Follow Me

nyway, what an encouraging verse of scripture. Isn't that right? Matthew chapter 10.

There is a point, though, I will tell you. That last little bit in that passage we just read from the scripture reading, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him, is one of the most important charges that any person can ever hear. Whenever Jesus called his disciples, he would say the simple words, follow me.

Now, you may look at that and say, well, physically, they would set down their nets, and they would literally follow after Jesus. But every single Christian in the world is called to follow after him. Not just physically, but in a spiritual way, in an ethical way, in a moral way, following after the ways of Jesus.

And so this morning, what I'd like to do is to examine some simple things that we can be reminded of, of what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. We have to have certain attributes about our own character, our own selves, to be a true follower of Jesus. And you may be thinking, why did you pick this the week after Camp Canaan?

Well, the reason is, we were busy at Camp Canaan all week. And so I went through the archives of Hornbuckle Homiletics. And I said, do you know what's the one that I haven't done here?

Following after Jesus. If I already got the outline, I already got the slides. So I got a lot of praise for the Prodigal Son last week, and I do not anticipate receiving as much praise for this one.

However, because it's from the Word of God, it is useful, it is beneficial. It's a good reminder of what it takes for us to be a follower of Jesus. The first thing that I would recommend for us scripturally that we need to have as a part of who we are on the inside to follow after Christ is to have courage, to have courage.

The direction of Jesus is counterculture. It is against the tide of what the world tells us that we should be striving after. And so to be courageous enough to fight the torrent of the world's exposure of telling us how we ought to live and to follow after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, courage is absolutely necessary.

One of my favorite passages is in Joshua chapter 1, verses 6 through 9. In this moment in time and history, you have the great leader and mediator Moses leaving this earth, not going to the promised land. And you have his second in command, Joshua, taking up the reins where Moses left off.

And he is supposed to lead the people through the Jordan River into the land of Canaan and to guide them to conquer the land of Canaan for the Israelites. In Joshua chapter 1, beginning in verse 6, God says, Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you.

Do not turn from it to the right hand nor to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Now, if you notice how many times that God had to remind Joshua at the beginning of his great journey in leadership, the idea of being strong and being courageous is repeated three times in this passage. So for Joshua, he needed to be instilled with the idea that God was with him, but he needed to have the courage to follow after God's instruction. The same thing is absolutely true for us.

When we are following after God, he's with us, we need to have the courage to follow him wherever we are led. Now, the conclusion of what we see in Joshua chapter 1 is kind of shown to us at the end of the book. In Joshua 24, you may have this piece of wood somewhere in your house.

I've seen those before, right? You may have this. Joshua 24 verses 14 and 15, Now therefore fear the Lord, Joshua says to the people of Israel, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, serve the Lord.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites and whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We see that character progression from chapter one, where God had to remind him that God is going to be with Joshua every step of the way. He needs to be strong and have courage.

And we see the ending arc of his character at the end of the book, where he says, I have learned who God is. I have been courageous and following after his commandments. As for me and my house, we will continue to serve the Lord.

We also need courage as Christians, obviously. In 1 Peter chapter one verses nine and ten, Peter wrote these words, who himself was called after Jesus by the simple instruction, follow me, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. We have learned through who we've become by following Jesus that we need to have that courage to identify ourselves as a follower of our Lord.

And John wrote these words, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. And therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. The world rejected Jesus as Lord, and yet we choose to follow Jesus.

Because of that, we need great courage to follow after his footsteps. Not only is courage needed, but also the idea of compassion. If you're thinking about words that characterize who Jesus was, he was a man who was full of compassion on those that needed that kind of compassionate love.

In Matthew chapter 9, verses 35 and 36, I clicked the button, nothing happened. Vicki, save me. There we go.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news or gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Don't miss the irony here.

We have the good shepherd seeing the people. They were trying to follow him. They were tired.

They were almost lost. And Jesus saw them like sheep without a shepherd. In Matthew chapter 14, verse 14, when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude, and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.

So if we're trying to follow after Jesus, we have just two passages here of many, where Jesus saw the people and had compassion on their physical and their spiritual needs, we too should be full of compassion. That compassion of Jesus is so significant because it qualifies him to be our high priest. In Hebrews chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, every high priest is taken from among men and appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. A man as your high priest understands what you're going through. And the good high priest, the great high priest Jesus, also lived in this world, had compassion on the sinfulness and the weaknesses of mankind, and has compassion on us.

