We
are in the final week of our “Not a Fan” series. Over the last five weeks,
we have been asked to consider if we are fans of Jesus or if we are followers
of Jesus.
Are we
following Jesus with all that we have, or are we just along for the ride?
This was
certainly the case for some of the people in John Chapter 6.
Jesus
had just finished feeding a great crowd of people; well over 15,000 of them with
only two small fish and 5 loaves of bread.
After
the crowd had their fill, they wanted to make Jesus their king, but Jesus
slipped away to be by Himself.
After
dinner, the crowd decided to camp out, so they could be with Jesus the
following morning, but when they woke up the following morning, they noticed
that Jesus was nowhere to be found.
Eventually
they figure out that Jesus had crossed over to the other side of the lake, so
instead of going home, the crowd of people jump on a ferry and they soon met up
with Jesus.
By
the time the crowds arrive on the other side of the lake, they are starving and
they said to Jesus: “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:25b, NLT2)
Jesus
immediately picked up on their intentions and said to the crowd: “…you want to be
with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.” (John 6:26, NLT2)
Jesus
immediately Defines the Relationship and told the crowd that they were not
really interested in following after Him; they were just fans of Him.
The
only reason they were looking for Jesus was so they could get something from
Him, in this instance it was a full stomach.
They
weren’t the least bit interested in following Jesus, they only wanted to “Like”
Him and “Like” what He could do for them.
There
are people like this today. Some of these people—maybe even you—are only
interested in hearing about Jesus, or even praying to Jesus when they are in
need of something, but when the heat is on, they are quick to turn and run and
look for another option.
But
Jesus doesn’t want to be your flavour of the month. He doesn’t want to be just
another option, Someone you run to when you’ve exhausted all your other
contacts: Jesus wants to be enough.
In
John 6:35, Jesus said: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go
hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (NIV)
Jesus provides the fans an
opportunity to feast on Someone who is able to fulfill every desire, every
longing, everything they could ever hope for.
Jesus provides the opportunity for
fans to become followers.
But
there’s a problem. Fans can’t accept what Jesus is offering them.
Fans can’t accept
that Jesus is the only way to God; fans can’t accept that Jesus is the only way
that they will ever be spiritually nourished.
This
certainly was the case with the fans in John chapter 6.
Verse 41 tells us that many of Jesus’
fans “…began to
grumble about him…” (NIV)
The
people in the crowd that day couldn’t accept the exclusiveness of Jesus; how He
was the only way they were going to have any chance of entering heaven, of
living with God Almighty.
And
the Bible tells us that: “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.” (John
6:66, NLT2)
The
fans liked the show. They loved how Jesus fed them with a couple of sardine
sandwiches.
Fans
loved how Jesus met their physical needs, but when He begins to DTR; when Jesus
offers only Himself to the people, they quickly get off the bus.
After
seeing the crowd leave, “Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to
leave?”(John 6:67, NLT2)
There
is no way to know for sure how Jesus felt when He said these words. We may
never know if Jesus was angry or frustrated.
Even
though He was fully God, I suspect His humanness showed through when He spoke
these words.
It
must have hurt Jesus to turn to the men who He had personally chosen to follow
Him, and ask them if they were fans or followers.
I
can imagine that Jesus felt a little like I did one week before my high school
prom.
ILLUSTRATION- During my final year of High
School, I dated a girl by the name of Giselle.
I’d known her for a few years, but I never imagined that she would be my
girlfriend that is until she said “yes” when I asked her out.
One
of the first things she told me was that she wasn’t interested in speed dating…
she wanted to be nice and slow in our dating relationship.
We
had dated for several months and had a great time, and she caught me completely
off guard when she called me one night and said “Nick, We need to talk”
Boys-
if your High School Crush ever says those words to you: RUN and Hide. Do not
pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. Run and Hide.
Giselle
informed me that she thought things were going a little too fast and she didn’t
like that, so she broke up with me—over the telephone.
