Stick Close to Jesus

FAITH ADVENTURE  "Stick Close to Jesus" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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Transcript

STICK CLOSE TO JESUS
Stephen Bly
Fillmore Bible Church
Fillmore, California
Circa 1980s

Old Testament Reading

Ruth 1:15-18 NASB, “Then she said, ‘Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said, ‘Do nor urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus, may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.’ When she saw that she was determined to go with here, she said no more to her.” 

New Testament Reading

Mark 14:43-50 NASB, “And immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, ‘Whomever I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him, and lead Hi8m away under guard.” And after coming, he immediately went to Him, saying, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed Him. And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. But a certain one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as against a robber? Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has happened that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.’ And they all left Him and fled.” 

Prayer: “Dear Father in Heaven, I do pray that You’ll be with us as we walk through this chapter of Mark, as we attempt to carefully understand Your words to us on this day. May You so direct us, Lord, to change our lives in conformity to Your Word. I pray it in Jesus Name, Amen.” 

It really all depends upon who you’re with. For instance, me and Dr. J will take any two of you on with two-on-two basketball. Or Van Gogh and I will paint you a picture. Or Cale Yarborough and I will tell you everything you need to know about stock car racing. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger and I will have you a little two-man tug of war contest. Or Lawrence Welk and I will teach you how to waltz. Or John Wayne and I will defeat all the Apaches for you. It all depends on who’s with you.   

In order to get your spiritual life going again, you need to stick close to Jesus through all sorts of difficult times. (And a summary of other things you can do: remove roadblocks; expose your faith; let Jesus lead; respond to the Lord; put on His power; destroy spiritual enemies; sharpen your vision; do something drastic; imitate the Savior; assert your authority; give up something; and plan for the future by forgetting distractions and ignoring the noise.) 

1.) Stick close to Jesus through times of embarrassment.  

Mark 14:3, “And while He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.” 

You have to imagine the scene. Everything’s going fairly well. They’re gathered together in a house with a nice banquet, sitting and visiting with Jesus. It’s the sort of intimate conversation we’d all like to have. And suddenly, a woman of questionable background comes into the house and makes a big scene. She breaks a jar of perfume and pours it, dripping down Jesus’ head. Certainly, those around Jesus were embarrassed by this happening.   

When are We Embarrassed?  

First, when another person’s devotion to Christ looks different than our own. They do things we don’t do. They pray with their eyes closed or open. Worse than that, they pray by falling flat on their face. Maybe they’re emotional or unemotional. If they’re the opposite from us, we can be embarrassed by their actions.  

Second, certain words are used for religious people or leaders. Jesus had sharp words at times in public. “You Scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites,” He’d call out. It must have been embarrassing to be there and hear Jesus say those things. Couldn’t He be a little milder? Couldn’t He use different terms and spoken in private? So, today, this might be a lesson. Perhaps a sermon heard on TV might get really pointed towards certain people and we feel embarrassed. Stick close to Jesus during those times.  

Third, We can also get embarrassed by the company Jesus keeps. We expect most of the people who come to Christ, no matter what they were before, to become normal, good, perfect folks, just like you and me. But they aren’t always. They may look different or even smell different. They do things differently. We’re embarrassed by the people He calls to Himself. They have questionable backgrounds. If you’re embarrassed, stick close to Jesus.  

2.) Stick close to Jesus during times of preparation. 

Mark 14:16, “And the disciples went out, and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.” 

They were staying with friends in Bethany during the time of Passover and the disciples asked Jesus, “Where are we going to celebrate this feast?” Jesus said, “It’s simple, fellas, I want you to go to town and when you see a guy walking by with a jug of water, you just follow him until he enters a house. Then, you knock on the door and ask him, “Where’s the room?” So, they did this. And they found it just as Jesus said.  

Sometimes it’s hard to stick close to Jesus during preparation times because there’s no immediate results. It must have been a bit awkward to go follow this man with the water. They didn’t see anything happen. Contrast that with being on the hillside where you’re passing out the loaves and fishes and watching an instant miracle. That’s exciting!  

But setting up a room? Putting the cups, utensils, plates, and napkins on the table and making sure the nut cups are all in place? That’s pretty mundane. Maybe that’s why it’s challenging to get anyone to show up for church workdays. Just prepping with no crowds, nothing happening. But we still need to stick close to Jesus in these times too. 

Can you imagine the further awkwardness for the disciples? Someone had to knock on the door and say, “Hey, you don’t know me, we’ve never met, but we want to use your biggest room for this party.” It can be awkward preparing for what God wants to do for us. We’re not always convinced that the action will produce a lot of results. And we want the shortcuts. Few want to do all the work required to do the job right. But that’s exactly what we need to do if we’re going to stick close to Jesus.  

3.) Stick close to Jesus during times of betrayal.  

Mark 14:18, “And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.’” 

