Following Jesus: Abandoning Our Goals for God's Purposes - Matthew 4:19

Following Jesus requires a total restructuring of your priorities.

You must change your direction in life and make God's purposes your top priority.

This may involve abandoning your own goals and plans to follow God's call.

By putting God's kingdom first, you can find purpose and fulfillment in life.

What does the Lord require of those who follow Him? Remember, it's not a small decision to follow Jesus. It's huge. It's life-altering if you really get it. Therefore, it's a big deal. It's a total restructuring of your priorities. You have to really look at this. You can't just keep living your life the way you did before and just say, Dear Jesus, come in my heart. You've got to change direction in life. You've got to change your priorities. What's important to you before can't be the same thing that's important to you after you met Jesus. The things of Jesus must take priority. He's the Lord. Have your heart changed over to make what He thinks important what now is important to you? See, back before I was 19, what was important to me was girls, fun, my cool car, and whatever else stupid things that I was chasing. But they were empty. and my priorities had to be transformed by God. You know, when I became a Christian, it was only a few months. I've just turned 20. I got saved in September 71. 72, I know some of you might think, I don't know, when were you born? I was going to say, maybe before some of you were born. But anyway, and I know Andy, you weren't even thought of at that point. But the point was, in the winter of 72, it dawned on me after a few months of being a real Christian, Lord, I never thought about this before, but is there anything you want me to do? That was a bigger question than I actually meant. I didn't mean it as big as I thought. I was just thinking, I find myself joy flooding me that I never even had before. My life is changing. Was there anything small I could do? Put a couple bucks in the offering plate? I was thinking pretty small. But I began to pray, Lord, is there anything you want me to do? And I kept praying until something happened. You know what happened? At that time, I'd already volunteered working for Youth for Christ. You know what that is? It's a high school ministry. We'd go on campus, meet high school kids. I was already a volunteer helping. And things started happening. A kid would stop and say, wow, what you just explained is awesome. Are you a preacher? No. Then the next day, I talked to somebody at the gas station where I worked. Are you a preacher? No. Are you going to be a preacher? No. Everywhere I turned, it was like spooky. I don't know how to describe it. Everywhere I turned, the word, are you a preacher? Are you going to be a preacher? I never heard these words before. Never thought about being a preacher. Never wanted to be a preacher. I didn't know anybody in my family was a preacher. Do we have anybody in our family? I don't remember anybody being a preacher. Nothing in my thoughts about that. But somehow I was bombarded. Now, being dumb as I was, I didn't put the connection here. Every day I was praying, Lord, do you want me to do anything? Every day, literally, someone would say it. Now, finally we had our Bible study with my youth minister from Muskegon Heights Baptist Church. Mike Luker was my youth pastor. And so we were so hungry for Jesus at this point, we couldn't wait to go to church. We had a Bible study at his house because we wanted to talk about the Bible. I got to the Bible study and said, you know, this is the weirdest thing that's going on right now. Everywhere I turn, these people keep saying, are you a preacher? He looked at me. His eyes got big. And he said, I think you should. I've been feeling God telling me that too. but I didn't know what to say to tell you that. I got goosebumps, you know. It's like, I guess that is kind of dense in my brain. I'm asking God, what do you want me to do? Every day, everywhere I turn, it's the same word. You would think I'd be smart enough to get it. But I didn't get that God was talking to me until he said that. And it blew my mind. I left that Bible study thinking, there ain't no way I'm not going to be a preacher. I can't see any reason to be a preacher that's stupid and then the more I thought about it I got home and thinking you would want me to be a preacher I laughed out loud I thought that was a joke I don't know anything about preaching why would you want me to be a preacher no way and I kept thinking about it and thinking about it for a few more days and I finally said to God I was praying this same prayer over and over again. This seems to be true. Mike just blew my mind. If you really want me to be a preacher, I'll be one. I don't know what this means, but I'll change my direction. I'll stop planning on being an engineer. I'll stop chasing this and that, and I'll do it. From that day on, not one person ever said I ought to be a preacher. Now they probably tell me I should shut up and be an engineer, right? but everything built to that case i had to do a total