[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 23rd of July, 2017. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Last week we looked at a discussion between Jesus and a rich young ruler who sought eternal life. Jesus told the young man that to be perfect in God’s eyes, he needed to sell everything he owned, give the money to the poor, and then follow Him. But the young man was very rich, and refused to part with his possessions. His material wealth held him back from following Jesus. And we looked at what might be holding us back as well.
Today I’d like to pick up right where we left off last Sunday, because Jesus turns to His disciples and continues the discussion after the young man ran away from Him. What our Lord tells His followers of that age bears great impact on His followers still today. Listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, continuing in chapter 19 with verses 23 through 29, and I’ll again be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Today I’d like to pick up right where we left off last Sunday, because Jesus turns to His disciples and continues the discussion after the young man ran away from Him. What our Lord tells His followers of that age bears great impact on His followers still today. Listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, continuing in chapter 19 with verses 23 through 29, and I’ll again be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
--Matthew 19:23-29 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, You want nothing more than for all mankind to be reunited with You in heaven. Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, show us how to best follow Your Son so that we might appear more perfect in Your sight. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A first-grade boy was told by his mother to come home directly after school was dismissed, but he arrived home late almost every day. He was sometimes as much as 20 minutes late! His mother asked him, "You get out of school at the same time every day. Why can't you get home at the same time?" The lad replied, "It depends on the cars." "Cars?", his mother questioned. "What do cars have to do with it?" The youngster explained, "The patrol boy who takes us across the street makes us wait until some cars come along so he can stop them."
That crosswalk patrol guard was a born leader, wasn’t he? And I guess the young students had no choice but to follow his lead and wait until he told them to cross. Our first-grader certainly followed obediently. Wouldn’t it be nice if all who call themselves Christians followed Jesus so obediently?
Suppose a new project were planned and it needed a leader. What are some of the qualities you’d look for? Probably someone with leadership and organizational skills, someone with fresh new ideas, someone who could inspire others. What if the project involved the creation of a new nation? How would that change our desired leader qualifications? Maybe we’d add perseverance to the list, and a dedication to the long haul because the project could take a lot of time to complete. Now what if this new nation was to be populated solely by the descendants of this leader and his wife or her husband? What does our leader profile now look like? In addition to all the foregoing, wouldn’t we want a relatively young couple that is strong of will and physically fit?
Well, this is exactly the project God set before Abram and Sarai, later to be known as Abraham and Sarah. He told them to pack up their belongings and leave their home and head for a place He would tell them about later, promising only that from them and their offspring a new nation would be formed, a nation that would be a blessing to all the earth. And oh, by the way, did I mention that Abraham was 75 and Sarah 66, and childless, when God assigned them this project? That certainly doesn’t fit the profile we just worked up for this nation-building project leader, does it? Yet Abraham and Sarah did not hesitate to follow God and do as He willed. And just look at what resulted from their willingness to follow, and to lead their people.
When Jesus reached adulthood, He went down to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist and by the Holy Spirit. Shortly thereafter, He began His ministry on earth, and He started by choosing some men to help Him in His work. Listen as Matthew, in chapter 4 verses 18 through 22 of his Gospel account, describes Jesus’ encounter with the first four men He chose as disciples…
“Up until now, you have been fishers of fish. Follow Me and I will make of you fishers of men.”
“Follow Me” – such a simple invitation. And one our Lord issued often. Listen to another such encounter Matthew recorded, this one much more personal, in chapter 9 verse 9…
In each case, the men stopped what they were doing, left everything behind, and followed Jesus. They walked with Him while He still drew breath, and they followed Him in the spirit until they too passed from this earthly plane.
“Follow Me”. Jesus didn’t say, “Follow Me a few hours each week” or “Follow Me whenever it is convenient for you” or “Follow Me as long as it doesn’t cause you any problems or hardship or loss”. No, He wanted full commitment from those who would be His disciples.
Here’s what Jesus told His followers, as recorded by Matthew in chapter 16 verses 24 and 25, from the Contemporary English Version…
“If you really want to be one of My followers, one of My disciples, you must forget about yourself, your past life, all your possessions, everything that is near and dear to you. Leave all of that behind, and prepare for any burdens or hardships that might come as a result of your commitment to Me. Because if you insist on keeping hold of the world and all its things and pleasures, you will destroy your chances for eternal life in heaven. But if you are willing to give all that up – your current way of life, your love of the world – then everlasting life with God will be yours to enjoy.”
“Follow Me”. A lot of people are very comfortable following a leader. They would much rather follow than lead. Some are just the opposite – they desire nothing more than to lead others. The crosswalk guard in our little beginning story certainly fit this category of leader, didn’t he?
You may have wondered about my choice of message titles this morning, “Follow and Lead”. It should be one or the other, right? Have you ever heard the old army saying, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”? It’s like we’re supposed to choose a role, either as a leader or a follower, otherwise step aside and let the crowd go on through.
Considering our message text, following Jesus should be our number one priority. And indeed it is, because He invites us all to follow Him. Every word of the scripture we’ve heard this morning was directed to all of us, not just the twelve that Jesus hand-picked! He chose us to follow Him!
But He also commissioned us to go and make disciples, to go and show other people how to follow Him, to go and lead others to their own salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even as we follow – perhaps because we follow - we can also lead.
