Genesis 12:8 says this: Abram followed God to a place that he knew not.
What’s happened to others when they followed God?
Joseph- followed God- to a pit- a perpetrator-a prison and a then the palace
Moses- followed God- it lead him to a desert- back to Egypt and then the leader of millions of people - whom he was to get them- al of them to Canaan land
David – followed God – to the feet of a giant - he got to play the game dodging javelins or die, to a cave, a crown without a castle- and a traitor in his own house.
Prophet Elijah followed God and suffered depression
Pastor turned Prophet- Jeremiah- followed God to stocks, bonds, a miry pit of mud - he sank into it and was left there.
Prophet Hosea-followed God and told to marry a prostitute
So many times we Christian lament at the price we pay to follow Him. We want to know the who, the what, the when and the how. God just wants us to follow Him wherever He leads
Matthew 4:19 19And he saith unto them, Follow me
Where did following Jesus lead them?
John the Baptist- prison/ beheaded
Peter- Prison/ Beaten/ Crucified upside down
Andrew- crucified
James the greater- beheaded
James the lesser- beaten to death with a club
John- boiled in oil.
Luke- hanged Matthew- slain
Phillip- scourged, crucified Simon- Crucified
Thomas- thrust through with a sword
Barthlomew- cruelly beaten and then crucified
Thaddeus- Crucified
Mathias- stoned and beheaded
Mark- dragged to death Steven // Stoned
Paul- physical aliment unhealed// beaten// prison// beheaded by a sword.
Timothy- beaten severely
Polycarp- burned at the stake
Matthew 16:24 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: ------Pursue me
Where He leads me - I will follow – How about you?
What if the path that God leads us on looks different than what we thought it would be?
What if it is filled with heartache and pain? Jesus said…. Follow Me
What if it is filled with disappointment? Jesus said…. Follow Me What if it is filled with a physical condition that God chooses for us to deal with rather than heal us from? Jesus said…. Follow Me
What if the twists and the turns keep you steadily unsure of what lies around the bend?
You know, a bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn
Jesus said…. Follow Me
Many times we say Why me God! What did I ever do to deserve this? Why? Why? Why? Jesus said… Follow me
We should ask Why not me God? What do I need to learn? What do I need to share? What God? Because Jesus said…. Follow me
Rev. 14:4 These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth