Part V: Following the King
So far in this series we’ve counted the personal cost of our commitment. We’ve learned how to be continuously aware of Christ’s presence and engage Him in fellowship. We’ve learned how to drink from Christ as our Source by turning to Him, beholding Him, and being compelled by His glory.
These disciplines deepen our relationship with the Lord and center us on Christ. But they are not the goal. The goal is to live our moments by the divine life of our Lord. For this to happen, one thing remains…
We must follow our King.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 (ESV)
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
Mark 2:14 (ESV)
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 (ESV)
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.
John 12:26 (ESV)
Jesus asked His first disciples to follow Him. He asks the same of us today. While Jesus no longer walks the earth in a corporeal body, He is imminently present both in us and among us.
Christ is not mute. He still leads His people.
The church talks about “following Jesus”. But too often, it’s merely synonymous with “being a Christian”. If not, it’s presented as a vague concept. When we press further and ask how to know Christ’s leading, we’re often given vague and impractical answers. We may be told to follow Him by praying, reading our Bibles, “following our heart”, and doing whatever we think Jesus would do.
Following Jesus is the heart of our relationship with the Lord. It’s both foundational and formative to the Christian life. Because it’s such a big part of being a believer, I’ve spent a good portion of my life exploring what it means practically to follow the Lord. While it does take a shift in our thinking, I’ve learned that following Jesus is neither vague nor impractical.
In this post we’re going to do my dead-level best to explain what it truly means to practically follow Jesus Christ today. Most of what I’m going to tell you will be backed up by my own experience. I can attest to its effectiveness. I’m also going to admit that some of this it (for me) is very experimental. I’m still working through much of it with the Lord’s help and guidance. May these tools bless you in your journey in pursuit of our Living King.
Imitation Versus Unity
So how do we follow a life-giving Spirit?
In so many ways, Jesus Christ is our example. I think the first step in learning to follow Him today is to take a close look at who He followed and how He went about it. Despite being divine, Jesus Christ was not an independent agent. Who did He follow?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
John 14:10 (ESV)
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
John 5:19 (ESV)
I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.
John 8:26 (ESV)
Did Jesus live by scriptural precept? No doubt He had large portions of the Torah and the Psalms committed to memory and drew strengths from the written words of His Father. But these scriptures were not His source of inspiration, direction, and empowerment.
With a careful examination of scripture, you’ll note that Jesus didn’t actually follow the law. He didn’t follow a list of precepts or a system of ethics. He never pondered what His Father might do in a given situation before acting. Instead, Jesus followed the life of His indwelling Father. He perceived that life through continuous fellowship that came by complete unity with the Father. The unity that the Son had with the Father is the same unity that the Son wishes to have with us today.
As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (I ask for them…) that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:18-26 (ESV)
Clearly from this verse Christ intends for His leading to be much deeper than following written rules. It’s much more than mere imitation of His presumed activity. As we are unified with Him (1 Cor. 6:17), He wishes to lead us from within. Jesus wants to lead us through the same continuous fellowship He had with His Father. This is an entirely different dynamic than what most of us have been taught. I’ve written extensively on the ideal of living by the indwelling life of Christ here, here, and earlier in this series.
Our union with the Spirit of Christ is the foundation from which we discern His leading.
Where He Leads Us
Jesus leads us by His indwelling Spirit. But where and what does He lead us to? Again, if we look closely to the gospels, we will notice Jesus seemed to always lead His disciples with two goals in mind.
His first goal was to lead His disciples to a greater awareness of Himself and His Kingdom. He would do this by way of teaching, using parables, demonstrating the miraculous (such as by healing the sick), correction, or exposing what was in a person’s heart. As our indwelling Lord, He leads us much the same way today. Occasionally, He’ll lead us into times of testing to refine our trust in Him. He will also lead us back to Himself so that we can know Him more and discover a greater revelation of His glory. This, in turn, leads to joy, hope, celebration, and a desire to follow more closely! This awareness comes by way of fellowship, intimacy, and communion. It’s the product of a deepening relationship. As we discussed in the previous post, the mechanism by which we gain greater awareness is by turning to Him and beholding His glory.
