February 27th, 1963 “The Master Calleth” Late Mr. N. Daniel

Matthew 8:19

“And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest."

This man wanted to follow Jesus. Perhaps he really meant it, but Jesus was warning him that following Him meant, no place of rest and no place of comfort. Jesus really meant it. Those that love God and follow His Word in the Spirit, will one day desire to follow Jesus. But sometimes that desire may be premature. Then it is dangerous. God warns them before hand.

Another man said, "Lord, I will follow thee but first I will bury my father." Some of us make much of little ceremonies that are observed in society. It is good to respect a father; it is good to give him an honourable burial. But it should not come in the way of following Jesus. Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead." Your father did not create you, but God did. God has a great purpose for you. If you follow Him follow without taking into consideration other circumstances or the wishes of your people. The devil knows how to prevent us from doing God's perfect will. There was a great need at that time for workers. Jesus was asking the disciples to pray that God may send more workers into the field. It was a time when people should weep for lack of real spirit-led workers. Even today how much work there is. Very small considerations take us away from God's perfect will. You may say, "My nephew is getting married." Our relatives may blame us, but which is more important? At Bapatla, since the train was late, we had to start the meeting at 11 p.m. They were over-joyed at seeing us and they woke up from their sleep. The Word of God woke them up further. People are hungry. Wherever we go, we feel like staying on there and preaching the Word for a longer period. We want more men now. When Jesus was needing more men, this man said, "I will bury my father." Or you may say, "Lord, I will go and give him the message of the gospel before he dies." That were a good purpose.

One of our relatives was dying. He was a big officer. We prayed, "Lord extend his life. We want to give him God's message." God granted it. God is very considerate. Why are you worried about death? Some of our relatives are really dead and they want to stop us from following God. They will say all sorts of things. There was an old relative of ours in this city. People said, "They are always preaching and do not care for her." She was only distantly related. Then I said, "I have my children. I have to see whether they have food or not, and to go for the work of God. Should I remain behind to look after the old lady?"

Well, that man followed Jesus. They got out into the boat. There was a storm. They were going to be drowned. That is what can happen if you follow Jesus. Many difficulties come. Should we go to the bottom of the sea? But Jesus stopped the storm. It became a precious experience - when we follow Jesus we get a consciousness that the living God, the God who created us is with us. Storms and floods will come but He is there. Those who follow Jesus should not regard these things.

We continued in this city at the most difficult times. The Japanese might have destroyed this city. But God asked us to stay here and we stayed here. God promised the bombs would not fall on our house. And so it happened.

Jesus says, 'Follow me. Look at the world. People are perishing. I am going to give my life for them.' Have you no sorrow? Even as a boy I felt very sad that the gospel was not proclaimed properly. Well! Our people were preaching the gospel but not in the way the disciples had done. How many are perishing! Have we fully grown in our spiritual life? When our spiritual life is mature God's call will come to us. One man who was converted 15 years ago said, "If God calls 1 will come." If you are prepared, God's call will come. If God's call has not come, it means you are not prepared. He then told his story. He said, "I have gone into debt and my lace trade collapsed. Now I am building a house for myself." Then 1 said, ''You have missed God's will." How many of your cousins are perishing! They are going to Christless graves. Do not ask this and that question, but grow in grace and take enough nourishment from the Word and Christian Fellowship. Avoid those things which you should avoid. Then your ears will hear the call of God, "I need thee." God is in need of many people. In Bhimavaram the leader of our branch there was once a high way robber. He is preaching the gospel without fear of man. "Follow me." Christ says, "Let the dead bury the dead, 1 have great work for you." If you follow me, you must face many storms, dangers and trials. All these will strengthen your spiritual nerves!