Everybody testifying You are good, You are good Jehovah You are good 2x. // Immortal God, Invisible God, Immortal God how great Thy are.
Faithful Father, we are before You. Gracious are Your works and precious to behold. We Thank You for a bright day under heaven, Your goodness is immeasurable, thank You Lord. You made the heaven and earth to display Your glory, Faithful are You Lord forever and ever.
Beloved, our God is Awesome, He is Mighty, He is Great, He is powerful, He is trustworthy, He faileth not, He is ever Faithful, Shout alleluia to the King of kings, the Lord of lords. The Ancient of days, the One Who knows our end from the beginning. He is our Maker, our Redeemer, our Restorer, our Helper. Father, You too much. You are Unchangeable Changer, Thank You Jesus! Thank You Father! Thank You Holy Spirit! I just want to say Thank You Lord. Praise the Name of the Lord.
May I ask you this question, Why are you following Jesus? Different people have different reasons for following Christ? Are you following Jesus for the right reasons? Is possible at the time of conversion the person that led you to Christ told you so many things that you held onto and believing that if you keep your part of the transaction, God must keep His own part.
So from the beginning you have a wrong attitude in your relationship with God. Often time we miss it at the area of tithing. You hear a believer saying, “I pray my tithe therefore God must do this and this for me.”
I use to think that way until I heard a message that turn my orientation around. Beloved, do you know that your righteousness is like a filthy rags before God? Do you also know that you are unprofitable servant? Do you realize that if God has not given you a job or something doing, you will not be able to pay a tithe? I don’t want to talk about those who think it is by their degrees and certificate that things turn around for them.
Let me shock you further, do you also know that it is left for God to accept or reject your offerings and tithes? I want you to know that God is no debtor to anyone, whosoever and whatsoever you are doing for God, it is in His hand to bless you but never demand it as right from Him.
Come with me to the gospel of Saint Luke chapter seventeen verse seven to ten (Lk17:7-10). Jesus was teaching His servant to avoid occasion of offense. Beloved, verse ten said we have just done what we are supposed to do or what we ought to do- we are unprofitable servant, we just have done that which is our duty.
Can you see that you have just done your duty, nothing special, nothing spectacular. Wow! The day I heard this message in this form my approach to the Throne change forever.
Yours might not be tithing, it can be any other thing known to you. We must learn to appear before God in our nothingness, you can bring to His remembrance all what you are doing but not on ground of merit but rather on the merit of the cross of Calvary, on the merit of Who God is and on merit of the blood of Jesus shed for your sake.
In our teaching today, we are going to discover wrong motives of following Jesus. We will also see pure motives of following Christ. Praise the Name of the Lord. Come with me as we read through:
Are You Following Jesus Christ For The Right Reasons?
If your motives in pursuing the Master are for anything less than a desire for intimacy with Him, you are sadly on the wrong track:
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (John 6:53, 54).
It is a mystery as to exactly what Jesus meant here. At the very least He conveyed the idea of total involvement with Him at the most intimate level.
A little steep? He meant it that way: “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were no longer walking with Him.” (John 6:66)
The Gospels communicate at least four wrong reasons as to why people followed Jesus:
- Curiosity over His miracles
“And a great multitude was following Him, because they were seeing the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.” (John 6:2) (Also: Luke 9:9; 23:8; John 2:23-25)
- The Material benefits
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me… because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.” (John 6:26)
- The Political benefits
“Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew… ” (John 6:15a) (Also: Luke 24:21)
- Status
“Grant that we may sit in your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left.” (Mark 10:37) (Also: Mark 9:31-37)
We need to search our hearts as to why we profess allegiance to Him. If our motives are ulterior, we solicit His rejection:
“Jesus… was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men… for He Himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:24, 25).
When Jesus was going to the Calvary a group of women followed him crying. Do you know why they were crying? Let discover more:
“And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him.” Luke 23:27
Amid the rabble rout which hounded the Redeemer to His doom, there were some gracious souls whose bitter anguish sought vent in wailing and lamentations—fit music to accompany that march of woe. When my soul can, in imagination, see the Saviour bearing His cross to Calvary, she joins the godly women and weeps with them; for, indeed, there is true cause for grief—cause lying deeper than those mourning women thought.
They bewailed innocence maltreated, goodness persecuted, love bleeding, meekness about to die; but my heart has a deeper and more bitter cause to mourn. My sins were the scourges which lacerated those blessed shoulders, and crowned with thorn those bleeding brows: my sins cried “Crucify Him! crucify Him!” and laid the cross upon His gracious shoulders. His being led forth to die is sorrow enough for one eternity: but my having been His murderer, is more, infinitely more, grief than one poor fountain of tears can express.
Why those women loved and wept it were not hard to guess: but they could not have had greater reasons for love and grief than my heart has. Nain’s widow saw her son restored—but I myself have been raised to newness of life. Peter’s wife’s mother was cured of the fever—but I of the greater plague of sin. Out of Magdalene seven devils were cast—but a whole legion out of me. Mary and Martha were favoured with visits—but He dwells with me. His mother bare His body—but He is formed in me the hope of glory. In nothing behind the holy women in debt, let me not be behind them in gratitude or sorrow.
“Love and grief my heart dividing,
With my tears His feet I’ll lave—
Constant still in heart abiding,
Weep for Him who died to save.”
Now can you identify among other reasons why you are following Jesus. Jesus extended an invitation to us to abide in His love. He is also asking us to follow him with pure motives other than what we will eat and drink. Go yea therefore and make disciples of all nation should be among other things why we are following Him. Look at for an opportunity to do so today.
Is God unfaithful to reward You, not at all, He is more than able to do all that we will ever ask or imagine. seek Him base on who He is and not what You and benefit.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
