Guaranteed Uncertainty

What if following God did not turn out like what you thought it would?
What if when you started following Christ it turned out different and you wanted to quit?

Many people have the wrong concept of what it means to follow Christ and because of that they get disappointed, discouraged or even angry with God. They get this way when He does not do what they THINK He should do. Some would say that by faith you get God to do what you want Him to do. This is what Mark Batterson calls “Puppet God”. If you pray to this “Puppet God” about things you want, then God is obligated to do what you are praying about. In fact, some would even go as far to say that God is in a holding pattern and is powerless to move until you release Him to act by faith. When you believe that you can speak your future into existence or if you “name it you can claim it”, you will find yourself disappointed with God.

Jesus had a lot of followers and many were following Him for the wrong reasons. When Jesus started referring to Himself as being not only from God but God Himself, many people started to leave Him.

John 6:60-66 60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit[a] and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." 66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

These people saw Jesus do amazing things with miracles and great teaching. They were excited to be called his disciples as long as He was doing all the things that made Him popular. As soon as His teaching became difficult they no longer wanted to follow Him or be associated with Him. Being a disciple meant you attached yourself to a teacher. When His disciples turned away from Him, they were no longer called His disciples. Many in the church these days do the same thing. They wanted to follow God as long as He did things that fit what they were doing but if they were asked to do anything difficult, or if a teaching was contrary to their beliefs, then they quickly turn away.

So what does it mean to be a true disciple or follower of Christ?

Luke 9:23-25 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

If you want to be a follower of Christ then you have to die to self. This means that it is not about what you want, your will, your desires or even your goals. What this means is that you are willing to kill all the desires, dreams and goals you have to follow Christ. It means that He has the right to lead you in any way He has planned.

In an Old Testament passage of Scripture we find 3 Hebrew men who are faced with a dilemma. They can either bow to the golden image or be killed in a furnace. Read their response for yourself.

Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

“But even if He does not…” are not words we often hear in our churches. What if God decides not to heal your cancer? Is it because you did not have enough faith? No, having faith in God is trusting Him no matter what, even when it does not make sense, even when He does not come through like we thought He should. I have heard people tell me they do not go to church because God did not answer their prayer. WOW! Did we just ask the God of the Universe for something and then get mad at Him for not answering it? We forget that God is bigger than our little world and that He is working things out for His glory, “even if He does not” make sense at the time or this side of Heaven.

Luke 22:41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

Jesus, the night before His crucifixion, is praying that if there is any other way to redeem mankind from their sins to let it happen so He did not have to face one of the cruelest ways to die. Did Jesus lack the faith to cause God to move on His behalf? Of course, the answer is NO. Jesus demonstrated the very words we should use as Christ followers, which are “not my will but yours”. If we are going to be Christ followers, then we have to trust the one we are following, even when we are uncertain about where He wants us to walk.

The Apostle Paul summed up what it means to be a Christ follower when he said in Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul was saying that compared to knowing Christ and having a relationship with Him, everything else is rubbish. Rubbish is not garbage but it is dung. Did Paul say that everything compared to Christ was poop? Yes, poop. Because he experienced a relationship with Christ, He then went on to say that he wanted to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings. This does not sound like the “health and wealth gospel” which has been taught in many churches today. If you read the last part of Hebrews chapter 11 you will also find many who suffered and died for the sake of Christ. If you want to walk through trials like Paul, then you have to realize the love relationship Jesus wants to have with you. That is why the Apostle Paul was able endure all the things he went through. He realized he knew Jesus and everything else was worthless in comparison. Paul knew that there was a peace that was more than living a life of ease and with no pain

John 14:27 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The peace we so often think Jesus is referring to here is a state of tranquility. In the movies, peace is pictured as someone who has his or her legs crossed, eyes closed and not worrying about what is going on. The peace that God leaves us is a peace that comes from knowing that we are no longer enemies of God. Jesus said that it is not a false peace like the world gives but a real peace knowing that God can accept us because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. So peace means so much more than not worrying or being calm in the midst of chaos. Jesus’ peace did not flee conflict, pain, or death. In fact, the more intense the difficulties, the more apparent Jesus’ peace became. Jesus derived his peace from his relationship with the Father, as should we.

If you think about the followers of Christ, you see all the disciples except John dying violent deaths. You see people that are mentioned in Hebrews 11 as not getting rescued from their situations. Did they now have peace? Yes, they had peace but it was a peace that was different than the world offered, it meant they knew where they were going when they died because they could stand before a Holy God, not based on what they have or have not done, but on the fact that Christ died for them on the cross.

Blueletterbible.com puts it this way: “Of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is the blessed state of devout and upright men after death.”

There is a peace that Christ gives that, no matter what the circumstances, we can have assurance that He is in control and He loves us more than we love ourselves. We can have a peace that, even when we are dying, we can know where our soul will be. The world cannot promise you that kind of peace. It can only give you a false peace that makes you feel better about your situation or yourself.

We need the peace that Christ gives because, when we follow Christ, there are no guarantees. One day a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

Matthew 8:20-21 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Jesus was saying if you follow me then there is no certainty in where you will even sleep at night. He was saying that following Him could cost you all your planning and comfortable lifestyle. This is contrary to much of the teachings today that want you to add Jesus to your lifestyle instead of following Him no matter what you have to give up. Following Christ is an adventure that takes trust because you have to believe in Him and then you have to trust that He is in control of all your circumstances. The scribe Jesus was talking to was genuine in saying he would follow him but Jesus was clear that it is not a life of comfort. The only guarantee we have is where we go when we die and as the Apostle Paul said the rest is rubbish.

Are you a true follower of Christ?

Do you have a God you follow or a God you expect to do your bidding?

If you have a relationship with Him, you will see that God is so much better than anything this world has to offer in either good times or in bad. You can follow Him no matter what happens and have a peace that this world cannot explain or experience.