No Turning Back (Part 1) - Following Jesus

For the past 4 years, every August we have had a new theme in Y4C. This year is going to be different. We are still very much going to have a push and a focus towards one thing, but it’s not going to be just a Y4C theme. It’s First Baptist Church of Milford’s theme. It’s First Baptist Church of Milford’s mission. I want each of you to know that you are a part of First Baptist Church of Milford. Y4C is a part of First Baptist Church of Milford. However, we are still a unique group with unique needs.

I love hearing people like that pray. You know what would be even more amazing? Hearing Jesus pray. In fact, there’s a passage in Scripture where we can not only read what Jesus prayed, but his prayer actually was for us. You and me, today, in this room.

Because of this, we are going to spend the next 4 weeks in a series we’ve titled No Turning Back. This series is the heartbeat of our youth group and the heartbeat of our church. Please plan to be here for the next 4 weeks. We are going to unpack and discuss a simple but powerful mission: Following Jesus. This mission is at the very core of what it means to be a Christian, and therefore it should be at the very core of who we are as a youth group.

So please, ask God now to give you an attentive and peaceful heart as we dive into this series. It can change your life, if you let it.

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Open your Bibles to Luke 14

Jesus Calls Us To Follow Him

The overarching call of Jesus’ ministry was simple: “Follow me.”

Matthew 4:18–19 KJV 1900

18 And 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. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mark 1:16–17 KJV 1900

16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Luke 5:9–11 KJV 1900

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

John 1:43 KJV 1900

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

In each of the 4 Gospels (the books of the Bible that contain the life of Christ) we see Jesus begin his ministry with this simple command: Follow me.

At the end of his ministry, in the final conversation with Peter in the book of John, Jesus twice says to Peter, “Follow me.”

John 21:19–22 KJV 1900

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. 20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

From the very beginning to the very end of Jesus’ ministry we see one consistent call to all that he met. The poor and the rich, the sinners and the saints, the Jews and the Samaritans — still the call from Jesus was the same: “Follow me.”

John 10:27 KJV 1900

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

This applies to us today, every person in this room — regardless of age, school, gender, family, past, mistakes, or personality type. Jesus extends the call to you: “Follow me.”

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John 10:27 KJV 1900

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

But…following Jesus isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Some of you have probably struggled with, or are currently struggling with, this idea of following Jesus right now in your lives.

Each of us has different lives with unique struggles, but none of that should stop us from deciding to follow Jesus.

3 Unique People with 3 Unique Obstacles

An invitation met with excuses

Luke 14:15–24 KJV 1900

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 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. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Invited, but unwilling to accept

There were all different kinds of people here with all different kinds of excuses

Man who purchased land — too important

Man with cattle to manage — too busy

Man who was a newlywed — too distracted

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these things on their own, but their is something wrong with each of them if it stops us from following Jesus

If we’re not careful, just like these people, we’ll come up with every excuse in the book to not accept the invitation to follow Jesus.

A confrontation met with a challenge

Matthew 16:21–27 KJV 1900

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 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. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Accepted, but unwilling to deny self

At first glance, what Peter suggested to Jesus seems like a noble cause: “Jesus, you can’t die!”

However, what Peter didn’t yet understand was that he was still seeing the world through the lens of “what I want” instead of seeing it through the lens of “what God wants.”

Jesus wanted Peter, and the rest of the disciples, to see that he was setting the example for us of how to set ourselves aside and pursue the will of the Father

But, what if that will doesn’t line up with ours? What if we had different plans?

It’s not enough to just accept Jesus’ invitation to follow, we must choose to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and truly follow Him.

Sometimes these desires aren’t even wrong, but if they don’t line up with God’s desires than

An opportunity requiring conviction

Luke 9:57–62 KJV 1900

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. 58 And 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. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Committed, but unable to endure

This story may seem just like the first, but it’s not. It’s different. These people have already accepted the invitation to follow Jesus.

They truly, in their hearts, want to follow Jesus. Yet something is tugging on their shoulder. Something is pulling on them to turn back.

Jesus’ response to this is simple: if you’re going to be a true follower of me, it has to be with conviction. There’s no turning back.

Sure, you can decide to turn back. Your salvation is secure. says the following:

John 10:27–29 KJV 1900

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

But you’ll miss out on the abundant, fulfilling, satisfying, blessed life of following Jesus.

Following Jesus means enduring through the hard times, enduring through the influences trying to pull you away, enduring through distractions and temporal passions and dreams. Following Jesus means following through—to the end.

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You may be asking now, “Okay… so is it worth it? Is following Jesus worth choosing his will over mine? His dreams over mine? His plans over mine?

I can tell you this: yes. It is absolutely, positively, 100% worth it.

No Turning Back

Luke 18:28–30 KJV 1900

28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, 30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

Decide to follow Jesus, and don’t turn back

Christ promised that those who follow Him will be rewarded — both in this world and in eternity

Following Jesus is always worth it

Our God has an ability to even the score like no other, and following Him is the most rewarding and fulfilling life that any person can live

Luke 18:28–30 KJV 1900

Decide to follow Jesus, and don’t turn back

Each of us in this room will face unique obstacles when we make the decision to follow Jesus

Jesus isn’t expecting you to be perfect, he just wants you to be persistent.

Some of us have heard the invitation, but are afraid to accept the call to follow Jesus

What will it mean for my dreams?

What will have to change in my life?

Will I lose all my friends?

Some of us have accepted the call, but are unwilling to deny ourselves

Following Jesus is about Him, not us.

The question is not “What should God be doing for me?” it is “What is God asking me to do for Him?”

Someone truly following Jesus will “deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

What are you unwilling to deny?

What is God asking you to lay down so that you can pick up your cross?

Some of us have committed to following Jesus, but are being pushed to turn back

Some of us have made a decision or a commitment, but are starting to look over our shoulder and consider turning back on it

A dream to pursue

A relationship

A new group of friends

A college we want to attend

A desire to “do what makes me happy”

Maybe we need to revisit the words to the song we all learned to sing as a kid...

I have decided to follow Jesus,

No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me,

No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

No turning back, no turning back.

Whatever position you find yourself in tonight, would you make a commitment to Christ before you leave this room that you will follow Him and not turn back?

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