4 Fundamentals for Jesus’ Followers

Jesus taught His disciples many things: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, forgive people when they sin against you, do not worry about your life, watch out for false prophets, and the list goes on. So, if we want to become followers of Jesus, what are the most important things we need to remember that we can also pass on to others? Christianity is not a list of do’s and dont’s because Jesus did it all for us, yet there are fundamentals Jesus taught to His followers that are found in Luke 11. These four fundamentals deal with prayer, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and obedience.

1. PRAY AS JESUS TAUGHT

After Jesus prayed, His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. When using this prayer model, often people focus on what to pray. They would say so you must pray for provision (daily bread), pardon (forgiveness of our sins and forgiveness to those who sinned against us), and protection (from temptation and the evil one). The issue with this focus is that it is me-centered rather that God-centered. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He started by calling God as our Father and praying that His kingdom come. Prayer is rooted in a loving relationship with God. Since God is our Father, we can always come to Him in prayer, not just talking to Him but also listening and being immersed in His presence. Praying without ceasing is being conscious of God wherever we are, whatever we do. We can also ask God for whatever we need because we know Him personally. We know who He is —our loving Father, faithful provider, forgiving God, and Good Shepherd. So when we pray, instead of focusing on what we want or even need, we fix our eyes on Jesus. We seek God’s will in our lives. We pray that God reigns in our hearts as our king, and that He may reign over all the earth. We pray not just for ourselves but also for other people—even those who hurt us— that they too may experience a loving relationship with the Father.

2. ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM THE FATHER

When we pray, there is nothing wrong in asking God for what we need. It was Jesus who said, “Ask and it will be given to you…” What was Jesus’ point when He said this? What did He mean we are supposed to ask? We are to ask the Holy Spirit from the Father. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer but not every believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. If we desire to seek the Father and His will, we must be filled with His Holy Spirit moment-by-moment. We can pray and ask God to fill us with His Spirit. At times we realized that we have disobeyed God and so we must confess our sins and ask Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness then we can ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit again. God is a personal God and He makes the Holy Spirit available to us. The Holy Spirit has a unique way of working in and through us and He testifies that we are God’s children. He SINGLEs out each one of us. He S-anctifies, I-ntercedes, N-urtures, G-uides, L-eads, and E-mpowers us to live God’s purpose. He gives us wisdom to understand God’s Word and the power to live it out. He does these and more. Read your Bible to find out!

3. READ GOD’S WORD

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God…” During Jesus’ time, the New Testament was not yet written. The people then were privileged to hear God’s Word spoken by Jesus Himself, God, the Word who became flesh and in the synagogues as Scripture is read and discussed. Today, most people are privileged to read God’s Word anytime, anywhere, and with any version they want (some people out there are still waiting for the Bible to be translated in their own language). We can even listen to versions of audio Bible in our own smartphone! We need to read, listen, study, meditate, and memorize the Word of God daily if we desire to become followers of Jesus. In God’s Word, God’s will is revealed. How can we follow Jesus if we do not know what He said, did, taught, or commanded? A disciple is a learner. A follower of Jesus is His student. Jesus is the Teacher and the Bible is the textbook. If we don’t study God’s book, we will surely fail in life’s exams.

4. KEEP OBEYING GOD

In the school of discipleship, the real test is in the application of what we learn. Obedience is the mark of a true follower of Jesus. Even if we pray, we are aware that the Holy Spirit is given to us, and we read the Word but do not obey, then we still don’t get it! Obedience is not merely doing something because God told us so. It is also not just doing it once and then we forget all about it. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Other Bible versions translate the word obey as keep, guard, and continually observe. This means we make obedience our lifestyle and nothing should stop us from obeying. Obedience is a loving response to the Father’s love. The good news is God provided everything we need to obey. He provided Jesus so we can be reconciled to the Father. He provided His Word for us to know His will. He provided the Holy Spirit to empower us to obey.

In order to remember the four fundamentals for Jesus’ followers, note the acronym P.A.R.K.:

Pray as Jesus taught
Ask the Holy Spirit from the Father
Read God’s Word
Keep obeying God

The life of a disciple of Jesus is not a walk in the park. We all have challenges to face. In this digital age, our lives have never been so busy and full of demands. Amidst the busyness, I highly recommend that once in awhile we park our lives, pause, and ponder to evaluate how we are doing as followers of Jesus.

Nowadays in busy cities, many families own a car and parking space becomes a deciding factor whether people would go to places such as a mall or even a church! If we want our lives to be inviting and accommodating where people can park to checkout what God is doing and learn who God is, we must create enough space for seeking God in His Word and prayer, being filled with His Spirit and obeying His will constantly. Ultimately, growing as followers of Jesus is not just for our own good. It is to influence others and glorify God through our lives.

Father, help me to seek Your will in prayer, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, speak to me through Your Word and empower me to continually obey You just as Jesus taught His disciples. Thank you for providing everything I need to live as a follower of Jesus. Amen.

Submitted by Sarah C., a reader in Cebu City