Those around us sometimes betray Christ, such as when their own standards of personal holiness are discarded. They say, “I know I should be this way but I’m not going to.” And they continue to do things they know are biblically wrong and betray Christ. Yet we must stick close to Christ ourselves. That’s especially difficult if that other person is our spiritual crutch. We’ve been depending on them to pull us up and all of a sudden, they let us down.  

Another time of betrayal happens when known spiritual truth gets twisted to meet one’s own desires. Someone around you justifies what they’re doing by putting a different slant to a previous accepted biblical principle. It’s surprising how many immoral actions have been justified as being scriptural. When a person does that, they betray Christ. Stick close to Jesus instead. 

A person betrays Christ when they fail to keep a covenant, the agreement they made with God. We can make grand promises. “Lord, I’m going to do this for you.” We say this when we want something or after God does a powerful thing in our lives. “Lord, I’m going to give this to you. I’m going to serve you by teaching this class or take on this job for you.” When that covenant is broken, Christ has been betrayed. But in the midst of others’ betrayal, we must stick close to Jesus.  

4.) Stick Close During Communion 

Mark 14:24, “And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out, shed on behalf of many.’” 

It’s possible to take communion and never be close to Jesus at all. And yet, we need to stick close to Him during that time. And it’s important to have communion often and in the midst of that act something spiritual takes place. Here’s some ways to make sure that happens.

a.)  Make sure communion is a time of repentance. Say to yourself, “Lord if you were to come and be here with me today …” And then examine your life during the last month. What areas would you be most ashamed of? During a replay, what would you want to say, “Now, don’t look at this part.” Those are the very things during communion we want to bring and say, “Lord, I’m sorry. Here I am and this is what I did.” 

b.)  Communion also needs to be a time of reflection. You take that piece of bread and reflect, “Christ’s body was broken for me.” And you take that cup with the liquid in your mouth, not in a bizarre form, but with meaning, say, “This is Christ’s blood shed for me.” Jesus really had to die. 

c.)   Make communion a time of rededication, starting all over. Say, “Lord, I’m ready to get going again.” Made mistakes? Did some things right? It’s not a time to get that all dirty, chalk-filled eraser to smear around all the words on your heart like a half-clean blackboard. It’s a time for getting out the washrag and water and scraping the slate until it’s perfectly clean. Get ready to start all over again.  

5.) Stick close to Jesus through denial. 

  Mark 14:30, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, that you yourself this very night, before a cock crows twice, shall three times deny Me.’” 

This happened for Peter the night before the crucifixion, though he said, “Lord I’ll always be here. I’ll never desert you though everybody else will.” Peter stood around the fire and three different occasions he claimed he never even knew Jesus.  

We all have times of denial. Though we have to be careful of those around us who betray Christ, we need to know sometimes that’s us. We’re the ones who betray Him. Even during those times, we need to stick close to Him.  

What do you do when you’ve discovered you’ve denied Christ? You do like Peter did. Peter ran out and cried. He let it sink in just what he had done. Denial affects your whole life, including your emotions.  

Then go back into the situation of denial and reaffirm your faith in Christ. Peter should have done that but he didn’t. He should have turned back around into the courtyard and said, “Wait a minute, you’re right. I knew Him. He is my Savior, my Master, and my Lord.” And then wait humbly for Christ’s affirmation. Peter did do that eventually. And Jesus said, “You’ve still got a ministry to do, Peter. I need you out there instead of sitting around being so upset.”  

6.) Also, stick close to Jesus through distress. 

Mark 14:34, “And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.’” 

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was troubled, anxious in His soul to the point of death. A time of great distress for Him. There are times when we need to hurt with Jesus. He thought about what needed to be done the next day. It was more than the persecution of the Romans or the nails in His hands while hung on the cross. He knew He would be torn apart from His relationship with the Father, an experience He’d never had before, nor have any one of us, nor will we ever if we’re in Christ. This caused Him anguish.  

When we think of the cross, we can hurt with Him. There’s a song, “When I Think of the Cross It Moves Me Now.” It ought to hurt us inside when we realize Jesus the perfect Son had to be separated from the Father just for us and our sins. While the thought of an empty cross should bring joy, the thought of Jesus on the cross ought to make us seriously hurt that God had to do that much for us. 

A second time we ought to hurt for Jesus is when we see the lost in the world. Jesus said He saw them like sheep without a shepherd, wandering around with lost spirits in relationship with God the Father. He had compassion on them, and He hurt for the multitudes. We ought to hurt when we see the lost. Instead, we often feel offended. We say, “There they are on the high school lawn again, throwing beer bottles in the street. I wish they’d not be that way.” We drive down the street and we see some crummy, rundown building with an X-rated sign and we say, “I wish that building wasn’t there.” But we don’t hurt for the lost that are there. 

Third, we need to hurt when the Father fails to receive proper honor. Jesus went into the temple and cast out the money changers because the Father didn’t get the honor He deserved in the house of God. When He’s done something wonderful in somebody’s life and yet He doesn’t get any honor or recognition, we should hurt. When we gather together in His house and worship and praise Him and there are people of God who are not here, we should hurt. He deserves the honor.  