His second goal was to direct His disciples into action. His direction was often very specific. In one example we see Jesus giving them explicit instructions for retrieving the donkey that Jesus would use to ride into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-6). Other examples include His sending out the 12 disciples (Matthew 10:1-20) and the 72 disciples (Luke 10:1-11) with some pretty specific guidance on what they should do while proclaiming the coming Kingdom. Today, because we are unified with Jesus Christ (and if we’re listening and willing to follow) He will lead us into specific action. His action always be consistent with His own character, most often appearing as acts of love, words of proclamation, and acts of sacrifice.
Jesus leads us at different times, to different activities, and with endless variety. He may lead one to die to their selfishness in order to reconcile their relationship with their spouse. He may lead another to engage a co-worker in a conversation about Christ. Elsewhere, He might lead a believer to visit a complete stranger in a convalescent home and provide them with love and encouragement. For another, He may bring to mind a friend’s estranged daughter to pray that Christ lead her home. He might lead you to bring some food to a neighbor who is dealing with chemotherapy treatments. He may lead another into the restorative work of freeing victims of human trafficking. For another, He may lead to the other side of the world to proclaim Christ in a closed country at significant risk to their own life. Today, He may call me to help someone take groceries to their car. Tomorrow, he may call me to die for what I believe.
Sometimes, His direction will require us to be lead us into a season of preparation. But sometimes, He requires immediate obedience. But it’s through loving and sacrificial acts both big and small that we continue His earthly ministry of redemption, healing, and witness both inside and outside the church. To follow Christ’s commands is to follow Him into His redemptive work. It’s to participate with Him to proclaim, embody, demonstrate, and expand His Kingdom in a world that’s desperate for a lasting solution. Sometimes He leads individuals. Sometimes He leads us as corporate expressions of His Body.
Ways He Will Not Lead Us
We all have a certain amount of baggage we picked up from our spiritual upbringing. Sometimes we’re burdened with ideas that simply don’t align with the way the Lord actually operates. Before we discuss the specifics of recognizing His leading, I think it’s important to bring up some ways that the Lord will not lead us.
First, know that the Lord will never motivate us with a sense of guilt.
Guilt carries a sense of condemnation without any corrective direction. It tends to be very broad and un-specific. It’s unloving and tries to motivate through shame of your not having acted on a past opportunity. It’s manipulative. Guilt is a major tool of the Accuser. Unfortunately, it’s also the tool of many well-meaning leaders (both secular and spiritual). The reason why guilt is popular is because it’s so incredibly effective. But, Romans 8:1 tells us that we are no longer under condemnation. The Lord will never abuse us through guilt or condemnation. Instead, the Lord leads us by conviction.
What’s the difference? Conviction points toward very specific opportunities in the present. Where in guilt we sense condemnation, in conviction we sense a quickening of our spirit that resonates with an opportunity. Without manipulation, our souls confirm that what we’re being convicted of is the right thing to do. We may still decide to resist the Lord’s leading (and the Accuser may even offer us guilt for having resisted). However, the dynamic between us and the Lord with conviction is altogether different than with guilt.
Second, while He can give us insight into important matters, it’s important to understand that Christ won’t necessarily provide direction for every decision in life.
In an earlier post, we talked about the difference between moral decisions and non-moral decisions. The Lord’s moral will (also known as His perfect will) is simply how He desires every human being to conduct themselves. His moral will is His behavioral expectation for humanity. We can be confident that the Lord will always lead us into His moral will. While these may include larger, life-changing decisions, my experience is that most of His commands focus on the moment-by-moment “micro decisions” that lead us to exercise love and sacrifice for others.
