The dedication of Following - Chambers, Oswald

1. The followers of gods life

Be ye therefore followers of god. . . . (Ephesians 5:1)

The one striking thing about following is we must not find our own way, for when we take the initiative we cease to follow. In the natural world everything depends upon our taking the initiative, but if we are followers of god, we cannot take the initiative, we cannot choose our own work or say what we will do; we have not to find out at all, we have just to follow. Jesus saith unto him, . . . Follow thou me ( john 21:22). Everything our lord asks us to do is naturally frankly impossible to us. It is impossible for us to be the children of god naturally, to love our enemies, to forgive, to be holy, to be pure, and it is certainly impossible to us to follow god naturally; consequently the fundamental fact to recognise is that we must be born again. We recognise it fundamentally, but we must recognise it actually, that in spiritual matters we must not take the initiative. We must not make decisions of our own, we must follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth, and when he does not go anywhere, then we do not. In following our lord jesus christ we are not following his followers. When paul said, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways, he was careful to add, which be in christ (1 corinthians 4:17). We are not called to follow in all the footsteps of the saints, but only in so far as they followed their lord. The great meaning of following is that we imi- tate as children, not as monkeys. In him was life . . . ( john 1:4). We are not left to anything vague. It does sound vague to say be fol- lowers of god, but when we realise that jesus christ is the life of god, then we know where we are. He is the one whom we have to imitate and follow, but we must first of all be born again and receive his spirit, and then walk in the spirit. If any man have not the spirit of christ, he is none of his (romans 8:9).

(a) in joy

These things have i spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. ( john 15:11)

If Jesus christ is the life of god and we have to fol- low him, we must find out what his joy was. It cer- tainly was not happiness. The joy of the lord jesus christ lay in doing exactly what he came to do. He did not come to save men first of all, he came to do

His fathers will. The saving of men was the natural outcome of this, but our lords one great obedience was not to the needs of men but to the will of his father, and he says, as my father hath sent me, even so send i you. We are never told to consecrate our gifts to god, but we are told to dedicate ourselves.

The joy of anything, from a blade of grass upwards, is to fulfil its created purpose. . . . That we should be to the praise of his glory (ephesians 1:12). We are not here to win souls, to do good to others, that is the natural outcome, but it is not our aim, and this is where so many of us cease to be fol- lowers. We will follow god as long as he makes us a blessing to others, but when he does not we will not follow. Suppose our lord had measured his life by whether or not he was a blessing to others! Why, he was a stone of stumbling to thousands, actually to his own neighbours, to his own nation, because through him they blasphemed the holy ghost, and in his own country he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (matthew 13:58). If our lord had measured his life by its actual results, he would have been full of misery.

We get switched off when instead of following god we follow christian work and workers. We are much more concerned over the passion for souls than the passion for christ. The passion for christ is the counterpart of his passion for god. The life of god is manifested in our lord jesus christ, he came to do his fathers will; then when we are following him, it will be a matter of indifference whether god puts us in the forefront or in the back seat. When we realise this, then the joy of the lord is ours because we are fulfilling our regenerated purpose. The passion for souls is not a new testament idea at all, but religious commercialism. When we are taken up with this passion the joy of the lord is never ours, but only an excitable joy which always leaves a snare behind. God engineers our circumstances as he did those of his son; all we have to do is to follow where he places us. The majority of us are busy trying to place ourselves. God alters things while we wait for him. Are we fulfilling the purpose of our recreation, viz. , to glorify god? The sign that we are glorifying god is not that we are happy; happiness is childish, individual and pagan. It is natural for a child to be happy because a child does not face facts, but a christian who is merely happy is blind. The way gods life manifests itself in joy is in a peace which has no desire for praise. When a man delivers a message which he knows is the message of god, the witness to the fulfilment of the created purpose is given instantly, the peace of god settles down, and the man cares for neither praise nor blame from anyone. That is the joy of the life of god; it is uncrushable life, and there is never life without joy.

(b) in judgement ( john 3:1621)

He that doeth truth cometh to the light. (v. 21) in actual life we must be always in the light, and we cease to be in the light when we want to explain why we did a thing. The significant thing about our lord is that he never explained anything; he let mistakes correct themselves because he always lived in the light. There is so much in us that is folded and twisted, but the sign that we are following god is that we keep in the light. I have been saved and sanctified, therefore i am all right that brings darkness at once. When we are walking in the light there is never any lust of vindication, no saying before god, i did not mean this, or, i did not intend to do that, or, i made a mistake there, but always coming to the light and keeping in the light all the time, with nothing folded before god. We keep in the judgement of god, consequently there is no condemnation going on in our lives.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in christ jesus (romans 8:1) means keeping in the light all the time. One danger is to go off in work, and another danger is to go off on doctrine. Doctrine is the mere statement of the life of god for the purposes of teaching. Always beware of following your own convictions in doctrine instead of following the life of god. Our lord says, judge not, and yet Paul says, we shall judge angels. Our lord means, do not judge by ordinary reasoning, or weighing up by carnal suspicion, but keep in the light. By keeping in the light we judge even angels. It is done by following gods life in judgement.

(c) in jerusalem

Behold, we go up to jerusalem. . . . (luke 18:31)

Jerusalem was the place in the life of our lord where he actually fulfilled the climax of his fathers will. He did not stay long in the villages where the people were blessed abundantly, he went steadily through every- thing, successful service or shame, it never affected him, and we have to do the same. We have to fulfil the purpose of god in our lives actually. We are here to be followers of the life of god. The counterpart is taking gods life for ourselves instead of giving our- selves to god. I want gods life for my bodyat once we are off the track. Our bodies are to be entirely at gods disposal, and not god at our disposal. God does give divine health, but not in order to show what a wonderful being a divinely healed person is. The life of god has to be followed by us, not utilised; we must not allow the life of god to stagnate in us, or imagine that we are to be put as specimens in a showcase. If god has healed us and keeps us in health, it is not that we might parade it, but that we might follow the life of god for his purposes.

