SECRET #71 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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The name of Jesus is easily lost, ignored or maybe just forgotten. When it comes to the holiday season of Christmas, to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season requires a constant reminder. I've noticed Jesus frequently comes up missing in messages, newsletters, church bulletins and religious conversation. It's amazing how easy it is to talk about God, Christ, the Lord or the man upstairs and leave the name of Jesus out. This brings us to SECRET #71: The follower of Jesus lifts up the name of Jesus above all names.

There is a great worship song that goes, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name." What is there about that name that is so important? In order to get this in perspective we must go way back to nearly 3500 years ago when Moses was being sent by God to face the people of Israel. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you." (Exodus 3:13-14)

From the beginning God's name is very important. His name is I AM WHO I AM. This means that God exists and always has existed. It is spelled in the Hebrew language by four letters without any vowels. It is YHWH. Some ancient rabbis have described the name of God as like taking a breath. It is Yah-weh. And every breath you take is like saying His name. His name is revered so highly by the Jewish people that they wouldn't even pronounce it. Instead they would use the word for "lord" in its place. Even today, most Jews will not spell out the word, God. They usually write it with a hyphen, G-d.

When we come to the time of Jesus, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the name of Jesus. In the first few verses of John it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only.

Later in John Jesus says, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." What is it about this Jesus that is so attractive? Well, in Acts 4:12 it says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. There is something about that name.

Remember when the Lord spoke to Ananias about what he was to tell Paul, who had just been apprehended by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He said, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."

When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He makes an interesting reference about the name of God, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me."

So what is the name of God that was given to Jesus? It is the name of Jesus or "Yeshua" in the Hebrew. NOTE what this means. It is a combination of YE, short for Yahweh, and SHUA which means saves. So, the name is YAHWEH SAVES-Yeshua. It's a combination of the name of God given to Moses and the Messianic name given to God in the flesh-Jesus-God saves!

Even more specific is that Jesus makes several claims to being the I AM. When Jesus announced to His disciples He would be leaving, Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There is something about that name. The name of Jesus sets Him apart from all others, everywhere. As a Buddhist friend of mine said, "Jesus trumps everything and everyone else!"

This is why Peter and John were able to give the healing touch to the lame man in Jerusalem. It was all in the name of Jesus. This is why when two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, He shows up in supernatural ways. This is why we are to pray in the name of Jesus and He responds to our heart's cries.

SECRET #71: The follower of Jesus lifts up the name of Jesus above all names. In the name of Jesus. There is something special about that name. JESUS.

SECRET #70 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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There are three revolutionary habits we've taught over the past several years. They are simple and highly effective at the same time. The first is the habit of walking with Jesus-simply following Jesus the best you can. The second is the habit of walking with others who are walking with Jesus-doing life together with a few. The third revolutionary habit is waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities. This is SECRET #70: The follower of Jesus waits on the Master for His orders and opportunities. Waiting on Jesus is not inactivity. In fact, waiting may be the toughest thing you'll ever learn to do. Waiting on Jesus is being active and attentive in the following ways:

FIRST-As you wait there is the action of readying yourself. Your responsibility is not to be in charge, but to be ready for the Master's orders.

SECOND-As you wait there is the action of relating to Jesus and to others-practicing the first two habits. Your responsibility is to continue these relationships within your support team-the "one another's" in your life. It's the doing of life together, not just sitting around and talking about it.

THIRD-As you wait there is the action of resting. Your responsibility is to be anxious for nothing, but to rest in your relationship with Jesus and with others. Now, keep in mind that Jesus may not have direct orders for you today. Don't be in a hurry to the point of being stressed. Following Jesus is all about rest. Jesus calls His disciples into His rest-confident, peaceful, everything-is-going-to-be-OK rest.

FOURTH-As you wait there is the action of resisting. Your responsibility is to resist all distractions, temptations, and detours that you have stirred up for yourself or that come at you. This resisting is a vital discipline for the disciple of Jesus and the Kingdom. It's resisting those things that have the potential of keeping you from following Jesus.

However, we ARE waiting for Jesus to show up in our lives. We ARE waiting for Jesus to give us answers to our heart's cry-an impression, a peace, a desire or a thought. We ARE to wait to bring restoration to those God brings to us. We ARE to wait for God to bring people into our lives for us to walk with in fellowship and support. WAITING ON JESUS TO LEAD OUT is demonstrating a ruthless trust in Him to come through on our behalf with opportunities and orders for us to follow.