Over in 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 and 9, he says, finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tender hearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you are called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. Now, I've been here for two and a half-ish years so far. I know when I'm in the right spot, because it feels like so much longer and feels just like yesterday.

That's how I know where I'm supposed to be. Whenever I read a verse that has the one another's in it, can you guess who I think of immediately? Brian Rogers.

Our interview on the phone call, the phone call interview, the in-person conversations we had when I was here for my tryout, and almost every conversation somehow, I don't know how he weaves it in there, we always come back to the conversation of the one another's. This is one of those passages. Where to be like Jesus by following his example, he had compassion on the people that were trying to follow him while he was here on the earth ministering unto them.

He can be qualified as our high priest and have compassion on our weaknesses, and then we are commanded by Peter through the Holy Spirit to have compassion for one another. The idea of having that love, that grace towards one another is a great thing. And Jude, chapter 1, verses 20 through 22, reads this way, But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, and on some, have compassion, making a distinction.

We have influence over others, and how well they're walking after our Lord by how we treat one another. One of those Brian phrases. Looking out for one another on our way towards heaven.

So we have the idea of being courageous, going against the tide of what the world tells us we should be doing, instead following after our Lord. We also, just like Jesus, need compassion, that love and that grace that we show to one another to encourage each other on the way towards our reward. We also need the idea of conviction.

And what I mean by that is not just the way that we talk about the idea of I'm convicted to follow the Lord and have that resolve. That's good and all. But my point is, we need to recognize that without Jesus, we would be convicted of our sins.

A daily reminder of why Christ was necessary is kind of a good kick in the pants, if you will. You say that here in Georgia? Something like that?

Okay, that translate to Georgian? Okay, the idea of knowing that without Christ, without his love, without his grace and mercy, I would be guilty, I would be convicted of my sins is a good motivating factor. Jude, chapter 1 and verse 23, here's the rest of the passage we just read, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Knowing our sinful state is a good motivating force to allow ourselves to be forgiven by Jesus and to show others the reality of sinful ways. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 40, you probably know Acts 2, 38, don't you? Talk about it a whole lot for good reason.

But this last passage here, Acts 2 and verse 40, and with many other words, talking about Peter and the apostles, he testified and exhorted them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation. The sermon in Acts chapter 2 wasn't concluded with, repent and be baptized, it's concluded with Peter admonishing the listeners, the hearers of the message, be aware of where you stand in light of God's judgment without the forgiveness of your sins. In Romans chapter 3, verses 21 through 23, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith and Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

For there is no difference, why? Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The standard of God's holiness is unattainable without His love, His grace, and His mercy.

And being aware of that, we are reminded that we are simply sinners who have been redeemed by God's love through Jesus. In Galatians chapter 3, Paul put it this way, in verse 22, but the scripture has confined all under sin. We are all guilty that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Before faith came, we were kept guard under the law, kept for the faith, which would afterwards be revealed. And therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. That's kind of a complex way of Pauline writing this, but here's the meaning.

We have been instructed by the commandments of the Old Testament, the law and the prophets, that we are not able to live up to the standard of God's holiness. We're taught time and time again by animal sacrifices of the Old Testament that there is no solution for sin. It can be covered up for one year at the most, but there has to be a better sacrifice.

And then Jesus comes, and He is that great Lamb of God. We're brought to faith by Jesus to know this is the way to be justified by sin. After faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The way I usually think about this is we are all in the same boat, folks. We all have the same problem, and there is only one solution, and there is not a single thing that you can do to earn the salvation for your sins. We are all saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ by obeying the commandments of our Lord.

I'm no better than you, you're no better than me. We all have a sin problem, and God's love through Jesus Christ washes away our sins. Now, if that doesn't motivate you to teach people about the way to have their sins forgiven, I'm not sure what will do it.

You are guilty, I am guilty, they are guilty, but we're all saved the same way. Amen? Finally, what does it take to be a follower of Jesus?

It takes commitment. It takes commitment. We bought a house here in middle Georgia.

