{"id":6662,"date":"2018-04-02T10:10:53","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T14:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&p=6662"},"modified":"2018-04-02T10:11:52","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T14:11:52","slug":"as-they-were-walking-along-someone-said-to-jesus-i-will-follow-you-wherever-you-go-luke-957-nlt","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/as-they-were-walking-along-someone-said-to-jesus-i-will-follow-you-wherever-you-go-luke-957-nlt","title":{"rendered":"‘As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, \u201cI will follow you wherever you go.\u201d’ (Luke 9:57 NLT)."},"content":{"rendered":"
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THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS IN MINISTRY<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Luke listed three people \u00a0that expressed a desire to follow Jesus, yet all three turned aside when they considered the cost. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Lord challenged the material motivations of the first follower by pointing out that foxes and birds have places to live, but He had no “place to lay His head.” Following Jesus is not a means for worldly gain, but a call to deny oneself in this kingdom in pursuit of the eternal one. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The second potential follower expressed his desire to follow Jesus later, after a delay to do his duty for his father’s burial. Jesus’ reply seems harsh: “Let the dead bury the dead. Your duty is to go and preach.” But the duty to bury his father could take a year or longer as he followed the tradition of putting the bones into an ossuary. The cost of following Jesus must take priority over other duties and it must be taken with a sense of urgency.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The third one who expressed desire to follow Jesus, asked to return home first to say goodbye to his family. Jesus warned that those who look back are not fit to follow. Following requires focus on Jesus, not the past. It also requires giving Jesus first priority over all others.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Through the years, I’ve noticed these same three reasons that people turn back from following Jesus in ministry. Whether they feel called to serve in the local church, to missions, or to church planting, the three concerns of 1) a desire for material things, 2) competing duties\/priorities, and 3) family concerns, often cause people to give up on their call to ministry.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There is a cost to following Jesus in ministry. Lord, give us the perseverance to finish the race following You. For there is a crown awaiting those who finish well.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS IN MINISTRY
\nLuke listed three people that expressed a desire to follow Jesus, yet all three turned aside when they considered the cost. <\/p>\n

The Lord challenged the material motivations of the first follower by pointing out that foxes and birds have places to live, but He had no “place to lay His head.” Following Jesus is not a means for worldly gain, but a call to deny oneself in this kingdom in pursuit of the eternal one. <\/p>\n

The second potential follower expressed his desire to follow Jesus later, after a delay to do his duty for his father’s burial. Jesus’ reply seems harsh: “Let the dead bury the dead. Your duty is to go and preach.” But the duty to bury his father could take a year or longer as he followed the tradition of putting the bones into an ossuary. The cost of following Jesus must take priority over other duties and it must be taken with a sense of urgency.<\/p>\n

The third one who expressed desire to follow Jesus, asked to return home first to say goodbye to his family. Jesus warned that those who look back are not fit to follow. Following requires focus on Jesus, not the past. It also requires giving Jesus first priority over all others.<\/p>\n

Through the years, I’ve noticed these same three reasons that people turn back from following Jesus in ministry. Whether they feel called to serve in the local church, to missions, or to church planting, the three concerns of 1) a desire for material things, 2) competing duties\/priorities, and 3) family concerns, often cause people to give up on their call to ministry.<\/p>\n

There is a cost to following Jesus in ministry. Lord, give us the perseverance to finish the race following You. For there is a crown awaiting those who finish well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1309],"scripture-chapter":[1342],"oyb_day":[1619],"location":[],"class_list":["post-6662","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-luke","scripture-chapter-1342","oyb_day-april-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/6662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6662"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=6662"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=6662"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=6662"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=6662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}