"F.O.L.L.O.W._ME pt.1: Faith & Obedience"

Feb.2/03 Mk.1:14-31

(Group Participation) What does it mean to be a Christian?

Today we're beginning a new series, so I'd like to start off differently, with some group participation. Let's get together in 3s or 4s with those around you and discuss for a few moments this question:

"What are some MISconceptions people have about what it means to be a Christian?"

(repeat) Got it? Good! Let's go...

(answers may include - going to church, giving an offering, be a nice person etc.)

All right, let's turn it around now and tackle this question in our groups:

"What would you say is the ESSENTIAL thing about being a Christian?" Suppose you were trying to explain it to an interested seeker, what IS the key thing?

Hash that around for a minute...Use both sides of the brain God gave you!

(answers may include believing, loving, obedience etc.)

These responses are great. Over the next couple of Sundays I'd like to offer you an acronym that summarizes some key elements of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, illustrated from the first two chapters of Mark's gospel, though we'll be taking a more topical tack than simply sticking with one passage. I'm hoping this will be helpful to you in clearing up misunderstandings people may have about Christianity, as well as guiding us to be better disciples in our own daily walk. It's based on the word "follow" as in "Follow Me!" and goes like this: F-faith, O-obedience, L-listen, L-love, O-offering, W-wonder. There's much more to belonging to Jesus than just these, of course, but these 6 things are pretty central to living for His Kingdom. Today our focus is on Faith and Obedience.

Faith - Seeing the Unseen

Hebrews 11(1) says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Faith sees the unseen, it's conviction or awareness of what can't be checked out by the human eye. It's just the opposite of the popular phrase, "Seeing is believing." Yet Biblical faith is not just a "blind leap": it's based on God's Word or promise. The Lord speaks or reveals Himself in some way to a person (sometimes through Scripture or a third party), then faith is their acceptance or rejection of what God's shown them. Faith requires us to perceive spiritual realities beyond the simply physical reality that our five senses can gauge. Thomas saw the nailprints and scars in Jesus' resurrected body and decided what the other disciples had been telling him was true after all. Jesus responded, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Turn with me now to Mark chapter 1 and let's note how faith in Jesus is an essential quality that develops in His followers, with several dimensions to it.

a.risk (14)

"After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God." (Mark 1:14) When your buddy is thrown into the slammer by the authorities for no good reason, your initial reaction would be to run in the opposite direction rather than go take up whatever cause he's been agitating for. Though John had been arrested and incarcerated, Jesus went, He accepted the risk, He knew He'd be putting His life in danger. Faith involves a willingness to surrender our safeguards. On Dec.30, three American staff members were shot and killed at a Baptist hospital in Yemen; a fourth was wounded. It's reported the gunman said he shot the Americans because they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country, and in order to "cleanse his religion and get closer to Allah." But the Baptists are not shutting down all their missions because of the danger. Faith, of the "commitment" kind, keeps them there. The President of the International Mission Board explained, "I think all of our personnel recognize there's some risk involved...[But] we would not choose to end our ministry and service because of risk and danger to our personnel.If we did, we would probably be ending our ministry in many countries throughout the world." Danger is just something that goes with the territory in holding certain beliefs, a particular faith.

Faith doesn't just see the obstacles, it sees the long-term plan. It involves vision, sensing "the time has come" (v.15) for a particular action, seeing your "cue". God's governing (what Jesus calls the Kingdom) is actively arranging circumstances in a pregnant crisis, a potent combination of agents in which you can be His catalyst. There's a part for you to play - don't miss your line!

♢response to proclamation (15)

Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Here faith is a response to a proclamation, acceptance or rejection of news, an intelligible proposition. The "good news" or gospel is a set of communicable truths or propositions about how we can be saved from judgment for our sins and receive eternal life with God through what Christ has done in dying and rising on our behalf. You can share this over a cup of coffee, sketch it on a napkin (through an illustration such as the Bridge to Life), read it in a tract, broadcast it by satellite, present it in music or drama. It's a story and an offer at the same time, a proposal, it invites a response. The response of faith - do you believe it or not? Similarly, Jesus rebuked His hearers for not accepting John the Baptist's message; He said, "John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did." (Mt.21:32) The main message Jesus sought to get out was that the Kingdom is here, God's deliverance is available for those who'll accept it. In John 5(24) He says pointedly, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." In Mk.1:20 Jesus "called them" - He invited a response.

♢   accompaniment / association: "in" Christ (17)

What was it He said to Simon and Andrew? V.17, "Come, follow me..." Another aspect of faith is accompaniment, going along with someone, associating with them. Before the word "Christianity" was coined it was known as "The Way" (Acts 9:2; 19:9). It's a "going with" the Lord on a journey to a destination. Faith means you stick together with Him. The New Testament writers expressed this association as being "IN Christ" (Rom.8:1; 16:7). Jesus spoke of the branch abiding in the vine, staying connected or attached in order to bear fruit (Jn.15:4,6-7). Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha video illustrates this by inserting a piece of paper in a book: where the book goes, the paper also goes. Faith means accompaniment, going with, following closely.

