There is a well-known quote you have probably heard before that says: “Lead, Follow, or get out of the way!” I think I first saw it on a bumper sticker which is applicable when driving- for those of us who have their patience ‘tested’ when behind slow drivers. ;-)

And yet....ironically....(dovetailing off of yesterday’s message)...the only way we can truly ‘follow Jesus’...is to get ‘IN the way!” ;- )

I’ll give you a quick moment with that one.

A few years back when Kathy, my wife, was working for Baylor Hospital in Dallas (she’s a nurse), she had the opportunity to work with the nursing school there for maybe a year or two. She did it because she simply loves to teach new nurses, sharing her passion and wisdom in a field she was truly suited and gifted to work in. It was a part-time gig where she taught one or two classes that were an introduction to basic nursing skills. And when I say ‘basic’, we are taking about simple things from patient care, hygiene, and skills like taking blood pressure, temperatures, etc. I will never forget the story she relayed to me one time about a group of students she had. It was either while instructing them how to insert a foley (catheter) or it was showing them how to help a patient use a bedpan. One of the ‘rookie students’ looked up at her and asked: “We won’t really have to do this when we are nurses, will we?” I don’t even have to suggest how much I’d paid to see the look on Kathy’s face when she heard that because...I know that look well! And only because I can say dumb things at times, myself.

I share that story because I think a lot of professing believers have the same mindset when it comes to this idea of ‘following Jesus’. It looks great on paper, makes for good messages and Bible studies, and even inspires songs like: “I Have Decided....to Follow Jesus.” But when it really comes down to ‘doing it’...well my goodness, it’s a good thing to aim for but who can really do that on a regular basis, right?

Friends...let the record show: Following Jesus is not an ‘option’ for 'believers'.

I wish I could tell you differently, but that would be ‘sugar coating ‘the gospel. I heard someone make the statement the other day that I don’t ‘sugar coat’ my messages here and honestly, I never have given that much thought. I just feel like I’m sharing plenty of scripture (that I make no apologies for)...scriptures that we need to hear, and hear often because I think many have been ignorant of them, and it shows. I also understand why we tend to want to ‘sugar coat’ things that are ‘good’ for us but oftentimes hard to swallow because of ‘taste’. The only problem with doing that with the gospel...is it produces a church full of diabetics because it seems that is what most hear anymore... a sugar coated gospel.

If we are NOT following Jesus, as in ‘abiding in Him’, then no fruit is being produced. (John 15:4-5). The only way fruit can be produced is if something ‘dies’ first. (John 12:24). And that is exactly what Jesus begins to lead us to do...is to ‘die’ to self as we put that old man to death. (Rom. 8:13). That is what those who ‘belong to Christ’ have done. (Gal. 5:24).

It’s not good enough to have a thick trunk with plenty of leaves and branches as we grow tall and seemingly ‘strong’. IF there is no fruit, it will get cut down. (Luke 13:6-9; Matt. 3:10; 7:19-20; John 15:6). Fruit really does matter.

Were you aware that the very first ‘command’ we have recorded in our Bibles that God gave to His new creation was: “Be Fruitful!” (Gen. 1:28)?

And if we are not following Jesus, then the wrong kind of fruit will be produced which will have devastating consequences. (Isa. 5; Matt. 13:36-43)

A day is coming when ‘many’ will hear: “Depart from Me...I never knew you.” (Matt. 7:23)

Would you like to see who are the ones that He ‘will know’? Look at John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice...and I know them...and they follow Me.” Could it be any more clear than that?

So why should we follow Jesus? Well, for starters...look what He declared for all the world to see, read, and hear:

“I am the WAY, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’’ (John 14:6)

I have to tell you...I was reading back in Exodus the other morning and came across something I had never ‘seen’ before; and some more ‘dots got connected’. It had to do with that word or phrase ‘the way’.

