Follow Me (Matt 7:15-8:23)

“And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” (vs21-22)

Follow the Son of Man at all costs and to the exclusion of everything else. Scripture says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”, so that we trust Christ to the exclusion and rejection of all else, counting the costs, so we can be saved. Salvation by GRACE means OBEDIENCE to Christ is FREELY given by God, and He doesn’t have any who do not follow Him.

His children cannot be discerned by the human eye, but every child of God loves Christ, first and foremost, above all else. He is declaring the salvation that He gives, whereby we take Jesus to be Lord, receiving Him as one to be obeyed, says God. We don’t come to salvation and learn “Lordship” later. Coming to Christ is BELIEVING on Him to be Lord and Savior, which is who He is. Whoever believes that Jesus is first, and trusts God’s grace to follow the Christ, shall be saved: you have eternal life.

1. Beware of a prophet telling you that Christ can be anything but first in your life. Beware of thinking you can be saved by what you say, rather than by a faith that works by love – “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15-16).
2. Only the obedient shall have eternal life – “Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 7:21). There is no reason to “game” the truth and rend scriptures. We can be saved with the God glorifying and Christ exalting salvation that makes Christ all, or we can buy a counterfeit and lose our soul. What we need is FREELY given by God’s grace. He will enable all that confess Him to be Lord, all who are JUSTIFIED thereby, to live as He commands, giving REPENTANCE and works of faith following.

The child of God is disturbed about the past and sinners grieve our disobedience, but God teaches us submission and grace now… not condemning the drunk, the whore, or the false prophet, but calling us to repentance promising life for all who turn - “He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

Never mind the past. Right now, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and salvation is on His terms? Then you have His terms in you, and they are lived in you by the Spirit. God has taught you to bow.

3. There is hell to pay for disobedience to Christ, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matt 7:23). He will be served on His terms, or He will destroy forever. His is a kingdom of authority. Scripture says, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”. He must be obeyed, for His message is higher than the law. He said repeatedly, “But I say unto you” to elevate Himself, and then He attaches, “depart from me, you that work iniquity”, demonstrating that He is Judge, and if we don’t obey Him, we shall be damned (Matt 5:22, 28, 32, 34).

This Teacher’s message is to be followed. It is not enough to admire His ways, love His theory, or ponder His words. You and I must actually BELIEVE on the Son of God and WALK as He commands.

Stewards of Grace

Manifold Grace of God (I Pet 4:10)

“As every man has received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Many sides, like the sides of a diamond, are the angles of grace. It is the same stone, but looking at its angles in the light, etc, produces a different look. The body has many members serving one body. Likewise, God GRACED us with differing gifts as He saw fit: it has NOTHING to do with merit or exalting the flesh. Pastors are here to exalt Christ and show His power, but we are not to be worshiped or neglected.

Brethren have differing gifts, but God gave the gifts for His glory, so rather than COMPETE with each other, we tell what we’ve seen and heard and do what we desire for God’s glory. When God gifts, He gives a desire, and He gives ability to fulfill that desire: He brings it to pass. When He gifts a man to preach, He also covers up his sins and gives him repentance, lest he destroy the gospel with his life, which he preached publicly.

Don’t NEGLECT, be intimidated out of, or FORCE your gifts (Prov 18:16, 18). Serve God, preach Christ, walk in fear, and the Lord God will put you and I where we need to be. A man cannot impress, but he can show His thankfulness and obedience to Christ by service.

God Be Glorified Through Christ (I Pet 4:11)

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God gives: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Everything is for His glory. He saves us ALONE, so that He can be praised for doing it all. He gives us grace, and the end of grace… the evidence of grace… is GLORY going back to God. You can tell who glorifies God by WHAT they say (the gospel) and how they say it (in love).

I have preached both in the Spirit and in the flesh, saying the same words. I may think, “The gospel needs Heshimu’s help, so I will say it this way to improve it”, but it won’t work. God’s gospel glorifies God, and those that believe serve God His way, for His glory, in helping men who hate Him naturally. The tree is known by her fruit - (Matt 7:20) “Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.”