So You Think You Want to Follow Jesus: 7 Lessons to Help You Decide

Copyright © 2016 Harold L. Hendricks.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 (866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0220-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0218-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0219-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015917959

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/11/2016

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Orientation

Chapter 2 The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1: 1-20)

Chapter 3 The First Lesson: The Authority of Jesus (Mark 1:21-3:35)

Chapter 4 The Second Lesson: Understanding the Kingdom—Parables Parables (Mark 4: 1-34)

Chapter 5 The Third Lesson: Experienced/Dependency Kingdom – (Mark 4:35-6:32)

Chapter 6 The Forth Lesson: The Danger of a Hardened Heart (Mark 6:33-8:26)

Chapter 7 Pop Quiz Hardened Heart (Mark 8:27-9:1)

Chapter 8 The Fifth Lesson: How to Relate to One Another in the Kingdom (Mark 9:2-10:52)

Chapter 9 The Sixth Lesson: How to Deal with Confrontation (Mark 11:1-13:37)

Chapter 10 The Seventh Lesson: How to Live through a Crisis (Mark 14:1-16:14)

Chapter 11 Final Exam (Mark 16: 15-20)

Bibliography

To my wife, Janice

Acknowledgements

I owe a debt of gratitude to many people for their help with this book.

For my parents, Harold and Neta Hendricks, who led me to Jesus and taught me by their example how to live by faith.

For Bill Gothard, although I never met him, taught me through his teachings the importance of Scripture in everyday living.

For Ralph Neighbor who taught me "The Seven Last Words of the Church"¹ and helped me find a whole different way to do church.

For the members of Trinity Baptist Church, Fairfax, California who let me put into practice the things we learned together about church and in the process became life-long friends.

For Gordon Magee and Phillip Rosenbaum, who read this material and gave me their advice and help. This book would have never been completed without them.

For Eleanor Bailey who encouraged me to start the book in the first place.

Next, I want to thank my wife, Janice and my three children April, Todd, and Peter along with their families for their love, support and belief in me.

But most of all I want to thank Jesus and His Word. He changed my life and made it worth living! I give Him the glory and honor that is rightfully due Him.

Chapter 1

Orientation

Christianity is going the way of the dodo bird—you know, extinction.

I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. This young man was the son of one of my best friends. He and my son grew up together. We attended the same church. Of course he had been away at college for a year, and I’d assumed he had been attending church there. His statement came about during our short conversation after I asked, How are things? All I could say after his comment was, What makes you say that?

I don’t think I believe the same things my folks believe in anymore, and I am not alone in this thinking.

Like what?

I don’t think that I am the one to decide which religion is the true religion. Those of other religions whom I run into believe that their religion is the true religion for them. Truth is relative, isn’t it? What’s true for me may not be true for someone else. Who am I to say that their truth is wrong? Is there any way to tell the real truth? Isn’t it judgmental to say that my religion is the only true religion and that someone else’s religion is false? After all, religion is simply a set of beliefs, right?

As you say, I may be of an older generation and may believe a little differently, but go on, what else do you think about the end of Christianity as we know it?

All that I have just said is based upon the fact that there is no universal truth. What may be right or wrong for me may not be right or wrong for someone else in a different culture. That makes sense to you, doesn’t it?

No. But it does make sense to you, and that’s what counts for now.

There is another thing that is bothering me. What about all of these myths in the Bible such as Adam and Eve and the crossing of the Red Sea? I can go on. But it all boils down to evolution. Evolution is a fact, so the Earth is much older than what the Bible says. Things came into existence differently from what I was taught in Sunday school.

I do understand this one. On every side, we are taught that we evolved from nothing. Every science teacher we ever had ridiculed the Bible and any teaching that did not line up with his belief that there was not a God who was involved in the beginning. Yes, I understand.

