FOLLOW ME
[p. 193] FOLLOW ME
John 9; 10 I have been endeavouring in these preachings to set forth the different ways in which souls are hindered from embracing a full gospel. I will just recapitulate the different points. First, souls are hindered by remaining satisfied with knowing relief only; and we saw that relief can be known without coming to Himself. I illustrated this by the case of the ten lepers in Luke 17. All were relieved, but only one came to Himself; only one, when he was relieved, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. And again in the case of the widow of Sarepta, we saw that she not only had relief from the famine, but her son was raised from the dead. There was life out of death, and that is really what the soul is brought to when it apprehends Christ risen.
My second subject was that persons may have received the grace of God without having yet learned the terrible nature of the distance between God and themselves, and that they have to learn it like Jonah when he was “three days and three nights in the whale’s belly”, or like Saul of Tarsus, when, after being struck to the earth by the light from heaven, he was “three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink”, learning that there was a way out of death through Christ’s death - a deeply solemn moment. That is where a great many are really hindered, because they have never gone the road. As has been said, there was a large company at Pi-hahiroth, safe from the judgment of God, but not delivered from the enemy. And why? Because they had not passed through the waters of death. They had not yet walked through the Red Sea. What is walking through the Red Sea for [p. 194] us? It is really appropriating the death of Christ. The death of Christ is my way out of the death that is upon me. He died for me, and I appropriate His death.
My third subject was that many know Christ as having died who do not know Him as risen, and that the simple answer to faith in Christ risen is that you receive the Holy Spirit; you get the power from the glorified Saviour, and the first expression of the power is demonstrated in your weakest point. This we saw illustrated by the palsied man in Mark 2. He carried that whereon he lay, he carried his bed. And so it will be with you; whatever it was that governed you in nature, if you have received the Holy Spirit it does not govern you now. In the power of Christ you are under another government. This we saw typified, too, in Acts 3, when the man who had been lame was seen walking and leaping and praising God, and Peter says, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all”.
This evening I take up what is also deeply important, and what in one sense is more interesting, and that is - that the next step is following the Lord. As the Lord Himself says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”. Now there are a great many who are truly converted who are not following Him. To follow Him is to come to Himself outside everything here, as I will show you presently. But first I want to show you what is the mark of following Him. “When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice”. The Lord in this chapter is describing how He Himself had come into the Jewish fold, and all connected with law, and all that the law required, and to Him the porter opened. He met every requirement of God, and He came in, and after having [p. 195] entered into the fold, instead of staying in the fold He went out of it, “and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out”. A great many are detained here, detained by the religious things that are going on around, not by what you would call bad things, but religious things, instead of following Him out of it all; just as the nine lepers in Luke 17, when they were cleansed, went to the religious ordinances instead of coming to the Lord. One came back to Him, and what marked him was that when he found that he was healed, he felt he must go to the One who had healed him; and that is the beginning of following Him. The others did not go morally wrong, but they went to religious ordinances, religious observances, and that is often considered a very great and a very good thing to do. But when you have a true apprehension of what His grace really is, you go to Himself, you follow Him, and the Lord says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”, John 8: 12.
Now in chapter 9, in the case of the man who had been blind from his birth and whose eyes were opened, we have an example of one who has received light and who keeps up to the light. It is not merely that he has been a subject of grace, but he knows he has got light, and he insists upon what he knows; he keeps to it. It is an immense gain when any soul keeps to what he knows. I have no doubt that the man who walks up to what he knows will get more. “He that hath, to him shall be given”, Mark 4: 25. It is exemplified in this man. He not only gets his eyes opened, but he insists on the One who has opened them, and therefore he advances until he gets to Christ. He meets with opposition on all sides; no one will acknowledge him. It is not what are called wicked people that he has to do with, but with the best, with the elite of society, so to speak, and each in turn they question and refuse him. First his neighbours are interested about him. Your neighbour [p. 196] is the one nearest to you. They want to know how he got his sight. They bring him to the Pharisees - the religious men. The Pharisees were looked upon as the most reputable company in those days. They condemn him; they condemn the work because it was done on the sabbath day. It was really the Lord they were condemning. Christ has come in grace, and what you find is that it is the religious man who is most opposed to Him, because the light of Christ makes all his religion of no value. That is what you get all through John’s gospel; the religious man will not have Christ. It is not the pagan or the heathen but the religious man. It is the Jewish element all through; and it is what we have to contend with now - man’s systems and religion.