I
sat in my dad’s chair dumfounded and heart broken. Here was my high school
crush giving me the boot—one week before the senior prom.
I
hung up the phone and ran outside to talk to my father, and we talked for what
seemed like an eternity, and he loved on me and reminded me that someone much
better would come along...
But
at that time in my life I was devastated; the person who I enjoyed being with,
had laughed with, the person I had opened up to, dropped me like a bad habit.
My heart was broken the entire summer…
I
suspect this is how Jesus felt when He asked His disciples this question. Jesus wanted to know if His disciples would
leave Him as the crowd had done.
Would
His most devoted disciples turn out to be fans who weren’t willing to stick
around when the teaching got tough? Would these men give Jesus the boot?
Simon
Peter, who often spoke for the entire group, said:
“Lord,
to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe,
and we know you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69, NLT2)
Church:
here’s what Peter was saying, which is also the “take away” from today’s
message: “When
you really know Jesus as Lord, you don’t want to leave Him.”
Simon
Peter summed it up perfectly: “Where else would we go?
Who else could teach us wisdom? Who could possibly bring us closer to God?”
Fans will bail on Jesus when His
teaching gets difficult.
When Jesus asks
them to sacrifice something, when Jesus asks them to take up their cross, when
He asks them to die to themselves, fans will take off.
But
followers, followers will stay close to Jesus because Jesus is: “…the way and the
truth and the life.” (John 14:6, NIV)
When you really
know Jesus as Lord, you don’t want to leave Him.”
Fans
want a surface level relationship with Jesus; followers want to go all the way
with Jesus.
Fans
want casual commitment with Jesus, followers want complete intimacy.
When you really
know Jesus as Lord, you don’t want to leave Him.”
Sure,
the disciples enjoyed the miracles, but at that point in time, they chose to
know and believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
The
disciples made the choice to follow Jesus; they chose to move from fan to
follower.
Have
you made that choice? Have you told Jesus that you want to move from Fan to
follower?
Are you a
follower of Jesus?
Now
before you answer that question, consider the “parameters” that Jesus lays out
for us in Luke 9:23:
“If any of you—that
really means anyone, it’s not limited to a select few—“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must
turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (NLT2)
Have you turned from your
selfish, sinful life? If so, are living for, and following Jesus?
Jesus
then goes on to say: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if
you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
25 And what do you
benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” (Luke 9:24-25, NLT2)
Have you given
the keys of your heart, of your life, over to Jesus, thus telling Him that you
are going to be His follower no matter what, or are you going to hang on to
this key, and remain a fan of Jesus?
Show Hall Closet Clip
You
should have received a key when you came in this morning, if you have it, I
would like for you to take it out now.
If
you didn’t get a key, put up your hand and we’ll see that you get one.
This
key represents they key to your life. It could also represent the key to that
closet where you are hiding your deepest, darkest secret that you don’t want
anyone to know about, and that even you are scared to talk about.
In
just a moment, I’m going to ask those of you who are willing to move from Fan
to Follower to stand up and place your key- which represents your life- on the
alter.
Doing
so will tell the Lord that you are not turning away from Him, but you are
turning toward Him, no matter the cost.
Because “When you really
know Jesus as Lord, you don’t want to leave Him.”
“If any of you wants
to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross
daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23,
NLT2)
If you want to
follow Jesus, bring your key to the front and give it to Jesus.
If
there are those among us who have never received Jesus as Lord and Savior, this
is your opportunity to move from Fan to Follower, this is your opportunity to
take up your cross and follow Him.
As
you drop the key of your life into Jesus’ hands take a moment to pray: “Lord Jesus,
please forgive me of my sin; come into my life and help me follow you.”
If,
for whatever reason, you should choose not to bring your key to the front,
please keep it.
Keep
it with you and let it be your reminder that Jesus wants you to move from Fan
to Follower. When you’re ready, you can turn this key over to Jesus.
As
we bring this series to a close, I want to leave you with one final question,
which was the question that started this series off: Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?
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