♢   vulnerability to be changed (17)

"Come, follow Me," he said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Did Simon say in the back of his mind, "Oy, 'oos 'at bloke t'ink 'e is? I've bin a fisherman all me life. Grabbed 'n' gobbled dese guppies all me days, 'n made a decent livin' at it, too. Wot's addled 'is brain t't'ink I'd ever wanna be anyt'n diff'rnt? 'Fishers o' men', eh - d'ya hear dat Andy -- 'at's a new one - I'd like t'see d' hook y'use fer dat!"

Whatever misgivings Simon and Andrew may have had, something about this Rabbi enchanted and drew them mysteriously to follow Him. Not just for a day or two, but over three years, and then the rest of their lives. They were forever changed. Under the Master's touch, a nobody fisherman with a quick temper, coarse language, and thick Galilean accent became the key man who opened the door of the gospel to thousands and whose Pentecost presentation launched the universal Christian church. "Prayer changes things", but Jesus changes people. Faith involves vulnerability, a willingness to be re-shaped in a way that will glorify God and help us find our true purpose in life.

♢   yielding independence and control (18)

V.18 says, "At once they left their nets and followed him." They suspended their livelihood right then and there, they yielded their independence and control over their income. Instead they entrusted themselves to full-time learning and intensive ministry training with a wandering rabbi. Sometimes the miracles no doubt resulted in a grateful offering from the person who was healed, and there was the occasional tax collector's feast, but there would be plenty of lean days, too. It's a scary thing to drop everything and change occupation in midlife. Only later on would the Twelve realize that martyrdom, not crowns and power, awaited them on earth. Faith involves a total commitment, like sitting in a chair by putting your whole weight on it: you've got to trust what's supporting it. Believing takes you out of the driver's seat, out of control.

♢new relationships / breaking family ties (20)

In v.20, James & John did not just leave the nets they were preparing, but their father and the hired men. Faith means a willingness to adopt new relationships and let go of unhelpful ones. Rom.5(1) promises, "since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." We are "put right" with God, that relationship broken by Adam's sin is restored, His Holy Spirit gives us consciousness of being His children in a "born-anew" sense through faith.

At the same time, becoming a Christian may entail a painful rupture of relationships with family members who don't understand what's happened to us, or who've been pressuring us to do what we know is wrong, or have expectations that we'll carry on the family enterprise when we're realizing God's calling us to a different vocation. Who knows whether Zebedee was able to refrain from constantly complaining in the pub about how his two sons, his pride & joy, just "up 'n' run off" one day with that "good-for-nothin' wild-eyed preacher"? Did the hired men end up sharing the inheritance that would have been James' and John's? Faith prepares us for such sacrifices.

♢not mere knowledge (24)

Christ's message in the synagogue at Capernaum sure hit home to at least one person. In v.24 a man possessed by an evil spirit cries out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are— the Holy One of God!" Faith has content, it can be summarized in teaching -- but it's more than just knowledge. The evil spirit knew better than anyone else in the assembly that day who the preacher happened to be -- the very Son of God; but did that knowledge bring it any closer to God? Absolutely not! It was terrified, fearing its own destruction!

James writes in ch.2(19), "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that— and shudder." There's more to faith than just believing "that": real faith has to do with commitment, believing in. John (3:18,36) puts it pretty plainly: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son...Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him." Faith has to do with receiving and welcoming God's direction instead of rejecting it. If we truly believe, we will submit to the Lord's leading, whatever difficulties that may present in the short term, trusting that He knows best and will make "all things work together for good" to those who love Him (Rom.8:28).

Faith then is the "F" that begins the lifelong, eternity-long joyful journey of FOLLOWing Jesus. The New Bible Dictionary says, "Faith is clearly one of the most important concepts in the whole New Testament.Everywhere it is required and its importance insisted upon.Faith means abandoning all trust in one's own resources.Faith means casting oneself unreservedly on the mercy of God.Faith means laying hold on the promises of God in Christ, relying entirely on the finished work of Christ for salvation, and on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God for daily strength.Faith implies complete reliance on God and full obedience to God."

Obedience - carrying out the Master's orders

Reliance results in obedience. That's the "O" after the "F" in "FOLLOW". Obedience, most simply put, is doing what you're told. Faith recognizes Christ died to be our Saviour; obedience acknowledges Him to be our Lord. Faith rests upon what Jesus did at the cross for us sinners long ago; obedience acts on His purpose for us to be His Body, carrying out HIs will, in the world today.

