Anyone Can Follow Jesus
Follow Jesus to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mat 9:9-13
Anyone Can Follow Jesus.
in the Jewish mind, the expression ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ referred, not so much to any particular period, as in general to the Rule of God—as acknowledged, manifested, and eventually perfected. Very often it is the equivalent for personal acknowledgment of God: the taking upon oneself of the ‘yoke’ of ‘the Kingdom,’ or of the commandments—the former preceding and conditioning the latter.
Anyone Can Follow Jesus.
Sinful People Can Follow. 10-11
“Are you saved, sir?” we asked a gentleman at the close of a gospel-meeting.
“No, I really can’t say I am, but I would like to be.”
“Why would you? Do you realize you are a lost sinner?”
“Oh, of course, we are all sinners.”
“Ah! but that often means little or nothing. Are you a sinner yourself?”
“Well, I suppose I am, but I’m not what you could call a bad sinner. I am, I think, rather a good one. I always try to do the best I know.”
“Then, my friend, I fear there is little use seeking to show you the way of salvation. Good sinners, together with honest liars, upright thieves, and virtuous scoundrels are far from being ready to submit to the grace of God, which is only for poor, vile, hell-deserving sinners, who have no merits to build on, no goodness to plead, but who are ready to be saved alone by the work of Another, and that One the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Dr. John R. W. Stott in one of his books makes this comment on civilized society: “Many of the happenings of civilized society would not exist if it were not for human sin. A promise is not enough; we need a contract. Doors are not enough; we have to lock and bolt them. The payment of fares is not enough; we have to be issued tickets, which are punched, inspected, and collected. Law and order are not enough; we need the police to enforce them. We cannot trust each other. We need protection from one another. It is a sorry state of affairs.”
Broken People Can Follow. 12
Religious People Can Follow. 13
An old man, in talking to a young friend of mine, was reminiscing. “Son,” he said, “I’d like to tell you about my life. I was christened soon after I was born, and I became a christened sinner. As I grew older, I wandered away from the church and began to engage in the pleasures of the world, and I became a sinful sinner. However, as I began to think about my life, I realized that I should do something about it, and I became a church sinner. Then, one happy day, my life was completely changed when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour, and I became a saved sinner. You know, son, a saved sinner is the only kind of a sinner that can find real joy in this world, and the only kind of a sinner that the Lord can welcome into Heaven.”