The price of effective followership
1 – “And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 – And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
3 – And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
4 – And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
5 – And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6 – And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
7 – And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
8 – And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
9 – And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 – And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 – And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 – And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 – He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 – And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 – And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (2Kings chapter 2 verses 1 to 15)
- Followership must cost you:
19 – “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 – And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21 – And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 – And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” (Mathew chapter 4 verses 19 to 22)
To become an effective follower, you must be willing to lay down self. It will cost you your will to be completely submitted to the Will of our Lord and Master Jesus. Effective fellowship is a call of no excuse. The men who are willing to follow effectively are men who are willing to make the ultimate decision to give themselves to be tutor in the principles of genuine followership so that there will be fervent impact. It will cost you your time. You must always make yourself available to follow. It is the genuine spirit of followership that leads to genuine disciple.
- Followership must discipline you:
8 “Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus chapter 1 verses 8 to 9 NIV)
It is wise to realise that the very moment one decides to be a follower, he or she is in the platform of discipline. It is no more about you, it is about the person you are following to become. You can become by being the same person you are. There is need to be subjected to the pressure of discipline, to prune the excesses in you. You must be willing to accept the pain of discipline for you to become better in this act of followership.
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke chapter 9 verses 62)
You must be discipline to follow till the end.
- Followership must stir up the right attitude in you:
3 “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].
4 Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.” (Philippians chapter 2 verses 3 to 4 AMP)
There is an attitude to let go as you embark on followship. You can’t dwell in your attitude of doing things the old way and except transformation in your life. Your attitude going about things will change. You have to stir up the right attitude to follow till date at all cost. Irrespective of what the situation is saying, you must stand to do the right thing and to do it right. There is no room for sentiment on the course of effective followership.
- Followership must humble you:
“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.” (Proverbs chapter 22 verses 4)
“For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke chapter 14 verses 11)
In the kingdom the act of followership is designed to enable one humble him or herself. It is those who are willing to humble themselves and follow effectively that will experience the impact that accomplish genuine followership. It is your responsibility to humble yourself so that the whole process of followership will profit you. Many who failed to humble themselves on the course of followership, end up in regret.
- Followership must awaken the giant in you:
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1Corianthians chapter 11 verses 1)
9 – “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1Corianthians chapter 15 verses 9 to 10)
This is one aspect of followership that makes so much meaning. When one made up his or her mind to what he or she wants to become, effective followership is an activator to that. There are people who are timid in the first place. They can stand before the people to express themselves, but today they are as bold as a lion. Because effective followership has awaken the giant in them. You must be willing to allow your followership to pass through you for an effective impact in your life and the society at large.
- Followership will pay and profit you:
12 – “And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 – He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 – And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 – And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (2Kings chapter 2 verses 12 to 15)
Of course there is no one who effectively follows who does not receive the double portion of the grace of the one he or she is following. There is always greater grace for the one who is willing to follow effectively. It does not matter how hard you think your master to be, all that matters is that there is something he is carrying that you need. That can only be made available to you if you are able to follow effectively till the end.
- Followership brings eternal reward:
28 – “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 – And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
30 – But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark chapter 10 verses 28 to 30)
There is an eternal reward to follow effectively. First you will grow to become like Christ in every aspect of life. Following effectively will get you on track and enable you fulfill purpose. At the end we will all hear the awesome statement from the Master Jesus, “Welldone you good and faithful servant.” Keep following till the end for there is a great reward awaiting everyone.
