You're Going To Be A Layman

We have to face reality: most Christians will never enter full-time Christian work. In addition, most full-time Christian workers will spend most of their lives as lay people, because they are not going to be able to stay in their ministry. And if you are going to learn how to be blessed by God, you need to learn how to be blessed by God as a lay person.

Solomon possessed more wisdom that any man who ever lived, and while he served God, Israel reached great success. When he turned to other gods after his many wives corrupted him, Solomon watched as Israel fell backwards. But God never took away Solomon's wisdom. Solomon had the unusual ability to see the work of God through a man's success and failure, and he had the opportunity to use his wisdom in both cases.

Later, when he was old, tired, and discouraged, Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. He had the wisdom of a lifetime to record, and he recorded this:

Ec 12:13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

If God Ain't In It, You Ain't In It

1Ki 1:5 ¶ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

As King David lay on his deathbed, his oldest surviving son plotted to make himself the next king. He hired messengers. He consulted with leaders. He formed alliances. He hatched plots. Finally, he threw a great feast to celebrate his ascent to the throne, inviting most of the leaders and all of his brothers except one: Solomon.

Solomon, as far as we know, did nothing to advance himself. If he knew that his life was in danger, he did not do anything that we know of to protect himself. Meanwhile, Nathan the prophet told the aged King David what was happening. He reminded David of David's word, and God's Word, that Solomon would be the next king. David quickly had his loyal servants and leaders publicly anoint Solomon as king, and the people, loyal to their beloved King David, eagerly accepted Solomon.

Hearing the news, Adonijah's loyal followers quickly fled for their lives, leaving Adonijah to plead with Solomon not to kill him. With no known plots or schemes, Solomon had become king.

Christians sometimes hurt themselves by plotting to gain positions of leadership in the church. When they do succeed in backstabbing their way to the top, they often find themselves unable to handle the job, because God isn't with them. More than one successful rebel has watched the congregation dwindle as God led His people to go elsewhere.

Adonijah was definitely a man of ability, who might have gone far if he had obeyed God. He later tried another plot to become king, and this time, Solomon killed him. It is God's responsibility to raise up leaders of His people, not yours. Fear God, obey His commands, and serve Him. After that, it is God's responsibility to decide where to use you.

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We have seen that the most important command for a Christian is to have a fervent love for other Christians. This love is more important than other issues, even though the other issues are important. In the above passage, we tend to emphasize verse 35, but there's something in verse 34 that we miss. When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He explained "as I have loved you."

We're to love each other just as much as Jesus loved us. Jesus doesn't become enemies with Christians over dress codes, music, or non-Gospel doctrines. He didn't commit sin in order to get along with Christians, but He didn't become their Enemy, either.

What is the single most important things that you need to do if you want to follow Christ closely? Is it belonging to a certain Christian group? Believing a certain doctrine? Dressing a certain way?

1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Some Christians are surprised that the Bible tells us that loving one another is the most important thing for us to do. But while you can make mistakes on doctrine, loving other Christians is never a mistake. Fighting among Christians is to be avoided. The idea that we have to warn others against a certain Christian is an excuse for disobeying God's clear command.

Nancy and I are members of a megachurch in Texas, and we watch our pastor every Sunday on the internet. We disagree with some of the dress standards of our church, but we don't disagree with the large numbers of people who are getting saved, nor do we disagree with the spiritual growth that we are getting from listening to our pastor. Because love is more important to us than a dress code, we aren't cut off from getting these blessings.

Don't go to war with every Christian you disagree with. Concentrate on loving one another, and trust God to handle the other problems.

Angry Preachers

In following Christ closely, we have to be careful that we don't wind up following a man or a small group of men. Proverbs 22:24-25 warns us " Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul."

Some Christians make a ministry out of blasting away at Christians whom they disagree with. But James 1:20 tells us "for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Ripping into other Christians is not the way to follow Christ.

Ecclesiastes 7:9  warns us: "Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools."

A ranting, raving preacher might be interesting, but he's leading you away from the direction that God wants you to go.

Who to Follow

In obeying Jesus's command to "Follow me," we often have difficulty not following someone else.

Some time ago, A Godly Mexican charismatic started laughing at me because I had never heard of a certain popular woman preacher. I looked her up on the internet and found that she lives in a mansion, has servants and expensive cars, and that all of this is being paid for by donors. She was currently being investigated by a Congressional committee for income tax fraud. To make things worse, when I explained this to the Mexican charismatic, she admitted that she knew of Mexicans who lived in concrete houses, whose main food was beans and rice,  who were sending this woman money.

2Pe 2:3 ¶ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Preachers who teach "the prosperity Gospel" claim that their wealth (accumulated from donors) is proof of God's blessing. 1 Timothy 6:5 speaks of "men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself."

If you want to be used of God, you need to stop following glitzy performers and instead, closely follow after Jesus.

In obeying the command of Jesus to "Follow me," we often run into problems. What do you do if a successful pastor or preacher starts selling his own books and commentaries? How closely can you follow a man without disobeying Jesus's command to "Follow me"?

1 John 2:27 tells us: "...you do not need that anyone teach you..." The context of the verse tells us that God Himself teaches us, and when someone teaches us to go against God, we are to turn away from that teacher.

It is a common thing for "teachers" to arise within Chistianity who tell us to disobey the many commands to love one another. They warn and explain that if we do not separate from Godly people who disagree with these teachers, we will become corrupted. We must instead become close followers of these teachers, reading and listening to no one except those whom these teachers approve of.

But God's Word tells us differently. It tells us that God Himself teaches us. If you follow Jesus closely, He won't let you get corrupted and ruined; He'll make you a fisher of men. And following Jesus closely means that you love all of God's people.

Php 4:21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you.