3. BEING THE GOOD GROUND - Are You Like Matthew, Or The Rich Young Ruler?

The Call of Jesus

Welcome to this third video in the series
called "The Call of Jesus".

In this series I talk about my new book
and want to give you a taste of it,

give you some teaching and so on.

I have the new book here.

It's first I myself got a copy.

Now we start to see response.

We start to get response from people
who have read the book

and how it changed their lives.

One of the responses I want to read here.
One person wrote:

This is for every Christian.

One person wrote this on Amazon:

"Have you ever read your Bible
and longed for more?

Longed to walk as Jesus did
and see what Jesus saw?

What Torben writes in this book
is the answer to what is missing

in what has become the "normal"
Christian life.

I have ached in my soul for more,
for as long as I can remember.

I will never be the same after
reading this book!

This is the very simple gospel written
in a way that everyone can understand.

This is a MUST read for EVERY Christian!"

These are beautiful words one person
wrote on Amazon, and I want to say:

Have you longed for more?

Have you longed to live the life
we read about in the Book of Acts?

Then I really believe that this book and this
video series could be something for you.

I really encourage you to see
the whole series

that will come out every second or third day
and get the book if you can do that.

Until now we have looked at

how important it is to don't build
on our church culture.

We need to build on Christ
and His word.

It's Christ first, and then mission,
according to Him,

and then we end up with church.

Not church first, and then we put
mission inside that church box,

so we forget Christ.

These are some of the things
I talked about until now.

We also looked a little that the Bible says
that we should obey Jesus,

as the first disciples did.

Truth is that our focus has changed.

Our way of doing church has changed.

But Jesus is forever the same.

It's really time that you and me take the time
to stop doing what we are doing,

and then look at Jesus and
what He has called to do.

Today we are going to look the chapter
called "Being The Good Ground".

I want to start with reading something
from my book.

"Jesus' call to follow Him is for everyone,

but the sad truth is, not many are willing
to take up the cross

and pray the price to follow Him.

To follow Jesus is a calling where you need
to be willing to pay a high price.

This is something we do not often like
to even talk about,

let alone do,

but those who are willing to pay the price..."

Yes, this is so true.

We don't like to talk about it.

We don't like to think about it,
we don't like to talk about it.

We don't like to talk about that we need to
pay a price to follow Jesus.

It costs everything to follow Jesus.

And it's something we need to talk about.

You need to be aware of it
and be willing to pay the price.

Otherwise you will not be able
to do what Jesus has called you to do.

When we talk about Jesus' call,
I want to say, again,

that this is for everyone.

His call is for all of us.

If you are old, if you are young,
if you are a man, if you are a woman.

Jesus has called you.

But, as we looked at before,
the truth is, everyone is called, but...

It's only a few who are, actually,
willing to take up the cross

and pay the price to follow Him.

If we take and look at the Bible,
there are two men in the Bible,

you can see very clear,
that Jesus called.

There were many people, but there
were two men I want to talk about.

One person Jesus called was Matthew.

He was a tax collector.
You can read about that in Matthew 9.

Jesus walked and He saw him and
He called him, and right away Matthew

left everything behind
and followed Jesus.

And Jesus used him mighty.

Jesus really used Matthew
in an amazing way.

He was even the one who wrote
one of the gospels.

Matthew was used by God.

Why? Jesus called him and he was willing
and he said "yes" to Jesus' call.

But, in Matthew 19 you read about
another man,

the rich young ruler.

Jesus also called him

with the same call
as He called Matthew.

Come and follow me.

But the rich young ruler
was not willing to pay the price

and he ended up going away
very sad.

And we don't hear more about him.

So, here we have two people in the Bible,

we have Matthew
and we have the rich young ruler.

Both of them were called.

But only one of them was willing to leave
everything behind and follow Jesus.

And that person experienced an amazing
life with Jesus.

That person experienced so many things.
God used him mighty...

and the other person left sad.

And we don't hear more about him.

Who of those two are you?

Who are you?

Because the call Jesus has given
was the same,

but the response was different.

This is what you have to understand,
if we look at the call of Jesus,

I'm going to go through this video series
and in my book,

that that call to follow Jesus
is the same for all of us.

But the response people give
is different from person to person.

And you need to choose
before we move on

and look at what Jesus is saying.

You need to choose who you are.

If you are like Matthew
or if you are like rich, young ruler.

Another place where it also becomes
clear is in Mark 4.

In Mark 4 we read the parable
about the sower.

And in this parable we see that there was
a farmer who went out to sow his seed.

The seed is the Word of God.

Or, let's say like this,
the seed is the call of Jesus,

the call Jesus has given.

But the call falls if four different grounds

and gives four different results.

The first ground we read about is the ground
where the seed fell on the side of the road.

And birds came right away and devoured it.

They are those people who hear the word,
but it does not go down in their hearts,

so Satan comes right away and steals
what was sowed in the heart.