restructuring of my priorities i had to make a whole new change in life does that mean everybody's going to be a preacher of course not but do you hear what i'm saying there is a restructuring that must go on and it got clear in my head what he meant rather than putting my business before god's i put his kingdom first now in the midst of being a preacher guess what i've worked all the time that i've been a preacher while i was a preacher i ran a a printing business while i was a preacher i ran a managed a gas station i owned and operated christian bookstores i worked for um um surveying and moving companies and i've worked it's not that i didn't work but you see what happened was my priority is I'm a preacher and I work on the side. Instead, before I was, career was this and I was going to go to church, but that's about it. My priorities had to be flipped to his kingdom was first, then however he wanted me to work, I'd be happy to do that. And so I worked. Years of work. Hear what I'm saying? You can still work, but you've got to change your priority of your mind. I'm a disciple of Jesus. He's called me to be fisher of men. that's my priority now how does the rest of it fit in under the priority of me being a servant of jesus and you fit the priorities according to his call on your life that make sense you hear what i'm challenging you to make maybe rethink everything of what you've lived and done rather than making our own plans we look to the lord for his plan you know what that cost me in my ways i stopped planning where i was going to live i stopped planning in the house i was going to live in i stopped planning stopped planning on how i was going to do such and such i began to ask god what where do you want me to fish I didn use the word fish but you know that exactly what I was saying Lord, what do you want me to do? I'll live where you want me to live. I'll go where you want me to go. I'll do what you want me to do. I give in. You're my boss. And I'll do it. I don't know if I'll do it very well, but I'll do the best I can. And I gave up my planning to his. guess what happened he directed me he's the one that led me to florida yes my parents lived here but i didn't move to florida because my parents were here i moved to florida because my god said i want you to go to florida to serve me and then i had the blessing to be able to be with my parents but i would have went to africa if god so said you know what i'm saying i was convinced god called me here and i want you to understand that's importance rather than seeking entertainment and pleasures, we look for the ways to benefit others to bring them to Christ. The reason for living isn't for the weekend, like most people say, just for pleasure. The reason for a new follower of Jesus is that you look for ways to benefit others around you. How can I strengthen my family and my friends? How can I help my neighbors know Jesus? How can I help my co-workers? How do I help my, what do I do to help them? You change your style of living. you may go to dinner with a friend but not for pleasure because you like gumbo or whatever you go there because you want to build friendship with the person who needs Jesus notice the change is not that you don't stop eating you don't do it for pleasure you do it for love see the difference? it's important to see that to follow Jesus we must put aside all expectations and preconditions you know what preconditions are? God I'll accept you as long as you let me keep my money I did that to God when I first got convicted I said God I'll follow you as long as you let me keep my girlfriend I had a big conflict with God over my girlfriend because remember she swore and she didn't love Jesus and I wanted her more than God that didn't work man I got so mad at God I got so mad at him I said listen you give me the girlfriend and I'll follow you and I'll even be a missionary what a stupid thing but I was really an idiot in fact I went out in the woods I used to live in Van Allen cross corner from us off the road cord line was woods I grew up there that was my stomping grounds we used to when I was a little boy we'd go up there from the time I was in elementary and middle school we went up there did everything built forts explored hunted did anything you know and I went out there to a tree that I'd known since I was a kid climbed up in it and started screaming at God what an idiot you know that's talking about sin I only know one other person had enough guts to do that was the devil he said I will not let you lead me I will make myself above you when I got done doing that I was so convicted of my son that is what brought me to repentance I realized I was more wicked than the devil screaming in the face of God who's an idiot enough to do that what a stupid fool I came away from there so scared I thought God was going to kill me because of the sin I did I was so afraid and I was so wicked that I literally expected to be run over by a truck or something. And I waited, expecting judgment to come because I was such an idiotic sinner and fool. And while I waited, here's what God did instead