thing, but losing fellow disciples and colleagues in ministry, people whom they thought were in it to the very end, is difficult to process. After 27 years of being a Christian, I (Brett McBride) have to say I experienced that pain more than I would ever wish for; the pain of watching others walk away from their faith, and friends who have lost relationships with family members because of their faith.
As we serve and walk with Jesus, we will be challenged by the world and the culture around us. It is easy to follow Jesus when miracles are happening, but it is much harder when there is a lot of murmuring, grumbling and anger around us. May we remain steadfast in Jesus even when times are hard because He is true life.
Lord Jesus, to whom shall I go? I choose to remain in You for You hold the words of eternal life. No matter the challenges that I face in the world, I ask that You help me remain steadfast upon You. Thank You, Lord.
2 Corinthians 8
“From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” John 6:66-68
John 6 opens with a mega church of about ten to fifteen thousand people who were drawn to the signs and wonders of Jesus. They loved Him and even followed Him across the Sea of Galilee. But as the chapter wore on and the teachings of Jesus became difficult, many of them went from grumbling to outright anger and arguing amongst themselves. The crowd started to fall away and desert Jesus. By the end of the chapter, could we guess how many were left out of the crowd that still followed Jesus? Twelve. But even among the twelve, Jesus said, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (John 6:70). In reality, there were only eleven following Jesus by the end of the chapter.
How did we go from mega church to miniscule church in just 24 hours? Charles Spurgeon shed light on the reason when he preached, “You cannot have Christ if you will not serve Him! If you take Christ, you must take Him in all His Characters, not only as Friend, but also as Master. And if you are to become His disciple, you must also become His servant.” To know Christ is to embrace an emptying of ourselves—our preconceived ideas of how the world should work and what God should be like—and taking up the very nature of a servant. To serve Christ means submitting to His teaching and holding lightly to our own ideas. We are subject to His will, not subjecting His will to ours. We sit under His Word, not above it. We follow Him because His words are life.
What do we do when serving Jesus puts us at odds with the culture around us? Who will we serve? Will we hold on to Jesus or will we follow the crowd? Losing the crowd is one thing, but losing fellow disciples and colleagues in ministry, people whom they thought were in it to the very end, is difficult to process. After 27 years of being a Christian, I (Brett McBride) have to say I experienced that pain more than I would ever wish for; the pain of watching others walk away from their faith, and friends who have lost relationships with family members because of their faith.
As we serve and walk with Jesus, we will be challenged by the world and the culture around us. It is easy to follow Jesus when miracles are happening, but it is much harder when there is a lot of murmuring, grumbling and anger around us. May we remain steadfast in Jesus even when times are hard because He is true life.
Lord Jesus, to whom shall I go? I choose to remain in You for You hold the words of eternal life. No matter the challenges that I face in the world, I ask that You help me remain steadfast upon You. Thank You, Lord.
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