November 2, 2019 | Franklin Graham | Obedience To Serve | Luke 14:25-33 | Saturday Sermon

let me just some people asked me Franklin how did you start it I'm not that smart I had a fella in England call me this is during the war in Bosnian a called and this is my English accent brother Grom we're wanting to send shoeboxes to the children in Bosnia I said where Bosnia okay I'll have to look that one up okay we'll help you and he was oneness to be like the North American partner so I thought be glad to do it saw called this was in July and so I'll call a guy from Canada who runs our office in Canada so what do you think of this I do you won't try to do in Canada - yeah this would be great we'll do it okay good well I forgot all about it who thinks about shoeboxes in July you know it was hot and not making about Christmas well December comes along and my secretary comes in my office says she has this look like you are in trouble she had that look and I've seen that look quite a bit in life and from my mother and schoolteachers and people and my secretary so she has this look you're in trouble what'd I do you remember that guy from England what guy from England that guy you promised shoeboxes - oh yeah well he's on the phone oh brother okay brother gram how many boxes have you collected listen call me next week we're still working on it boy I was in trouble so we had a church in Charlotte man was all not board of directors his name was Ross Rhodes so I called Ross I said Ross I said I'm in trouble he said again yeah again I said I've got this this guy in England he wants to take gifts to children and in Bosnia he's doing it there he wants us to help him here listen if we could get a few hundred boxes together it would be a big deal and we'll send them over there and give them to the children in Bosnia frosts a great idea I said we'll pack a shoebox and bring it down - if you could just hold it up unpack it kind of pack it back and kind of give people an idea of what to do and ask them to come back to the next Sunday we'll come down get the boxes good I'll do it so the following week on Monday Ross calls and he said Franklin can you come get the boxes I said yeah we're gonna come down Wednesday and pick them up and listen no I really need you to get them today really why well they're on the they're up around the pulpit it's kind of hard to walk around they're out there in the foyer he said we've got him in the chapel and this girl was planning on having her wedding rehearsal in there and she can't so this full of boxes so could you come down and get the boxes yeah we'll come down and get the boxes they'll be there today and we went down and we got the boxes this was year one and it's about 11,000 boxes and and the reason the number was so high there was a guy that had a radio program from that church he put her on his radio program the schoolteachers public school number of school teachers in the public school they did it that first year and it was just incredible and we realized that you know God was in this doing something special now at that time it wasn't an evangelistic we were just Christians giving gifts to children in the middle of a war zone doing a nice thing and so after two years of doing this the British they called and brother Graham we're not going to do this anymore because we cannot afford it it's killing us financially the expenses are so high so if you want to take it and run with it okay now I'm thinking to myself they can't make it financially it was killing us financially it's because we didn't have volunteers and we had all these boxes that we had to open and inspect and we were having to hire people to help us do this and so we were going in the hole financially and it was taking us six eight months to work ourselves out of it so I'm thinking to myself I don't think we can do this another year but with them out of the picture we're going to we're on try one more year and we're going to see if we can make a change we want to make it now an evangelist program because when the British were running it that was just we're just Christians doing a nice thing and there's lots of nice things in the world but it you know but you can add that up to a bunch of nothing so we decided ok we will we will do this but we're gonna do it with the attempt to tell every child at least about the meaning of Christmas that God so loved the world that He gave and that's what Christmas is all about God giving his son that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who whosoever believeth should not perish but should have everlasting life that year when we made that decision to make it an evangelistic program we have not had a financial problem with this project since something God has done God has done it now this year we'll collect about 11 million boxes ok now you may be saying if you collect 11 million boxes you don't need mine yes I do we never have enough boxes we always run out and every box is an opportunity to tell a child about Jesus Christ I want the children the world to know that God loves them that God sent his son to this earth to take their sins I want the children to have the hope of Christmas I want them to know that they can have their sins forgiven they can be cleansed they can have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ I want the children of the world to know this 11 million opportunities every box and I ask people you know as you pack the box pray because people say Frank the world with my box go I have no clue where your box is going there's like a hundred and ten countries we go to I mean I don't know pray pray for the child is going to get that box God knows who that child is I don't and could you imagine 11 million people pray what God just might do for the children of the world with people praying around the world and so it asked me will put your put your picture in there I want the child who gets the box see who gave the box you'd be surprised at how many kids dump out all the toys and they're all excited and then they get down to the bottom to the picture and they hold up that picture and they just stare at that couple or those kids that gave that box and then put your address and