An ancient Jewish prophet, Isaiah, comes to mind. He wrote some inspiring words about waiting. Isaiah says: He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

Then I am drawn to what happened just before Jesus left the disciples. In the first chapter of Acts Jesus gave orders to wait in Jerusalem for next steps! Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples, just hanging out with them and He spent that time teaching them about the Kingdom. "He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.'" In essence, the disciples were still hung up on the physical, political motif of the Kingdom and Jesus is expanding on His former words to them that He has already brought the Kingdom. Now, they must wait for the permanent, abiding presence of God through His Spirit to empower their Kingdom living. The same is true for us today. We are to pray for Jesus to lead out and we are to follow Him. So we are praying and waiting for Jesus to lead the way.

Think of it this way: #1-Jesus is calling you today. All He requires of you is to be interested, believe in Him and follow in His steps. #2-Jesus believes those He calls are good enough. In other words, He believes you can do it. #3-Jesus believes you can be like Him-to perpetuate His lifestyle in you. #4-Jesus empowers you by His presence as 2-3 of us gather together in His name.

It's all about the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus and following Him. Three habits. Walking with Jesus. Walking with others. Waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities. SECRET #70 is: The follower of Jesus waits on the Master for His orders and opportunities.

SECRET #69 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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If you are serious about following Jesus, it's important to understand as clearly as possible what Jesus did. Years ago a good friend convinced me that "What Did Jesus Do?" (WDJD?) was more important to know and study than "What Would Jesus Do?" (WWJD?)

At the heart of what Jesus did do is the primary reason Jesus came to earth. It's what Jesus' ultimate mission was. Jesus speaks to this mission in a prayer recorded in the Gospel of John. There Jesus says that He finished the work the Father sent Him to do. Even though Jesus said, "It is finished" while on the cross, the finished work of Jesus was not dying for the sins of the world according to what Jesus said. It was something that is easily overlooked in the life of Jesus and yet must be understood in order to follow Jesus more closely. This is SECRET #69: The follower of Jesus continues to do the finished work of the Master in order to transform the world one person at a time.

A few days before Jesus died on the cross, He revealed what His finished work actually was-the bottom line reason why He was sent to earth. So, what did Jesus say was the work he came to complete? When Jesus prayed to the Father, He prayed for Himself, for His disciples and for us today. This is really the Lord's Prayer. The "Our Father Who art in heaven" prayer is better viewed as the disciples' prayer, when He was teaching the disciples how to pray.

So, what was it that Jesus came to do? What is the work He came to complete? The finished work of Jesus is more than what we normally think. It's within these words of Jesus' prayer that we can find the true revolutionary nature of what Jesus came to do and what He expects from us as followers. Jesus said that He finished the work the Father sent Him to do. He said, "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do." Notice what Jesus says is the finished work He came to do. "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word."

Jesus came into this world to invest His life in a few men and now He sends us out to do the same. "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Jesus invested in a few-all those God brought to Him. I believe this is the finished work of Jesus. He invested in the 12 and lost one of these, so He gave Himself to eleven men. Jesus saw clearly that in order to touch the entire world, He must invest Himself completely in a few so that they really "get it". Now if this strategy was good enough for Jesus, then don't you think it's the best strategy for you and me as well?

Practically speaking, most likely God has already given you a few people in whom to invest yourself. Start with your family first. It's your family members who are given to you and primarily to you. These family members can be either your greatest accomplishments or your greatest failures. In other words, your impact upon your family members is undeniable. After family members, you know those friendships, colleagues and acquaintances who have been obviously brought into your life for your personal investment. It's SECRET #69: The follower of Jesus continues to do the finished work of the Master in order to transform the world one person at a time.

I spent most of my life preparing and training to invest my life to move the masses toward Jesus. Now I know this was the wrong strategy. Just as Jesus met and gave healing to one person at a time, so we are to do the same. Let me ask you something. What are you doing with the people God has brought to you? Are you investing your life and teachings in these few? Jesus saw this work as the most important work ever. Don't you think we can take a clue from Jesus and do the same?

SECRET #68 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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About 6 or 7 years ago Jesus apprehended my heart and mind in a fresh way. Jesus became my whole focus. I saw Him differently-in a fresh and real way. I'd always taught about Jesus, but this time I had this passion to actually get to know Him. It was clear to me that the biggest obstacle for me to get to know Jesus was me, primarily my theologically educated mind. I have frequently said that I have been educated beyond my intelligence. With this handicap I knew that in order to get to really know Jesus I had to unlearn so much-so much that had become like blinders that kept me from seeing Jesus clearly and layer upon layer of add-ons that kept me from hearing Jesus distinctly.

This new adventure of following Jesus is quite a revolutionary trip. Everything is constantly changing. My learning curve is not a curve at all; it's a perpendicular line. The unlearning and relearning process never ends and just gets better every day. The experience, strength and hope in getting to know Jesus is intense and very real. My personal story is actually becoming Jesus' story in me. This brings us to SECRET #68: The follower of Jesus shares the message of the Master by sharing his personal story.