Well, last, I’m not so sure Christianity really works. Is Jesus really the Son of God? Is Jesus the only way to heaven? I see too many ‘Christians’ struggling and not doing very well. I’m not sure Christianity really works for others, much less for me.

What you have just told me has been very enlightening. I know there are many nowadays who believe as you do. So I don’t doubt that you have spoken very candidly and straightforwardly with me. Thank you for that. I believe that you are still searching for answers that might satisfy you more than the ones you have come up with so far. Can I give you a little background and point you in a direction that might be more satisfying?

This young man may not be a real person, but this conversation has probably been repeated in some form in households across the country – perhaps in your home. We have come face to face with these concepts. What can we do? We are living in a time that requires a deep and committed relationship with Jesus if we are going to win this generation. Are you open to hearing something that makes sense?

The Orientation

Returning to a Place Where We Can Begin Again

If the only mission that Jesus had when He came to earth was to die for the sins of humankind, then He could have been born and then died in a matter of days. He could have then simply returned to heaven. But dying for the sins of humankind was not His only mission. His first mission was to train a group of people so they would know how to live in His spiritual kingdom. He also needed those same people to know how to share that kingdom with others. Only then was He ready to die.

Remember, this is an orientation. Just stick with me.

Jesus, in less than 1,095 days, left a band of 120 people who were able to live in His kingdom and to share that kingdom with others. In fact, it is reported in Acts 17:6 that Christians turned the world upside down in one generation. The book of Mark documents that training. As we look at this book, we see that Jesus uses a threefold teaching cycle. First, He states a principle. Second, He demonstrates that principle in His own life. Third, He turns to His followers and says, … he who believes in Me, the works I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father (John 14:12 NKJV) Another way that Jesus says this is, …the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:10 NKJV)

By the time the book of Mark was written, those 120 people had already been trained. The book of Mark, therefore, was not written for them. Why was the book written? For our benefit! The way Jesus trained His first disciples is the same way He wants to train us. He wants us to be able to turn the world upside down in our generation. We are capable of doing this. The first disciples were not remarkable people. They were common folk. They were fishermen, tax collectors, and sinners. Their only qualification was that they were willing to follow Jesus when He called them. We can do this too. The book of Mark shows us how.

Jesus is the master teacher, and the world is His classroom. We will learn many things as Jesus shares His teachings with us. He does not just talk about things. He shares with us the miracles He has performed to prove His teachings, and He asks us for a response. Jesus asks us to go out and do what He has taught. The truth is that we can get very fat if we just learn information. We can become like the Dead Sea. All the fresh, clean water from the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea, but there is no place for it to go. The water stagnates, which is why it is called the Dead Sea.

Or we can be like the Sea of Galilee, which has an inlet of water and an outlet—the Jordan River. The water is fresh and clean and full of life. That is why we are given information and then asked to turn around and pass it on. Only then will our learning remain fresh and clean. Jesus said that even the light that is given to us can be taken away if we don’t act upon it. This is our choice to make.

The other thing to remember is that life happens. As we read the Bible and this book, we may experience the tumble of life. Things just seem to happen. Life seems to pile up, one experience upon another. That is how life goes. We move along and have experiences. We try to process these experiences, and sometimes we miss what is happening altogether. We move on because other things happen before we finish processing what last happened. But all of these experiences have significance. Jesus is faithful to pull it all together for us if we will stay with Him to the end.

I know, I know. You may not believe in Jesus this same way. Give me a chance. Remember, this is an orientation.

There are seven lessons that Jesus wants to teach us. These lessons, found in the book of Mark, have the potential to make us as strong and dynamic as His first disciples. To present these lessons, I have written the first part of each chapter in dialogue form. That is, they are written in present tense and in paraphrase. I want you to experience each lesson as though you are with Jesus. The second part of each chapter is a fireside discussion of the day’s lesson. This is where we get down to the nitty-gritty of how to apply each lesson to our everyday lives.