print it so they can read it and well you know sometimes my handwriting listen I better print so print your name and your address we will try to get the child to write back probably 90% of came to it they don't have a stamp but there's going to be some who can send a letter back and say thank you so it's worth it pray for them but your picture there put your address and let's see what God does thank you for doing this thank you for being a part of listen I wanted just to take a moment no let me say something else not only do we give the boxes to the kids and try to tell them about Christ make that connection with the gospel people say Franklin how do you do this 11 million how do you give out a living me in anything and every country of the world country we have a national leadership team and made up of the evangelical churches they are responsible for taking the boxes that we are signed to that country and then distributing them to evangelical churches and then they're responsible for going over how to present the gospel to the children as they give out these boxes okay so it's it's a it's well organized as well done but we're not satisfied with just that we want to disciple the children that give the hearts to Christ okay so we've got a 12 lesson discipleship program called the greatest journey it's in 70 different languages and this year 2019 the kids that came to faith last year shoeboxes right at five million kids this year took a 12 less son discipleship course and in those 12 lessons they have to memorize Scripture it's a bird's-eye view of the scripture it gives them a basic understanding of the old test of the New Testament and what do Jesus Christ is what he did on the cross how he died and shed his blood how he rose from the grave how he can come into a person's heart change that person it's it's incredible and so these kids have to take a test that they have to recite these verses that they memorize to the pastor of their church and if they pass this test that they've attempted to take they get a little diploma okay a certificate saying that they've graduated from the greatest journey we give them a Bible and we have a little graduation ceremony and the parents come and the parents are so proud first time their kids have ever graduate from anything you know and and it's just we've make it fun but I want us to raise up an army of kids around the world that know how to share their faith with their both their teammates with their schoolmates with their neighbors raise up an army of millions of kids who can share their faith who know the scriptures who can quote the scriptures from memory because they had to take a test right it's fun just to see what God is doing and can do and it starts with your prayers packing a shoebox giving a guess and God just taking that and multiplying and multiplying and multiplying and multiplying so thank you for all of you that had been a part of this let me just um I want tonight to look at a couple of passages of Scripture and what it takes to serve and God's army okay what it takes and so as we go through this let's let's learn because we're looking at the scripture first of all well I want to look at Luke chapter 14 and we're going to start in verse 25 large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them he said if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother his wife and children his brother and sisters yes even his own life he cannot be my disciple and anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple suppose one of you wants to build a tower will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it for if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it everyone who sees it will ridicule him saying this fellow began to build and was not able to finish or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king will he not first sit down and consider whether or not he is able with ten thousand men to oppose those coming against him with twenty thousand if he's not it he'll send a delegation and while the other is still a long way off he'll ask for terms of peace in the same way any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple hmm don't hate you gotta hate your mother and father and your brother and your sister and your wife now if people say no that's Franklin that's pretty hard teaching I don't I don't understand that why'd you read that verse but Jesus is saying you've got to put him first over your father your mother your sister your brother your wife your children he has to be first he has to be number one he'd never take second place okay he wants to be number one and your love and devotion for him has to be so strong that it compared to your love for your family it's almost like you disregard your family or hate your family because your love for him is so strong now it's kind of hard to get that in our brain and then he goes on to say you got to count the cost okay there's a price to following him you've got to be willing to carry your cross you've got to be willing to suffer with Christ yeah if you want to be a disciple anyone who does not give up everything cannot be my disciple there's a cost one of look at Luke chapter 9 we've got a cost then in chapter 9 and verse boy did you know these this print gets smaller verse 57 chapter 9 as they are walking along the road a man said to him I'll follow you wherever you go I'll follow you jesus said foxes have holes birds of the air have nests but the Son of man has no place to lay his head he said to another follow me but the man replied Lord first let me go and bury my father jesus said to him let the dead bury their own dead but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God still another said I'll follow you Lord but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family jesus replied no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God excuses and I hear this all the time people talking to me Oh Franklin will we would love to go with Samaritan's Purse one day we would love to be a part of this or we would love to be a part of that and we feel maybe God is calling us but you know I need to I want to I want to and they'll have a list of things that they