Next the man’s parents are called, and they are afraid to own him. They say, “He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself”. Then the Jews - the whole nation are against him, and in the long run he is cast out; they will not have him. At the end of their contention with him he says, “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing”. See how he is advancing towards Christ! He is following up the light that he has received. Though as yet dimly, he is following the One who gave him the light. His heart is set upon it; hence as soon as he was cast out he was in the solitude of light. I believe, beloved friends, I speak advisedly, that no soul is in the full sense of the blessedness of the place in which Christ sets him until he is in the solitude of light. By the light which he has received from Christ he is outside everything, outside the most approved and the most reputable among men, he is outside of it all. You may say it is a very solitary place. No doubt it is; but he is not long in solitude. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” Now he has come to the Person; he is outside of everything of man, and [p. 197] he is brought into the reality of the presence of a Person, and that Person the Son of God! It is a wonderful moment! Anyone who has ever gone the road in any measure knows what a wonderful moment it is to be brought into the presence of the Son of God.
I have gone over this man’s history to show you what comes out in chapter 10, because chapter 10 literally explains to us the position which the one who has received light, and who has been brought into the presence of Christ, has. The great confusion in the minds of many christians in christendom is that they think there is a place in the fold, or the Jewish order of things, for the christian; as if there was room made in the fold for the christian. Nothing can be more contrary to the statement of Scripture and to christianity. The Lord came into the fold, no doubt, and if the fold was to be maintained, that was the time to keep the sheep there. But He expressly states in the opening of the chapter that He leads them out. “He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out”. Now this man who had been blind is out. You may say, he is cast out; yes, he is cast out; that was man’s side of it; but it was really the Lord putting forth His own sheep, and he finds the Lord outside of it. He has come to the Lord, and the Lord has come to him. This chapter explains the true position of every one now who follows Christ. He went into the fold, and He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. I do not think that all His sheep have come out. I think a great many are clinging to some form or other of the Jewish order of things, religious systems and the like. Do you ask, But are they not converted? Yes, perhaps truly converted, but they have not followed the Lord. If you are set on following Him, nothing will satisfy your heart but to find Him. Look at a true heart in the woman of [p. 198] Luke 7. She believed He was the Saviour, she had heard that He raised the dead, and she has no doubt He was the Saviour; but did she rest there? No, she goes to find Him, and brings her alabaster box to anoint Him. Have you found Him? That is what I want to know. Have you found Him? What a moment of exquisite delight it must have been to the man that had been blind when Jesus found him, when he saw the One who had given him sight. He said, “Who is he, Lord? ... And Jesus said unto him, [p. 201] Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee”. Jesus had said to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” He does not say, on the Son of man. He reveals the greatness of Himself, and now there is intimacy, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee”. And so we find in John 10:14,15 - “I am the good shepherd; and I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”.
