Maneuvers - No. 28
Will You
Follow Me?
We’re constantly surrounded by ideas and messages meant to influence us. We encounter them when we watch TV, read the newspaper or a book, listen to a podcast, even when we chat with a friend or scroll through someone’s Instagram feed. There’s no escaping the constant barrage of persuasive voices.
And often, we don’t even realize we’re being influenced by these ideas. Their effect on our minds and spirits can easily escape our notice.
So can we ask… Which of these messages do you trust, friend? Which people do you listen to? Whose opinion do you admire above all others?
These are the questions Holy Spirit is asking us today. They aren’t meant to shame us or put us down. Just the opposite! Our heavenly Father is asking us these deep questions today so that we can be honest with ourselves. His heart for us is that we see which voices we’re listening to and what ideologies we’re accepting as truth.
Because, sadly, not every message we hear is true. Not every person has the answer we’re looking for.
And when it comes down to it, no ideology or human being is 100% trustworthy—except Jesus.
His words are worth trusting. His love for us is worth receiving. His cause is worth following.
Do you believe that today? Do you want to believe it? If so, we encourage you to allow Holy Spirit’s deep (and perhaps uncomfortable) questions sink into your heart.
Savor them. Ponder them. Let them do the work they need to… because that work is worth trusting, too.
01.
The Message
“Will you come? Will you see me in front of you, asking you if you will come? Let yourself imagine me now. Take a breath. Relax. Let yourself see me and hear me. For I am before you now, asking you if you want to come with me.
“Take a breath before you answer. Pause. Consider what it is I am asking you. It sounds simple doesn’t it? Following me?
“I’ll ask you again: Will you follow me?
“But wait, before you answer, consider this: whom is it you are following now, if it isn’t me? What person captivates your attention? What idea or belief or ideology do you ascribe to? How is your imagination captured by this person or these ideas?
“These questions aren’t rhetorical. Consider what you value now.
“How do you organize your life based on what or whom you believe is important? What and whom do you follow? And why?
“What do they give you? What do they offer? How do they inspire or captivate you? How do they make your life better? What is your definition of a good life?
“After you’ve answered these questions—for it is good to ponder them—let me ask you a few more. And this time, these questions are about me: Do you know what I stand for? Do you know what I value? Do you trust in my leadership? Do you want me to love you? Do you want me to go ahead and show you the way home?
“I am the one who stands for you. I am the one who knows you—has always known you. I dreamed you up. I delight in you. I know what is ahead and what is behind. I know what is around the corner and how you go to sleep at night. Do you want to know how I know what is good for you? Do you want to know more about me and what I like and what I don’t like and how I love to rescue you again and again?
“Child, stand up. Lift your head. Look into my eyes. Here is the main question for you again. It’s the same one. But it’s your time to answer now: Will you follow me? Yes? So what do you do now?”
02.
Listen
Take a moment to ponder the questions Holy Spirit asked in this week’s message. Once we’re ready, let’s pull out our journals and record our response to him. Remember, his questions aren’t rhetorical. How will we answer them?
03.
Think
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24, MEV).
1. When you hear Jesus say, “Follow me,” what does that mean to you? What does it look like for you to follow him?
2. What ideas have been influencing your thoughts and beliefs lately? How well do they line up with Jesus’ own thoughts and values? Give Holy Spirit room to speak to your heart as you ponder that last question.
3. What Scriptures speak to those ideas you listed just now? Let’s allow the Word of God to respond to the ideas we’ve been paying attention to.
04.
Trust
What we believe is what captures our hearts. And if what we believe doesn’t agree with Jesus, we will always encounter friction in our relationships with him.
Just ask Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a respectable man of God who knew the Torah inside and out. He followed the law to the letter and taught others to do the same. From what we see in Scripture, he was considered a trustworthy teacher in his day.
But there was a problem. What he believed didn’t line up with Jesus’ values.
What do you think Nicodemus felt as he watched Jesus perform miracles only God could do—and then see Jesus forgive sins, claim to be one with the Father, and allow people to worship him?
Can you imagine the confusion Nicodemus must have felt? The inner turmoil he experienced as a teacher of the law, knowing how serious a crime blasphemy was?
It’s no wonder he paid a visit to Jesus in the dead of night. In John 3, we see their conversation unfold—Jesus lovingly explaining the secrets of the kingdom, and Nicodemus as confused as ever.
Let’s open our Bibles to John 3 and read verses 1-21. Take your time with this passage, and pay special attention to Nicodemus’ questions.
Why was Nicodemus confused by Jesus’ words? What beliefs made it hard for him to accept Jesus’ teaching? What people or ideas do you think Nicodemus was listening to that fueled those beliefs?
We love Nicodemus’ story because it’s such a good example of how we must approach Jesus with open, humble hearts. Instead of clinging to the world’s ideas and messages, Jesus calls us to simply deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him.
So what does that look like for you today, friend? What is Holy Spirit saying to you through today’s teaching? We encourage you to write down whatever he’s showing you.
05.
Pray
Jesus, thank you for being trustworthy and true. Thank you for loving me so faithfully! Show me where I’ve allowed ideas that don’t align with you to infiltrate my thinking and beliefs. Teach me your truth, correct me wherever you need to, and show me how to deny myself and follow you.
That’s not something I can do on my own—following you. I need your grace. Sometimes I feel like Nicodemus, not fully understanding your ways or why you love what you love and hate what you hate. But I trust you. I trust you with my whole heart.
Help me see you better, and open my heart to receive what you’re saying to me. I love you, Jesus. I love you so much. You are so worthy, and I choose to follow you with everything inside me.
In your name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
