Scripture: Matthew 16:24-28
An unemployed man was desperate for a job. He saw an ad in the paper that the zoo had a job opening. He went to apply and discovered that the zoo did indeed have an opening, but it was an unusual position. Apparently, their gorilla had died, and until they could get a new one, they needed someone to dress up in a gorilla suit and act like a gorilla for a few days. They wanted someone to just sit, eat, and sleep in the back of the cage while wearing a gorilla suit. No one would know and thanks to a very realistic gorilla suit, no one would be the wiser. The zoo was offering great pay, so the man decided to take the job. He tried on the suit, and really looked like a gorilla. He took a spot at the back of the cage and pretended to sleep. People began to file by. But after a while, he got tired of just sitting, so he got up and walked around. Then, getting somewhat adventurous, he jumped up and down and tried a few gorilla noises. The people watching him seemed to really like that. He discovered to his delight that whenever he’d move or jump around, people would cheer and throw him peanuts, and he loved peanuts. So, he jumped around more and even climbed a tree. That really excited the crowd, and they threw even more peanuts. Playing to the crowd, he began to throw himself into the role. He grabbed a vine and swung from side to side in the cage. The crowd went nuts and threw more peanuts. “Wow, this is great,” he thought.
So, he swung higher, and the crowd grew bigger. He continued to swing, higher and higher but then, all of a sudden, the vine broke, right as he was at the peak of his swing. His momentum carried him over the wall of his cage, and he landed right in the middle of the lion cage. Well, he panicked. There sat a huge lion twenty feet away, that looked very hungry. So, the man in the gorilla suit started jumping up and down, screaming, “Help! Get me out of here! I’m not really a gorilla. I’m a man in a gorilla suit! Help!!” The lion quickly pounced on the man, held him down and said, “Will you shut up! You’re going to get both of us fired!”
Okay, enough monkeying around. That story reminds us that with today’s technology, we’re very good at producing imitations: fake flowers, fake wood, fake leather. These things are so realistic in appearance, that it’s hard to recognize the real thing. The reason I mention all of this is because it’s gotten harder and harder to recognize a real disciple of Jesus.
Today the words Christian or evangelical don’t mean much. Passages though like Matthew 16:24-28 identify us as Christ-followers. Since today we have four individuals obeying the Lord in believer’s immersion, it’s a good time to talk about What does it mean to be a Christ-follower?
Twenty times in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we find Jesus saying these two words: “follow me.” Our Lord continually urges others to follow Him.
If anyone else did that, we’d think that they were nuts. What if your neighbor popped over this afternoon, rang your doorbell, you answer and he said, “Follow me.” And every time you saw him, he said, “Follow me.” You’d think that he was a few clowns short of a circus. Yet that’s exactly what the Lord Jesus demands over and over again.
This morning we’re going to work through just one of those incidents. We want to answer that question provoked by Jesus’ telling us to follow Him. What does it mean to be a Christ-follower? If you’re taking notes…
1. What does Jesus mean by “follow”?
A physician shared this story about her four-year-old daughter. On the way to preschool the doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat. Her little girl picked it up and began playing with it. This doctor/mom tried to remain calm, but was extremely excited because it seemed like her daughter was expressing a genuine interest in following in her mom’s footsteps. Then the child spoke into the stethoscope: “Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?”
When Jesus said we should “follow” Him, He wasn’t talking about strapping on a pair of sandals and walking with Him along the dusty roads of ancient Palestine. No, He we must follow His example; live the way He lived; listen to His teachings; obey His commands; look to Him as our teacher and guide. That’s what it means to “follow” Christ.
Disciple is used in the New Testament as a synonym for a “Christian.” When we refer to Christians as disciples, we’re simply identifying them as followers of Jesus Christ.
But there’s something more. The word carries the idea of imitation. Disciples of Jesus Christ are those who are seeking, not just to understand Christianity in an intellectual sense, but who are seeking to be like Jesus. They’ve accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Disciples of Christ are individuals who are modeling their lives after His, who live according to the example He gave us. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me’” (Matthew 16:24).
2. To be a Christ-follower means to be a lifetime learner
A disciple of someone diligently studies to learn how to be a disciple. A disciple of Jesus is someone whose goal it is to learn to think, act and react just like Jesus. If you’re a disciple, that’s your life’s purpose—to become more Christlike. That’s why you study your Bible. It’s why you pray. It’s why you hang out with other disciples.
A disciple is a perpetual learner. Being a learner is vital to discipleship. We are always learning and must never stop because we never arrive at our goal of perfect Christlikeness this side of eternity. This means if you meet a Christian who acts like they know it all or that they’ve arrived, they’re not the real deal. Christians are always learning and growing.
Stephen Curry (picture), one of the best players in the NBA, has that attitude. One of his coaches said, “He’s the most educable player I’ve ever known—both in terms of his willingness to listen and in his ability to absorb and execute.” You’d think star athletes would have “arrived,” but they’re still learning. It’s what makes them so good at what they do. What’s true of great athletes is true of committed disciples. They’re teachable and on a journey of learning—growing—maturing—becoming.