have to get done before they can do that they want to pay off their student loans or they want to get some more education they want to get their master's degree because they think that will be important or whatever you know it's just a number thing if I get my house paid off as soon as my kids get out of school and this one guy says let me go back and bury my father you know you say well it was Jesus that cold-hearted that here's the guy's dead there's the back there and on in the Morgan and he can't go back and bury his dead that's not what Jesus was saying this guy is saying listen my father is old and I'll just stay with him till he dies and and then I'll come so and I'll bury him and then I'll come follow you gee he said look this let the dead bury their own dead another guy comes up I'll follow you and they probably thought Jesus is kind of like a rock star you know he always had this crowd of people following him and everybody's called it hey Jesus here or Jesus as ever selfie Jesus look and and so he's saying and you know hey I'll follow you then Jesus I don't listen birds have nest and foxes have holes but the Son of man has no place to lay his head really I thought you were down to Hilton I didn't know so you want me sleeping outside tonight huh don't have a place to lay your head Wow okay so this says it's nice meeting you lots of excuses you gonna follow Christ he's not that he doesn't want an excuse doesn't want it and let's look at another passage of scripture Luke chapter 5 first one one day as Jesus was standing by the lake Knesset with people crowding around him and listening to the Word of God he saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who are washing their nets he got into one of the boats that belong to Simon and he asked him put a little out from the shore then he sat down and he taught the people from the boat when he had finished speaking he said to Simon put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch Simon answered master we've worked hard all night we haven't caught a anything but because but because you say so I will let down the net I love that and when they have done so they call such a large number of fish that their nets began to break so the signal to their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and they fill both boats so full that they began to sink when Simon Peter saw this he felt at Jesus knees and he said go away from me Lord I'm I'm a sinful man for he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken and so were James and John the sons of Zebedee Simon's partners then jesus said to Simon don't be afraid from now on you'll be fishers of men or catchers of men so they pulled up their boats on the shore and left everything and followed him hmm Jesus is teaching people are crowding around him gets in the boats and he just pushes off from the shore maybe just as far as this pulpit is from the front row here but just enough to give him a little space and he teaches them and then when he's through Simon let's go out to the deep water and you're going to let down your nets for a catch how's that Lord we're fished all night we're tired it's already mid-morning we want we want to go home and get some sleep I'm now I'm adding that the Bible says don't add things to the scripture but I'm just wanting you to kind of get the picture but he says this we have caught nothing but because you say so I will let down the nets because you say so I love that and they go down and they let down the nets now remember Jesus is in the boat with them right Jesus didn't hop out and send them out no Jesus is right there in the boat so they let down the net and uh-oh we got a problem the nets are about to break they're pulling the fish in the both pull them in the Nets about to pop you know and here comes some more fish and more fish now the boats falling they holler at their partners get over here quick hurry these fish are killing us we're sinking come on quick hurry here they come then they start pulling in the net end of their boat fish fish more fish more efficient so much and now the boats are about to sink and Jesus has just probably got a grin from ear to ear then all of a sudden Simon it just dawned on Simon what had just happened that Jesus was responsible for this blessing and he gets on his knees he said Lord away from me I'm a sinful man Simon come on follow me because I'm going to teach you how to be fishers of men fishers of men really I was at Angola prison over in Louisiana with the wart at that time his name was burl Kane and burl was and this is a farm prison that has like fifteen thousand prisoners okay they're in Louisiana they're their murderers the worst people in society are locked up there for life on this farm prison and burl Kane could do just anything he wanted people Louisiana didn't care just don't ever let these people back in society again so got this farm prison and so I asked I said burl does anybody ever escape oh yeah every now and then and really I said what's a manhunt like he says Franklin and he kind of got quiet he said it's a hunt for royalty what it's a hunt for royalty he said there is nothing more exciting and exhilarating that a manhunt and I've thought about Peter a fisherman and Jesus said I'll teach you how to fish for men why really Wow and here's something that they did they pull those boats up right they've never had a catch of fish probably like this in their life now in their monitor I don't know what a boatload of fish okay because you take if you watch The Deadliest Catch on TV those are boats in Alaska full of fish at that time they're worth you know hundreds of thousands of dollars right so I don't know what these fish are worth in and the money at that time but there's two boatloads officials been very easy for for them to say oh listen Lord let us stop for just a few minutes and we can clean these fish and we can take them to the market and just think how much money we can put in the Treasury and how much money God would have to use for remember those were the Lord's fish right he's got lots of fish he didn't care about those fish he wanted Peter he wants you he wants you the Peter had to make a choice fish or follow