Welcome to another edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone is doing well and that everyone is having a very good week.
Earlier in the week, I asked that people would pray that I would get the check that I was expecting from my job. I did receive the check, and I am thankful to the Lord. Thank you for your prayers in this matter.
I would like to ask for your prayers in another matter. We are expecting very heavy rains and flooding in my area again this week. Please pray that the rains will not be as bad as predicted and that there will not be any severe weather. We do not need any more rain right now. Thank you for your prayers.
In other matters, please continue to pray for peace in the world. Right now, there seems to be growing tensions between the US and Iran. Please pray that there will peace in this situation. Also, continue to pray for peace in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya.
Please pray for those who are recovering in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka.
Please be in prayer for those in Congo who are recovering from the Ebola outbreak. Also pray that those in Mozambique will get the aid that they need to recover from the two bad storms that they experienced.
For our prayer focus countries of the week, let us pray for Israel and Nepal. Pray that many will hear about the love of the Lord Jesus.
Today, I want us to focus on the words of Jesus when He encountered three different individuals who wanted to follow Him while He was here on earth.
The first person came to Jesus and said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
The direct meaning of this encounter had to do with the way Jesus performed His ministry while He was here on earth. Jesus and His disciples traveled around from town to town preaching the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. Sometimes, they would dine and stay at the houses of friends like Lazarus and Mary and Martha. At other times, they would have had to sleep out in the countryside as they traveled around. Jesus didn't have a set home. He was out doing that which He came to earth to do.
What would this statement of Jesus have to say to us today. I believe that if we are going to be followers of Jesus, we have to be willing to follow Him in whatever circumstances that service might take us. The Lord might call us to leave our comfort zone and serve Him in a place that is destitute and in great need. Wherever Jesus calls us to serve, we need to be ready to respond to the call even if means a life of poverty.
Jesus then had a second encounter. This time, Jesus asked someone to follow Him. This person replied, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
In the context of the time, Jesus could not wait for anyone to follow Him at a later date. He had a limited time to be in His earthly ministry. Also, to serve the Lord Jesus meant to forsake all and follow Him. When Peter and James and John were called to follow Jesus, they left their nets behind and immediately followed the Lord.
In our day, I think that one application of this statement of Jesus is that our service to Him take precedence over other obligations. The most important thing for time and eternity is to spread the message of the love of Jesus. To follow the Lord is the greatest privilege in the world.
In the third encounter, a man said that he would follow the Lord, but he first wanted to go and say goodbye to his family. Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
These statements seem hard. Jesus didn't even want the man to say goodbye to his family. However, Jesus was making an important point. Following Jesus is hard. Sometimes, following Jesus will put us at odds with our friends and our family. In one verse, Jesus said that a person's enemies would be of their own household.
When a person decides to follow Jesus as Lord, it means putting Jesus first in all things. Serving Him is the number one priority no matter the cost. If we are distracted by other things, it will cause us to falter in our service for Him.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Saturday again. I will post the verses on Monday. I will try to post another review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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