Are You a Fan or a Follower? (Part One)
This sermon is part of a "Not a Fan" series from Kyle Idleman and City on the Hill Productions. It is an awesome Bible Study!
Whose kid actually ends up going into the professional lemonade stand business?
Lets just say that your child was doing so well and that the business had grown to the point that it could become a full time thing, there is one thing that has to happen for that child to decide to make it a profession.
And in that pivotal moment of his life, he had to make a choice. Is this going to become a career? Is he going to hire a few employees to share the load? What will he choose?
These kinds of moments are NOT unique to the business world. I think a much more common experience lies in the realm of our relationships.
You know, at some point in our relationships we reach a point where we have to have that DTR talk!
You know what that DTR talk is?
That is DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP talk.
We need to define the relationship and find out where we stand with Jesus.
And to look at Christ’s invitation, we’ll be using a verse that clearly lays out what it means to be a follower of Christ.
It’s Luke 9:23, and it reads, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
So today, I am asking you, Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?
The word fan is defined as “an enthusiastic admirer.” We’re all fans of different things, right? Many of us are sports fans. We watch the games. We cheer on the team. Some of us own the jerseys of our favorite players or teams. We understand the concept of being a fan of sports. Right? Amen?
And my concern is that our church has the potential to very easily become a stadium full of fans of Jesus. And Jesus never cared about having fans. If you define a fan as an enthusiastic admirer, then fans were not important to Him.
See, I think we have a tendency to come together once a week and be fans of Jesus. We sit down in our seats and we open up our programs. We say our amens at certain times and we leave somehow thinking that, as the fans, it was all done for us. We get in the car and we evaluate the sermon, and we kind of give the service and song selection a thumbs up or thumbs down. And we come back and do it again the next week.
Some that are reading this may think they are followers but are actually just fans.
Ask yourself three questions and be honest with your answers to find out which you are.
First, Why Are You Here (going to church)?
Is it for the praise and worship style? Is it the style of preaching that you like? Is it the comfortable pews?
You see, the main reason the crowds were showing up around Jesus was because of the spectacle. They didn’t care as much about the teaching, about the life changing lesson. They were there for the show.
The second question, Are You All In?
Being a follower of Jesus requires complete commitment.
A follower of Jesus will do whatever it takes to follow Jesus. They’re absolutely loyal, completely committed.
Oftentimes, we look at our relationship with Jesus and say, “I’m going to follow Jesus, but I’m going to kind of pick and choose the areas in which I will follow Him.”
We might say, “Well, I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t ask me to forgive the person that hurt me.
Or maybe, “I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t talk to me about my money. I work hard for that money.”
You see, with Jesus we have to be ALL IN! Amen?
And thirdly, Have You Made It Your Own?
Many of us started going to church because of a parent.
Mom made you.
Dad said you had to.
There wasn’t an option.
Or maybe you started coming because of a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a spouse. You came because they like it when you come. You came because it appeases them.
That can happen to us in church. We keep coming to appease someone else, and pretty soon we get into the flow of things. We know most of the songs, and we even recognize the stories or the teachings, and we’re kind of fans of Jesus. But that can be the most dangerous situation to be in.
If your faith isn’t your own, if you aren’t pursuing a relationship with Jesus, and you keep coming week after week and begin to create a “faith” that was someone else’s in the first place, you’re just numbing yourself to the real thing.
You have to make your faith your own. Jesus isn’t looking for a relationship between you, your mom, and Him.
He’s not looking for a relationship between you, your spouse, and Him.
He’s looking for a relationship with you.
He wants you to be a Follower Today!
Be blessed
Comments
I say I'm a follower but in the back of my mind, doubt plays its game. But I know with all of my heart that Jesus is my savior and I'm going to heaven because I invited Him in my heart and asked Him to forgive my sins. So, all of that said, I just tell satan, the father of lies to get behind me. I get up each day thankful I have another day to serve Him and do my best to shine His light and love people.
Amen!