Follow the Lord on His terms, not yours.

Rev Enoch Thompson | March 10, 2023| Matthew 8:18-23

KEY VERSE:

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matt 8:20 (NIV).

MESSAGE:

Despite all the attacks that Christianity has suffered over the centuries and the turning away from a vibrant Christianity by nations that were built upon Christian values, Christianity is still an attractive choice in many parts of the world. Many people call themselves Christian because it is culturally appropriate or the thing that everybody is doing, and therefore appeals to our crowds-psychology. It feels good to be part of the crowd. However, it seems that many of those who claim to be Christians are not following the Lord Jesus to the point of Him changing us into His image, and if we seem to be following Him we want to do so on our own terms.

The two persons in our text who offered to follow the Lord Jesus were disappointed with the response that the Lord gave to their loose offers. The offer of the teacher of the law was as innocent and impressive as it could be, that he would follow the Lord wherever the Lord went. In our current quest to swell the numbers of our church membership, we would have clapped and bent over backwards to announce to everyone that we gained one more member. However, the Lord Jesus saw in the motivation of the would-be follower a certain expectation of comfort (maybe in view of the miracles he had seen the Lord perform), and He addressed it by His response. The discipleship life is one of sacrifice, and comfort could not be guaranteed. The disciple must understand this and commit to following with a readiness to suffer, to bear a cross.

The second offer to follow the Lord came from a man described as a “disciple.” It would seem that he was part of the usual crowd seeking to follow the Lord. He shows signs of wanting to go deeper and further in his commitment to following Jesus the Master. His only condition was that he would go and bury his father before coming to fulfil his intentions. A cursory look at the response of the Lord seems rash and devoid of feelings. However, it needs to be observed that the father of the man in question was not dead at the point at which he made his proposal to the Lord. This disciple wanted to go and wait for his father to die, and bury him, before coming back to follow the Lord. This is misplaced priority since the ministry of giving spiritual Iife to spiritually dying people was more important than waiting for people to die and be buried before serving the Kingdom agenda.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

The call to follow the Lord Jesus Christ is an urgent, demanding, and self-sacrificing call. It has benefits for this life and the afterlife. Would you covenant with the Lord, to leave everything behind and follow Him? on His terms and on his terms only.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you left your glory and comfort and came to save me. Now I commit myself to you, determined to follow you and to do so on your terms. Please help me to follow you more nearly, love you more dearly, day by day. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!