TO WHICH PARTY DO YOU BELONG?
“And at once they left their nets and [yielding up all claims to them] followed [with] Him [joining Him as disciples and siding with His party]” (Mark 1:18 TAB)
The Bible tells us that Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee when He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea. He said to them “Come after Me and be my disciples, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17 TAB). The Bible goes on to say that they immediately left their nets, give up all their claims to them, followed Him, joined Him as disciples and sided with His “party”
Note that the Amplified Bible says that Simon and Andrew, joined His party. A simple definition of a party is; an organized group of individuals who come together with the aim of influencing or controlling the trend of events. A party has certain characteristics:
- The members believe in one cause which is what brings them together;
- There is an identified leader who draws the others. He/she must have good leadership qualities to be able to keep the group together;
- Everyone drops their own ambitions and promote the wishes of the leader;
- The members are/must be loyal to the party; and
- There is only one agenda, to beat the opponent.
Our coming to the Lord and walking this Christian walk can be compared to joining a party. As Christians, we believe in one cause, which is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ who is our leader. We are called to drop our plans and ambitions and live according to His will. It is our duty to be loyal to the cause and our agenda is to see the enemy defeated, souls delivered out of His grasp and come into the kingdom.
The good news however is that unlike other parties where the leader serves for a specified term, Jesus serves forever. The Bible says He is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27). There is no end to His term. He is not voted in so cannot be voted out. He cannot be impeached or dethroned. His Kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 145:13). Hallelujah.
Christ is still calling people today to join His “party.” He wants us to be like Simon Peter and Andrew who set aside their plans, ambitions, etc, and followed Him so that His plans and purposes could be fulfilled in their lives. Unfortunately, many of us are like the rich young ruler who was unwilling to give up what He had to follow Christ (Luke 18:18-23). We fail to understand that He cannot lie, He cannot fail and that what He says He will do, He will surely do. He told Simon and Andrew “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” and He did just that.
What side are you on today? Which party do you belong to? May we be like Joshua who decided for the Lord and declared “As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15).
Join His party, side with Jesus. You will not regret because His is the winning side.
Prayer:
Lord, I know that you are a good God and that you desire the best for me because your Word tells me in Jeremiah 29:11 that the plans you have for me are plans of good and not of evil to give me a future and an expected end. So Lord, I have decided to stick with you and your party because there are no losers in your party, only winners. Thank you for hearing this prayer in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.
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