Following God - it's easy, right?

JESUS made it pretty clear how to follow him.

One - love God with all your heart, mind and soul.

Two - love your neighbour.

Sounds easy, right?

But what if God asked you to give up everything in your life - your house, family and job - and follow Him. Maybe it’s not quite so easy now.

On Sunday, Pastor Rob spoke about how following God isn’t the easiest path sometimes. Often, we have to go against our human instincts and have to put ourselves out there.

There's a story in the Bible about Jesus calling on his disciples to go against their human instincts and their own desires:

Matthew 4.18: As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."

20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

It seems pretty obvious to follow Jesus in that situation. But what about the fish left in the nets? What about their families and their businesses? Simon Peter and Andrew would have had to give up their pride and human desires of career, family, money to follow Jesus.

We have to make those same decisions and prioritise following God above all else, even if that means we are in uncomfortable situations.

In Luke 15, Jesus goes to where there are people who need to hear His words. He didn't spend time worrying about His career or how much money was in the bank, or what type of sandals were trendy. Instead, He gave every moment to telling people about God.

Luckily, we have the Holy Spirit to help us go against our instincts of pride and cravings for comfort.

The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to follow God’s ways, even when that isn’t the easiest thing to do.