Follow JESUS the Good Shepherd

"Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” John 21:22 (NKJV)"

After having breakfast by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loves Him just as Peter had denied Him three times. In so doing, Jesus restored Peter and charged him to "Feed My lambs", "Tend My sheep" and "Feed My sheep". Then Jesus prophesied the manner of Peter's death to the glory of God and exhorted Peter to follow Him.

That said and done with, Peter ventured to ask Jesus what would happen to John -- is he going to die for being a follower of Jesus, too? Jesus did not answer Peter's question. Instead Jesus reminded Peter to follow Him; to focus on his life's mission to be a follower of Christ.

For sure, Jesus, who knows all things, would know what will happen to John. Perhaps it was not the time to reveal the matter. In any case, it was His prerogative to keep what needs to be hidden for the moment.

We. too, can be like Peter by wanting to know what will happen to other believers in their walk of faith. Following from Jesus's discourse with Peter, we can surmise that our walk of faith is personal to us and we are to keep following the steps and the path He leads us.

When we follow and serve Jesus: He will make us "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17); we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23); we shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12); we will be with Him and His Father will honour (John 12:26); and experience the fullness of Psalms 23.

To be approved by God the Father, we need to follow Jesus and do whatever He tells us to do. When they ran out of wine during a wedding at Cana of Galilee, Mary told the servants, " Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5) Lo and behold, after those servants have filled the six waterpots, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece, with water just as Jesus said to do, the water was turned into wine of exquisite quality.

Would we hear His voice as a servant and follow Him? Can we be like those servants who filled the waterpots to the brim? Can we be like servant Caleb? "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. Numbers 14:24 (NKJV)"

As we trust and obey the Good Shepherd, our walk will be pleasing to Him. We will then know who we are and whose we are. Remember the words of Jesus, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 (NKJV)"

It is crucial for us to obey what the LORD has told us to do specifically. The account of the prophet in 1 Kings 13 is a sombre reminder. The LORD's instruction to him was: "You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came." 

When King Jeroboam entreated the prophet to eat and drink, he remained steadfast to the the Word of the LORD. But, an older prophet came to the prophet and said: "I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (He was lying to him.)" 

Because of his disobedience to the Word of the LORD, the prophet was consequently killed by a lion. Click here to read the full account in 1 Kings 13.

God still speaks today. Just yesterday, while browsing over some books in City Harvest Church before the service, I saw Pastor Edmund and felt prompted to approach him to ask for his blog address which I had heard of months ago during one of his sharing in a prayer meeting. 

However, I disobeyed the voice of God and missed the golden opportunity for an aspiring writing like me. God is gracious. He confirmed His prompting when Pastor Kong Hee called Pastor Edmund during the service  to give a testimony. Pastor Edmund shared on how the LORD has blessed him through his blog and writings for honouring (obeying) Him in tithing and givings. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. His call for us today is still, "Follow Me".


P/s: I am reading "Surprised By The Voice of God" by Jack Deere and you may find it helpful in your desire to hear the voice of God. Click here to view. 

Jack Deere (Th.D). formerly an associate professor of Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, is a writer and lecturer who speaks throughout the world on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He is the author of the best-selling book, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Deere lives with his wife and three children in Whitefish, Montana.

A Fresh Vision of Jesus by Jentezen Franklin

After reading the earlier article on "The Gospel of Jesus Christ the King", which is adapted from a sermon by Rev Tan Ye Peng at City Harvest Church on 21 June 2014, you may also find it beneficial to build up your inner man with the following sermon by Pastor Jentezen Franklin on "A Fresh Vision of Jesus".

Click here to view.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ the King

[The following article is adapted from a sermon preached by Rev Tan Ye Peng at City Harvest Church on 21 June 2014. ]

When we think of the "gospel", what comes to mind could be gospel music or an evangelistic rally where the gospel is preached unto the salvation of souls. The Greek work for gospel is euaggelion  (yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on) which means good news or glad tidings of a king or kingdom. 

Thus, Mark 1:1 speaks of "the gospel of Jesus Christ (King)" and Mark 1:8 speaks of "the gospel of the kingdom of God". This is where many Christians miss it when we relegate Jesus to Baby Jesus lying in a manger or relegate Him as being nothing more than just our best friend. 

Truth be told, Jesus is Lord of all. And, if we do not honour Him as Lord of all in our life, then He is not Lord at all in our experience. Yes, the King demands a response from us to live for Him and His kingdom. Get real lest we sweat over this. After all, Jesus is our King, and He is worthy of our loyalty and worship.