Non-moral decisions, on the other hand, are those decisions which fall outside of His behavioral expectations. In my experience, the Lord tended to be quieter on non-moral decisions such as what job to take, who to marry, what major purchase to make, etc. This doesn’t mean that He’ll never offer you insight to an important non-moral decision if we bring it before Him. But if you don’t receive an answer after a reasonable time of prayer, there’s a good chance that He’s leaving that decision for you to make. Instead, He will often allow you to use your conscience and the counsel of mature, godly acquaintances to be your guide.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “God has a perfect plan for your life”. This idea has been a source of confusion for many, particularly for those who have sought to please God in their late teens and early 20’s (it certainly was for me). Many interpret this to mean that God has one “right” career path, one “right” person to marry, one “right” city to live in, that is form-fitted to you. To move in a direction other than this “perfect plan” puts you on an unrecoverable path which will severely limit the Lord’s blessing. I’m not sure where this idea started, but I don’t see it anywhere in scripture. Again, when it comes to non-moral decisions, Christ will most often give us the freedom to choose. We’ve been given a conscience, counsel, and wisdom to aid in these decisions. I think this idea of having freedom in non-moral decisions is what Augustine was getting at when he said,
“Love God and do whatever you please: For the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is beloved.”
St. Augustine
Preparing Ourselves to Follow
Jesus tells us that His sheep hear his voice and follow Him (John 10:4; John 10:27).
The veil has been torn. We’re no longer in need of intermediaries. Nothing is more simple and natural than to recognize the voice of Christ and simply follow Him into the activity He has called us into. Following Him is not a matter of presuming His direction. Nor is it a matter of waiting for “a sign”. It’s a very deliberate process of listening in expectation which leads to specific action. But before we discuss how we hear the Lord’s voice, I want to re-emphasize a couple of points that are critical to hearing the Lord clearly.
First, it’s critically important to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually open to follow Him into what He would call us. My experience is that He tends to remain much more quiet when I’m on a selfish streak–where we both know I wouldn’t follow Him. There have been times where He’s directed me (knowing full well that I wouldn’t respond) in order to expose my heart. To hear the Lord’s voice, we need to practice being continually open to following Him into wherever He would lead us.
Second, hearing the Lord’s voice is something that becomes easier and clearer the more we regularly practice the disciples discussed earlier in this series. The more committed we become, the more aware we are of Christ, the more we engage Him in fellowship, and the more we drink of Him as our source of divine life, the more we will hear and recognize His voice. If we are half-hearted in the pursuit of our King, we should not expect to hear Christ. It’s not because He’s not speaking, but because the winds of distraction are too strong to hear Him over. With practice, we will eventually come to recognize His voice. We’re much more likely to hear Him when we make pursuing Him our highest priority.
How the Lord Speaks to Us
How do we hear the Lord’s voice?
Remember from the previous post that for every physical sense we have, we’ve been given a corresponding spiritual sense. So when scripture speaks of “hearing” the Lord’s voice, it’s not necessarily referring to hearing a disembodied voice with our physical ears. Instead, it’s something much more integrated and unified within us. Paul speaks about this dynamic in his first letter to the Corinthians:
…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (ESV)
According to Paul, we discern and perceive Christ’s voice through the spirit where He resides in us. Recall earlier that humans have three parts: body, soul, and spirit. While separate, they are all connected to one another. Because they’re connected, they influence one another in mysterious and imperceptible ways. As He speaks by the Spirit, we might perceive Him in our minds in a way that may be indistinguishable from the spirit. For example, if Christ presents a thought to us in the spirit, we may likely perceive that thought as our own thought. If the Lord’s heart breaks for something He sees through our eyes, we may perceive that thought through our own emotions. I would bet that if you’ve been following the Lord for any length of time, this is something you’ve experienced.
The Lord has most often spoken to me through an “impression”. He doesn’t string words together to make complete sentences. Instead, His words hit me all at once as a complete thought. Sometimes these impressions are interwoven with the words of another person, a scripture I’m reading, or a situation I find myself in. At other times, it may be completely out of the blue and seemingly irrelevant to my situation. Occasionally, these impressions are accompanied by a weighty, yet calm sense of absolute authority.