Did you know back in the early days of the church that followers of Jesus were known to be a part of...’The Way’? That is how they phrased it. (Acts 9:2 19:9,23; 22:4;24:14,22)

Before Paul was converted, he went by ‘Saul’ and while he was ‘breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord’...he sought permission to find and gather up those who “were of the Way”. (Acts 9:1-2). It actually makes me laugh when I think of that bumper sticker and how folks who are ‘in the way’ get on other people’s nerves. ;- ). And Jesus did say that those who were truly following Him would be ‘hated by all men’. (Matt. 24:9; 10:22; 2 Tim. 3:12)

But back to the part where I was reading in Exodus. Why, you ask, would I spend time reading back in there? Well, for starters, Paul explains in 1 Cor. 10:4-11 how what took place back then was given as an example and warning for all of us, upon whom the end of the ages has come’. (11)

And given we are told to ‘examine ourselves’ to make sure we are ‘in the faith’ (2 Cor. 13:5), it never hurts to go back and look at the ‘blueprints’. That really is what much of the OT was...a set of blueprints, or ‘types and foreshadows’ of what was to come. We are blessed to not only be living in the day to see the fulfillment of what was written....but we have those writings to examine and study for ourselves. (2 Pet. 3:1-2; Acts 3:24-26; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

So turn, if you would, to Exodus 23. God had used Moses to lead the people out of bondage in Egypt, which is a picture of what Christ came to do and setting us free from the bondage of sin, the flesh, the devil, and this world. They crossed the Red Sea miraculously, and then into the wilderness, which was meant originally to only be a short journey of maybe two weeks before they came to the Promise Land. We would later learn the purpose for the wilderness was to ‘test their hearts to see if they were going to follow God and keep His commandments’. (Deut. 8:2). He still does that, you know. (1 Thess. 2:4)

They failed the test and spent the next 40 years wandering about until that first generation died out. We could save ourselves a lot of wasted time and suffering if we would learn from their mistakes ...and simply ‘do whatever He tells us to do’. (John 2:5; 1 Cor. 10:11; Hosea 4:6)

Yet, early on...God told them: “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you...in ‘the way’ and to bring you into the place I have prepared.” (Ex. 23:20)

They were then told to “beware of Him and obey His voice...and do not provoke Him’. (21). We can still do that, you know...’provoke Him’. (1 Cor. 10:22)

Let me assure you what God did NOT advise this group of folks who barely knew 'top from bottom' after they were liberated and then taken out of their life of miserable routine. He did not tell them to just ‘go and figure it out for yourselves’! Nor did He instruct them to go find some group of folks who seemed like nice people and start meeting with them regularly. God had every intention of leading them across the Jordan river and in to take possession of this new land (new to them) where He could establish them, bless them, provide for them, and protect them. He wanted to make them ‘fruitful’, keep them healthy and strong, and ensure that their future generations would continue to be the recipient of His blessings.

He just had pretty much one condition they would need to meet: “Love Him with all their hearts”...and that meant they would do what He asked of them. (John 14:15). And if they did...then God assured them things would go very well for them....and their children. (Deut. 5:29). But if they didn’t....well...they would soon learn. (John 5:14)

Two quick points here in closing for today that I will leave you with that really jumped out at me when reading through this. The fact this ‘Angel’ (want to guess who that was?) was going to go before them and ‘keep them in the way’... in order to bring them into the place God had prepared’...had strong implications of their needing to ‘follow’ Him...IF...they hoped to arrive at this place of promise. But it’s vs. 21 that really jumps out as it reads: “Beware of Him and obey His voice...”

In all my sharing what I have learned about ‘abiding’ in Jesus, I have often used another word that begins with the letter ‘a’ that I find is synonymous with the word ‘abide’ and it has to do with having an ‘awareness’ of His presence. To be ‘aware’ is to ‘beware’. And in the same breath it says...not only to ‘beware’...but also...’obey His voice’. Imagine that- God actually ‘talks’ to us? And what did Jesus say in John 10:27? And those ‘sheep’ who hear ‘His voice’...do what? This is about to get interesting....join me tomorrow?