Last week, we took a look at the three qualities that every Christian needs in order to be called a disciple of Jesus Christ. Those are...

1. Deliberate Choice

2. Denial of Obedience

3. Determined Obedience

In Luke 14, Jesus outlines these in more detail and it is up to us to adhere to these three qualities to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. So now, you ask, "Now that I am a disciple of Jesus, what is it that I am supposed to do?" And that is where we are currently.

There are three things that each disciple is commanded to do. Those are...

1. Be with Jesus.

2. Preach for Jesus.

3. Have authority of Jesus.

Each one of these characteristics involve so much and are so deep that this week we are looking at only one of these three, which is BEING WITH JESUS.

When Jesus called to the disciples to "Be with Him", you could imagine these men feeling unworthy, completely stoked, completely loved, and totally honored. The reason being is that up until this point, they were taught, being good Jewish boys, that there was no way you could ever enter into the presence of God. Ever since Moses led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and into the wilderness, God dwelt amongst them in a TABERNACLE. And the tabernacle was set up in such a way that there was a dividing VEIL between the room where God dwelt, the Most Holy Place, and the rest of the congregation of Israel. Only one man, on one day, with one offering could enter into His presence, and even in that situation, he could have been struck down for making one misstep. 

And this separation between God and man continued to the temple of the days of the disciples. Only now, the separation was even greater. The VEIL that separated the Most Holy Place and the people was 4 inches thick and was so strong that nothing could rip it in two. 

BUT now, Jesus, who was God incarnate, was calling these Jewish boys to BE WITH HIM. And in doing this, He was saying that the VEIL that was so strong that separated them from being with God is torn in two. That they have complete access to be with Jesus, to walk with Him, to talk with Him, and to be with Him. And that is exactly what happened. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, it says in Mark, Mark 15:38, that "The curtain of the tempe was torn in two, from top to bottom." We now have confidence that we can come to the Father with boldness and being with God is a HUGE AND UNIQUE DEAL.

But not only that, being with God, and following God, results in GOD BEING WITH YOU. This is an immediate blessing that we can count on when we are being a disciple of Jesus Christ. So many times we are looking for more blessings when we are following after Christ. And God doesn't totally promise that to us. The Bible does say that we will receive a reward and we will be blessed, HOWEVER, we don't know when those blessings will come. Most of the time, when we follow God, our lives don't necessarily get better. Our situations, our finances, our relationships, our issues, immediately may not be taken away. However, GOD WILL BE WITH YOU. I can't say that everything will be okay now, but I can say that God will bless you eventually, either in this life or the next. But the greatest reward that we could EVER ASK FOR!

So, when you are following after God, when you a disciple of Jesus Christ, even though your situation may not be better immediately, GOD WILL BE WITH YOU, and what more can we ask for. God is enough for us! God Bless!