1. One of my favorite songs is "Follow On."

Follow! Follow! I would follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I would follow on!
Follow! Follow! I would follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I would follow on!

2. Sometimes as we are singing this great hymn, I wonder. How many of us really mean it from the bottom of our hearts?
3. The Bible says "a certain scribe came and said unto" our Lord: "Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest" (Matt.8:19).
4. Many people say that they are following Jesus but the direction their life is taking suggests this is not really true.
5. I heard a story about a man giving out Gospel tracts one day and he approached a man sitting on a bench. He did not know it but this man could not read nor write (he probably went to one of our public schools here in NYC).
6. Anyway, the man on the bench looked at the tracts and said, "What are these?" The man passing out tracts said: "These are tracts."
7. The man on the bench said, "I can’t read them so I’ll just watch your tracks." Beloved, people are watching your tracks too. Where do they lead? Are you following Jesus?
8. In our passage today we see certain people who were supposed to be following Jesus but they allowed certain obstacles to get in the way. As we look into this today, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will show us any obstacles that we have allowed in our lives that are hindering us (and perhaps others as well) from following Jesus.
9. And if there are any obstacles, let us ask the Lord to remove them from us, and to help us to stay away from them permanently.

1. THE OBSTACLE OF WORLDLY COMFORT (8:19,20)
2. THE OBSTACLE OF FAMILY MATTERS (8:21,22)
3. THE OBSTACLE OF WORLDLY FRIENDS (LUKE 9:61,62)

1. One preacher called this man "an impetuous scribe, an unreflecting emotionalist, and an ambitious worldling."
2. Let me pause here by saying that as far as we know, this "certain scribe" never followed the Lord. Nothing is heard of him again.
3. The call to service means giving up certain earthly pleasures. And the Lord knows our hearts. And our Lord knew this man’s heart and so he answered him: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man (Messianic title) hath not where to lay His head" (8:20).
4. In other words, our Lord was asking: Are you prepared to give up your worldly comforts for Me?
5. Whenever I read these words, I cannot help but think of all the extravagant wealth and luxury in the Vatican. Or the billions of dollars out in Salt Lake City (Mormon country), or in Rev. Moon’s empire. Or these filthy rich TV preachers like Benny Hinn and Oral Roberts. Yet our Lord "became poor" for our sakes (cf. II Cor.8:9).
6. There are many unconverted people who say they are trying to follow Jesus, but remember what Jesus said: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3: 6,7).

2. THE OBSTACLE OF FAMILY MATTERS (8:21,22)

1. At first glance, this man’s request seems not only reasonable but commendable. By the way, he is referred to as a disciple, though this does not necessarily mean that he was saved. It simply means he was learning. And his request does seem commendable.
2. But God does not make mistakes and our Lord plainly said: "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead" (8:22).
3. So what is the point here? The point is this: nothing, not even the relationship between a father and son, must hinder our devotion and obedience to God.
4. We should never allow family matters to come between us and the Lord. But many people do just that.
5. I have heard men say, "I will get saved when my wife gets saved." But the wife never gets saved, and so they both will go to hell together. Brother, that is taking love for your wife too far!
6. Many people put off salvation because they do not want to leave the religion they were brought up in. They feel to do this would dishonor their parents. Such feelings are misguided.
7. Sometimes God calls a man to preach but the man’s wife discourages him. Or God calls a young couple to the mission field and their parents try and talk them out of it.
8. Or maybe a teenager wants to go off to a good Christian college but Mom and Dad are trying to push the child into a secular college. Let us ask God for wisdom and grace so He can move without us getting in His way!
9. Our Lord wants us to respect our parents. It is the fifth commandment – "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Ex.20:12).
10. Our Lord was not suggesting that this man be disrespectful to his father. What He literally meant was, "Leave the (spiritually) dead to bury their own (physically) dead." It is better to preach the Gospel to the spiritually dead and try and win them to Christ, then hang around and wait for your father to die so you can bury him.
11. There is an important principle here: Disciples should not give priority to jobs that the unsaved can do just as well as Christians. For example: there are plenty of unsaved doctors, nurses, policemen, etc. Let them work on Sunday. For the Christian, our priority ought to be advancing the cause of Christ and this means complete dedication.

3. THE OBSTACLE OF WORLDLY FRIENDS (LUKE 9:61,62).

1. This man was not impelled by the urgency of the situation. Many today are like that. The preacher can preach his heart out and they sit there yawning.
2. The importance of the mission, the reality of hell, the things of God – these are presented week after week but they remain impervious.
3. After all, they have a house-full of worldly friends and this must come first (Luke 9:61).
4. People tell me they missed church because some friends or relatives dropped in right around church time. Or they rang them on the phone right as they were getting ready to leave for church. Or they are flying into JFK at 11:00 Sunday morning or 6:30 Sunday night.
5. Notice the man said, "Lord, suffer me first…" (Luke 9:59). And then Luke adds, "And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell…" (Luke 9:61).
6. But Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" and "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).
7. Are you fit for the kingdom of God? The cost of discipleship is high. Don’t "look back" (like Lot’s wife, like the Israelites who wanted to go back to Egypt, etc.).

1. There is a doctrine that is ignored today and avoiding this doctrine has led to dangerous consequences. I am talking about the Lordship of Christ. Is He your Lord today?
2. I would like for you to notice that all three of these men addressed Jesus as "Lord" (Luke 9:57,59,61; cf. 6:46).
3. Many people say they want to follow Jesus but it has to be on their terms. We cannot follow Jesus on our own terms. He is Lord. And if He is not your Lord, are you sure He is your Saviour?