I know perfectly stable people who claim to have been led by the Lord’s physical voice. I don’t doubt that they have. But for most of us, whether His voice comes by way of another believer, the words of scripture, or as a direct ‘download’ from the Spirit, the Lord’s leading will usually be perceived through our own thoughts and emotions.
While much of what I’ve written is couched in terms of how the Lord speaks to the individual, it’s just as applicable to communities of believers. This can include a family, a small group, or even an entire congregation. Remember, we all share the same Spirit. He resides in not just me, but in us. The church was never intended to operate independently as a collection of individuals. The Lord wishes to offer us corporate direction. Not only do we accomplish more for the Kingdom when we work together, it provides an opportunity for us to be built together as a body (Ephesians 2:22).
Of course, this is an entirely different mentality for congregations that are used to voting on proposals and expecting their human leaders to provide direction for the entire group. Learning to listen to the Lord collectively takes practice and patience. It takes closeness with one another as well as closeness to the Lord. But nothing is quite as exciting as when the Lord Himself leads His Body. (I’m hoping to have a future post on this topic.)
Recognizing His Voice
Invariably, someone will bring up the question, “How do I know if this really the Lord’s voice or just me talking to myself (or a guilty conscience, light schizophrenia, or even something demonic)?”
Given that the heart is deceitful (Jer. 17:9), it’s a good question to consider.
As we mentioned above, it’s almost impossible to directly locate the origin of a thought. The Spirit can be imperceptibly subtle. The wellsprings of human emotion are dark and murky. However, we can evaluate the content of the thought and be pretty certain where it’s coming from. Here are a few tips to help us recognize and follow the Lord’s voice.
First, does the content of the voice align with what we know about the Lord’s character?
Scripture will not give us highly detailed directions (that’s the job of the Spirit). But scripture does give us broad insight on the Lord’s character (what pleases Him and what doesn’t). If the voice does not conflict with something the Lord could tell us, there’s a good sign that He’s leading you. Also, the more we get to know the Lord personally and experientially, the more we will understand His character. This will make His voice clearer to discern.
Second, where is the voice leading us?
As we said earlier, the Lord will often lead us to acts of love, sacrifice, and proclamation (or a combination of these things). If the voice is leading in one of these directions, that’s another good sign that He’s leading you. Now, there are times when we’re being led to a place where the destination isn’t exactly clear. He may be leading us into an intermediate step. In these cases, we may just need to trust Him and continue to follow. Remember, His Word is a lamp unto our feet (not a floodlight) (Psalms 119:105). This is one way He grows our trust to lead us further. Like any good teacher, He tends to give us simple tasks to train us in obedience before giving us harder assignments.
If the voice seems to be regularly preoccupied with excessive and unprofitable details or obsessive in a way that causes anxiety or frustration, this may simply be your own fallen conscience. Resting in Christ’s completed work will help filter out that kind of static. If the voice is demanding, condemning, or makes threats of guilt, this is likely the Accuser masquerading as the Lord’s voice. (Just ignore that guy.)
What I’ve learned is that the Spirit is always a gentleman. He will lead, but never force us. His leading will feel more like a nudge than a shove. In fact, His leading will come in a form that’s easily rejected. But even when we fail to follow, He will never make us feel bad about it. He does not condemn. Instead, He wants us to be compelled by His grace and His glory. If we fail to follow, it’s usually because we lack these things. The solution to disobedience is repentance in the form of returning to the Source to drink from His limitless supply of life. The solution is a revelation of Christ.
Third, what sense accompanies the voice?
In Romans 8, Paul gives us a litmus test for whether we were led by the Spirit or by the flesh.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6 (ESV)
Here, Paul tells us that when we are led by the flesh and choose to satisfy it, we perceive a feeling of death. In fact, you’ve probably experienced the perception immediately after sinning. For me, what follows is a strange mix of carnality, darkness, guilt, and remorse for having done it. If you know what I’m talking about, this is what death feels like.
