Fan or disciple?

Before a star takes to the stage, it's often: lights out, spotlights on! This ensures that all spectators focus their eyes on one person. We celebrate singers, actors or athletes, but they often can't handle the attention and develop airs and graces. Jesus is completely different, He never needed to be acclaimed by people, even though He more than deserved it. He Himself is the light, but if we want to see Him, we have to consciously turn our gaze to Him again and again.

To do this, you have to block out your thoughts, feelings and desires in order to concentrate fully on His voice. The Bible plays a crucial role in helping you to distinguish between what Jesus or the Holy Spirit is saying and what may be your own thoughts or imprinting. It helps you to distinguish between your own and God's thoughts, feelings and will. The deeper you immerse yourself in God's Word, the better you get to know God's nature and the easier it will be for you to recognize God's truth in your life. It is an ongoing process of growth in reading, speaking and listening, in which we often waver back and forth between soul and spirit. An example of this is Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. But in the next moment, his human nature got the better of him and he wanted to stop Jesus from fulfilling His mission.

It is therefore important that prophetic utterances are not accepted without contradiction as the ultimate truth, but are always tested. The decisive factor is whether Jesus is testified to as the Christ and whether the words are helpful, comforting or encouraging. We often allow ourselves to be impressed by external characteristics such as titles or appearance and do not really listen. To protect us from this, Paul advises us to examine everything and keep what is good (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

By keeping your eyes fully on Jesus, you become His disciple and not just His fan. A disciple listens to God, whereas a fan tends to follow what he himself wants. When you focus completely on Jesus, you will be filled with His light and give Him the honor He deserves.

Next Step: Let the Holy Spirit show you what it means for you to honor Jesus.