The gospel is not just the good news; it's the glad tidings of King Jesus and His kingdom. We cannot truly get it (the gospel), when we do not have a close relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ and advance the cause of His kingdom. Remember, His sheep hears His voice.

When Jesus taught in the synagogue at Capernaum, He spoke with authority (of a king). "And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:22 (NKJV)"  Behold, we have in Jesus the King who has absolute power and authority, and if we allow Him, He can evict every squatters in our closet such as fear, worry, temper problem, addiction, unforgiveness and idolatry.

How then are we to live as one who comes under the authority of King Jesus in His kingdom? Hear then the words of Jesus, "... "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:34 - 38 (NKJV)"

In Mark 1:24 (NKJV), the unclean spirit identified Jesus as the Holy One of God,  "But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him."" Jesus did not need any affirmation from the kingdom of darkness. Yet, the Pharisees could do worse when they kept asking Jesus for signs which clearly show that they would not believe Him as the Son of God. It would be an offence really for us to keep asking the King to prove His authority. Can we deny ourselves of the worldly mentality to challenge God's Authority and Sovereignty? Thus, as Jesus has cautioned, we are to be wary of the leaven (influence) of the Pharisees (Mark 8:15).

Jesus also charged us to rid ourselves of the leaven of the Herod who was an earthly king. Herod speaks of one who is not mindful of the things of God -- which may not be convenient; a person who has not given up the throne of his own life to Jesus and His kingdom. Taking up the cross means unto death and in some countries, disciples of Jesus face martyrdom for real.

When we follow Jesus, we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Following Jesus would be doing whatever He tells us to do and it encompasses serving Him rather than mammon (money) as our Master.

Many of us, as with Apostle Peter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would have a revelation of Jesus as the the Christ -- the Son of the living God. Yet we could still have an impaired vision of who is Jesus in His full glory. Peter found it hard to accept that Jesus had to suffer and go to the cross so as to fulfill God's plan of Salvation. 

Sadly, we have often confined Jesus to a room in our heart and in so doing limit His influence and authority over our life. We could have our best days yet, if we allow King Jesus to reign supreme in our heart of hearts. Today is a great day to start. God bless.


Please click here to access resources from City Harvest Church which are made available at the Ink Room.

A Bloody Scene - by Sheldon Bass

FaithWriters Great Multitude Christian Daily Devotional

A Bloody Scene - by Sheldon Bass

"The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:22 NIV

When I was ten, I remember keeping a scrap book filled with pictures of lions and tigers hunting. Many of them depicted gory kills. One day my mom happened upon those bloody pictures. She became concerned that I might be turning into some sort of twisted, sadistic kid. Blood has a tendency to make us recoil in horror. But my fascination had to do with a compulsion to understand death.

Many old Christian hymns include references to blood. It's the shed blood of Christ which cleanses us from our sins. What picture could better display the awful consequences of sin upon the world than spilt blood? God has a grand purpose in all things.

When Adam and Eve sinned, it drastically changed mankind and the world. The consequences of sin are exceptionally horrific. "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23a KJV) And life is in the blood. "For the life of a creature is in the blood…" (Leviticus 17:11a NIV) As a stark expression of sin's cost, God clothed Adam and Eve with dead animal skins.

God has taught me that I should be aghast and horrified at the prospect of sin. It should make me recoil in horror-the same response as to a bloody, gruesome death. But it's in man's fallen nature to trivialize sin rather than acknowledge its true devastating make-up.

However, because of God's awesome love for you and me, Jesus allowed His own blood to be spilled, taking that awful death penalty for us, His blood proclaims His love.

Sheldon Bass, Indiana-U.S. Army Veteran, Minister, Author, Speaker, likes to make people laugh. Contact

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LEARN ABOUT AND ACCEPT JESUS TODAY!

Counting Stars and Sand

" And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Genesis 13:14-17 (NKJV) "

" And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:4-6 (NKJV) "

" Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. Genesis 22:15-18 (NKJV)”

Abraham, our Father of faith, was truly blessed of LORD -- his shield and exceeding great reward. After changing his name from Abram (high, exalted father) to Abraham (father of multitude) God has been fulfilling His prophesy and promise to make Abraham a father of many nations (Genesis 17:5).

Hitherto, I reckoned that it was easier to count the stars than the sand. But God is well ahead of our time and He knows His mathematics! This eye-opener came to me when reading "Breakthrough Prayer" by Pastor Jim Cymbala of The Brooklyn Tabernacle.

