FOLLOWING JESUS

Matthew 10:38

INTRODUCTION


During church camp this past month I was privileged to take many of the children fishing.  Each day I would catch an average of 8-10 fish.  On one morning I invited the Dean of CMBI, Brother Lester McCalister to go fishing with me.  He wasn't accustomed to lake fishing so I gave him the same kind of lure I had and showed him how to use it.  Within ten minutes I caught my first fish, while brother McCalister patiently cast and reeled in his line waiting for his first strike.  After two hours I had caught eight fish and it was time to head back to camp, while Brother McCalister patiently cast and reeled in his line waiting for his first strike.

A story is told about two elderly gentlemen who were avid ice fishermen. Each day at dawn they would go out to the frozen lake, find a spot about fifty feet apart, saw a hole into the ice, and drop in their hooks. One of the men would catch fish hand over fist; the other only caught the sniffles. After a few days, the weary stike-out fisherman wandered over to the man with the twenty pound stringer of fish and asked, "how do you do that? We're sitting fifty feet apart, yet you're catching all the fish! What's your secret? "Yumnagtkpwmswam", replied the fisherman. "Excuse me," said the other man, "could you repeat that?" "Yumnagtkpwnswam", the fisherman repeated. "I guess the cold has frozen my ears, but I can't understand a word you're saying." said the bewildered man. "Could you speak a little plainer?" with that, the fisherman cupped his hands in front of his mouth, spit into them with a horrendous sound, wiped his drooling mouth with his sleeve, and said, "you gotta keep your worms warm!"

Some people don't catch any fish because they don't know how to do it.  Often times the reason why some children of God are not following Jesus is because they don't know how to.

This morning our text is found in Matthew 10:38 and the title of my message is, "Following Jesus".

Matthew 10:38 ...and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  (NIV)

As we examine this topic I would like us to look at three aspects of following Jesus.