in obedience Jesus said follow me I'll make you fishers of men he had to make a choice we all have to make choices in life but remember there's a cost and Jesus warns us to stop count the cost because if you can't do this it's better not to get to start because you can't put your hand to the plow and and look back you can't do that there's a cost and he talks about the cross carry down cross the cross it symbolizes the suffering of Christ you see you stand for Christ Jesus was spat on he was cursed he was betrayed these they made false statements they whipped him they beat him and all of his friends left he comes into Jerusalem the week before Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna welcomed him and he comes in on the donkey riding in the whole town is welcoming and a week later crucify him crucify him crucify him and everybody runs now Peter follows at a distance up to Caiaphas house at a distance to see what the outcome might be a lot of Christians are willing to follow Jesus at a distance to see what the outcome might be well if this group over here you know if they say nice things about Jesus I'll kind of let it on I'm one of them too but oh if they start ridiculing Christians I'm not gonna let them know I'm one they want to follow at a distance to see what the outcome might be there's a cost you see if you follow Christ people may turn their backs on you there may be a group of people that won't welcome you to their group oh you're one of those ever angelical Christians yeah right yeah you well we know who you are or they may spit on you call you names and Jesus warns that there's a cost there's a cost to being his disciple and he doesn't want any excuses if he's calling you no excuses you see what he's wanting is obedience Peter said we've fished all night but we haven't caught a thing but because you say so we'll let down the nets I love that because you say so and what does God's tell us right here this is what he say so right here cover to cover word for word these are his instructions I don't understand it all but I believe it all I believe that this is God's Word and let me ask you something is he calling you you see we've got a charge that we're to go into the world to make disciples of all nations to baptize in the name of the Father the Son the Holy Spirit he may be calling some of you to go to a different country he may be calling some of you to go different part of this state he may be calling some of you to go to a different part of this city I don't know what he's calling you but if there is a call on your life and you've been kind of backing up a little bit and I'm not sure can I afford this and you know what you just do it because he says so and let him figure out how to get it paid for he'll take care of your family he knows what you need but we get so hung up and we have these excuses he wants obedience and the message that we take is the gospel and what's the gospel that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but should have everlasting life the Bible says we've all sinned every you all of us have sinned and we've come short of God's glory his standard we have fallen short we became naked and the Bible tells us that the penalty for sin is death were under a death sentence from God the entire human race is under a death sentence but God so loved the world he sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our sins and when Jesus Christ went to the cross and he hung on the cross God poured upon his sons all sins past he poured on his son all sins present he poured on his son all sins future that's us and Jesus Christ took our sins and he died he shed his blood in our place we deserve the cross we deserve to die he was buried for our sins and on the third day God raised him to life this is the gospel and there's power Paul said I'm not ashamed of the gospel force the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek this Holy Spirit filled power in that Gospel message people say Franklin how does it work I have no clue don't know I just know it works when we share the gospel there's a Holy Spirit filled power and he's calling us and we have to realize there's a cost and we better we better look at the cost we can't put our hand to the plow and then look back oh maybe I should have stayed maybe I shouldn't have done this you put your hand to the plow and you don't look back he doesn't want excuses but he wants our medians that's all just simply obey remember that song trust and obey for there's no other way it just wants us to trust and obey so I'll just got a question for you today if you're here tonight and if you feel God may be calling you to his service and you want to trust him and you want us to pray for you I just want you to stand if you're willing to go to the ends of this earth wherever God is calling you no no excuses understanding the price the price the cost you have to understand there's a cost you could be abandoned you could be hated you could have your friends leave you you could have family say goodbye to you but he wants obedience if you're here tonight and you feel maybe God be calling you at some point just stand so we know who you are we will pray for you that God will just give you the strength and give God bless you anyone else want to stand thank you thank you amen amen anyone spending you're saying God Here I am take me and send me and use me anyone else god bless you yes sir anyone else you know what those of you that look around and see who's standing so you can pray for them okay just so that you'll know who they are and pray for they feel God's calling them to his service and there's a cost there's a price and they understand that they're not gonna give excuses but they're going to do it in obedience

Channel: Prestonwood Baptist Church

Views: 9,816

Rating: 4.7876105 out of 5

Keywords: YouTube, Prestonwood, Baptist, Church, Non-Profit, Ministry, Ministries, Jack Graham, Jack, Graham, PowerPoint, PPT, PowerPoint with Jack Graham, Dallas, Texas, Jesus, Christ, Bible, 2019, PBC, USA, America, Media, TV, Show, Offers, Daystar, TBN

Id: bwqrr6zOqv4

Length: 32min 13sec (1933 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 04 2019