#3 - How To Put Jesus First Series

- You’re afraid what they might think.

- You’re afraid you might lose them.

<ILLUS> My mom prayed with a person once during a come-forward invitation at the close of a service. The girl suddenly stopped praying, and my mom asked “Is there something that God is talking to you about?” The girl replied that there was, her boyfriend who was not a Christian. She knew she would have to love God more than she did her boyfriend, and the Bible says, “Don’t be yoked together with unbelievers...”

My mother asked, “Are you willing to give that to God?”

The girl looked up and looked her in the eye and said, “No ma’am. I won’t do it.” She got up and walked away from the altar. She got what she wanted. She married the man, who cheated on her. Last I heard, she’s on her 3rd marriage. . .

Get rid of that excuse!

Excuse #2: Someday

Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:21)

EXPLAIN: Jesus isn’t saying to this guy, “No, you can’t go to your father’s funeral.” Before striking out on your own, at times you would wait until your father died, and accept your part of your inheritance. He was saying, “Let me wait until my father dies and I get my inheritance, THEN I’ll follow you.”

- You think you’ll do it later.

- You want to “have some fun first.”

- You want to “make a bundle” before following Jesus.

<ILLUS> Augustine, the great Christian writer, was famous for praying before he truly became a follower of Jesus Christ, “Lord, make me pure. . . but not yet.”

Excuse #3: Something

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21-22)

- You think you can’t give up. (Addictions?)

- You don’t want to give up. (Money, sex, lying)

- You’re afraid God might want you to

Excuse #4: Somewhere

Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:19-20)

Are you willing to go where I’m going? Are you willing to leave comforts behind? What if I call you to be a missionary, or go on a mission trip? What if I call you to leave your job and go into full-time ministry?

Get rid of that excuse! Tell Jesus, “I’ll follow you anywhere!”

CONCLUSION:

<ILLUS> Have you ever gone swimming for the first time of the summer, and made the mistake of sticking your toe or your foot in the water before jumping in? How many of you have said this phrase: “You’ve got to just jump in. If you keep just sticking your toe in the water, you’ll never get in”?

Following Jesus is like that. You can live your life dabbling around the edges, obeying a few rules, trying to be a good person, attending church, and all that. . . but Jesus today is talking to you, and he’s saying, “Why not plunge into a real LOVE relationship with me? Why not truly follow me starting today?”