of killing me. I ran into some guy that I knew. He invited me to a youth event. I went to this youth event. And while they were singing some song, God spoke to me for the first time in my life. Actually not. when I was sinning he called me and told me called to my heart and said that I was not his God but the thing that blew me away was in the midst of I really thought that I was over because I realized finally how wicked I was and instead you know what happened it's weird and most people don't understand but something happened that I can't explain within my heart or inside me somehow I started and the only thing I can tell you is it was like buckets of love I don't know how to describe it but literally it was so overwhelming, and nobody else had any of this thing going on. They were just singing a song. But God started to change me, and I sensed this overwhelming presence of love flooding me, flooding me, overwhelming to a blueing, I couldn't even understand what was going on. It was the love of God. You know, I read later in the Bible after I started reading that it says the love of God was shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit. I thought, now that makes sense to me. I actually sensed it. where other people might not have sensed it, but it's real. But for me, after expecting judgment, the love of God was shed so clearly, I was overwhelmed physically and emotionally that I left that place, astounded that God had changed me and loved me instead of judging me. And you know what I did when they were singing? I think if you heard my testimony before, in the middle of those people singing, here they're singing a song like here we'd be singing, I blurted out loud, I was standing in the crowd going, if you love me this much you've got me forever that was my prayer it was like whoops I said that out loud and those people probably looked at me like uh what's wrong with you buddy I never went back to that group again but I met Jesus and he changed my life he absolutely changed me but I had to give up my preconditions my expectations had to be surrendered everything had to go that was in my life before i had to have an overhaul again i can give you an example from the bible a biblical scholar came to jesus and said you know what i'll follow you i'll offer my service to you jesus anything you want jesus turned to him and said foxes have holes birds have nests but the son of man has no place to lay his head the guy said huh what's that got to do with me offering you service you know it's like duh what's what's that mean confusing another said jesus i'll follow you but let me go home first my dad's old he's going to die pretty soon let me go home spend time with him after he's dead and i bury him and i get to spend those few days or years with him i'll come follow you jesus said anybody looks back in the plow instead of comes forward not worthy of me Sorry. Jesus tore away everybody's preconditions, no matter what they were. Anybody's preconceived ideas? No. He demands of you to follow Him. You stop making excuses and you just follow Him. He will not receive any of your preconditioned reasons why you can or cannot do something. Hear what I'm saying? He wants you to surrender Him as Lord and say, I'll follow you. Have you done it? Have you honestly done it? That's his call. This is what he really meant He wants you to change to a tent mindset Tent mindset You know what a tent is. You know what a house is. He wants you to change your thinking to a tent mindset. Here's an example. Those who heard Christ understood to follow him meant forsaking their way of life and be trained to be a disciple. And what that means if we look at Abraham. Remember Abraham. We think of Abraham as a tent guy. You know, Abraham was not a tent guy. If you read it, he was a rich man who lived in a big city with a big business. He had to give up his big business, his big mansion, and his big life, and move out into the country of nowhere to live in a tent. He wasn't a tent guy. He became a tent guy to obey Jesus. I mean, he didn't know Jesus, but to obey God. Right? You hear what I'm saying? He chose a tent mentality, even though that's not what he was from. Israel moved to Egypt, his descendants, and lost the tent mindset. They became blessed under Joseph, honored by the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh, and then they turned into slaves later. They lost that whole tent mentality of the time. Moses came along 400 years later, and what happened? delivered them and took them back to the blessing of the tents they went to the wilderness gave up their homes and lived in tents again now as he led them there he led them from bondage and restored them to tent dwelling in the wilderness just where abraham was 400 years before that god lived with them in a tent they call it a big thing called the tabernacle so god did that too Now, when they entered the promised land with Joshua, they got nice new big homes again that they took from the land. And they built new ones. But God warned them not to lose the tent mindset. You know how he did that? He established a one