An extract from page 100 of the aforesaid "Breakthrough Prayer" tells us that: "Recent studies indicate that there are far more stars than the eye can see, perhaps 200 billion -- that's 200,000,000,000 -- in our own galaxy, and the Milky Way is just one of millions of galaxies! Though no one knows exactly how many stars there are, one estimate puts the number at three thousand million billion stars -- a three with sixteen zeroes behind it."

God is among other things our Chief Architect and Chief Scientist. Here we also get a glimpse of God as our Chief Accountant! -- "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Psalm 147:4 (NIV)"

Our God is big; bigger than all our problems. He keeps His promises and He will indeed do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that works in us. 

If God could count the stars and sand, and the hair on our head, you can be sure He has counted all the problems that we are ever gonna have, and He won't break a sweat over them. It's time for us keep faith in God, know His magnificence and magnify Him.

What is God's favourite colour?

If you are a visitor from the United Kingdom or New Zealand and you claim that God's favourite colour is green, you wouldn't be faulted for thinking of the green green grass of your home country.

Gold would probably be a popular choice, too. After all, the streets of heaven are pure gold (Revelations 21:21) and the crowns of heaven are made of gold. Just a digression though that the genuineness of our faith is more precious to God than gold that perishes (1 Peter 1:7).

Some may say it's red, scarlet or crimson for the Blood of Christ which has wrought so great a Salvation thread for all mankind, And, God and all of heaven would celebrate each and every precious souls that could be redeemed by the Blood of Christ. Besides blue and purple, red was also one of the colour of cloths used for moving the holy things of the Tabernacle (Numbers 4).

Perhaps its white and blue as seen on the flag of Israel, the apple of God's eye. As sourced from http://www.biblebasics.co.uk/colours/col5.htm, "Blue is also associated with the commandments of God, the importance of remembering them and also the heavenly calling of those who had been chosen by God to be His people (Numbers 15:38-40).

The ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle was covered with blue cloth representing its close association with the Word of God (Numbers 4:5-7; 11-13).

The robe of the High Priest was also blue, again symbolising the close association with God and His Word (Exodus 28:31-33)."

My guess is that God's favourite colour is light or white. White in appearance, but a spectrum of 7 colours upon revelation. In describing the Glory of the New Jerusalem, the apostle John tells us: " But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved[l] shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Revelation 21:22-24 (NKJV)"

For your further reflection as sourced from http://www.biblebasics.co.uk/colours/col2.htm,

 

"White is the colour that is comprised of all the colours of the spectrum. Refraction of white light produces the rainbow colours  which consist of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (purple), violet. Other colours consist of the infrared and Ultraviolet spectrum Infrared and Ultraviolet represent that which is unseen.

The rainbow represents the promises of God and was a sign of the covenant that God would never again flood the earth with water: "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth... .. the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." Gen 9:13,15

The rainbow signifies the glory, majesty and honour of the Lord Jesus Christ "One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald."  (Rev 4:2-3) "

"Trust in the LORD" by Kong Hee

(Source: Devotionals of November 2005 by Rev Dr Kong Hee)

" “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,And whose hope is the Lord." Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)

The key to success and victory in life is not in ourselves but in God. David was a shepherd boy, unskilled in the weapon of war, but he defeated Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, with a single sling shot. He was not of royal lineage, but he went on to become the greatest king Israel ever had. What was the secret of his greatness? It was his dependence and his trust in God. David cried, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water" (Psalms 63:1; NKJV)

John Knox, the famous Scottish revivalist, was famous for his power in prayer. Queen Mary said she feared his prayers more than Europe's armies. When the Spanish armada fought the English in 1588, Queen Elizabeth I of England called the nation to prayer. As a result, a storm arose and destroyed 65 of the Armada's 130 ships while the English lost none.

It is evident that as long as men seek God, as long as we pray, our lives will be successful and victorious. We will be able to achieve our aims and remain protected. In the course of King Asa's reign over Judah (1 Kings 15:9-24), he changed both its history and future. Under his rule, he courageously deposed of his infamous idolatress grandmother, who had severely influenced Judah toward idolatry. He also drove out the Sodomites and then destroyed all the idols that his father had worshiped. Not only did this great leader himself seek after God, he commanded the entire nation to do likewise.

The prophet, Azariah said this of King Asa, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you" (2 Chronicles 15:2). As we look back in history, we see that the Word of God is true: Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength (Jeremiah 17:5, 7). God is no respecter of persons. His word works for all who would believe and act upon it.