Follow Me
Matthew 9:9; 16:24-26
Matthew 9:9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. [26] What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
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In this passage, we see a man changed for eternity. Matthew was a Jew who was appointed by the Romans to be the area’s tax collector. He collected taxes from the citizens as well as from merchants passing through town. Tax collectors were expected to take a commission on the taxes they collected, but most of them overcharged and kept the profits. So tax collectors were hated by the Jews because of their reputation for cheating and because of their support of Rome. And we are not told that Matthew was any different.
No doubt he had heard about this man who claims to be the Messiah. I’m sure that tales of his miracles were the topic of many gatherings.
When Jesus called Matthew to be one of his disciples, Matthew had a lucrative career. But all that changed when Jesus spoke those two simple, yet not easy words, “follow me.”
The call to follow Jesus requires much. What does it require? Let’s take a look. First,
I. Following Him Requires Complete Commitment
A. When we commit to something, we make a
promise to do that thing.
B. One Wednesday night after church two boys
were doing their usual activity they do after
church on Wednesday nights, flying paper
airplanes from the balcony. So I told them
that I would give the first one that hit me
with their airplane a dollar. Eventually,
after a LONG TIME, one of them nailed me. So
since I committed to give the winner a
dollar, I pulled out my wallet and handed it
over to him.
C. When he hit me, the boy came running down
from the balcony to receive his reward.
Could you imagine what he would of thought if
I told him to forget it, he wasn’t getting my
dollar? He might think that I wouldn’t keep
my promises.
D. The same is true in our commitment to “follow
Him.” We make a promise that we will do it.
We will follow Him. To follow means more
than blindly playing “follow the leader,” or
following the directions of a recipe. I
looked up the different uses of the
word “follow.” Here are some of them. “To
go after, to pursue, to abide by, to be a
devotee of.”
E. To be committed to something means that
you “stick with it.” You don’t toss it to
the side whenever things go wrong. So many
times we get frustrated when we mess up.
We’re so ashamed and embarrassed, we just
give up.
F. But God is saying that following Him requires
commitment. It means that whenever things go
wrong, and sometimes they will, to commit
even more to Him that you will follow, no
matter what. Philippians 3:14 says, “I press
on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ
Jesus.” God gives the “press on power.”
He’s telling us to commit to keep pressing on!
Not only does following Him require complete commitment, but…
II. Following Him Requires Absolute Obedience
A. Romans 6:16 asks us the question, “Don’t you
know that when you offer yourselves to
someone to obey him as slaves, you are
slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you
are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or
to obedience, which leads to righteousness?“
B. God has a plan for our lives. I do not
believe that things happen in our lives
accidentally. I once had a pastor that
always used to say that no matter what
happens in our lives, “God is never taken by
surprise.”
C. That plan is fulfilled when we are obedient
to Him. We are all slaves to whom we obey.
When we obey God, we are slaves to Him.
When we are disobedient, we are slaves to
sin. It’s just that simple.
D. To follow Him means that we are obedient to
His Word, to His voice, and to His plan.
How we feel about it isn’t really an issue.
E. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I
have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future.” Following Him
requires our absolute obedience. It’s time
for us to stop in our tracks and be obedient
in the things He wants us to be obedient
in. His plan is better.
F. Look at Jesus. Even in the Garden of
Gethsemane He prayed, “Not my will, but Thy
will be done.” He was obedient even to
death.
Which brings me to the last requirement we’re going to discuss today.
III. Following Him Requires Personal Sacrifice
A. Yes, Jesus was obedient unto death. He was
following His Father’s plan for His life.
And that plan included Him suffering a
great deal…for us. His priority was in
fulfilling His Father’s plan.
B. Similarly, our priority must be in
fulfilling the plan of God in our lives.
But that might mean that we don’t get to do
some of the things we want to do in life.
Well, unfortunately, I have to say it,
that’s just tough. Being a
true “disciple,” or “follower of Christ,”
takes sacrifice.
C. There is a lady that was in a church in
which we ministered. She’ll turn 70 this
year. She has lived a very full life. She
married, had 3 children, and even lived in
Hawaii for a while. Her husband has been
gone for several years. She has an adult
daughter that is mentally challenged and
lives in a home, but she visited her very
often. One day a missionary came to our
church and was talking about the orphanage
that he and his wife run in China. Almost
jokingly, he told the congregation, “Why
don’t you come and join us.” At that
instant, the Lord spoke to this lady’s
heart and said, “Yes, why don’t YOU go and
join them.” She struggled with her call.
She was in her golden years, with all of
the belongings and relationships that went
with that. But she decided to sacrifice it
all for the call. She is now in China
working at that orphanage. She plans to
live there for the rest of her life.
D. WOW. What a radical sacrifice. Well,
church, God is calling all of us to make
that kind of sacrifice. To go to China and
work in an orphanage? Maybe not. To go to
Russia and plant a church? I don’t know.
Probably not. But in our lives, every day,
He is calling us to make sacrifices for Him.
E. God is calling us to make sacrifices—
sacrifices in our time, in our talents, in
our giving, in our relationships, in every
area of our lives.
F. Like Matthew, we must decide to leave
behind those things that would keep us from
following Christ.
When God calls you to follow or obey him, do you do it with as much abandon as Matthew? Sometimes the decision to follow Christ requires difficult or painful choices.
Are we willing to do that today? So many times, we’re quick to jump up and say, “Yes, I’ll do it!” without thinking of the cost. I’d like to make a challenge to you today. If you are willing to truly follow Him today, come to the altar and affirm that commitment to the Lord.
