Following Jesus

Outline

A. Calling

B. Challenge

C. Command

D. Caution

E. Cost

Scripture

Matthew 4:19; Isaiah 6:8

Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you

fishers of men."

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I

send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Introduction

1 Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom

shall I send? And who will go for us?" And Isaiah said, "Here am I.

Send me!" Some people read this verse as "Here I am, send others."

This morning, the Word of God says "Here, I am, send me". Matthew

4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of

men." This was what Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew his brother.

Immediately, the two brothers followed Him. These two scriptures are

what I wish to discuss with you this morning. We know from John

chapter 1 that Jesus commanded Peter and Andrew to follow Him after

their conversion. Sometimes Jesus asked people to follow Him right

after their conversion. For example, Jesus asked Saul of Tarsus to

follow Him right after his conversion. God sent Jonah to Nineveh, but

Jonah disobeyed. What is your position before Jesus? Are you still

saying "no" to Jesus? Or do you immediately follow Jesus like Andrew,

Peter, James and John?

A. Calling

2 The first thing I want to mention to you is that God calls

everybody. His calling is for everybody, not just to a few select

people who are listening to His voice. He calls everybody on earth.

The first call is to salvation. Salvation means "being saved" from

sin. If you don’t follow the call of Jesus, it means that you are not

yet saved; you are still unsaved; you are still in a dangerous

position. The first thing that Jesus calls for is salvation. Did you

follow Jesus? Follow Jesus if you want to have salvation. Ask Jesus

to save you from sins. Salvation is the first general call for

everybody. There are also other particular calls for some people to do

specific tasks. For example, Jesus might call you to be a pastor, a

minister, or a missionary, or to do a specific work for Him. All these

are His calls. When we follow Him and accept His calling, we have to

follow Jesus as He follows His father. Jesus did everything His father

told Him to do. I really appreciate Jesus because of Jesus’ total

obedience to His father in heaven. In Burmese, we have a saying "Do

what I say, don’t do what I do." But Jesus is different. He said "Do

what I do. Follow Me." He taught us, "Love one another, as I have

loved you. Serve one another in the same way I have come to serve

you." He is the Man who lived according to His own teachings.

3 When we follow Jesus, we have to follow Him in the same manner

that He followed His Father. We must focus on Jesus and never let Him

get out of our sight. Jesus gave us different people with different

talents and gifts. This morning, we can see that some people can play

instruments (which I cannot), some people can sing and so on. Anything

that we do for the Lord is important. We do it as unto the Lord and

not unto men. Some people think that when they follow the calling of

God, they would become a genius, a highly intelligent person. You may

become a genius, but normally God does not work in that way. The IQ of

a normal person would be 100. The IQ of those more intelligent would

be 110 or 120. Albert Einstein’s IQ was 212. He was a genius in many

areas. When God invited us to follow Him, He never increased our IQ.

I think my IQ is not high enough, so I have to pray about it. I heard

a story of a salesman selling some brains. A preacher’s brain cost

$10,000, while a doctor’s brain cost $5,000. A customer asked him why

the preacher’s brain cost more than the doctor’s brain. The salesman

replied that the preacher’s brain was brand new, as it was never used.

(My brain may be brand new also.)

4 When Jesus invited you to follow Him, in spite of your

difficult situations, in spite of your limited talents and normal IQ,

Jesus can still use you. He called you because He knew how to use

you. You might think that if you follow Jesus, you would not know how

to face your family, your friends, and your colleagues. But when you

follow Jesus, He knows how to do it for you. My wife sometimes tells