Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
I have a dear friend who is not well. He has a condition known as ischemic heart disease that has turned into complete heart failure. His cardiologist is amazed when he comes into the office for another appointment, according to medical science he shouldn’t be alive right now. His heart has taken too many hits, his heart function is barely at levels that one can survive and yet he has pressed on for years.
I met with him one weekend for breakfast because I knew how he loved to meet for men’s prayer and his condition had prevented him from going out much anymore. When he walks he becomes dizzy or unstable and yet his joy in Christ has not diminished.
If you talk with him, you will undoubtedly hear stories from his grandmother, a once titan of the faith who has since gone on to glory. The legacy she left had such an imprint on his life, he will quote many of the lessons she taught him as a young man. The predominant message is how to walk in the company of Jesus.
I asked him, where would the best place to look for the examples of what this life pattern entails? His answer was to look at the patterns Jesus displayed.
Jesus walked with the Father
If we want an example of what it looks like to walk with God, get to know the life of Jesus.
John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
I find it interesting that Jesus, the One who created the Heavens and the Earth, came primarily to do the Father’s will. Jesus’ will was not His priority but rather His love for the Father preceded His love for others. When I look into the book of John I’m reminded of Jesus’ role in the Creation story.
John 1:3 “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
All things made includes us.
Mankind has been lost and broken since the fall of Adam. Mankind’s relationship to God was fractured in the Garden and the Father’s intent was to restore that relationship. Why would the Father be so intent on restoring relationships with a human race that has done nothing but offend Him?
The Word of God makes it clear….because of His love for the world. (John 3:16)
For anyone to have an opportunity to walk in the company of Jesus, they must first be called into a relationship with the Father.
Once a person responds to God’s call to believe on the Lord Jesus, they are transformed by the Spirit’s power.
They are never the same again.
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
The redeemed are immediately changed from a position of darkness to light, the weary traveler has the burden of sin lifted from their shoulders and they are given spiritual eyes to see the way to life. The promises of God are realized in the one who trusts in Him and their future is made secure in Christ forever.
In His Father’s house, Jesus has prepared a place for His people. As the glorified Son, Jesus has full authority in Heaven and Earth.
John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
*Jesus’ church are those who love the Father as He does.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
The ones invited into the presence of the King are those who desire to be with Him.
Because Jesus’ followers are now made righteous in Christ, the Father lavishes spiritual gifts upon them.
John 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
God’s people have been spared the Father’s wrath because of Jesus’ love given through His life. The Father loves the Son and since the Son loves His people, the Father does as well.
Matthew 12:50 “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Believers owe Jesus everything. For those who reject the Son, they too will be rejected by the Father. For those who want to know how to walk with Jesus, all they need to do is look at how He walked with the Father on earth.
The Father’s love for the Son
As Jesus ministered among the people, His aim was to do the Father’s will. How did Jesus know the will of the Father? For one, He continually spent time with Him.
In the midst of pressing throngs of crowds who were always seeking Jesus, He recognized the need to be alone and pray.
Luke 5:15,16 “However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
The secret to Jesus being able to maintain His focus in the midst of all the craziness was by recognizing when it was time to be alone with the Father….and this was often. Where would Jesus go so the crowds would not find Him? It was where there was solace and He could maintain perspective.
Matthew 14:23 “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.”
How often should we pray? I know that personally I do not pray enough. It is when I see Jesus’ life and the way He handled the chaos is then that I am convinced I must improve the way I practice my faith. Since Jesus recognized the need to get away and focus His mind upon the Father, we too should follow His pattern.
Our relationship with the Son
If we want to walk with the Father, we must learn to submit to the Son—but how do we do this? Well, for one, He has been reaching out toward mankind since the beginning. Every time we see God interacting with people in history, it was the pre-incarnate Jesus interacting with them. Since Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), it was Jesus who was consistently appearing to men and women for all those years. Jesus has been interceding in the affairs of mankind, correcting mindsets, directing paths, and leading His followers toward salvation for eons—one day He will reign as King over all the world and receive His all worship.
Jesus is intimately acquainted with all of His people’s ways. Human life has value to Him because they were His idea–He created them. Sin was at the crux of mankind’s rebellion and those sinners are worthy of God’s judgement, but because of God’s love as expressed through Christ, He has transformed our existence.
How could anyone ever forsake such Love?
Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Amazingly, the God of all glory has drawn His people into fellowship with Him—and Jesus is the doorway to enter. Believers have been made acceptable through the sacrifice of the Son because they have accepted the grace of God given through Jesus. The Father’s love for the Son supersedes our failures, our weaknesses, and the filth of sin.
Learning to Love
Walking in the fellowship of Jesus is learning how to walk in obedience to God.
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Apart from Christ, we have nothing to bring of value other than our lives. Obedience is the way people get to demonstrate love for Jesus. Knowing and understanding their position as sinners before God allows them to walk unhindered, free from pride and self-righteousness.
As Jesus understood the mandate of the Father, we too should seek to know the mandate God has called us to live.
Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”
Walking in the company of Jesus is to recognize our frailty and limits, and then learning to trust in God’s power and leading.
Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”
Why does God allow His people to take part in His narrative?
People so often think of themselves as the center of the universe, and yet they forget how small they are in comparison to God’s power. To have a right perspective is to see God beyond our own limited reality. For the world who walks in the frailty of the flesh, they miss how God is moving and acting in accordance with His plans.
The Lord is trustworthy. He has proven it over and over.
If we believe this to be true, then why aren’t we trusting Him with every part of our lives?
Jesus walks with His people because He created and loves them. It is amazing how humanity in such a weak and lowly state are given honor simply by trusting in Christ—to be created in His image is to also walk in His presence.
Being able to walk with God is the greatest honor given to mankind.
The human life is finite, it has a beginning and an end…and it’s not that long of a time. What happens in that short period of time affects people for the rest of eternity.
Every hour, minute, and second of life has far greater value when it is kept in the timescale of eternity.
If you want to redeem the time…learn to walk in the company of Jesus… then you will never be the same.
U.T. 