Being a disciple of Jesus is not about arriving, it’s about progressing. It’s a consistent forward motion that continues throughout our lives.
How would you describe your progress as a Christ-follower at this point? Are you more like Jesus today than you were a year ago?
3. For a Christ-follower it’s more about what happens outside the church walls than within them
Being a Christ-follower isn’t only what happens at church but also what happens after church. It’s as much about what happens Monday – Saturday, as it is about what happens on Sunday.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I love our worship at Grace. I love our music. I even hear the sermons are okay. I cherish the time we share together in fellowship. But Christ-following is not limited to Sunday. It has as much to do with what happens when we leave here. It’s also about what takes place in our families, our neighborhoods, at work.
We’ve all met those who are Sunday Christ-followers but Monday pagans. The proof of being a Christ-follower is a continued pattern of obedience in our day to day lives. God is as concerned about us living for Him out there, as He is in our worship in here. In Psalm 51:16-17 David says, “You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Paul writes in Romans 12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
The worship of a Christ-follower is characterized by what happens in our homes, our schools, our places of employment as much as what happens in this sanctuary on Sundays. Christ-followers are to be Jesus in their marriages, families, neighborhoods, workplaces, on social media, etc.
What would those who know you say about your obedience to Jesus? Would they label you a Christ-follower? Would Jesus be pleased at how you are at work, how you treat your employer, employees or customers? Would He mark a “like” on your social media posts?
When Peter and John were arrested and hauled before the religious leaders after Jesus’ resurrection. Acts 4:13 says: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Would those who know us say the same about us?
4. To be a Christ-follower is costly
Jesus said, it’s taking up a cross and dying to self. It’s hard to be His disciple. It’s not easy to surrender to Him and live obediently in a world where you’re swimming against the current.
Let me be very clear, God didn’t make it hard or complicated to become a Christian. You repent of your sin, believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died in your place to pay for all of your sin. You simply commit your life to Him and accept what He did for you on the cross. Becoming a Christian is simple, but being a Christian is hard and costly.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (picture) said, “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace—is the kingly rule of Christ, for Whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble—it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him.”
Many Christians have bought into the lie that the life of the disciple is always a happy one without a care in the world. It’s not true. Jesus warned us. “In this world you will have trouble!” Listen to Jesus’ words in John 15:18-20. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
Did the world hate Jesus? YES. Then if we’re His followers, we’ll face hatred too. Did they persecute Jesus? YES. If we’re His disciples, they will do the same to us. Thankfully, we don’t face the persecution that so many of our brothers and sisters around the world face today…not yet anyway. But we will still pay a price to live for Jesus.
5. To be a Christ-follower is worth it
A true Christ-follower has discovered that even with the difficulty—even with the crosses we have to bear—nothing brings us the joy, fulfillment and abundance in life that following Jesus does. A Christ-follower is someone who’s discovered as Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal and to kill but I have come that they may have life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). They’ve learned that life is empty without Jesus.
Think of some of those who seemingly have it all, celebrities. It’s not uncommon for a celebrity to commit suicide: Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, David Carradine and Naomi Judd (pictures). Suicide rates have been increasing not just in the celebrity world, but everywhere in recent years. More Americans now die of suicide than from car accidents. We know there are many contributing factors, including mental illness, but I think one of the biggest factors is a lack of any real meaning in life.
This is especially seen in the lives of those who seem to have all this world has to offer, but it doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t give a purpose to live for. They don’t know that as Augustine (picture) said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
Christ-followers understand what Augustine meant. They’ve learned it’s not something missing in life, it’s some One. Meaning in life, abundance and purpose comes from knowing and serving Jesus. Only a personal relationship with Him gives us a fulfilling eternal caliber of life in spite of the difficulties that come with it.
6. To be a Christ-follower means making other Christ-followers
People who know Jesus know that others need to know Him, too. They have the secret to eternal life—abundant life and so they have a passion to share it.
Do you remember the Kansas City pharmacist, Robert Courtney (picture), who was charged with diluting cancer treatment drugs to make a larger profit? Recently, he was released from prison.
Robert Courtney held life-saving power in his hands but for personal gain diluted it to the point where it hurt others. Many fake Christ-followers do the same with the Gospel. They “water down” the gospel and in so doing, lose a desire to share their faith. A true Christ-follower isn’t like that. They’re passionate about sharing Jesus with others. They’re like our Lord—who came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus commanded His followers: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The literal translation of this Great Commission is not just “GO” but rather “As you go.” The point is that sharing the gospel is a lifestyle for a Christ-follower. A true disciple is always looking for ways to share what Christ has done for them and to lead others to faith in Him because they know that they’re lost and dying without Him.
This world will be won by Christ-followers who love the unsaved and are passionate about leading them to become disciples of Jesus. Evangelism is relational and authentic.
When was the last time that you shared what Jesus has done in your life? Are you praying for family and friends who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that they will know Him? Are you looking for opportunities to build gospel bridges? Does your heart ache to help others know Jesus?