annual event. And it was a what? Go ahead. feast of tabernacles which was a tent meeting i think i know that's why churches do tent meetings it's copied off to that actually they lived in tents for a week reminding them of their total dependence on god they needed to remember physically that god delivered them from sin and from egypt and from all their their bondage and they had to do it in a memory because you'd never remembered try to tell your kids that it's like trying to remember here's what you remember in the old days i used to walk 10 miles to school barefoot in the snow and you go yeah yeah yeah yeah you know it's cold out there can i have mittens and ride my bus and we the kids don't get it god wants people to remember so he had set up in israel a yearly event so people would experience camping my wife hates camping she doesn't want to remember that kind of stuff but you know what he was doing he was making them have a tent mindset to be dependent upon him whether they lived in a big house or in a tent there was something with that and it doesn't change today first peter 2 11 dear friends since you are foreigners and temporary residents in the world i'm encouraging to keep away from the desires of your corrupt nature he talked about pilgrims temporary dwelling and that's what you do in a tent. Even today he wants Christians to change their mindset of this temporary life here. A tent mindset is realizing that this world is not your home. It's not your home. And you are on a holy pursuit of God's kingdom with total dependence on him as strangers and pilgrims. My home is in heaven and my house is bigger than your house. I don't know that. I'm kidding. But my house is up there. Right here, it doesn't matter. My house is 100 million, billion years from now. I got my house bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus. It's still there. Right now, I don't care if I live in a tent or what because it's temporary. Now, if it's in Michigan, you would care whether you live in a tent. But in Florida, it's not so bad to worry about whether you live in a tent or not. You know what I'm saying? but there's places where you might want a house it but god doesn't really care about that as much as the mentality here you hear what i'm saying your mindset get it in your head your house is just a temporary dwelling a tent mindset such helps you lay aside temporal things and see the value in eternal things like fishing for men see god says i want you i've called you follow me and become fishers of men. Stop worrying about your dwelling. In fact, Christians almost become follow Jesus and be aquarium keepers. We don't want to fish for men. We just want to buy aquariums and buy fish and stick in there and watch them when they swim. We don't want to actually go out fishing. Fishing is a lot harder than taking care of an aquarium, isn't it? Fishermen have to go out. and you can't fish in your swimming pool you can't go down and swim I mean fish in your bathtub I mean I guess you can't but you won't catch anything fishing takes a lot of work and effort God wants you to have a fisherman's mindset you've got to get up and get out there trying to fish no matter how successful you think you are or aren't fish but instead we'd rather watch TV and watch somebody else fish as the fish go on the TV, like an aquarium. Oh, I like Billy Graham. Look, he wins millions to Jesus. He's a cool guy. That's great. You can watch the aquarium all you want. But Jesus said, follow me and be fishers of men. Do you follow them? A biblical scholar volunteered his service, remember? And Jesus said, I have no place to live because he wanted him to have a tent mindset. And he didn't have one. Now, last few points. There's nothing wrong with living in a house as long as we do not lose the temp mindset, which is viewing my home as a temporary base from which to fulfill the Great Commission. I will make you fishers of men. Is your home a base to go fishing? Or is that your castle that you swim in and let people watch in the windows and see how you're swimming along? Following Jesus means being close enough to hear directions from his word. How do you are close enough to hear his word? Well, if you only hear it from coming to listen to me, you're not that close. Simple thing we talk about every day. Read your book. Read the book. If you're close to it, not just read it. Remember it said meditate on it which is more than reading It chewing it and chewing it and re it until you get it Remember what I talked about How many of you would want a brain surgeon who read the book about brain surgery to operate on you? Or would you rather have one who was trained, operated, assisted, and did about a thousand brain surgeries before he worked on you? I like the guy who really knows what he's doing. And God wants you to know what you're doing because he wants you to be a fisher of men. You can't make ignorance an excuse. He wants you to be a fisher of men. number two the still small voice of the spirit do you ever hear it the more you meditate on the word the more god will start speaking to you in your