There is a second reason for this book. If we look at the history of the United States, we find that in the beginning, Christian principles were part of the public sphere. Let me give a few examples to illustrate. Many of the first colonies had in their constitutions that in order for someone to hold office in that colony, that person had to be a Christian. How did they get away with that? Or, look at all of the references to God, our creator, in the Declaration of Independence. How did they get away with that? Or, remember that Benjamin Franklin suggested that there should be prayer at the beginning and at the end of each day in Congress? His colleagues agreed. How did they get away with that? Or, remember that when George Washington took the oath of office as the first president, he added at the end, So help me, God! How did he get away with that? Abraham Lincoln established a day of prayer and thanksgiving as a national holiday. How did he get away with that? President Roosevelt prayed to God on the radio for our country and our troops who were in the midst of World War II. How did he carry that off? How about the fact that Christmas is a national holiday or that Ronald Regan said, We will either be one nation under God or a nation gone under. How about all the other people throughout the history of our nation who have brought religion into the public square. How did they all do this? At those times, Christian values were widely accepted by the American people. The American people considered these to be valid, everyday beliefs.

Where do we find ourselves now? Those who want to remove Jesus from our public thinking have led an all-out assault on our culture and belief system over the past sixty years. This has been done in many ways, but it has primarily been achieved through the public school system, where these assaulters have insisted on the removal of the Bible, prayer, and mention of God from the classroom. The common teaching in school that there are no absolutes to be found anywhere has continued this assault. The final nail in the coffin has been the widespread acceptance of evolution as the basic theory of life. Now we have built up the wall of separation between church and state in a way that our founding fathers never intended. There was never to be a national church, but our founding fathers intended for there to be those persons in government and outside of government who believed in God (Jesus) and brought their values into the public arena. Those beliefs were a part of their lives and could not be separated (compartmentalized) from public life. These values—being honest, as in But let your ’Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No.’ (Matthew 5:37 NKJV); loving God and your neighbor as yourself; and putting the good of the nation above your own good—are vital to our nation’s ongoing success. But they are slowly being lost. How can that happen? It has happened slowly over time because the American people’s values are no longer the same. Yes, we talk about America being a Christian nation. We like to think that a very high percentage of the American population believes in God, but Americans’ actions in the public square do not match reality. When the ACLU can sue cities and individuals because of a Christmas tree, Christmas carols, or a nativity display, and the American public puts up with this, Americans’ values do not match reality. We find ourselves in a place in America where the leading edge of our society—that is the graduating classes of our public high schools, colleges, and graduate schools—have been taught that there is no God, or at the least that He is no longer relevant in our everyday lives. This attitude leaves us with the only philosophy that makes sense—eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. This leading edge of our society has been entering the work force and the political arena and taking up positions of leadership, leaving us with a different society. But let us remember that this assault has been going on longer than sixty years. Part of the history of humankind is the story of this assault against God. This assault, which started in the garden of Eden, continued with Titus Lucretius Carus, was handed down to Darwin, and continues to this day. Wait a minute, you ask, who is Titus Lucretius Carus? I’m glad you asked! He was a Roman poet-philosopher who wrote a masterpiece called On the Nature of the Universe. This poem tries to explain the world and the whole universe in strictly materialist terms. This man, in the midst of his Roman gods (which were not the true God), stated that there was some sort of human evolution. Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, wrote epic-length poems echoing the style and substance of On the Nature of the Universe. Although Charles Darwin claimed that he never read Lucretius, I wonder where he got his idea? This war against God has been going on for a very long time.

Let me be quick to add that I am not advocating religious legislation. I do not want a theocracy. Values come from inside a person and cannot be imposed. The truth is The people get the government they deserve.¹ This is especially true in America, where we can freely vote. My point is that the way to change the country is to change the people, one person at a time. When a small percentage of the American people loves Jesus and follows Him and brings His values to bear on society, there will be a shift again in the way things are done in the public square. Remember, if only ten faithful men had been