11-20-23-ENG.

"Jesus said to them, `Follow Me.... 'And they immediately left the nets and followed Him. "

Mark 1:17-18
I'M GOING TO
Read It: Luke 9:59-60
There was a second man on the road Jesus walked that day. The first man volunteered, but didn't understand what he was saying. The second ond guy must have had potential, because Jesus called him. "Okay, Jesus," he answered, "You've got a deal. But I've got something to do first. I need to go home and bury my father. Let me do that, and I'll be right back to join You." Now that seems like a reasonable request. All the man wanted to do was carry out his responsibilities at home. Jesus couldn't deny that request, right? Wrong. The man's father wasn't dead yet. One way we know this is that the Jews buried their dead within twenty-four hours. So if his father had just died, he would have already been at home overseeing the burial ial or else just back from the burial and ready to go. What the man was referring to was the custom of the day that the oldest est son stayed home and took care of the affairs of the house until his father died. Then he would receive his inheritance and move on with his life. So this "wannabe" disciple was not saying, "My father just died, and I've got to go home." He was saying, `Jesus, I'm not ready to follow You yet."

Does that sound like anybody you know? `Jesus, I'm going to follow You ... as soon as I finish school, buy a new house, get my children raised." Listen to me. Whenever you tell Jesus, "I'm not ready," you are making ing two dangerous assumptions. First, you are assuming that you are going to be around long enough to get ready. Second, you are assuming that if you live long enough, you will finally come to a point where you're ready. The problem is, that's not the way life works. What normally happens is that the longer you live, the more encumbrances you gather, the more stuff you accumulate that demands your attention. If you're going to follow Jesus, do it now. If you need to make a sacrifice, make it today. Think About It Jesus is saying to you, "Let spiritually dead people deal with death. You are no longer dead because you have met Me. Don't get caught up in death. Get caught up in life."