by Ron Moore
As a kid, my friends and I, often played a game that we called “Follow The Leader”. In this game we would all get in a straight line. The person in front would be the leader. If you were not the leader, then you had to imitate everything that the leader did. If the leader jumped over a ditch, then the “followers” had to do the same. The moment that one of the “followers” could not do what the leader did then that person was out of the game. The last “follower” would then become the leader for the next game.
Much like the game that we played as children, we must become followers of our Lord Jesus.
He is our Leader. The Apostle Paul encourages the church at Ephesus to follow our Lord. Ephesians 5:1 says, Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children:. Two reasons that make our Lord an awesome leader is that he is all-powerful, and he is all-loving. He proved His love for us by his act of selflessness over 2000 years ago. As new testament believers, God only has good things for us. God is never the cause of calamity, misfortune, or peril. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, For I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Knowing that God has a good plan for our lives is not enough.
Any plan requires action to reach the desired end. Whenever Jesus gave a command the end result was always a blessing. From the time that Jesus told Peter to let down his nets to the time when he told the ten lepers to show themselves to the priest, the end result was always a time of triumph. The believer that constantly learns to hear and heed to voice of God will experience countless victories. Look at Isaiah 48:17, “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord the God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.”
In Jesus’ final hours on this earth, he reveals to his disciples that His time was coming to an end. The disciples were absolutely devastated. The man that had shown them total compassion, love, and guidance is leaving. However, Jesus says something that almost seems oxymoronic.
He says that it is expedient that He should leave. That word expedient means advantageous. In other words. Jesus is saying that it’s going to better if I leave you. I can only imagine the blank stares that the disciples were giving Jesus. Next, Jesus goes on to explain what he means. Jesus reveals that when He leaves there is Someone coming to help them.
This Someone has the ability to not only be with them at all times, but he will actually live inside them! Jesus says, Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he shall shew you things to come. (John 16:13) Our leader is the Holy Spirit.
He is our personal guide in this lifetime. It is His duty to lead us into the complete will of God for our lives. Listening to His voice needs to become one of our top priorities as a Christian. He is always ready to lead us, but the question is are we ready to follow?
by Ron Moore