7.) Stick close to Jesus through the danger.  

Mark 14:50, “And they all left Him and fled.” 

They said they’d stand by Jesus. Then He asked them stay close to watch and pray. But, suddenly, when the danger came they all ran away—John and Peter, James and Matthew, every last one deserted Him.  

How do we stay close to Jesus through danger, when you want to run? Some situations get tough. You want to escape, to get out of there. 

a.)  First, count the cost for the whole kingdom, not just your personal cost. If you stick it out it might cost you your career or mega funds or reputation. But how will your desertion affect the kingdom of God?

b.)  Relax about what you need to say or do. You don’t have to know ahead. God will tell you when the time comes in the tough situation.

c.)   Commit yourself to be the one to turn out the lights. At every kind of meeting of any organization you’re involved in, there’s somebody who sticks around when everyone else is gone. They close the doors, shut the windows, throw the locks, and turn out the lights. Commit to being that person in tough situations until everything’s blown over. When it’s all settled, when God’s done His work, when it’s all completed and finished, you’re the last one to make sure everything’s done right. Stick it out. 

8.) Stick close to Jesus through accusations.  

Mark 14:60, “And the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, ‘Do You make no answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?’” 

Jesus was on trial. And you need to stick close to Him because He’s still on trial today. People still accuse Jesus of all sorts of things. They claim He’s this or that and you’ll hear it wherever you are. But you aren’t called to defend Jesus, only to testify.  

In John 9:25, a former blind man said, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know2, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” 

When Jesus is accused of all sorts of things, we don’t have to be the theological experts. We don’t have to be the biblical scholars. All we must do is say, “This is what Jesus has done in my life. I was blind and now I see. I was lost and now I’m saved.” Stick close to Jesus as a witness.

Ask some penetrating questions. 

Nicodemus said to the Pharisees in John 7:51, “Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 

The Sanhedrin Supreme Court was trying Jesus without Him there. They said all sorts of things of what Jesus was doing wrong and how they should arrest Him. And Nicodemus stood up and said, “Now, wait a minute,” and he asked a penetrating question. He made them stop and think, even though he didn’t change their minds.  

If someone says, “Well, Jesus was a good, moral teacher,” ask, “Then, why did He insist He was the only way to heaven?” When Jesus is being accused, we need to keep speaking about Him and not draw back.  

In Acts 4:19,20, “But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to god, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.’” 

Don’t give in to the tendency to withdraw from speaking about Him.  

9.) Stick close to Jesus through the guilt. 

Mark 14:72, “And immediately a cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, ‘Before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And he began to weep.” 

Peter began a long process of feeling very, very guilty. Whenever you feel you’ve failed God, the guilt can begin to pile up. Here some helps for sticking close to Jesus during such times.  

First, don’t turn to penance, such as go do something for God. Like Judas who threw the thirty pieces of silver at the priests because he knew an innocent man had been accused. But forgiveness doesn’t come from you doing anything. Turn to God to forgive you because of who He is, not what you do.  

Second, don’t forget how guilty you feel. Years later Paul said in Corinthians, “I am the least of the apostles. I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church.” Paul was forgiven. God didn’t hold it against him, but Paul didn’t forget it.  

Third, don’t fail to learn the lesson that guilt’s supposed to produce in our lives. Guilt is a good thing just like pain. If you had no pain, you’d go around damaging yourself all the time. How come lepers lose their fingers and appendages? Because they lose pain. They can’t feel when they stub themselves or get stuck or chopped by things like knives. Guilt is the pain of our soul. Let it work its lesson, its good.  

Jesus came to talk to Peter after the resurrection in John 21. Peter had a lot of guilt, but it was doing its work. Jesus said, “Do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes, I do.” Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” for the three times Peter denied Him to work through all that guilt.  

In order to keep your spiritual life going during tough times like mentioned above, you need to stick close to Jesus. 

Years ago, our family camped in northern Montana on the Canadian border near a lake. We went on a hike around the lake and our young sons, Russ and Mike, plus me and Janet headed.  down the trail. Suddenly, the boys saw a sign and came running back to stay close to us. And Michael took hold of my hand. He decided he’d walk with Daddy for a while. And then we got close to the sign which read, “Warning: there are grizzly bears on this trail. Please be very careful. Proceed at your own risk.” That’s why it seemed to be best to stick close to Dad.  

The same’s true when we’re going through the tough times of denial, of betrayal of those around us, of danger and distress, the accusations and guilt and the embarrassment. We’ve got to stick close to Jesus.  

Three Attitudes You Need  

~~ an attitude of humility, whether at work or at home or at school, let people know, “I’m sticking close to Jesus not just because I like to but because I need to.”

~~ an attitude of recklessness, such as jumping on a train before you know its destination and how long it’s going to take or how hard a trip it’s going to be. You stick close to Jesus not knowing where this will all lead or what you’ll have to go through or for how long. You just stick close to Him.

~~ an attitude of perseverance, that is, you’re going to stick with it until all the work God wants you to do is done.