THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW

• DAY 114
• FEAR FILES: THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS
• SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 4:18-22

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”‬‬

Matthew 4:18-22 NKJV

Today we start a new series. We will be talking about the disciples and their encounter and journey with Jesus.

In our text today we discover how Jesus called some of the disciples. We do not have an account of how all the disciples were first called or invited to follow Jesus. We only know how twelve were eventually selected out of the disciples to be apostles. Although various writers of the gospel have slightly different accounts, the premise is the same. Jesus called these men and they left everything to follow Him.

I’m not sure how that will go over in our day and age. Think about it for a moment. You have a successful career that earns you millions monthly. And one day, probably on a bad sales day, a man you don’t really know shows up and says, “turn in your resignation, shut down your business, leave everything you have, even your family of birth and come with me to start a new career.” This new career doesn’t have a fancy name, this new career doesn’t say how much it pays, this new career’s job description is full of uncertainty. This is not an easy decision even in Jesus’ day because we find that He made this same offer to two other men, one said they needed to go bury their dead and the other went away sad.

Leave All

Leaving everything to follow Jesus is not easy. I know that for a fact. I left all to follow Jesus at 22 and I almost cried myself to sickness. I was so terrified that I couldn’t tell my family what I was actually going to do. I resigned my job, left my country and started on the journey with Jesus with so much complains, tantrums and tears. I had my life planned out and I felt He was ruining it. I wasn’t as courageous as these men who went without hesitation. I wanted to have options. Maybe a job, maybe a side hustle, anything! But Jesus was calling me to leave all. I can tell you that I have never regretted that decision till date.

Beloved, God is calling everyone of us to leave all and follow Him. For you it may not be full time ministry, not everyone is called to follow like that. But we are all called to follow and following will mean that you leave something. For my sister following means sharing uncomfortable details about her life’s struggles so that someone can find courage in her testimony. For my friend, following means giving up her night times to stay up and intercede for people. For another person, it is refusing to compromise in an industry that is full of compromises and losing opportunities because of it.

Follow

I’m not sure what leaving all and following means for you but you need faith and courage for it. Because I guarantee it will cost you something. May be friends, money, life plans, habits and lifestyle and a lot more things than you can imagine. Because you have to die to self, you have to let go of everything so that your source and sustenance can be Jesus.

So this is where I remind you not to be afraid because everyone that Jesus called, He took responsibility for, and their lives became better because they dared to accept the call. That which you are holding on to that is affecting your ability to go all in for Jesus, let it go and follow Him.

Shalom