Conversely, Paul tells us that when we follow the Spirit, we will perceive life and peace. This feeling is just the opposite of death. Unlike death, the feeling is not carnal. Instead it’s deep, penetrating, pure, and fulfilling. The Lord’s voice is always accompanied by peace. The act of following Christ may seem dreadful at the time (because our flesh will actively resist it). But we’ll sense a resonance with our spirit. We’ll quickened with the activity. Sensing life and peace is the spiritual equivalent of a glass of cool, refreshing water. Following the Lord is confirmed by a sense of life and peace. In fact, it can be said that to follow the Lord is to pursue those feelings.
The Subtleness of His Leading
To understand what it means to follow the Lord is to understand the nuance of the Spirit’s activity and the subtlety of our Lord’s influence. Following the Lord is to strike a balance somewhere between the mindsets of two common groups.
The first group makes it a lifestyle of doing good things based on what they presume the Lord wants. They believe that whenever we do something that feels like it’s the right thing to do, we can categorically label it as “the Lord’s work” and presume His blessing on it. This idea most often finds itself in the parts of Christianity that emphasize works over grace. Living this way doesn’t require a close relationship with the Lord since “following Him” is simply a matter of sorting out good deeds from bad, then avoiding the bad and doing the good. (Recall the concept of living by a knowledge of good and evil discussed here.)
The second group is completely dependent on the Lord’s direct intervention. People in this group often see themselves as mostly flawed and sinful. They believe their involvement in the process will only invite problems by way of their imperfection. For this reason they expect the Lord to do most of the lifting. They believe that, if the Lord wants His will badly enough, the Spirit will somehow work through them with little to no involvement on their part. This idea most often finds itself in the parts of Christianity that emphasize grace over works. It also doesn’t require a close relationship with the Lord since “following Him” is simply a matter of expecting Him to do everything without us.
Of course, neither of these ideas are correct. While most believers fall somewhere in between, a proper understanding rejects the premises of both. Let me explain…
Like we’ve said from the beginning, our union with Christ is incredibly nuanced. It’s a mystery. By the nature of our union, His influence and actions are especially subtle. In fact, we would do well to quit trying to figure out whether the nudge we feel is from us or from the Lord. When we are following Christ in in an deep and experiential relationship, the answer to that question is both.
My favorite passage to illustrate this tension comes from Paul’s letter to the Colossians where he’s talking about his ministry to the church.
For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Colossians 1:29 (ESV)
Here, Paul confesses that he is the one that toils and struggles. But he does so with the energy of the Lord working in Him. Is it Paul or is it Christ doing the work? From this passage, the answer appears to be both.
To follow Jesus is not to assume His activity apart from your union. Neither is it leaving it up to the Lord to supernaturally force His will upon you. Rather, following Jesus Christ is to recognize your union with Him. It’s to seamlessly follow your instincts while fixing your eyes to His. It’s to continually acknowledge your complete dependence on Him for direction into His work. It’s to continuously engage Him, asking “What are You doing right now?” and “What do You want me to do?” so that we might follow Him into work that He is, in a sense, already doing. It’s to commit to a lifestyle of continuous recommitment, awareness, fellowship, and incarnation so that we might recognize His thoughts and emotions in our own. Will there still be some uncertainty in discerning the Lord’s leading? Of course! (1 Cor. 13:12) But the more frequently and consistently we make these disciplines a regular part of our lives, the more confident we can be that the nudges we receive are the nudges of Christ.
When we pursue our King to the fullest, following Him will simply be a matter of asking ourselves,
“Where is His glory and grace leading me?”
Then, when He offers us His illumination, we simply follow the advice of Jesus’s mother at the wedding feast at Cana…
“Do whatever He tells you.”
If you’re interested in learning more about practical ways to follow Jesus and hearing His voice, I’d recommend the following books:
- Hearing God by Peter Lord
- Rethinking the Will of God by Frank Viola
- 10 Second Rule by Clare De Graff
- Jesus Speaks by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola
Image credit: The Road to Emmaus, an 1877 painting by Robert Zund. Public Domain.