How about that? Long time coming. Everywhere we've gone, we're like, well, we'll just keep renting, we'll keep renting, just in case, we'll keep renting, get to Georgia, we're buying a house, right?

The idea of making a commitment is very important. I got married at 18 years old, she was 17, parents signed her away, that was a commitment. Bought a house in middle Georgia, an interest rate that wasn't that great, we're still making a commitment, that's a commitment.

But when you say you're following after Jesus, that's a huge commitment. Over in Luke chapter 14, beginning with verse 25. Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, let's pause right there, get the picture in your mind.

We have a great multitude of individuals that are literally following Jesus around. Now he turns back and sees the crowd, and you might think, well, that's good. A lot of folks recognize who Jesus is, and they want to follow after him.

Maybe he's just the miracle man that can heal your diseases, but many of them know he's the Messiah, and they want to follow him. And you think that Jesus would be happy and do all that he could to foster that dynamic relationship to gain more followers for himself. That's what men typically do, right?

You see someone following you, you want more. There's this thing called social media. Have you heard of it?

Apparently it's important how many people follow you. Here's Jesus with a great number of followers. Here's the message he has for them.

If anyone comes to me, verse 26, and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. He lost a lot of followers.

When you follow after Jesus, everything else in your life has to be second, at the very least. He has to be number one, or you can't follow him. He's asking a whole lot of commitment from his followers, isn't he?

Whoever does not bear his own cross, now, we say that kind of cliché because, well, you have to carry a cross, have a cross around our neck and earrings and tattoos and all that, a cross, right? No, back in the Roman world in the first century, bearing your cross is an excruciating, shameful way to be a symbol to the entire community that what you did to end up on a cross, everybody else shouldn't do. Jesus says, take up your own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Big crowd sifted through by these great commitment statements. If we keep reading in verse 28, here's the reasoning that Jesus uses. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Now, I grew up in Gloucester County, Virginia. No one's ever heard of it. But small little rural country on the east coast of Virginia.

Next door neighbor is a crabber. That's his profession. So we're blue collar working folks.

You give me a blue crab, I know exactly what to do with it. You get some old bag, get some newspapers out. It's good old times, right?

That's how I grew up. And Trailer Park was half my life. House was other part of my life.

And we moved to our house in Gloucester. And there was this house on the corner of the street of Lowcountry Road. Now, Lowground, Lowcountry Road was always underwater because of the floods.

And on the corner was this little house. And it was this tiny looking little thing. If it had two bedrooms, I'd be shocked.

It was a tiny little house. And the owner of that house decided to make an addition. Can you see where I'm going?

My entire childhood, we would be on a school bus, drive past this house with an addition on the side. I didn't know what it was supposed to be, but all I read, my entire childhood, folks, was Tyvek on the side of the house. They put the walls up, they put the framing on there, they put that Tyvek wrapped around it, and they couldn't afford to finish that addition.

They couldn't. It was there my entire childhood, from fifth grade till graduating senior, Tyvek, Tyvek, Tyvek, Tyvek. That's what Jesus is talking about here.

If you're going to build something, figure out a budget for it so you don't get halfway through, and you have to read Tyvek for the years and decades to follow. Verse 29, Otherwise, when you've laid the foundation, you're not able to finish. All who see it will begin to mock him, like I'm doing right now.

Tyvek, Tyvek, Tyvek, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he's able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. The odds are stacked against you, right?

And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace, which is the wise move. It's not a slaughter then, if you just say, well, we can call it a draw and just have peace. Here's the kicker.

Verse 33. Here's the application. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

That's not how you gain a multitude of followers. That's how you lead out to the ones who are truly full of commitment. When Jesus says, deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me, that's what he means.

Are you willing to follow him through whatever he leads you through? If so, you need courage, you need compassion, to be convicted of your own sin, and to have commitment to deny all others in following him. That's what it takes to follow after our Lord.

This morning, the invitation is yours to honestly look at yourself before the throne room of God and see, are you truly following after him? You can begin your journey this morning by being baptized into Christ, or if you're following him but you've lost one of these things that you need as a part of your character, allow us to encourage you, to have compassion on you, to encourage you, to lift you up, so we can keep following him together. If anyone has a need, you can talk to me for a moment by coming forward, or see one of our elders at the door.

So if you have a need, respond now as we stand and we sing. Thank you.