The Upward Calling (7)

 “But hold fast what you have till I come.” Revelation 2.25

All of life, all life long
The call of Jesus Christ to follow Him is a summons to an entirely new way of life. As we set our minds on Christ, exalted in glory, building His Church, and advancing His Kingdom, we will take up with greater consistency and effect His Kingdom-and-glory calling to follow Him here and now (1 Thess. 2.12). We can’t follow Jesus and keep dragging around the old perspectives, priorities, and practices that characterized us before He came along and said, “Follow Me.” The first disciples had to leave their nets and their former ways of thinking, living, and relating to people, and to learn the new ways of a Kingdom not of this world. As they did, they discovered a purpose to live and die for, and power and joy and love, which they were able to nurture and sustain throughout the entire course of their lives.

The first disciples understood that following Jesus is a call to an entirely new way of life, for all of one’s life, all life long. We are not true followers of Jesus if our devotion to Him is merely some niche in our lives, or one of many commitments we tout as defining who we are. When we can say with the Apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ,” then we will be followers of Jesus indeed (Phil. 1.21).

Challenges to following Jesus
Jesus promised that all who chose to follow Him could expect to be challenged. He indicated that those closest to them – their families and friends – would question or even oppose their decision. He said that some people would hate those who followed Him because they would not appreciate having their wicked deeds exposed. Some people, Jesus said, would mistreat His followers and speak evil of them, even in the name of the Lord, thinking they were doing a good thing.

But most of all, Jesus knew, His followers would be opposed, harassed, and harried in their discipleship by spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. Jesus dealt with the devil and his henchmen throughout the course of His earthly sojourn, and, while our struggles are perhaps not as dramatic as were His, they are just as real, and just as constant.

All who would follow Jesus need to be prepared to engage in a spiritual struggle that is unrelenting, subtle, and subversive of true faith (Eph. 6.10-20) What are the signs that we have entered into the spiritual battle zone, and how can we keep up our discipleship in the face of withering spiritual fire?

In the fray
For the most part, our experience of the wiles of the devil will not be the dramatic, demonic sort. The devil is wily, we must remember, and not usually overt. He will sow doubts in our minds, doubts about the power of prayer, the reliability of God’s Word, the importance of seeking the Kingdom, and the efficacy of sharing the Gospel with others. Then, when we demur at any of these points, he will sow doubts into our souls concerning whether we are truly believers in Jesus at all!

Temptation is another way the devil tries to divert us from following Jesus. Being in temptation, the German theologian Helmut Thielicke wrote, is finding yourself at the point of wanting to be disloyal to God. Our affections go awry, our thinking gets confused, our Kingdom priorities become compromised, and we end up wanting to do the very things that put Jesus on the cross so many years ago. Rather than following Jesus through temptation to growth, we betray Jesus by lapsing into sin. Which is then followed by shame and doubt and self-denigration – more tools in the devil’s toolbox.

And you can also know that you’ve entered the spiritual fray whenever you find that you are thinking about your discipleship in terms of what’s in it for you. The devil appeals to pride and self-interest. He will encourage you to want to be somebody, or be known as a serious Christian, or be visible as a leader, or whatever. He wants you to seek glory and honor and prestige in the name of Jesus, because then he will have frustrated – or so he supposes – the Lord’s determination to bring all glory to Himself.

But we are better advised to remember that we seek no great things for ourselves, but only glory for our God and King (Jer. 45.5; 1 Cor. 10.31).

Take up the weapons of our warfare
This spiritual warfare is unremitting. We can expect to endure it throughout our lives, as long as we are determined to follow Jesus in every area of our lives.

So we need to learn the right use of all the weapons God has put at our disposal (Eph. 6.10-20), chief among these being faith, righteousness, prayer, and the Word of God. Devote yourself to Jesus every day, and every moment of every day, and then arm yourself with the tools and weapons you’ll need for advancing His Kingdom. If you will, no matter how fierce the struggle becomes for your soul, as a true follower of Jesus, you will endure.

And those who hold fast to what they have in Jesus, and endure to the end, will prove to God, themselves, and everyone who knows them, that they are true followers of the Lord Jesus.

For reflection
1.  What do we mean by “spiritual warfare”? What forms does this take?

2.  How should we prepare each day for undertaking this spiritual warfare?

3.  What does it mean to “hold fast” to what we have in Jesus? How can believers help one another in this work?

Next steps – Preparation: In what ways do you experience spiritual warfare? Are you as prepared for this daily struggle as you should be? Ask a pastor or church leader to help you in learning how to wield all the weapons of spiritual warfare, so that you will be able to hold fast to Jesus through every temptation.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, The Upward Calling, is Part 1 of a 5-part series on Following Jesus.Each week’s study is available in a free PDF which you can download by clicking here. Watch the video on our Mission Partners Outreach for more information about how you can begin to follow Jesus in your Personal Mission Field (click here).

Want to learn more about your Christian worldview? Our free online course, One in Twelve, is available any time, and at no charge. Click here to learn more about this exciting introduction to Christian worldview, presented by T. M. Moore.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.