I don't know if this is you.

Maybe you will read my book,
maybe you'll see this video series,

and maybe you will look at
what Jesus is saying to you,

but it will just goes in one ear
and out the other.

One day you will stand in front of Him
and you have not been faithful.

You have not received Him.

That is the truth.

The second ground we read about
in Mark 4

is when seed fell on the stony ground

and there is not a lot of moist earth,
so it comes up quickly,

but then the sun comes and scorch it,
so it veins and dies.

There Jesus said that these are those
people who hear the word and receive it,

but then when persecution comes in,
they fall away.

They fall away because the word
did not go deep enough in their hearts.

So, when persecution comes
they fall away,

because they are not truly willing
to pay the price to follow Jesus.

I don't know if that is you.

Many people will listen to the call
of Jesus and His words,

and they say: Jesus, I want to follow You.

I want to obey You, Jesus.
Jesus, I want to obey You.

But you know, as soon as you start
to obey Christ, His words,

you will experience persecution.

You know, you can be in church
your whole life

without experiencing persecution.

But I promise you, in that moment
you start to heal the sick,

cast out demons, and especially
lead people to Christ...

Satan hates it, you will have an enemy,

and you will experience
great, great persecution.

And what happens?

Many people fall away
when that happens.

So, before you look at the call
Jesus has given you

and before you really move on,
you need to stop up and say to yourself:

What ground am I?

Am I ground number two?

Will I just fall away and give up
as soon as it becomes hard?

Or, will I keep going no matter what?

It's your choice.
It's your decision.

The third Jesus is talking about
in Mark 4:7,

where He says that seed fell
among thorns

and thorns grew up together
with the seed and quenched the fruit,

so it did not bear the fruit.

The third Jesus is talking about here
is the thing that is growing up around us,

and that is the worries of this world,
the deceitfulness of riches

and the longing for other things.

Many people hear the Word of God,
hear the call Jesus has given,

but are like the rich young ruler.

They hear the word and say:
Jesus, I want to follow you.

But what happens?

There are so many things around them,
like the deceitfulness of riches,

the worries and longing for other things,

and all of those things come and end up
stealing that call.

They are like the rich young ruler
who said: Jesus, I want to follow You.

Or say: Jesus, what can I do to inherit
the eternal life?

And then He left sad.

But thankfully, there are also those people
who are the forth ground,

the good ground, who bear a lot of fruit.

And those do not only bear a little fruit,
but a lot of fruit.

We are talking about 30, 60 or 100 fold.

I will ask you: Who are you?

Are you Matthew
or are you the rich, young ruler?

Who are you of those two?

What ground are you, of those four?

Are you ground number one,
who just hears the call of Jesus,

but never response to it?

Are you ground number two
who said: Jesus, I want to follow You?

But then persecution sets in
and you fall away right away

because you are not willing
to pay the price?

Or, are you like ground number three:
Jesus, I want to follow You.

I want to follow You.
I want to be good ground,

but you also wants so many other things
in your life?

And you are deceived by the deceitfulness
of riches and all other things around you?

And therefore you don't bear fruit
or worries?

Or are you the good ground
who bears a lot of fruit?

What we need to understand, it's not something
we talk a lot about in the church,

but we need to really understand
that it's your choice.

It's not my choice, my life, my choice.

Your life - your choice.

You need to choose what ground
you want to be.

And right now we are living in a time
where the world is getting crazy.

Everything is shaking.
The virus, economy, our freedom.

But that is, actually, not bad
for the church.

That is, actually, good.
Why?

Because the time like this reveals
what ground we are.

A time like this reveals
what is inside of a person.

If we look at the church today,
and just be honest,

most people in the church today
are ground two and three,

but they don't see they are two and three
before...

persecution really sets in,
and before the economy being shaken,

and fears and worries come,

and then it reveals what ground they are.

It reveals that many of those people
have not really be willing to suffer

and pay the price it costs to follow Jesus.

So, as soon as persecution comes,
they start to compromise,

and for the sake of peace,
or, as soon as persecution comes,

they start to deny Christ.
It ends up, actually, denying Christ.

No, no, no.
We don't need to obey Him like that.

Or, as soon as the economy being shaken,
like they are ground number three,

they say: Yes, Jesus, I want to follow You.
But then it costs everything to follow Him,

and worries and longing for other things,
and it reveals who they are.

That they are not that good ground.

Where are you?
Who are you?

I really believe and hope that...

the book "The Call of Jesus"
and this video series can help you.

I really believe, when we look at Luke 10,

that it will give you revelation
what it is Jesus has called you to.

But, it's only those who take His words,
and are willing, and obey it,

who will bear a lot of fruit.

So, some of you, sad to say,
some of you will hear this teaching,

some of you will hear what Jesus
has said

and it will go in one ear and out the other.

Some of you will fall away.
So of you do other things.

So please stop and decide,
check yourself and decide -

I want to obey Jesus no matter what.