Now I would ask every converted soul in this room, Would you like to get to the Person who has cured you? If you would, you must follow Him outside of everything of man. You must follow Him outside of all the varied impediments that come in your way, religious impediments, all the systems of man. He is outside of it all, and if you want to reach Him you must go to Him where He is. You will find it in a certain sense illustrated in the first chapter of John’s gospel, where the two disciples left John the baptist and followed Jesus. The Lord turns and asks them, “What seek ye?” and they say to Him, “Master, where dwellest thou?” (verse 38). They want to reach Him, to be with Him; and nothing can satisfy the heart that truly understands what His grace is but to follow Him. When Peter and his companions in Luke 5 saw the wonderful miracle that had been effected by the Lord, and had heard His word, “Fear not”, they [p. 199] brought their ships to land, and forsook all and followed Him. Why? Because they knew what His heart was. Have you followed Him, have you come to Himself? I do not ask you if you have found Him for your own relief, and know that you are clear of your sins, but if you are following Him outside of everything here, for it is only thus that you can follow Him now. Do you want Himself? If you do you must leave the fold and everything of man. He says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved”. It is not that he shall be safe. In the fold they were safe, in a sense, but “he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture”. There is no such thing as pasture in the Jewish fold. The oriental fold was like a pound, four walls built in a square for protection. It was not for pasture but for protection.
I would press upon you the blessedness of following Himself. See the touching language that He uses - “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”. The mark of knowing Him is that they follow Him. Levi, in Mark 2, is an example of this. He was sitting at the receipt of custom, and the Lord says to him, “Follow me. And he arose and followed him”. He left the world and followed the Lord. It is not only that he left the receipt of custom, but he broke away from all that held him. The power came in first to disengage him from that which hindered him, and not only that, but it enabled him to follow the Lord. It was like what I have already alluded to in the case of the disciples. What a testimony it was to all around when they brought their ships to land with all the miraculous take of fishes, left all, and followed Him.
Well, beloved friends, I can only ask you, whom or what are you following? It is a marvel to myself when I think of it. When I think of my own heart I can feel for yours; and as I have often said to myself, can it be that you would not follow the One to whom [p. 200] you owe so much? Are you stopping short, content with having found relief in His work? If you knew what a wonderful blessing you have in Him, that everything is in Him, you would be glad to follow Him. One is humbled by seeing how little the heart is set upon Him. If I might use an illustration in natural things, nothing will hinder a faithful dog from following his master wherever he goes. If you try and hinder him, no, you cannot. He will not be hindered. That is a very feeble illustration, but I use it to show you how little the heart is set on Christ, how little it has been touched by Him, how little you have learned what His love is, or you would not be deterred by anything from following Him outside of everything here. He can say, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”. And when you do follow Him, what a moment you find it to be! What a place you have come to! You have come to Himself; you have come to Him, not only as the One who as the good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep, but as the One with whom you are brought into the blessed intimacy which He sets forth here in verses 14 and 15, “I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”.
Let me draw your hearts a little to enter into what He has done. He has come from God, and He has gone under all the judgment that lay upon you; and He says of Himself, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”, John 15: 13. And now that you have tasted His grace (I address those who have), what next? You know that He is your Saviour, but have you found Himself? Have you come to Himself? It is only as the risen One that you can come to Him now, and when you do come to Him as risen you receive the Holy Spirit; a bond is established. a living bond between you and Christ. Then you go on to know Him, to follow Him; and that most wonderful intimacy (verses 14, 15) is established.
“Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee”. I want you to see what a real thing it is to make His acquaintance. That is the sum of all I have said - that you should make personal acquaintance with Christ for yourself. On a former occasion I traced how Jonathan and David made a covenant together, but here is a greater thing. He knows me and I know Him. This is the wonderful blessing, the complete satisfaction that the heart finds in having personal intimacy with a glorified Saviour. My heart has been delighted with Him; I know Him and He knows me. There is a personal intimacy established between Him and me. And I do not believe that can ever be lost. As I said to you on a former occasion, Peter never could lose the sense of Christ’s love, after He had said unto him, “Fear not”. However wayward he was, or however failing he was, he never could have a doubt about the love - he knew it. I believe it is a moment never to be forgotten in the history of the soul, when it has reached this point - He knows me and I know Him; and no soul is established in grace, or knows what it is to be with Christ outside of everything here until it has reached this. That is where the man whose eyes had been opened was brought to, when the Lord found him, and said to him, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee”. Many are satisfied with having the light, but they do not follow it up. If you follow up the light it carries you outside of everything that is not of Christ, and brings you to Christ Himself; and then you know that there is an intimacy formed between Him and you. There is hardly time to go into it now, and it is hard to explain what the greatness of it is, but once it is known it cannot be lost. This man who had received sight could say, Not only have I got light but I know the Person who gave it to me. It is not only that I know His grace but I know Himself. Do you know Himself? Many a believer is like this man when he said, “A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes ... and I received sight”. But do you know that you have both seen Him and it is He that talketh with you? Do you know that there is an intimacy established between Him and you of the same character (I do not say the same measure) as between the Father and the Son? If you do not, though you may have been long converted, you have not come to the fulness of grace, or to your true place.