So as you follow Jesus, take someone else by the hand and lead them to Him as well. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You chose Abraham and Sarah - an elderly, childless couple – to serve as the beginning of a new nation, a new people. You blessed them and all that sprang forth from them because they were faithful and trusted in You. Forgive us, Father, when we doubt You, or when You ask us to do something and we doubt ourselves. You’ve shown us so many times that what may be impossible for us is entirely possible for You. Help us, please Father, to understand that and to fully place all our trust in You.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sinful ways and seeking Your forgiveness, giving ourselves once again to You and Your Son Jesus…
Lord Jesus, You quietly, simply ask us to follow You. Thank You, Jesus, for choosing us to be Your disciples. But to follow You, we must be willing to fully commit to You and let go of the world, leave it behind, fully trust in You and our heavenly Father to provide for our needs. Forgive us for not fully releasing our grasp of the world and all its temptations. Help us, Lord, to leave it all behind and follow You.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
A first-grade boy was told by his mother to come home directly after school was dismissed, but he arrived home late almost every day. He was sometimes as much as 20 minutes late! His mother asked him, "You get out of school at the same time every day. Why can't you get home at the same time?" The lad replied, "It depends on the cars." "Cars?", his mother questioned. "What do cars have to do with it?" The youngster explained, "The patrol boy who takes us across the street makes us wait until some cars come along so he can stop them."
That crosswalk patrol guard was a born leader, wasn’t he? And I guess the young students had no choice but to follow his lead and wait until he told them to cross. Our first-grader certainly followed obediently. Wouldn’t it be nice if all who call themselves Christians followed Jesus so obediently?
Suppose a new project were planned and it needed a leader. What are some of the qualities you’d look for? Probably someone with leadership and organizational skills, someone with fresh new ideas, someone who could inspire others. What if the project involved the creation of a new nation? How would that change our desired leader qualifications? Maybe we’d add perseverance to the list, and a dedication to the long haul because the project could take a lot of time to complete. Now what if this new nation was to be populated solely by the descendants of this leader and his wife or her husband? What does our leader profile now look like? In addition to all the foregoing, wouldn’t we want a relatively young couple that is strong of will and physically fit?
Well, this is exactly the project God set before Abram and Sarai, later to be known as Abraham and Sarah. He told them to pack up their belongings and leave their home and head for a place He would tell them about later, promising only that from them and their offspring a new nation would be formed, a nation that would be a blessing to all the earth. And oh, by the way, did I mention that Abraham was 75 and Sarah 66, and childless, when God assigned them this project? That certainly doesn’t fit the profile we just worked up for this nation-building project leader, does it? Yet Abraham and Sarah did not hesitate to follow God and do as He willed. And just look at what resulted from their willingness to follow, and to lead their people.
When Jesus reached adulthood, He went down to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist and by the Holy Spirit. Shortly thereafter, He began His ministry on earth, and He started by choosing some men to help Him in His work. Listen as Matthew, in chapter 4 verses 18 through 22 of his Gospel account, describes Jesus’ encounter with the first four men He chose as disciples…
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
--Matthew 4:18-22 (NKJV)
“Follow Me” – such a simple invitation. And one our Lord issued often. Listen to another such encounter Matthew recorded, this one much more personal, in chapter 9 verse 9…
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
--Matthew 9:9 (NKJV)
“Follow Me”. Jesus didn’t say, “Follow Me a few hours each week” or “Follow Me whenever it is convenient for you” or “Follow Me as long as it doesn’t cause you any problems or hardship or loss”. No, He wanted full commitment from those who would be His disciples.
Here’s what Jesus told His followers, as recorded by Matthew in chapter 16 verses 24 and 25, from the Contemporary English Version…
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples: "If any of you want to be My followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow Me. 25 If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find it."
--Matthew 16:24-25 (CEV)
“Follow Me”. A lot of people are very comfortable following a leader. They would much rather follow than lead. Some are just the opposite – they desire nothing more than to lead others. The crosswalk guard in our little beginning story certainly fit this category of leader, didn’t he?
You may have wondered about my choice of message titles this morning, “Follow and Lead”. It should be one or the other, right? Have you ever heard the old army saying, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”? It’s like we’re supposed to choose a role, either as a leader or a follower, otherwise step aside and let the crowd go on through.
Considering our message text, following Jesus should be our number one priority. And indeed it is, because He invites us all to follow Him. Every word of the scripture we’ve heard this morning was directed to all of us, not just the twelve that Jesus hand-picked! He chose us to follow Him!
But He also commissioned us to go and make disciples, to go and show other people how to follow Him, to go and lead others to their own salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even as we follow – perhaps because we follow - we can also lead.
So as you follow Jesus, take someone else by the hand and lead them to Him as well. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You chose Abraham and Sarah - an elderly, childless couple – to serve as the beginning of a new nation, a new people. You blessed them and all that sprang forth from them because they were faithful and trusted in You. Forgive us, Father, when we doubt You, or when You ask us to do something and we doubt ourselves. You’ve shown us so many times that what may be impossible for us is entirely possible for You. Help us, please Father, to understand that and to fully place all our trust in You.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sinful ways and seeking Your forgiveness, giving ourselves once again to You and Your Son Jesus…
Lord Jesus, You quietly, simply ask us to follow You. Thank You, Jesus, for choosing us to be Your disciples. But to follow You, we must be willing to fully commit to You and let go of the world, leave it behind, fully trust in You and our heavenly Father to provide for our needs. Forgive us for not fully releasing our grasp of the world and all its temptations. Help us, Lord, to leave it all behind and follow You.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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