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Whatever Happened To Just “ Goin ’ For It ?”. THE CALL OF JESUS TO “GO FOR IT!”. THE CALL OF JESUS TO “GO FOR IT!”. Thru the story of Three Men in LUKE 9:57-62…. Luke 9.
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THE CALL OF JESUS TO “GO FOR IT!” • Thru the story of Three Men in LUKE 9:57-62…
Luke 9 57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luke 9 60Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
THE CALL OF JESUS TO “GO FOR IT!” • Thru the story of Three Men in LUKE 9:57-62… • Thru the Parable of the Great Supper in LUKE 14:16-20…
Luke 14 16Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.18And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.19And another said,I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Why These Three Men Didn’t “Go For It!” 1. RELISHING in his RICHES. Luke 14:18—And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
Why These Three Men Didn’t “Go For It!” 2. CLIMBING in his CAREER. Luke 14:19— And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
Why These Three Men Didn’t “Go For It!” 3. FOCUSING on his FAMILY. Luke 14:20— And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
NOTE: What we learn from Luke 14:16-20, is that what keeps most people from “goin’ for it,” aren’t God’s ADVERSARIES, but God’s BLESSINGS!
EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO DID “GO FOR IT!” • The Disciples in MATTHEW 4:18-22…
Matthew 4 18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO DID “GO FOR IT!” • The Disciples in MATTHEW 4:18-22… • Saul of Tarsus (Paul) in ACTS 9:1-6…
Acts 9 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO DID “GO FOR IT!” • The Disciples in MATTHEW 4:18-22… • Saul of Tarsus (Paul) in ACTS 9:1-6… • Adoniram Judson…
Adoniram Judson “...I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world? Whether you can consent to see her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of perishing immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God?
Adoniram Judson Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”
THE “TIPPING POINT” AND “LINE OF DEMARCATION” FOR THOSE WHO DID “GO FOR IT!”
Jonathan Edwards “On January 12, 1723, I made a solemn dedication of myself to God, and wrote it down; giving up myself, and all that I had to God; to be for the future, in no respect, my own; to act as one that had no right to be himself, in any respect. And solemnly vowed to take God for my whole portion and felicity; looking on nothing else, as any part of my happiness, nor acting as if it were; and His law for the constant rule of my obedience: engaging to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, to the end of my life.”
Betty Stam “Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt, and work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”
John Wesley “I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You; exalted for You or brought low for You. Let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal.”
C.H. Spurgeon “I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him.”
C.T. Studd(Quoting from an atheist’s tract) “If I firmly believed as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought, and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of eternity alone.I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering.
C.T. Studd(Quoting from an atheist’s tract) Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’”
C.T. Studd(Quoting from an atheist’s tract) “I at once saw that this was the truly consistent Christian life. When I looked back upon my own life I saw how inconsistent it had been, I therefore determined that from that time forth my life should be consistent and I set myself to know what was God’s will for me.”
D.L. Moody “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
William Booth (quoted by J. Wilbur Chapman) “He hesitated for a second…and I saw the tears come into his eyes and steal down his cheeks, and then he said, ‘I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of the world on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor, I made up my mind that God would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of power in The Salvation Army today, it is because God has had all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.’”