Obedience is pivotal in covenant relationships. In Genesis, God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden and commanded Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17) As soon as the first couple eats the fruit, they become ashamed and hide; God's first response is to ask, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:11) Obedience (or lack thereof) is clearly the issue; God emphasizes this when pronouncing punishment (Gen.3:17). Paul sums up the severity of the consequences in Romans 5(19), "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners."

Abraham is seen as a model of faith and obedience. Note how they're linked in Hebrews 11(8), "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8) James (2:22) notes, "You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." Faith without obedience isn't really faith, just fluff. Obedience shows our faith to be real.

Let's look briefly again at Mark 1 and spot how obedience is woven in with faith.

♢   moving into danger (14)

As we already saw, John's being chucked into prison didn't deter Jesus from proclaiming what to Herod was an unpopular message. "Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming" - he obeyed, put feet to His faith.

♢cost to one's livelihood (18)

The fishermen "at once...left their nets and followed Him". They didn't stand around all day knee deep in indecision, stalling for time, resisting the Saviour's call: they dropped what they were doing and followed. They got out of the boat - later Peter would even walk on water. But the obedience had to come first, the willingness to sacrifice.

Recently several Christian bands in the Vancouver area had a chance to play in a Hollywood movie. The title of the movie is "Saved", but it's a religious satire. Several bands were approached to take part but declined because of the movie's mocking tone. The manager for the band Venere said, "It's over the top.It brings out a radical type of Christian lifestyle.It really goes overboard with the Christian jargon." He reports band members said "the church does have flaws, but they don't need this kind of publicity." Four other Christian bands including Jake turned down the role. The talent agency rep comments, "It's somewhat rare for me to find integrity among bands who say they're upset with the content of a project, especially among independent artists." Their scruples cost them, but they were being obedient.

♢recognizing authority (25-27)

A somewhat negative example of obedience is the evil spirit in vv.25-27. It admits it knows who Jesus is; Jesus sternly commands it to come out, and it does. The bystanders are amazed, remarking that Jesus' teaching is "with authority - He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him."

If someone unknown to you were to show up at your front door and demand that you go with them or do something unexpected, you would likely ask to see their identification - what authority do they have to ask you to do this? Jesus' authority was clearly established by His resurrection. He said in Matthew 28(18), "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." When we obey, we're saying, "You da Boss!" One day Scripture predicts that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11) Our own obedience foreshadows that.

♢healed to serve (31)

A final instance in this passage is Simon's mother-in-law in v.31: "The fever left her and she began to wait on them." The term in the Greek for "wait on" is "diakoneo", as in deacon or deaconess. Mark may have been hinting here at Christian "ministry" or "service" in its broadest sense: we are all healed to serve, to wait on our Lord's bidding.

Obedience Flows from Passion for Jesus

Obedience is essential for any who claim to follow Christ. Romans 5(19) notes "through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Jesus became "obedient to death", emptying Himself sacrificially to take away our guilt (Php.2:8). Hebrews 5(8f) points out that Jesus "learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:8-9). Paul wrote that not only are we "called to belong to Jesus Christ", we're also called "to the obedience that comes from faith" (Rom.1:5f). Obeying God translates into submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, and maintaining fitting respect for various family members in the home (Eph.5:21ff). As for church, Hebrews 13(17) says, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." And the New Testament counsels us repeatedly to submit to governing state authorities, unless there is a clash of claims, in which case "we must obey God rather than men" (Mt.22:21; Rom.13:1; 1Pet.2:13f; Ac.5:29).

For an example of someone who's integrated faith and obedience, take Allan Barbe. He's a real estate agent in Edmonton who recently was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for his excellence as a balladeer of songs that promote Canadian unity. Allan grew up in Ottawa, but dropped out of high school at 16 to tour Ontario with a rock band. In 1980, a persistent electronics salesman led him into a personal relationship with Jesus. Around 1991, Barbe says, "The Holy Spirit awakened my song-writing abilities, eventually enabling me to write 'Messiah Song', a ballad about Jesus written from a Jewish perspective." It's been used ever since in Canada's longest-running passion play put on by an Edmonton theatre group. In 1995, the year of the Quebec referendum, Barbe began writing songs about Canada, including "(One) Canada (Uni)" which extols the greatness of Canada and asks God to bless the nation with a spirit of unity. He estimates he's performed the song live for more than a million Canadians in places like McGill University and Quebec City's Chateau Frontenac.

On Canada Day 2000, Barbe performed the song for the crowds gathered on Parliament Hill. He says, "I also performed another song, 'Jesus is Coming Soon', that day.Doing so, it struck me that this is really what it's all about for me - using the opportunities that have come my way through my involvement with the national unity agenda as a door to share the good news of Jesus.Regardless of where the venue for that may be -- working with kids in the inner city of Edmonton or singing for thousands on Parliament Hill -- the passion I have for this country flows out of my primary passion for Jesus Christ."

Faith translates into obedience; passion into practice. Let's pray.