Sermon Illustrations

However, Gordon MacDonald has provided a very clear set of descriptors in understanding what it means to fully follow the Lord.

(10A) The first descriptor is spectator. MacDonald notes that there many spectators around Jesus because they were curious about what He had to say and offer. They were part of the crowds that Jesus encountered. Some were vocal in their expressed interest but most of them probably were not.

(10B) The second descriptor is seeker. It is noted by MacDonald that seekers appear in places like John 6 where Jesus, as he puts it, ‘tightened the screws of commitment and the spectators bailed.’ Seekers remained and were very interested in everything about Jesus.

(10C) The third descriptor is follower. This is where a line is crossed. This is where, as MacDonald says, ‘the acquisition of saving faith’ takes place.

(10D) The fourth descriptor is kingdom builder. These are people who are more than just follow Jesus they become, as our guide tells us, ‘proactive.’ They make things, God things, happen.