July 3 | Disciples Forsake All

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | Matthew 4:20, “At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Lesson 3 | Disciples Forsake All

Imagine if your whole life revolved around being a fisherman.  Consider if everything you did everyday was focused on one thing- catching fish.  You would wake up early each day to get your nets ready, work on the boat, get bait, and head out on the water.  Now imagine if Jesus said to you, “Drop everything you’re doing and come follow me- I’m going to make you a fisher of men!”

What do you think would be your first response?  Maybe you would say, “I’m sorry, I can’t leave now- my family depends on my fishing.”  Or, “I’ll come after I check with my father because fishing is our family business and he needs me.”  Now consider what you do for a living.  Could you imagine leaving your job in the middle of the day to follow Jesus?

The first disciples- Peter, Andrew, James, and John were willing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus.  The verse above says they didn’t even hesitate, but rather, “at once they left their nets and followed Him.”  When Jesus, God in the flesh, walked the earth He deserved totally commitment and abandonment of everything else.

Today in modern times Jesus is no longer walking the earth so we don’t have to literally stop working just to be close to Him.  However, at the same time, Jesus is still asking His disciples to do whatever it takes to follow Him 100%.  For some people they may have to forsake certain friends, others might have to give up distracting hobbies, and some might even have to change jobs.

No matter what it is- if Jesus asks you to leave it to follow Him do it because He is worth it.  Leaving things behind may not be easy, but with Jesus all things are possible, Matthew 19:26! 

Make a decision today to do whatever it takes to be a disciple of Jesus, even if you have to leave things behind!

Reflection | Are you willing to forsake everything to be a disciple of Christ?

Action | (1) Pray and ask God to show anything that may be getting in the way of you following Him. (2) Lastly, leave your past behind and choose to follow Jesus all the way today- don’t hesitate!  

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 22:3-23:30, Acts 21:37-22:16, Psalm 1:1-6, & Proverbs 18:11-12. Click here to read online.