We do not know where our Jerusalem is, but we have to go up to it, and the only way to go up to it is not by trying to find out where it is, but by being followers of gods life.

2. The followers of gods love

For i am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ jesus our lord. (romans 8:3839)

Jesus christ is the love of god incarnated. The love of god is not to be looked for in justice, right, truth, and purity; the love of god is jesus christ.

(a) in loyalty

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (galatians 5:1)

Loyalty is not to be to loving god, or to the love of god, but to jesus christs redemption of us. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry (colossians 3:5). Since i have been saved and sanctified none of these things dwell in me. These things are only possible in the saint, because the saints body is the temple of the holy ghost and may be utilised as an occasion to the flesh. Saints have to become absolutely loyal to the disposition of jesus christ in their lives. To mortify means to destroy by neglect. It is easy to detect whenever inordinacy comes in. How then can i do this great wickedness? (genesis 39:9). Gods love restrained him that is Josephs meaning.

The only way to keep following the love of god is by being loyal to the lord jesus christ. If we make sin a theological question and not a question of actual deliverance, we become adherents to doctrine, and if we put doctrine first, we shall be hoodwinked before we know where we are; or if we take an actual experience and deposit that as a truth on which we rest our souls, we go wrong at once. In stating holiness doctrinally we are apt to make it appear harsh and vindictive; it is technically right, but without the love of god in it. Pauls phrase, the holiness of truth (rv ), is the right one.

(b) in liberty

If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. ( john 8:36)

Free indeed, i. E. , free from the inside. The freedom of jesus is never license, it is always liberty, and liberty means ability to fulfil the law of god. The law of god was fulfilled in the life of jesus christ, therefore he is the expression of the love of god. If i am following gods love as exhibited in the lord jesus christ and he has made me free from within, i am so taken up with following him that i will never take advantage of another child of god.

(c) in lowliness

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. (philippians 2:7) in following gods love we must do so in lowliness. Let this mind be in you, which was also in christ jesus . . . (philippians 2:5).

That is a command. God does not give us the mind of christ, he gives us the spirit of christ, and we have to see that the spirit of christ in us works through our brains in contact with actual life and that we form his mind. Jesus christ did not become humbledhe humbled himself. He was in the form of god, yet he took on him the form of a servant. Some of us make a virtue of modesty and it becomes the worst form of pride. Self-assertive initiative has nothing to do with the love of god, and was never exhibited in the life of jesus christ. We are all thrilled by high, human, noble pagan sacrifice; it is much more thrilling than Calvary, there is something shameful about that, it is against all human ideas of nobility. The love of god is not in accordance with human standards in any way.

3. The followers of the lamb

These are they which follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. (revelation 14:4)

(a) in purity

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 john 3:3)

We are to follow jesus christ down here in the actual world where there is any amount of impurity, but we have this hope, that we shall be like him, consequently we purify ourselves. The possibility of being impure means that there is some value to jesus christ in our being pure. God gives us his supernatural life, but we have to keep entirely free from the world with a purity which is of value to god; we have to grow in purity. Unless a man realises that when he is indwelt by the spirit of god he must also walk according to the pattern of jesus christ, his flesh will take occasion to ensnare him. One of the most besmirching impurities lies in money matters; do we follow the lamb in these matters? If we do, we shall purify ourselves even as he is pure; not only is the purity of the holy ghost in us, but we are working it out in every detail. We have to be gods workmanship,

Not to work for god. But ye shall receive power, after that the holy ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me (acts 1:8), i. E. , those in whom i am delighted. If jesus christ were manifested now, would we be like him? Or would we have a hundred and one things to do before we could be as he is? We have not been taking time to purify ourselves as he is pure because we have been restless and annoyed; we have imagined that we have things to do that no one can do but our- selves. It may be true, but immediately we think it, we lose out. There is only one lodestar to the saint, the lord jesus christ. We have no business to get into circumstances god does not put us into. Faith means keeping absolutely specklessly right with god, he does all the rest. We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What god looks at is what we are in the dark the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in gods sight.

(b) in patience

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience. (rev- elation 3:10) patience has the meaning of testing a thing drawn out and tested, drawn out to the last strand in a strain without breaking, and ending in sheer joy. The strain on a violin string when stretched to the uttermost gives it its strength; and the stronger the strain, the finer is the sound of our life for god, and he never strains more than we are able to bear. We say, sor- row, disaster, calamity; god says, chastening, and it sounds sweet to him though it is a discord in our ears. Dont faint when you are rebuked, and dont despise the chastenings of the lord. In your patience possess ye your souls. If god has given you a time of rest, then lie curled up in his leaves of healing.

(c) in power

For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of god. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of god toward you. (2 corinthians 13:4) the power of god was exhibited in jesus christ that insignificant nazarene carpenter whom roman paganism did not notice. In the eyes of the world pagan virtues are admirable: christian virtues are contemptible. Are we prepared to be weak in him? If so, we shall be weaklings in the eyes of men, but we shall live with him by the power of god. Do we follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth? He will take us through darkness, through the valley of the shadow, through the strange dark things we must follow him whithersoever he goeth.

For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (revelation 7:17).