Come Follow Me | Ps Josh Easton

Devotional

Day 1: A Father’s Tears on the M1 Motorway

A parent’s raw moment of understanding divine love becomes a mirror for God’s relentless pursuit. When human instinct bends toward protection and sacrifice, it echoes the Father’s heart that carries us through seasons we cannot walk alone. This love isn’t earned through effort but received as identity—we act because we belong to Him. The divine parent doesn’t merely model care; He reshapes our nature to reflect His own. His grace meets us in wheelchairs, hospital rooms, and silent car rides where human strength fails. True transformation begins when we stop projecting our limitations onto God and let His character redefine ours. [00:56]

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: When has a moment of human love (for a child, friend, or family member) unexpectedly revealed God’s heart to you? How might your identity as His child reshape how you face today’s challenges?

Day 2: Blind Hands on an Invisible Elephant

The parable of blind men describing an elephant collapses under its own assumptions—it takes a seeing narrator to declare all perspectives partial. Claims of religious humility often mask subtle arrogance, assuming one can judge all paths equally without truth’s anchor. Jesus disrupts this by offering not a puzzle piece but the full picture: resurrection reality. Faith isn’t a collective guesswork but a response to the God who defines Himself clearly. Our confidence rests not in cobbled-together theories but in the historical event of Christ’s victory over death. [11:15]

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for “partial truths” about God to avoid difficult conversations? How does the resurrection’s historical claim demand a different kind of engagement with others’ beliefs?

Day 3: Two Mountains, One Unseen Summit

The mountain-climbing metaphor fails because every path claims a different destination—wealth, nirvana, or self-sufficiency. Jesus alone descends into the valleys where we’re stranded, refusing to be another summit to conquer. He becomes the path, gate, and guide all at once. Other religions demand ascent; Christianity announces a rescue. The Samaritan woman’s question about sacred mountains dissolves when Jesus redirects her to worship in spirit and truth—a posture, not a place. Our mission isn’t to defend higher ground but to join His descent into others’ stories. [21:40]

“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (John 4:21, 24, ESV)

Reflection: What “mountain” are you tempted to climb to earn God’s approval? How can Jesus’ descent to the well in Samaria shape your next conversation with someone spiritually distant?

Day 4: The Gatekeeper Who Left the Party

Jesus’ exclusive claim—“I am the way”—isn’t a velvet rope guarding heaven’s door but a declaration that He’s the only rescuer who left the party to find us. Other gods demand appeasement; Christ offers accompaniment. The resurrection isn’t a metaphor but the hinge of history—either it happened, making Him Lord, or it didn’t, leaving Him irrelevant. This truth isn’t a weapon to brandish but a foundation to stand on as we hold others’ questions gently. Our certainty is in His work, not our arguments. [18:13]

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6, ESV)

Reflection: When has Jesus’ exclusivity felt uncomfortable to you? How might His role as “rescuer” instead of “bouncer” change how you share this truth today?

Day 5: Leaking Questions and Open Doors

People’s sighs, fears, and offhand comments about life’s meaning are invitations to ask, not preach. Jesus modeled curiosity with the Samaritan woman, turning cultural tension into spiritual dialogue. Questions honor others’ journeys; statements often defend our own territory. When someone says, “All paths lead to God,” ask, “What do you think waits at the end of your path?” When they claim moral self-sufficiency, wonder aloud, “How good is good enough?” Our role isn’t to answer every doubt but to walk with others toward the One who does. [25:20]

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6, ESV)

Reflection: What conversation this week could you redirect with a thoughtful question instead of a statement? Where might God be asking you to listen more than speak?

Sermon Summary

God’s fatherly character becomes clear not because human love defines Him, but because His love is transforming His children into His nature. Christ carries people when they cannot walk, pushes the wheelchair when they cannot push themselves, and does whatever is needed to bring them into grace. The questions for Christ begin with the conviction that people all across the Gold Coast are carrying big questions, even when those questions only leak out through fear, pain, a sigh, or uncertainty.

The elephant and mountain parables sound kind because they suggest that every person has only one piece of God and that every path eventually reaches the same summit. False humility breaks down that idea. The person claiming that nobody can know the full truth is acting as though they can stand back, see every path, and declare that all paths arrive at the same place. The claim that nothing matters actually becomes its own religious claim that something does matter.

The paths and destinations also do not match. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and Christians are not climbing the same mountain by different routes, because they are pursuing radically different ends. Health, wealth, freedom from craving, absorption, a distant god, or nothing at all cannot simply be placed at the same summit. Jesus creates the biggest problem for every “all roads lead to God” picture because He does not call people to climb up to Him. Jesus comes down the mountain.

Christ calls Himself the gate, the way, the truth, and the life. His way is exclusive in its entry, yet radically inclusive in the people He comes down to rescue. The resurrection holds the whole claim together: Jesus was dead and then rose from the grave. Christianity is not confidence that Christians are better people than everybody else. Christianity is confidence that people could not climb the mountain themselves and needed the true Lord to come down in love.