If you study John’s gospel carefully you will find that the work of Christ for the sinner does not end until chapter 10. This chapter is what I call the finish - the climax of it. From this chapter on we get quite a new subject. When you come to chapter 13 it is all about being here for Him. But in chapters 3 to 10 it is how He was here for you. In chapter 4 You come to Him and you receive the Holy Spirit. He says, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst”. For this you must come to Him. How could you get it if you do not come? Whom could you get it from except from Him? But here in chapter 10 it is still more. It is what no one could explain. It is a personal intimacy that nothing can surpass - He knows me and I know Him. There is an intimacy between us. It is not only that I know that He has done a work for me, but I know His heart. I am acquainted with Himself and I know that His love is better than wine and I can say, “Draw me, we will run after thee”, Song of Songs 1: 4. It is the heart that knows what He is that is really satisfied. It cannot be satisfied otherwise. You know what He is to you; it is not only you are clear of all that stood in the way, but you have come to Himself. I need not add more, because the nature of the enjoyment of the one who knows Him personally is more to be pondered on than explained. I ask you to ponder on that scripture. “I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. There [p. 203] ought to be no division between verses 14 and 15; it was not understood by the translators. What you continually find is that a part of the truth can be accepted, but that which is the crown of the truth is not reached. What is the crown of the gospel? The crown of the gospel is that I am acquainted with the Person who has done all the work. There is the most blessed intimacy established - He knows me and I know Him. That is the crown of it, and is not that a wonderful thing?
Now, beloved friends, I trust you see how souls are baffled and hindered by the subtlety of the enemy from entering into the fulness of His grace, the fulness of the gospel as God Himself presents it to us. God sets it forth to us at the finish. Where does the light come from? It comes from Christ in glory. If a soul has really got to Him, see how he is rejoicing! He is not in trouble or anxiety about himself, not occupied about himself at all, he is here for the Lord. If you have not come to Him thus you could not enter into John 13: 8. You cannot know the meaning of the Lord’s words, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”, for that could not be said of anyone who has not intimacy. There would be no meaning in it if you were not intimate with Him already. I am going to another place, He says, and there must be no shade of distance between you and me. Those to whom He spoke were already acquainted with Him, and in the greatest intimacy around Him, but He was going to another place, to the Father’s presence, and He says. I will take care that there shall not be a shade of reserve - a shade of distance-between you and Me.
But that is beyond our present subject; I only allude to it to show you the wonderful crown of the blessing which you are brought to in chapter 10, outside of everything that naturally would have been attractive to man, or revered by man; you are morally outside of it all, outside law and all man’s systems, and [p. 204] you are brought into a new order of things. You are not only saved, but you go in and out and find pasture. You are with the One who has come to give life and to give it abundantly, and you. are now in an entirely new condition; and not only that but you are with Himself. And what is the climax, the crown? He is acquainted with you and you are acquainted with Him.
May the Lord lead our hearts, not only to see the perfection of His grace, but to pray that there may be more of His own delivered from being satisfied with having light (because every believer has had his eyes opened), and that they may follow on to know the Person from whom the light has come, for His name’s sake.