(08-04-19) Ptr. Lynard Molo
=The Cost of Following Jesus=
"Dropping Everything"
*Luke 9:57-62
"57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Following Jesus:
1. Requires Self-Adjustments
*Luke 9:57-58
"57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
*Matthew 8:19
"19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
"Adjustments spell sacrifice."
"Daily adjustments."
Adjustments:
-Family
*Matthew 10:37
"37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;"
-Business
*Leviticus 19:35-36a
"35 " 'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin.
-Daily Routine
-Place to Live
-Career
2. Realign your priority to Him.
*Luke 9:59-60
"59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
"Realign your priority to God's agenda."
*Matthew 28:19-20
"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
3. Don't Look Back but Focus on Him.
*Luke 9:61-62
"61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Things we are Looking Back:
-Problem
*Matthew 6:25-26
"25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
-Old Sin
*2 Peter 2:20-22
"20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
-Other people (family & friends)
*John 21:19-22
"19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
"Self-Adjustments requires faith."
"Alignment with the Lord requires you to surrender."
"Don't look back. Fix your eyes on Him."
"DROP EVERYTHING!"
*Revelation 21:14
"14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."
"Are you willing to drop everything for the Lord?"
Application:
1. Adjust yourself to God's will.
2. Prioritize His agenda.
3. Focus on Him.