heart he wants you to be so close to him as a follower that he can speak to you give you direction also he wants you to be close enough to him to heed the guidance of his eyes you know how parents look at a kid you know they talk the faces and eyes really tell things don't they you can talk with your eyes can you follow the directions of Jesus' eyes? How do you do that? He isn't here with us. I pondered that thought for a while until I realized how clear Scripture is. Do you remember in the book of Revelation, it's probably weird to you, but it's what opened a whole thing for me a number of years ago. It talks about when John saw heaven, he said, in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. Can you imagine seven eyeballs, not just the two in the face? But it says, he describes it which are the seven spirits of god sent out into all the earth now greek would be the sevenfold spirit of god there's not seven spirits of god there's only one but the greek clearly can discern saying the sevenfold spirit of god or the seven eyeballs of god now it very clicked in my mind a number of years ago. Romans chapter 12 talks about that we all have been given the grace of God and each of us has been given of that grace a motivating spiritual gift. And you know how many there are? Seven. And I started to realize that that's exactly what a motivational gift is. Remember grace is that motivating force. when God sees through an eye of a mercy what does he cause that person to see everything in this world as mercy meets people shows and gushes mercy right Vaughn as she sees duckies in the road turtles crossing the street people that are struggling the same thing clicks the eyes of mercy come pouring through her soul as she sees and hears and knows God and can express God's love. But to the guy who's a servant and that eye comes, does he see? He sees those people aren't doing enough. They're sitting out there cleaning. Look at that church. The leaves are still on the ground. If they were a true church, they'd be out there every day taking up those leaves. They would work, work, work, work. Because the eyes of a servant sees work with their hands as an important factor. And each of those seven motivational gifts of God is a driving eye force of the will of God. What's God tell a church to do to get together in fellowship? And also it tells them to, like Peter says in his writings, that each is given a gift so that you can minister that gift to one another. Which is exactly what fellowship is, ministering to one another. You're right. So what does that mean? How do you get God's eyes to guide you? Well, we don't see His eyes when He's invisible in heaven, but I look at you guys' eyes every time we get together as a church. And what do I get? I get mercy from a mercy. I get my mother with a prophet just tearing me to shreds over, make mistakes I make and that I need to repent and change. And then I get, you know, the different gifts. So the I, but don't you see what that means? It talks about us getting together. First Corinthians chapter 14. When you get together, what are you supposed to do? Each is supposed to give a song, a hymn, an encouraging word, exhorting one another. What are you doing? You're taking your gifts with the eyes of God and you're giving guidance to the brothers and sisters in church. God guides you through your fellow believers. Do you have close enough relationship to the church to see his eyes when he ministers? If you don't have a dug-in relationship in church with believers, you don't get to have the direction of his eyes. Last one, are you close enough to do guidance of his hands? How does God guide you with his hands? the scripture says in Romans 13 that government is a direct hand of God notice it says for he is God's servant for your good but if you do wrong you should dread him and be afraid for he does not bear the and wear the sword for nothing God used government to take the hand in fact you go through the Old Testament God's hand was always talked about bringing judgment authority was brought down to bear upon those who God wanted to judge. He didn't do it with his hand. He took a human hand. Authority is always looked at in Scripture as God's hand. Your parents as you were raised up were God's hands of guidance. Make sense? Government is God's hands of protection. Father, God's hand of protection for a child. Husband, God's hand of protection for wife, so forth. Authority is always there, God's hands. Therefore, if you want to feel the guidance of God's hands, look above you to your authority over you. In a church, pastors are authority. What are they there for? Protect and feed you. Jesus said, feed my sheep to Peter and also protect them from faults, you know, like wolves and sheep clothes and so forth. Do you have a closeness to be able to feel the hand of God's guidance? I pray that you understand what following Jesus means. Simply choosing to be close to experience. Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Will you become fishers of men? Outro Music Thank you.

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