As a professional speaker over the years I am always asked for a bio to promote who I am and what I've done for whatever the event happens to be. The changes in my bio-my personal story-are dramatic. The primary change is the insertion of Jesus into my story.

Here's how it began experientially. I enjoyed a luncheon with a few friends in the DC area. We discussed what I should say that I do, now that I am a stubborn follower of Jesus. These men shared several ideas to use as vocational handles. One was that I work with the problem of alienation in this country and around the world. I really liked that handle the best.

Right after lunch the hotel set up a town car to take me about an hour north where I was going to spend the night in the Leesburg area of Virginia with some friends. The town car driver was a delightful man by the name of Joseph. He said, "You can call me 'big Joe'." Joseph was from Cameroon, Africa, and we have since developed a family-like friendship.

That car ride changed my life by changing how I share my personal story. Joseph asked, "What do you do?" So, here we go. It's time to practice what I'd just learned at lunch. "I work with a few friends on the problem of alienation", I said. I couldn't believe how big and complicated that word "alienation" sounded as I said it. There's no way Joseph will understand.

Joseph said, "Alienation. You mean, like when people don't get along-families, communities and nations?" Much to my surprise and relief Joseph understood! I said, "Yes, that's right!"

Then Joseph asked the million dollar question, "What is it that you do to counter the problem of alienation?" Well, there it was. The question of the day-the question of my life-presented right there in my lap: "What is it that you really do, Tim?" I couldn't believe it.

So I answered carefully and painfully, "Well, we don't use politics, education, or religion. Those just don't work. What we have found to be the only real answer to alienation is" (I could hardly get it out of my mouth. I'd never said the name of Jesus in such a personal and authentic way.) and then I said it, "JESUS!" I don't know what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear Joseph's response. He said, "Oh, Jesus. You know in my country we are either Catholic or Muslim, but it really doesn't matter since we worship our ancestors. But I've always loved Jesus. He's so different from all the rest." That day I learned what it means to know Jesus personally and make Him known-really and authentically.

I used to be known as a speaker and people were attracted to me because of that. Now, I am building lots of relationships and most of these new people have never heard me speak. They are attracted to my personal story of following Jesus. You see, my story is actually Jesus' story in me. And that's the most attractive story of all! SECRET #68: The follower of Jesus shares the message of the Master by sharing his personal story.

SECRET #67 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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Living in Newport Beach, California, a place I have dubbed the "holy coast" area of the United States, it's easy to forget how needy some people really are. We live in such gorgeous surroundings, one of the most beautiful parts of the world. From the very first day we moved here it was clear that we had to make it our goal to expose our children to other parts of the world-to give them a wider perspective on the rest of the world. In other words, it was important to communicate to them that this is not how it is all over the world. So, we did our best to expose our kids to as many other cultures as possible as they grew up in paradise. This not only taught them that there are lots of needy people around the world, but it also gave them a sense of gratefulness that they possess today.

Over the years the many travels to see how the rest of the world lives have also taught us to look around, even in paradise, for the needy right here at home. Although the needs around the world are much more intense than they are here, there are so many real needs here in Orange County and growing by the day in this economic scene. Locally we do all we can do to support the Orange County Food Bank, one of the finest charities ever!

Every month we also feed the homeless who gather at a local church facility. It's a different kind of serving. There are no food lines. The people gather, are seated and then they are served a wonderful meal. We sing together, celebrate any birthdays and I share something about Jesus and His teachings with them. The rewards of serving the homeless in this way are enormous. This brings me to SECRET #67: The follower of Jesus shares the message of the Master by meeting the needs of the needy.

You see, when you do your best to meet the needs of the needy, you are doing something that is at the heart and core of Jesus and His message to the world. This act of service will have a most definite impact on the world; it will demonstrate Jesus to the world. Jesus taught this when He said: "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" (Matthew 25)

Here the sacrificial love message of Jesus is spread by being aware of Jesus' heart and that Jesus can be found in those in need in our world-the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and those in prison. Jesus also spoke directly to those who didn't notice Jesus in the midst of the needy. "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'" When we are aware of the poor and needy around us, we are demonstrating the heart of Jesus in our world. Jesus always sought them out and so should we. And when we do, the attractiveness of the sacrificial love of Jesus shines through.

NOTE two things here: FIRST-Those in need are at the heart of God-hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned. Human nature is to take care of those who can do something for us. Therefore, we look to treat those who are important from an earthly perspective-the athlete, the musician, the highly positioned person in society. BUT Jesus points us in another direction entirely!

SECOND-Ministering to the needy is in fact ministering to Jesus, Himself. So, if you want to find and interact with Jesus, He is right there in the midst of those in need.

Do you want to see Jesus? Serve those in need in your world. And, when you serve the needy, the love message of Jesus will shine through. This is SECRET #67: The follower of Jesus shares the message of the Master by meeting the needs of the needy.