Jesus meets the Samaritan woman beside the well, crossing an old divide and stepping into her real life. The Father seeks worshipers in spirit and truth, and Christ still seeks and saves the lost. Questions cultivate conversations, while statements shut them down. Love listens for the questions leaking beneath the surface, asks what a person means, and patiently invites them one step closer to Christ.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus comes down the mountain Christ does not wait at the top for worthy climbers to finally arrive. He enters broken places, wrong pursuits, old divisions, and painful uncertainty to seek people personally. His grace is not a prize for spiritual achievement but the rescue of those who cannot make the climb. [16:29]
2. False humility still claims authority The claim that nobody can know truth often hides the assumption that someone can see enough to declare every belief equally valid. Humility does not require pretending that contradictory paths lead to the same destination. Honest love allows Christ’s claims to stand in their full weight rather than softening them into something He never said. [12:20]
3. Different paths pursue different destinies Religions and life pursuits do not merely offer different routes to one shared summit. Each one defines the mountain, the destination, and the means of arrival differently. Christ calls people to face those real differences because eternal life is not found in vague spirituality but in knowing the Father through Him. [14:19]
4. Questions cultivate deeper conversations A wise question makes room for a person’s real fears, assumptions, and longings to come into the light. Statements can shut a door before trust has had time to grow. Christlike witness listens patiently, cares genuinely, and asks questions that help another person take a step toward truth. [25:20]
5. Christians need a Savior too Christian faith does not rest on being more moral, generous, or impressive than others. Christ finds sinners who could not rescue themselves and begins changing them from the inside out. A growing character points to His work, but His lordship and love remain the foundation.

## [27:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - Honouring Fathers
[00:56] - A Glimpse of the Father’s Love
[02:43] - Questions for Christ
[05:40] - Two Parables About God
[10:52] - The Problem of False Humility
[13:20] - Paths and Destinations
[15:51] - Jesus Comes Down the Mountain
[19:45] - Winning Hearts, Not Arguments
[20:30] - Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
[23:29] - Listening for Leaking Questions
[24:38] - Questions That Open Doors
[27:14] - Christianity Is Not Moral Superiority
[29:18] - Prayer for Friends and Family

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” [16:49]

John 4:19–24
The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” [20:42] [21:22]

Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” [23:02]

Observation questions

In John 14:6, what four things does Jesus say about Himself, and what does He say is the only way to the Father? [16:49]
What disagreement about worship and “this mountain” does the Samaritan woman raise with Jesus in John 4? [21:22]
According to Jesus in John 4:23–24, what kind of worshipers is the Father seeking?
What are some of the different “mountains” or goals people may pursue—religious or not religious—and why do those goals not simply lead to the same destination? [14:19]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says He is the only way to the Father, yet He also comes down to seek people in their brokenness. How do these two truths show both the uniqueness of Jesus and the wideness of His invitation? [17:19]
The claim that “all paths lead to God” can sound humble and kind. Why does that claim still assume that someone is able to see every path and destination? [12:20]
Jesus meets a Samaritan woman across a deep cultural and religious divide. What does His conversation show about speaking truth without treating someone as an enemy? [20:30]
Christianity is not built on Christians being better than others, but on needing a Saviour who came for them. How should this change the way believers speak when another person seems more kind, generous, or moral? [27:39]

Application questions

Think of someone in your life who may be carrying fear, grief, uncertainty, or a deep question beneath the surface. What have you noticed that may be a “leaking question,” and how could you make space to listen well this week? [24:17]
When someone says, “As long as you are a good person, that is all that matters,” what gentle question could help them think more deeply rather than feel shut down? [24:45]
Have you ever held back from talking about Jesus because His claim to be the only way felt too exclusive to express? How does Jesus coming down the mountain to rescue people reshape that concern? [16:36]
Where might you be tempted to look down on another person’s beliefs, choices, or questions? What would it look like to meet them with the humility and patience Jesus showed the Samaritan woman? [20:20]
If a friend said, “I’m spiritual but not religious,” how could you sincerely ask what that means for them and keep the conversation open? [27:14]
In what area of your own life do you need to remember that you cannot climb your way to God through effort, goodness, health, success, or religious activity? How does Jesus’ grace meet you there? [27:54]
Who is one friend, family member, neighbour, or workmate you could intentionally pray for and take one small step toward this week—perhaps by listening, asking a thoughtful question, or sharing why Jesus matters to you? [28:42]

Sermon Clips

58s

#SpiritualVsReligious

“If they say to you, I'm spiritual. I'm not religious. You say, well, what's the difference for you? What does that mean? What does it look like? And is your spirituality something that you found or something that you built upon? They might say to you, my friend's a Buddhist, and she's the loveliest person I know. And you might be able to say, absolutely. I'm sure she is. crazy thing about Christianity is not that we are good, and then he finds us. The Christianity is the one and only and oddest religion in this way. That we very confidently can look at other religions and go, maybe they're actually better than us. Because we needed Jesus. Because we couldn't climb the mountain by ourselves. But we needed a savior who had actually come down the mountain to where we are.”

41s

#ExclusiveWayInclusiveLove

“Jesus has this incredibly exclusive narrow door mentality. He is the ultimate gatekeeper, the ultimate bouncer of the ultimate party. He's the only way in. And people, he says, try to climb over the wall and get in, but they just get exited. But Jesus is so exclusive in his acceptance of people through the entry. It's exclusive of the way, but he's absolutely inclusive of the people.”

62s

#SeekingAndSaving

“So he says to her, the father is seeking. Just wanna show you the character of God in this moment. I just love how Jesus has explained the the father's heart. And she's like, I'm not sure which way is up, which way is right. Is it your mountain? Is it my mountain? Jesus says to them... Says to her, it's not actually either of those mountains. It's a different mountain entirely. And that mountain, the father's come down and he's seeking. What did Jesus say his mission on earth was? To seek and to save the lost. Just as I see the father doing, I'm going to do, he says. And so Jesus is there through this region into Samaria, down a completely different mountain, off the beaten track, by a little well, meets a woman in a terrible moment of her life and invites her to take a step towards truth. And he calls us to do the same.”

Ask a question about this sermon

C3 Church Robina This sermon · AI assistant

Why is religious pluralism self-defeating?

How does Jesus differ from other religious paths?

What conversational approach opens doors to faith?