Following God’s Directions … Without a Map

“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

I heard a story about a woman who lived in mortal fear of a burglar breaking into her two-story home. At least once a week, she would wake up her husband in the middle of the night and beg him to go downstairs and check out a noise that she heard. This went on for over 10 years.

Then one night, things were different. The wife heard a noise, woke up her husband, and he stumbled downstairs as usual to check it out. But when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he got the shock of his life. He looked around the corner into the family room, and there actually WAS a burglar in their house! The man staggered back in shock. Then he introduced himself and said, "You’ve GOT to go upstairs and meet my wife. She’s been expecting you for years!"

You could make the case that for 10 years that man’s wife had a whole of faith. Even though she never saw him, she BELIEVED that burglar was coming for her. But now, let’s take a look at a more positive kind of faith—the kind shown by one of the greatest men of faith in the whole Bible: Abraham.

Abraham started life with the name Abram. He and his family lived in Ur, which is located in modern-day Iraq, not very far from Baghdad. In Genesis 12:1, God spoke to Abram for the first time, saying, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” In this short verse, God commands Abram to “GO” and leave behind three things: his country, his people, and his family. That would be tough enough. Now, notice that God didn’t even tell Abraham where he was going. He simply said, “Go to the land I will show you.” That would be like God telling you or me, “Head east!” “East” could mean Palm Springs, Arizona, New Mexico, New York, or even China!

Abraham had to push his doubts and questions aside to do what God told him to do. And he had to give up a LOT in order to do it. But according to Genesis 12:4, “Abram left, [just] as the Lord had told him.” That journey eventually added up to about 1,000 miles total—traveled on foot. Abraham did it not because God answered all of his questions, but because God simply said, “Go!” So, in faith, Abraham went.

Abraham confidently obeyed God’s command to GO no matter how uncomfortable it was, no matter how much criticism he received from his family and friends. And, in all likelihood, at least some of those people were devastated to hear that Abraham was walking away from their tribal god to follow some new God called Jehovah. But Abraham counted the cost and obediently walked in faith anyway. Why? Because that’s what faith does. I love the way it’s described 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.”

Over the years I’ve discovered that most people are willing to put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. After all, most Americans believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And most people really don’t want to go to Hell. So, they’re more than happy to say a quick prayer or jump through a few quick religious hoops to get “fire insurance” to avoid Hell. In my experience, most people are willing to put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. But most are not willing to put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. You see, the word “Lord” means “boss and master,” and most of us despise the thought of someone being our master.

But if no one has ever told you this, let me be the first to tell you loud and clear: Savior and Lord go hand-in-hand. Jesus cannot be divided in two. Jesus is the whole package. If you accept him as your Savior, you also accept him as your Lord. But if you reject him as your Lord, you are also rejecting him as your Savior. If I truly have faith in Jesus Christ, there is no mistaking who’s in charge: He’s in charge—not me. He’s in the driver’s seat of my life—not me. He gives the marching orders, and I obey those marching orders. That’s true Bible faith.

That’s the kind of faith that Abraham had as he left his hometown, country, friends and family and headed Northwest, even though he didn’t know where he was going. And that’s the kind of faith that God has called you and me to have today.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Worship Service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Who Jesus Is … and What That Means

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” – Luke 9:20

One Sunday morning an elderly pastor was getting ready for church, and he noticed that on his wife’s side of the closet, there was an old shoebox that he didn’t recognize. He opened it and was surprised to see three eggs and 100 one-dollar bills. He called his wife into the closet to ask her about it. Well, she was pretty embarrassed, but she ’fessed up. She said she’d been hiding the box for the past 30 years. The pastor was disappointed and hurt, and he told her, “I just don’t understand!”

She responded, “Well, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but every week you preached a bad sermon, I put an egg into the box.” At that point the pastor thought to himself, “There are only three eggs in the box. Three bad sermons in 30 years…that’s not bad at all!” But then he asked his wife, “What about the 100 one-dollar bills?” “Well,” she said, “every time I got up to a dozen eggs, I sold them to our neighbor for a dollar.”

Now, Jesus Christ is the greatest teacher who has ever lived, and I feel comfortable saying you wouldn’t find any eggs stashed in his disciples’ closets. But there are some who would say that Jesus was a good teacher, but not the Son of God. Have you ever heard that crazy rumor? Well, it’s nothing new. Going clear back to Jesus’ day, there were plenty of rumors and misconceptions about who he was. And in Luke 9:18, Jesus took this up with his disciples when he asked them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

Why did Jesus ask this question? I believe he wanted to make sure his apostles could separate fact from fiction. And when Jesus asked, “Who do the crowds say I am?” they responded in verse 19: “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” Once they confessed the fiction that other people believed, Jesus asked in verse 20: “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

This is one of the most important questions Jesus ever asked his disciples, and it’s one of the most important questions he will ever ask you. Your answer to this one simple question affects everything else in your life. And Peter’s full response, which we now call the Good Confession of faith, is given in Matthew 16:16: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Surrounded by a sea of false rumors and lies about Jesus’ identity, Peter knew the truth. And he boldly spoke it.

This eternal truth would be the foundation upon which Jesus would build his entire Church. But, as Jesus continued to teach his disciples, it’s not enough to accept the truth that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. Jesus’ followers must also accept the truth about what that means. In Luke 9:22, he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

And since suffering and dying would be a very real part of Jesus’ life, it shouldn’t surprise us that it will be a very real part of our lives as we follow him. In verse 23, Jesus revealed three commands for anyone who has chosen to be his follower: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” What do those three commands mean?

#1: We must deny ourselves. As Chuck Swindoll explains, “The emphasis on ‘denying oneself’ is submission to HIS agenda, saying no to what WE want and saying yes to what HE wants.” This doesn’t mean to constantly deny yourself all food and rest and pleasure. But when Jesus says you must “deny” yourself, he means that if YOUR plans ever conflict with HIS plans, you must surrender to HIS plans.

#2: We must take up our cross daily. If denying ourselves means to submit to Christ’s agenda, taking up our cross means to die to our own agenda. William Barclay says it this way: “To take up our cross means … to be ready to endure the worst that man can do to us for the sake of being true to him.” And Jesus asks you and me today, “Knowing this, will you follow me anyway? Even if it means that suffering and death are on the horizon, will you pick up your cross every day and follow me anyway?” I want to make that commitment to my Lord and Savior, and I hope that you do too.

#3: Finally, a Jesus follower must FOLLOW Jesus. That sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? But millions of so-called “Christians” don’t follow Jesus. If we are serious about following him as the Christ, we must be ready and willing to follow in his footsteps. As he speaks, we must speak. As he acts, we must act. As he prioritizes, we must prioritize. As he suffers and dies, we must suffer and die. That’s not the feel-good message we hear preached in many pulpits across America. But it’s the truth.

Follow Christ boldly. Follow Christ publicly. Follow Christ without any shame or regret. Followers of Christ, be very, very proud to proclaim to your family and friends and neighbors that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. Without hesitation, he picked up his cross and carried it for you. So you and I must, without hesitation, pick up our cross and carry it for him.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.