Conclusion
Do you know what’s wonderful about being a Christ-follower? Anyone can be one. From presidents to prisoners – it’s level ground at the foot of the cross. Jesus came for everyone. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Did you catch that? “Such were some of you.” Ones that we would never ever dream of being Christ-followers, became Christ-followers!
Tony Campolo (picture) shared this wonderful story of an experience he had late one night in Hawaii. He wrote:
“Up a side street I found a little place that was still open. I went in, took a seat on one of the stools at the counter, and waited to be served. This was one of those sleazy places that deserves the name, “greasy spoon.” I did not even touch the menu. I was afraid that if I opened the thing something gruesome would crawl out. But it was the only place I could find. The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked me, “What d’ya want?” I said I wanted a cup of coffee and a donut. He poured a cup of coffee, wiped his grimy hand on his smudged apron, and then he grabbed a donut off the shelf behind him. I’m a realist. I know that in the back room of that restaurant, donuts are probably dropped on the floor and kicked around. But when everything is out front where I could see it, I really would have appreciated it if he had used a pair of tongs and placed the donut on some wax paper.
As I sat there munching on my donut and sipping my coffee at 3:30 in the morning, the door of the diner suddenly swung open and, to my discomfort, in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes.
It was a small place, and they sat on either side of me. Their talk was loud and crude. I felt completely out of place and was just about to make my getaway when I overheard the woman beside me say, “Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m going to be 39.” Her “friend” responded in a nasty tone, “So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get you a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”
“Come on,” said the woman sitting next to me. “Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it was my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?”
When I heard that, I made a decision. I sat and waited until the women had left. Then I called over the fat guy behind the counter, and I asked him, “Do they come in here every night?” “Yeah!” he answered.
“The one right next to me, does she come here every night?” “Yeah!” he said. “That’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d’ya wanta know?”
“Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday,” I told him. “What do you say you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night?”
A cute smile slowly crossed his chubby cheeks, and he answered with measured delight, “That’s great! I like it! That’s a great idea!” Calling to his wife, who did the cooking in the back room, he shouted, “Hey! Come out here! This guy’s got a great idea. Tomorrow’s Agnes’s birthday. This guy wants us to go in with him and throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night!”
His wife came out of the back room all bright and smiley. She said, “That’s wonderful! You know Agnes is one of those people who is really nice and kind, and nobody does anything nice and kind for her.”
“Look,” I told them, “if it’s okay with you, I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!” “No way,” said Harry (that was his name). “The birthday cake’s my thing. I’ll make the cake.”
At 2:30 the next morning, I was back at the diner. I had picked up some crepe-paper decorations at the store and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read, “Happy Birthday, Agnes!” I decorated the diner from one end to the other. I had that diner looking good. The woman who did the cooking must have gotten the word out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall prostitutes…and me!
At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open, and in came Agnes and her friend. I had everybody ready (after all, I was kind of the M.C. of the affair) and when they came in we all screamed, “Happy birthday!”
Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted…so stunned…so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter, we all sang “Happy Birthday”‘ to her. As we came to the end of our singing with “happy birthday, dear Agnes, happy birthday to you,” her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.
Harry gruffly mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the candles! If you don’t blow out the candles, I’m gonna hafta blow out the candles.” And, after an endless few seconds, he did. Then he handed her a knife and told her, “Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake.” Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly and softly said, “Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I…I mean is it okay if I kind of…what I want to ask you is…is it O.K. if I keep the cake a little while? I mean, is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?”
Harry shrugged and answered, “Sure! It’s O.K. If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home, if you want to.”
“Can I?” she asked. Then, looking at me, she said, “I live just down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, okay? I’ll be right back. Honest!” She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door.
As we all just stood there motionless, she left. When the door closed, there was a stunned silence in the place. Not knowing what else to do, I broke the silence by saying, “What do you say we pray?” Looking back on it now, it seems more than strange for a sociologist to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a diner in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning. But then it just felt like the right thing to do. I prayed for Agnes. I prayed for her salvation. I prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her.
When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said, “Hey! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”
In one of those moments when just the right words came, I answered, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.” Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered, “No you don’t. There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that!”
Wouldn’t we all? Wouldn’t we all like to join a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning? Well, that’s the kind of church that Jesus came to create!”
Jesus died for everyone – hookers and Hindus, Boy Scouts and bigots. Hot messes like you and me.
What does it mean to be a Christ-follower?
The very first step is to accept Him as your Lord and Savior. It’s being saved by God’s grace through faith, and then being willing to walk in obedience to Him, allowing His Spirit to transform your life.
Are you a Christ-follower? Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? You can. It’s simple, but it’s life changing. You just ask Him to be your Lord and Savior, trusting that His shed blood on the Cross paid for all of your sins.
If you are a Christ-follower, you must obey Him. You must follow and seek to be like Him. Salvation is both absolutely free, and yet it costs you everything. You receive it freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it, you’ve just committed everything to Jesus Christ. That my friend is what it means to be a Christ-follower. Are you a Christ-follower?