The Growth Way

2 Chronicles 17:3

And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;

When Jehoshaphat chose to follow David, he looked at his life and chose to follow the first ways. The fact this says the first ways means there was a second way in David’s life that Jehoshaphat chose not to follow. The first ways of David’s life was how he chose to serve God and keep Him at the preeminence in his heart. However, there was another way in David’s life that Jehoshaphat chose not to follow, and that was when David stayed home from the battle which led to the adulterous affairs with Bathsheba. Jehoshaphat was smart by choosing the right of the two ways to follow.

My pastor for many years was Dr. Jack Hyles. When you study his life, you will notice that he grew greatly until the day that God took Him to Heaven. His positional stances when he was a younger preacher were not as strong as they were when he went to Heaven. I have often told preachers to copy the young Jack Hyles when learning how to build a smaller church into a growing church, but copy the older Jack Hyles when choosing your positional stances. This does not mean that Bro. Hyles was a bad man; rather, the greatness of this man is seen in his never-ending growth, which every believer should do. Let me share four thoughts about this critical truth of keeping one way for people to follow.

First, you are following someone. I often hear people say they don't follow man, but they only follow God, which is truly a pharisaical comment. Everyone follows some man to some degree. Oh, we may follow God, but we have no life examples that we have seen other than those who have walked before us. Therefore, we have followed someone to learn how to serve God. To say you don't follow a man is to lie because you copied someone’s Christianity that helped you to get to where you are. It is critical to choose the right people to follow, because you will become like those you choose to follow.

Second, always choose the right way to follow from those you choose to follow. Never choose the weakest point of someone’s life to follow; rather, follow their strong points and learn from their weak points. God gives us the lives of people from the past to follow so we can learn from their strengths and weaknesses. You would be wise to make their strong points the actions you emulate, and let their weaknesses be lessons on what you should not do.

Third, you are making a way for someone to follow. Just as you are following someone else, you are making a way for a generation to follow you. You must not be careless in your living because you are showing others how they should live their lives. Someone is watching you, and you want to give them the right example on how they should live.

Fourth, if you never make a second way, people who follow you will only have one way to follow. The greatest example you can give to those who follow you is the example to continue growing until the day you die. I would hate for someone to say about me in years to come to follow the first ways and not the latter ways. There should only be one way you give for people to follow, and that is the growth way. Continue growing in the Lord and in service for Him, and you will give the next generation a good pattern to follow after, a pattern to build on what you have done by continuing to grow in the Lord until the day you die.