======================================================================== (CLIP) FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST by Carter Conlon ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the awesome life of being a Christian, acknowledging human flaws and mistakes but highlighting God's grace in picking us up and guiding us back on the right path. It challenges believers to truly examine their love for Jesus and make necessary changes in their lives to align with God's Word, urging them to let go of fear and trust in God's provision. The message stresses the importance of surrendering all aspects of life to God, being moldable in His hands, and letting go of personal desires to fully serve and glorify Him. Duration: 6:21 Topics: "God's Grace", "Surrendering to God's Will" Scripture References: Matthew 22:37, 1 John 4:18, Malachi 3:10, Philippians 2:3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the awesome life of being a Christian, acknowledging human flaws and mistakes but highlighting God's grace in picking us up and guiding us back on the right path. It challenges believers to truly examine their love for Jesus and make necessary changes in their lives to align with God's Word, urging them to let go of fear and trust in God's provision. The message stresses the importance of surrendering all aspects of life to God, being moldable in His hands, and letting go of personal desires to fully serve and glorify Him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What an awesome life it is to be a Christian. What an awesome life it is to follow God as best as we know how with all our heart and our soul and our mind and our strength. Are we flawless? Absolutely not. Do we make mistakes? Absolutely. But the mistakes don't last long. God picks us up again, puts us back on that path where honor will be brought to his name. Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? To follow Christ first means that something else must be left behind. Now many are here, you're professing your love for Jesus. When I said do you love Jesus, you said yes, but you're living in a lifestyle that's not in obedience to the word of God and you know it. So the question to you today is what are you going to do about it? You're doing things you shouldn't be doing. The clear violation of the word of God. You're acting in a way you shouldn't be acting. But how quickly you said I love Jesus. But the question is, do you? Really? If you do, you will get out and you will get out. It's quite simple. There's nothing gray about this. You will get up and you will get out. You'll get up and get out of practices. You'll get up and get out of relationships. You'll get up and get out of places that you're not supposed to be as a child of God. If you love Jesus, if you really do love him, if you really do love him, you'll get up and get out of fear. The fear that somehow God's word isn't true. You won't arrive at your destination or be provided for along the way. I struggled with this in the beginning. I started listening to these words. So many people were against what God was calling me to do. Well-meaning people, studied people, people with a history much longer than mine of walking with God were saying no, don't do this. This is folly. And I remember this, the raging battle that was going on in my heart because I actually enjoyed what I was doing in my career. It paid well. It had a lot of benefits in the natural. And I remember one day I was preaching my heart out in a small church that was beginning to form in the town where close to where I was living. And I remember looking out the window and I'm preaching this message. Give your all to God. Don't be afraid to walk with God. Don't be afraid to go with Christ. I'm looking out the window and in the driveway of this particular building, there's about four or five, I guess, little brown sparrows. It's in the wintertime. They're pecking away at the driveway and there doesn't seem to be anything there. And the Lord says to my heart, are you not worth more than they? I promised in my word that I would provide for the sparrows. And I do, even though you can't see the provision and I couldn't, I couldn't see a single seed in that driveway, but yet they're pecking away almost my whole message. And he said, I'm providing for them, even though you can't see the provision I'm providing. Are you, do you not believe that I will provide for you? Do you not believe that I'll provide for your family? I'll look after your children. Do you not believe that I'll carry you? And if you ever get older and firm or sick, or if you ever, I don't think there's anything like retirement. I've learned from brother Dave that there is no such a thing as retirement. If we live, if we live another 20 years or 30 years, it's going to be funny watching the two of us on this platform. Fear. How many today are just filled with fear? You say you love God, but doesn't, doesn't the Bible say that perfect love casts out fear? Doesn't the scripture say in first John that he who fears is not made perfect in love. Isn't that what the word of God says? So if I'm afraid that God is not going to provide for me, can I not reach the conclusion? I really don't love him as much as I thought I did. He said in Malachi, bring what you have into the storehouse and prove me, prove me now. I'm not talking about tithing. It's about, it's about everything. It's about all that you are bringing into the storehouse. And he says, and prove me, I'll open to you the windows of heaven. He said, I'll rebuke the devourer. God says, I'll do all of these things, but first you have to bring what you are. You have to bring what you are into my work, into my kingdom, into my presence. You've got to be something moldable in my hand. You've got to be a vessel that is willing to say, God, take me and use my life for your glory. And he says, then I'll open to you the windows of heaven. I have lived this. I know this is true. I know every pastor in this platform has lived this. People in this audience have lived this. We've seen this. We've walked with God. We've known his faithfulness. And lastly, and most importantly, your own image of yourself has to die. Of what you think your life should be, of how you feel that God should use you, of how you feel that where that should lead you. You've got to get rid of the desire to have your name and light somewhere. You've got to get rid of all the desire to be great because that came from the garden of Eden. That came from the fall of Adam to be as God. You've got to get that out of your heart and say, Lord, send me as you were on the shores of John chapter 21. Read it again when you get home. An ordinary person calling people into the provision of God, serving others, giving instruction. God called me. Let your image be formed in me. Let me become the true church of Jesus Christ in this generation. Help me, God, to die to what I think I should be. Where I feel that this relationship with you should take me. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/wv1XJQt-_Tw.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/carter-conlon/clip-follow-jesus-christ/ ========================================================================