Simply, Follow Me: "What did YOU think He meant?"

Simply, Follow Me (. . . What did you think He meant?)

[With a classroom full of people]

A man enters, dressed in 33 AD clothing, he is a Teacher.  He begins by saying:

I ask myself questions all the time like: Did YOU know that, “The Word”

(Jesus Christ) existed before Creation?  Yeah, I knew that.

What about:  Did YOU know that, Jesus Christ created everything?  Well yeah, I think I knew that.

Well then there’s:  Did YOU know that, “The Word” chose to leave Heaven and enter a “Mortal Body” to live, teach, heal, rebuke, suffer and die on The Cross, go to The Grave, rise in 3 days, appear and Minister to His Apostles & followers, Ascended into Heaven, Alive, to become Our High Priest, and sit at The Right Hand of God?

Have any of YOU heard, that God is Living, today?  Or have YOU heard that He Works in your daily Life?

Did YOU know that He sent the “Holy Spirit” to guide YOU? 

Before that He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus, to Save YOU?

Did YOU know that your “commitment” to God, didn’t end, when YOU personally Accepted Christ, as your Lord and Savior, and followed Jesus, into Believers Baptism?

Think of those (last two items) as your being asked to join, and the initiation into a very Special Club!

For now, YOU are part of The Kingdom of God, and YOU Accept All Responsibilities, that come with being, Children of God.

A short summation of Jesus Christ Life here on Earth could be:

A Man who spent His Life, walking from town to town, neighborhood to neighborhood, house to house even, simply to cure, whatever the “mortal body” needed healing.  Also, Jesus told people, the cold hard facts, what they were doing correctly through God (His Father’s) eyes, and more importantly what they were doing wrong.  He also, was brave enough, to stand up, to All Church Leaders, and rebuke them for not teaching people correctly.  With the nerve to tell them, that God, Himself, will hold them Accountable, for what they did and didn’t do.

The Book of Hebrews is a quick synopsis of what We need to know, about many things, it presents Jesus, in All His Glory, His Superiority to the Angels, and to the Prophets, and as the Superior Priest, let’s take a look.

Hebrews 4:^12-16  For The Word of God is Living and Powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His Sight, but All Things are naked and open to the Eyes of Him to whom we must give Account.   Seeing then that We have a Great High Priest who has passed through the Heavens, Jesus, The Son of God, let Us hold fast Our Confession.  For We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with Our weaknesses, but was in All points Tempted as We are, yet without sin.  Let Us therefore come boldly to The Throne of Grace, that We may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 5:^5-10 So also Christ did not Glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “YOU are My Son, Today I have begotten YOU.”  As He also says in another place: “YOU are a Priest forever According to the Order of Melchizedek”; who, in the Days of His Flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to Save Him from death, and was heard because of His Godly Fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned Obedience by the things which He suffered.  And having been Perfected, He became The Author of Eternal Salvation to All who Obey Him, called by God as High Priest “According to the Order of Melchizedek,” 

Hebrews 6:^19-20This Hope We have as an Anchor of the Soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind The Veil, where The Forerunner has entered for Us, even Jesus, having become High Priest Forever According to the Order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 8: 1-2 Now this is the Main Point of the things We are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at The Right Hand of The Throne of The Majesty in The Heavens, a Minister of The Sanctuary and of The True Tabernacle which the Lord Erected, and not man.  ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent Ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a Better Covenant, which was established on better Promises.

Hebrews 9: ^14-15 how much more shall The Blood of Christ, who through The Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?  And for this reason He is The Mediator of the New Covenant, by means of death, for The Redemption of The Transgressions under the First Covenant, that those who are Called may receive The Promise of The Eternal Inheritance.

Hebrews 10: ¹⁰ By that Will We have been Sanctified through The Offering of The Body of Jesus Christ Once for All.

Hebrews 12: ^1-2  Therefore We also, since We are surrounded by so Great a Cloud of Witnesses, let Us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares Us, and let Us run with Endurance the Race that is set before Us,  looking unto Jesus, The Author and Finisher of Our Faith, who for the Joy that was set before Him endured The Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at The Right Hand of The Throne of God.

Hebrews 13: ^1-3 Let Brotherly Love continue.  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained Angels.  Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since YOU yourselves are in The Body also.

^5 -8 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as YOU have.  For He Himself has said, “I will never leave YOU nor forsake YOU.”  So We may Boldly say: “The Lord is My Helper; I will not Fear.  What can Man do to me?”  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

^20-21 Now may The God of Peace who brought up Our Lord Jesus from the dead, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through The Blood of The Everlasting Covenant, make YOU complete in every Good Work to do His Will, working in YOU what is well pleasing in His Sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be Glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Old Testament, is a reminder about how God treated the Righteous and unrighteous, and how The Church was setup to imitate Heaven.  That Priest had to do yearly burnt and blood sacrifice offerings, for the sins of the Priest, as well as for God’s People.

The New Testament, tells Us, why “The Word” came down from Heaven, in a “human form”, as Jesus Christ, to live a Sinless Life (healing the people and telling their Church Leaders, what they were doing right and wrong), then Sacrificed Himself upon The Cross, suffered, died, and was buried.  Then after 3 days, arose from His grave, just as God had Promised, to continue Ministering to His Apostles, for another 40 days, until He Ascended (returned) to Heaven, Alive, as Our High Priest, to sit at The Right Hand of God, until His Return, when He will gather His Flock, to Live in His New City.

He then sent “The Helper” or Holy Spirit, which would Dwell within Anyone who Accepted His Free Gift of Salvation.  By Accepting this Gift, We become “Children of God”, and as such, must continue Christ’s Work, by sharing His Gospel (The Bible), and following the 2 Main Commandments: Love God with All your heart, mind, body, and Spirit and Loving One Another.

The Bible tells Us, that all that We need to do is to ask, in His Name (Jesus Christ’s), and it shall be given.

That there is but One Name, under Heaven, that We shall be Saved, and that’s Jesus Christ. 

 
We must Believe that He is The One and Only, Son of God.  That We All sin, and therefore fall short of The Glory of God, but that Christ died on The Cross, for Our sins, so that they may be Forgiven, that He rose from The Grave, on the third day, that’s right, He rose from the dead, on the third day.

The Bible teaches Us a lot, with the Opportunity to Learn so much more.

When Jesus Ascended, Alive, into Heaven, He asked The Father, to send what He termed “The Helper”, which is the Holy Spirit.  This Holy Spirit was first received by The Apostles, Jesus’ Disciples, during Pentecost, giving them the ability to Perform Miracles, in The Name of Jesus Christ, heal the sick, help the blind to see, raise the dead, cast out demons, etc.

This same “Holy Spirit” is received by each person, who accepts Christ, as their Lord and Savior, meaning All these abilities are given to each of Us, if We have The Faith.

John 1: ^1-5 Says “In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men.   And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Jesus Christ told His Disciples, many things We need to know.  How do We receive His Free Gift of Salvation, how to follow Jesus, in Believer’s Baptism, and once We become Children of God, how the Holy Spirit, will counsel Us, etc.  The very Basic Core of Our Faith is Our Faith in Jesus Christ.

Who He is, how He lived (a “mortal life”), what He taught, how He died (YOU know the old mystery of Who, What, When, Where, How, & Why), His Resurrection, His Appearances after His Resurrection, His “Great Commission”, His Ascension, etc.

God, The Father, like His Son, Jesus, never changes, and together they sent the “Holy Spirit”, to give Us Guidance and Counseling, but not to replace either One.

What does it mean to not be “of this Earth” to be “Aliens in a Strange Land”, when each of Us was born on Earth?  We are Children of God, and Our Eternal Home, is Heaven.  Satan (the Devil, Lucifer, etc.) was given Earth and Hades (Hell) as his dominion.  We do not live for “Earthly treasures”, We live to serve The One and Only One God, Our Father, to receive His “Heavenly Gifts and Treasures”.

In Conclusion:

As We live Our brief, mortal lives, Our Basic Commandments are:

We are to Love Our God, with All Our heart, mind, body, and Spirit.

To Love Our Neighbor as Ourselves (in other words, treat everyone else, as We would want them to treat Us), to pray for them, to counsel them, to help them to understand God’s Plan, for each of Us, as individuals, and together, as His Church.  We are to Love Our enemies, as much as We Love Our Friends, and to Forgive both, as God Forgives Us.  We are to spread God’s Gospel (His Word) to every person We encounter, Parents, Siblings, Friends, Neighbors, and Strangers.

We cannot be sin free, but We can strive to be as sin free, as humanly possible.  To show the same Compassion and Guidance, as Jesus Christ did, during His brief “mortal” Life, on Earth.

After all, Jesus Christ, did not simply commit no Sin, but He also, taught The Truth about His Father, God, and spent much of His time, healing the “mortal body” ailments and torment, while Teaching about His Father, and Our Free gift of Salvation, God’s Plan for Us to be able to Return to Him, in Heaven, after Our “mortal lives” end.