Who Do You Follow?

12/18/11

Isa. 13:6-13 Heb. 12:18-29 John 3:22-30

With The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ in just a couple of weeks, I want you ask yourselves, whom do I follow? I want you to think about what things and people take precedent in your life, do they direct your thoughts to Christ, or do they lead you elsewhere? In our lives we will need to ask ourselves this question many times, whom do I follow? We can see from the Scripture today that Johns followers were upset because people were following Jesus instead of John, and John ended this argument by focusing on his devotion to Christ with John showing unusual humility in his willingness to decrease in importance as Christ increased. It is easy to grow jealous of the popularity of another persons ministry, but we must remember that our true mission is to influence people to follow Christ, not us. Also we need to think about who is influencing us? Are the people who have influence over us showing us the way to Christ or are they leading us to Hell. Dearly beloved, I will tell you that Pastors and other Christian leaders can be tempted to focus more on the success of their ministries than on

Tony

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Christ. Beware of those who put more emphasis on their own achievements than on Gods Kingdom. With the coming Nativity celebration I would also like you to think about the great gift that Christ gave to us. Before Jesus Christ came to us God seemed distant and threatening, after Christ came, God welcomes us through Christ into his presence. Also as Christians, we are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem right now; because our Lord Jesus Christ rules our lives, the Holy Spirit is always with us, and we experience close fellowship with other believers. If we put our focus on the things of this world then we will fail because eventually the world will crumble, and only Gods Kingdom will last. Only those who follow Christ are part of the unshakable Kingdom, and they will withstand the shaking, sifting, and burning. When we feel unsure about the future, we can take confidence from Hebrews 12:27-29. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed. Dont put your confidence in what will be destroyed; instead, build your life on Christ and his unshakable Kingdom. In the reading from Isaiah we see the warning that the day of the Lord is at hand, the basic idea of the term is not that of a fixed date, but that the day of the Lord is about to burst into ones world. The day of the Lord is imminent able to happen at any time not because we have reached it as a

Tony

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destination, but because it may burst in upon people without further warning. Have you made your choice, which you will follow? Will you follow the world into destruction, or will you follow our Lord Jesus Chris into His eternal Kingdom. The choice is yours you cannot refuse to choose. If you are indecisive or refuse to make a choice then your path to destruction is set. If you choose to accept Christ and live a Christian life then your citizenship in the Kingdom of God is assured. I ask you today to make that decision, please choose Christ and come to talk to me after the service about your salvation. + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Tony

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