Following Jesus means you must say goodbye to everything else. The Lord does not mince words. We either follow Him completely, or we do not follow Him at all.
I can remember being called to share a word from the Lord to a group of individuals. A few days before I was to share, I found myself in a strange predicament. An event had occurred that seemed to contradict the timing of my speaking. In fact, I literally said to the Lord, "Surely, I am not supposed to speak now in light of these tragic events." I thought, "I'll speak on this topic another time, Lord. It just doesn't seem right to do so now." The topic the Lord had given me to speak was a difficult topic, one that centered upon an unwavering message of
Repent: The Kingdom of God Is At Hand. The message was clear and sobering to anyone who would have ears to hear, but again, certain outside events that led up to this moment of sharing what He had instructed me to speak caused me to question the timing of the message. I was prepared not to speak on the topic.
My assumption that I should
not speak on the topic of repentance (and the consequence of non-repentance) was fueled completely by my emotions. I was examining a sad event that had occurred in the natural and emotionally assumed that no one should hear that
particular message at that
particular time.
The moment I thought of postponing the message, there was a very subtle note of disapproval from the Lord. However, I took little notice of it at that time because I was allowing my emotions and the world's philosophical reaction to such a tragic situation to guide me. It wasn't until later that I was able to recognize the Lord's presence and clear stand on the matter.
I found myself in deep prayer a day later, still seeking the Lord's guidance on this matter. While praying, I heard very clearly: "Let the dead bury their dead." On some level, I rebuked that thought, thinking it was from my flesh, and I continued praying. My prayer was one seeking the Lord's guidance and will. It was a humble prayer, so when I heard "let the dead bury their dead," it was a very unexpected phrase - one that I had not at all considered prior to praying. I had been fasting leading up to and during the prayer; fasting has always ushered in the Holy Spirit on such a deeper level for me. There is a humility of mind when one fasts. It is one of the most precise ways to die to our flesh and specifically, to our emotions.
After the prayer, I resumed normal activities. I walked downstairs, and within 30 minutes, I decided to go outside and read the Bible while my children played. Before walking out the door, I felt an urging to also take outside a particular notebook in which I had written in the past. I have accumulated several notebooks over the years, where I share personal writings to God or about God. Prayers have been written within these notebooks over the years. Tremendous anguish and pleadings to God have also been written within those notebooks. In the last few years, I have found myself writing in those notebooks less and less because I tend to share my personal trials and praises on this blog. And the deepest and most personal experiences, I tend to write inside the pages of my Bibles so that I never forget all that God has done during my walk with Him. When what appeared to be
my thought of reading from a notebook of the past entered my mind, I had no idea that God was really the One nudging me to pick up a specific notebook with a specific message inside.
I carried the black notebook outside, opened it, and began reading. The entry was dated almost a year and a half before:
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Keep my eyes on God - nothing else - the times are growing darker and darker. Only those who keep their eyes on the Lord unto the end will be saved. Only Those
"Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." Matthew 8:22
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| The Actual Written Entry Within My Notebook |
Did I not just hear "Let the dead bury their dead" thirty minutes prior to reading the above entry? Who orchestrates such moments... When I heard those words while praying, they seemed to come out of the blue, but I literally thought those words were too raw for God to have spoken them. Surely God did not say such a thing. But He had!
Did He not say 'such a thing' to a man who was hoping to postpone his journey with the Lord for what appeared to be a "legitimate" reason? His father's death.
Matthew 8:21-22 - And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Had I not attempted to postpone speaking what He had given me because of another tragic event? The precision of His response to this event was impossible to deny.
The full revelation of the Lord in this event showed me (and should show you) that even authentic events, no matter how tragic they are,
must not sway our focus from Him and
must not interrupt our calling in Christ. If He tells you to speak or do something, you must follow through! He knows what He is doing even when the message to be shared is difficult for ears to hear. He is not surprised or taken aback by any event, so we must keep our eyes on Him - especially when chaos erupts in the natural world. To our natural eyes, we may think that we should crawl into a burrow and 'wait it out' until the calamity has passed,
but that may not be God's will for you at all. He may be calling you to stand up and speak even when all "Hell" has seemingly broken loose.
So what did I do? I followed Him, as He requested. I dropped my emotions and my assumptions about the circumstances and stood before a group of others a few days later pleading -
Repent, for the Kingdom of God Is At Hand.
I feel no regret because I know I obeyed Him, my great Master.
I am truly inspired by the Lord when He takes me to a deeper level of understanding regarding who He is and what He expects of
and from me.
I have included every verse of the Lord calling specific disciples to follow Him. Notice, that He calls them to leave what they are doing, no matter how inconvenient or impossible it may seem.
I encourage you also to leave it all behind, and follow HIM! It will cost you everything. Even so, Amen!
Matthew 4:19
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 8:22
But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Matthew 9:9
And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
Matthew 16:24
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Matthew 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mark 2:14
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Mark 8:34
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 10:21
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Luke 5:27
And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
Luke 9:23
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:59
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luke 18:22
Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
John 1:43
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
John 12:26
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John 21:19
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
