YOU LOSE NOTHING FOLLOWING GOD
INTRODUCTION [Isaiah 55:8-9; Lam. 3:37]
- Mat. 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
- Mat. 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.
- Mat. 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.
- Mat. 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.
- Mat. 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.
Why Are You a Christian, i.e., following Christ? [Act 11:26]
- To escape hell fire?
- To make heaven?
- To enjoy God’s blessings and protection?
True, but not the complete truth. These are consequences of the primary reason why you became a Christian.
The foreshadow of our call out of the world is the REDEMPTION of the Israelites out of the Egypt.
What is the primary reason for their release?
Exodus 8:1 = And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exodus 9:1 = Then the LORD said unto Moses, ‘Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me’.
Exodus 12:31-32 = And he (Pharaoh) called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, [and] get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
To Serve God was the purpose for their release. Even when they entered the Promised Land, service was still the matter of emphasis for accessing the fruits of the land.
Deuteronomy 11:13-17
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give [you] the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And [then] the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and [lest] ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
- It is when you agree to serve the Lord, as the purpose for your redemption, that the blessings, the protection, the escape from hell and making it to heaven, become your heritage.
- It is your obedience and commitment that guarantees your supernatural harvest; if not you are limited to what only your effort can produce.
- For you to enjoy God and all his blessings you need to engage with a heart of total sell-out.
“Half-hearted service is no service” (Mummy).
- To be totally sold-out is to become a kingdom addict.
- It is to totally surrender your life to Jesus with your time, your possessions and skills; withholding nothing! – allowing God to use you the way He wants.
- It is serving God even when it is not convenient!
Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (Job 13:15).
Paul too said, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation [of the gospel] is committed unto me” (1 Co. 9:16-17).
- It is preferring to do for God what you will not do for anybody, be it your parents, siblings, spouse or even yourself = denying yourself and others for Christ’s sake.
LUKE 9:23-26
Luk 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.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luk 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
LUKE 14:26 = If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
NB: (The word “Hate” = “Miseo” [Greek] = “Love less”)
Loving God above all others including ourselves, our businesses and jobs, is the proof of our following God.
2. Loving God is hard work!
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Whatever you must do that requires all your strength, is it not a hard job?
- Following God is a duty that requires all of our strength to do it right.
DAVID: King David was a man described as a man after God’s heart. Hear what he wrote in Psalm 63.
Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; (2) To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
See ….
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Can you see how strength is required to follow God?
- The harder you follow the higher you fly!
- It takes hard following after God to escape hardship in life.
- It takes hard following after God to live a triumphant life.
- It takes hard following after God with a joyful heart to enjoy supernatural harvest in abundance.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
THREE THINGS YOU GAIN BY CHASING AFTER GOD.
- YOU ARE BLESSED IN THE LAND IN ABUNDANCE.
Deut. 30:15-16 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
So, Loving the Lord thy God and following Him is a matter of life and death! Nevertheless, that is what guarantees your access to the good of the land.
- YOU WILL FULFIL THE NUMBER OF YOUR DAYS ON THE EARTH.
Deut. 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
- YOU CARRY THE POWER OF GOD.
Philip. 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. …
Philip. 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also, I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, …
CONCLUSION:
1Cor. 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Heb 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
As you follow those who are following Christ, you too are following Christ.
Eph. 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; …
Making it in life is not cheap. Discipline yourself to pay the price.
Luke 13:23-24 = Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Mathew made this even clearer.
Mat 7:13-14 = Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Therefore, follow God at all cost, withholding nothing. Surrender your life and all you have to Him.
You lose nothing following God. You gain your whole life following Him, both in good times and in bad times.
He is thy life!
Songs:
- I surrender all to You, withholding nothing
- I give myself awaaay, so You can use me
- My life is not my own, to You I belong, I give myself …