Following Jesus Article 4
Following Wherever He Goes
by Bryan Gibson
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Many are willing to follow Jesus, but only up to a certain point. Jesus wants more; He wants us to follow Him wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4)—wherever He has gone, wherever He continues to go, and finally, to where He is now. Let’s look at some of the “places” we need to go in following Jesus.
First, we must follow Him to the cross—where we crucify or deny ourselves (Matthew 16:24), where we put ourselves to death and determine to live for Him (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15), where we unite with Him in His death by being buried with Him in baptism (Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12).
We must follow Him to wherever the needy are found—to the sick, the weak, the discouraged, the orphans and widows, the elderly, etc. He went to them often when He was on the earth (Mark 10:45; Acts 10:38), and He is still with them, because when we serve them, we serve Him (Matthew 25:34-40).
We must follow Him to wherever the lost are found. Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), a work that His followers must continue, because the fields are still “white for harvest” (John 4:35). We don’t have to do it alone, because when we go, He promises to go with us (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 4:17).
We must follow Him to the throne of God in prayer. Jesus went there often during His ministry (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12), and He is still there, serving as our High Priest, making intercession for us (Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16; 7:25).
We must follow Him to where others are gathered in His name. The opening chapter of the Book of Revelation pictures Jesus “in the midst of the seven lampstands” (Revelation 1:13), with the lampstands representing the seven churches of Asia(Revelation 1:20). The teaching here is clear: Wherever His faithful are gathered, Jesus is there, but His presence is conditional. “Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place (Revelation 2:5). Jesus is patient; He will give people time to repent (Revelation 2:21), but He cannot dwell with those who are not faithful to His word. We will take up this point again in the next article.
We must follow Him to glory. When Jesus spoke of His departure, Peter asked Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward” (John 13:36). If we want to follow Him to heaven, though, we must follow Him now—wherever He goes.
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard thee calling, Come follow Me!
And we see where They footprints falling lead us to Thee.
If they lead through the temple holy, preaching the word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly, serving the Lord.
Then at last, when on high He sees us, our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at His throne.
Chorus:
Footprints of Jesus, That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus where’er they go.
(Footprints of Jesus, Mary B.C. Slade, A. B. Everett)
In the next article we will elaborate upon where His followers are gathered. Please Contact Us if you have any questions.
Go on to "To Worship Him" - Article 5
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?
Many are willing to follow Jesus, but only up to a certain point. Jesus wants more; He wants us to follow Him wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4)—wherever He has gone, wherever He continues to go, and finally, to where He is now. Let’s look at some of the “places” we need to go in following Jesus.
First, we must follow Him to the cross—where we crucify or deny ourselves (Matthew 16:24), where we put ourselves to death and determine to live for Him (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15), where we unite with Him in His death by being buried with Him in baptism (Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12).
We must follow Him to wherever the needy are found—to the sick, the weak, the discouraged, the orphans and widows, the elderly, etc. He went to them often when He was on the earth (Mark 10:45; Acts 10:38), and He is still with them, because when we serve them, we serve Him (Matthew 25:34-40).
We must follow Him to wherever the lost are found. Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), a work that His followers must continue, because the fields are still “white for harvest” (John 4:35). We don’t have to do it alone, because when we go, He promises to go with us (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 4:17).
We must follow Him to the throne of God in prayer. Jesus went there often during His ministry (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12), and He is still there, serving as our High Priest, making intercession for us (Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16; 7:25).
We must follow Him to where others are gathered in His name. The opening chapter of the Book of Revelation pictures Jesus “in the midst of the seven lampstands” (Revelation 1:13), with the lampstands representing the seven churches of Asia(Revelation 1:20). The teaching here is clear: Wherever His faithful are gathered, Jesus is there, but His presence is conditional. “Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place (Revelation 2:5). Jesus is patient; He will give people time to repent (Revelation 2:21), but He cannot dwell with those who are not faithful to His word. We will take up this point again in the next article.
We must follow Him to glory. When Jesus spoke of His departure, Peter asked Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward” (John 13:36). If we want to follow Him to heaven, though, we must follow Him now—wherever He goes.
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard thee calling, Come follow Me!
And we see where They footprints falling lead us to Thee.
If they lead through the temple holy, preaching the word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly, serving the Lord.
Then at last, when on high He sees us, our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at His throne.
Chorus:
Footprints of Jesus, That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus where’er they go.
(Footprints of Jesus, Mary B.C. Slade, A. B. Everett)
In the next article we will elaborate upon where His followers are gathered. Please Contact Us if you have any questions.
Go on to "To Worship Him" - Article 5
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?