“Follow me” (Matthew 9:9).

“Follow me.”

This is one of the most repeated invitations of Jesus. This is the essential quality of a disciple of Jesus. This is the essential character of being a follower of Jesus.

Hebrews chapters 11 functions as the “Hall of Fame” of biblical heroes. They are all there. Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel. What made these men and women heroes of the faith? What is the key differentiating factor between the heroes of faith and the rest of us?

Following God. Following Jesus.

I bet ya…not one of these guys thought of themselves as heroes. Abraham didn’t walk around singing, “Father Abraham had many sons…had many sons had Father Abraham.” Moses didn’t know that people would be looking up to him as a hero. He was just following what God commanded him to do.

Not one of the heroes in the Hall of Fame of faith saw themselves as heroes. They were merely following what God commanded them to do. Not one of them walked around saying, “Let’s do some heroic things today that will be remembered for the ages!”

They just did what God told them to do. Doing what God told them to do, following God, made them men and women of character, honor, and integrity. Following God made them into God-honoring parents, children, friends, and leaders.

That’s the key – follow Jesus. Do what he says. Do what he does. Follow Jesus. The goal isn’t to do heroic things. The goal is to do what God tells us…to follow Jesus.

And as we follow Jesus, we might just end up being the heroes of faith in our day for our time.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5: 3-4).

Bad things happen. It is never a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’

When bad things happen people often ask, “Why is this happening to me?” When most people ask this question, they ask it as if they did nothing wrong and the entire universe is against them. I am a decent human being…why is this bad thing happening to me?

Given there are times when bad things happen to us and it is totally out of our sphere of control. However, a majority of the bad things that happen have a lot to do with our own choosing.

• Why is this (speeding ticket) happening to me? – isn’t it pretty obvious?
• Why is this (DWI) happening to me? – hmmm. I wonder why.
• Why is this (disease) happening to me? – pretty sure one’s diet, exercise habits, and life choices might have something to do with it.

“Why is this happening to me?” is actually a very good self-awareness question to process. Because almost always the reason why this – whatever this is – is happening to you is because you chose it. It was your decisions that got you what you are going through. So ask it and take ownership of it.

This is a fantastic question to ask yourself, but it is always the wrong question to ask regarding God. It is always an inappropriate question to ask God because God didn’t make you do anything. You made those choices. Rather, the question followers of Jesus ought to ask when bad things happen is, “How can I glorify God in this?”

This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote, “We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

Why is this happening? – that’s a good question to ask ourselves.
How can I glorify God in this? – that’s a good question to ask regarding God.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

If you have the time I encourage you to read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Before we get to our text, you will notice that verses 1-10 are about discernment. This is important.

This is important because some people must believe that God gives us wisdom to criticize, cut down, and destroy God’s people and God’s church.

If God does give us insight and wisdom, if God does give us discernment, it is always for the purposes of building up Christ’s church and building up Christ’s people. If God gives us discernment it is so that we can pray for others. Discernment from God is never for the purposes of tearing down and criticizing God’s church.

Therefore, if God gives you wisdom and insight, encourage one another. With the wisdom and insight God gives you, build each other up, for this is God’s will. For this delights God’s heart.

Satan loves confusion, chaos, fear, and anxiety. Those are the ingredients satan desires to tear down God’s work.

You, on the other hand, since you already know satan’s MO, encourage one another and build each other up.