Travel Agent or Tour Guide

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

John 1:43 KJV 1900

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

Tonight I want to talk to you about Tour Guides and Travel Agents

1 cor 11.1

1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV 1900

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

When Paul makes this statement he is acting as a tour guide not a travel agent.

So what is the difference between a tour guide and a travel agent?

One will tell you where to go and the other will lead you where you are to go.

One will give advice on places they may or may not seen, and the other will advise according to personal experience.

When you are in the middle of the rapids one will be back in the office selling more vacations, but one will be in the boat with you.

The travel agent will tell you to go before they ask you to follow.

Jesus, the greatest tour guide of all says follow me and then he says go.

Matthew 28:19 KJV 1900

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matthew 28:19 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

As a tour guide you guide people safely down the river then once they are experienced enough to do it on their own you send them on their way.

This is exactly what Jesus did with his followers.

All of us here tonight were called by God, or we wouldn’t be here.

None of us were qualified to be a child of God, but God qualified us in the mist of our disqualifications.

I was unfit to be part of the Kingdom of God, but in my unfit state, Jesus called me to His church.

He didn’t throw me into this thing and say go preach, or I would’ve bolted and ran immediately.

He guided me, He led me, He took me on this journey, and I believe more is still to come.

My Favorite Illustrations God Works through Us

God Works Through Us

To question one’s fitness for God’s work on the basis of his/her own ability is to ignore the power of God. Whom the Lord calls, He prepares and empowers. We are not to rely on our own sufficiency. In that respect no one would ever answer the Lord’s call. The issue is not what I can do for God; it is what God can do through me.

We have all been called to do some kind of work for God.

The first thing most people think about when they talk about being called, is a pulpit ministry, but there is much more to ministry than delivering a sermon to people a few days a year.

We are all walking talking sermons 24/7, 365 days a year.

You may think you can’t witness for God, but I say you are always a witness for something, why not may a couple of adjustments and do intentionally for God?

When you tell someone what kind of bait to use and how you caught 101 fish using it…you were a witness.

When you told someone about the new dodge truck 4X4 that pulled you out of a muddy ditch…you were a witness.

Even when you tell someone to slow down on certain parts of highway or they will get a speeding ticket like you did…you are being a witness.

When you tell someone about a favorite restaurant…you are being a witness.

When you tell someone about your favorite brand of clothing, purses, or shoes…you are being a witness.

When you relive a story of how you killed the big buck this past hunting season…you are being a witness.

When you talk about you favorite books, favorite songs, favorite tv shows and movies…you are being a witness.

In all these things you can either be a travel agent or a tour guide.

Let me explain.

You can tell me about how you killed the big buck and still be the travel agent, but if you take me hunting and teach me how to kill a big buck, you’ve become a tour guide.

You can share the favorite restaurant story and be a travel agent, but if you take me the restaurant so I can have the experience for myself, you’ve become the tour guide.

I think you get the picture.

If you tell me about how to catch fish it’s different than if you show me how to catch fish.

So why am talking about this tonight?

While studying a book a few days ago, the author made a point about how Jesus asked his disciples to follow him, which meant he was going somewhere and would lead them to that place.

As the author begin to compare Jesus to the trusty tour guide I begin to realize how much of a travel agent I’ve personally become over the last few months.

I felt a spirit of conviction come over me as I thought about what my former pastor used to teach us.

If my family followed after my footsteps, would it lead them to heaven?

I would have to say a resounding NO!

I have not always lived a life in front of my children that would take them down the road to Glory, but I did begin by taking the steps into the right direction.

I changed course and you could too.

No, I was not qualified, but the mighty qualifier Himself qualified me after the call.

I was definitely unworthy of such mercy, but He gave it to me anyway.

I’m aware that I’ve been hands off too much lately and apologize to this church for not being more of a tour guide.

I would love nothing more, than to say, follow me and I will lead you to glory.

It will be by my actions that others will follow.

So I must consider, am I spending enough time in prayer, studying the Word of God, fasting, connecting with people, teaching and instructing?

Matthew 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

I could do much more and I hope tonight that some of you get the same revelation about your life.

You can do so much more as a tour guide than you know.

mat 5.17

We don’t invite people to go to church and then live like the devil in front of them.

We let our actions show the we have something different than what the world has to offer.

I don’t get someone to a level 4 rapid and throw them in if they’ve never been there before.

We start at the level 1 rapid and work our way up learning as we go and building trust.

I’m only preaching to you tonight what God has put on my heart.

I want to be a tour guide in the Kingdom of God, not just a travel agent.

Matthew 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We have to let our lights shine before others.

It’s becoming a deadly fight of attrition to prevent people from giving into a spirit of indifference, but we must fight it.

We must fight the desire to be so easily distracted in a world full of distractions.

Instead of just giving directions we need to lead people in the right direction.

I learned to pray because I had a mother and father that learned to pray in front of me.

I had a pastor when I was a teenager that was not too busy or prideful to pray in front of others.

He led the way into each prayer meeting no matter how many people were there you could hear him praying as if he was the only person in the whole world speaking to God.

It was inspiring to hear him pray and I never will forget that.

Because he chose to be a tour guide some lost and wretched teenager was introduced to God in way that would carry him to where I am today.

Teachers, parents, ministry team, church members, we need to be that example that inspires others.

We need to not just go to the prayer rooms, but take someone with us when we go.

How can we guide a tour to the prayer rooms if we haven’t got a personal experience ourselves?

How can we guide others through a trial when we refuse to fight our way through our own battles?

Look at what Paul says again in Philippians.

Philippians 3:17 KJV 1900

17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

As a drill instructor I had to learn to lead by example.

Every exercise I instructed my cadets to do, I did as well.

They mirrored my movements and followed the cadence I set before them.

If I wanted them to run a mile I would run with them.

If I wanted them to hike 10 miles with a ruck sack, I walked 10 miles with a ruck sack as well.

If I wanted them to be motivated then I would motivate.

If I wanted them to go to sleep then I would go…just kidding I never slept while on duty, but you get the point.

I carried this idea of motivating my cadets into the disciplinary squad when I became the enforcer for the Minden program.

When others couldn’t get their cadets to behave and train they would be sent to me for behavioral correction.

I would get them to train for me quickly because they say that I was in the sand pit with them.

I was in full sweats with the thermostat set to 99 degrees with them.

When I punished them or CAPED them, which is an acronym for corrective action through physical education, then I would be on the ground with them doing the push-ups, sit-ups, and flutter kicks.

I was able to get through to some of these kids because I was willing to go through some of their pain with them.

It makes a big difference to other people when you are able to empathize with them and walk with them through a trial.

We have examples all through the Bible where men and women have served the people around them as a tour guide.

Moses led the people out of Egypt.

Abraham led his people to the promises of God.

Gideon led his people to victory.

Paul led and leads us by his personal experiences and sacrifices.

We have a testimony left behind to follow from men and women who have been the ultimate tour guide, and all we need to do is follow their examples.

Titus 2:7–8 KJV 1900

7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Here’s one of the greatest examples of being a leader and a tour guide in the Bible.

John 13:13–15 KJV 1900

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

philippians 3.17

We are all on a journey.

I want to take as many people to heaven with me as possible.

To do so, I must follow the leading of the Spirit and trust and obey God.

I might not have been the perfect chosen vessel for God to use, but He has saw fit to change me and mold me into something usable.

It’s not by any great talent that God selected and called me.

I was the perfect sinner and in my sin he called me out.

He will do the same for you and you in turn can be a tour guide for those around you.

Together we will guide people to learn to Evangelize, Disciple, and Serve.

We must not forget that this church is all about these three concepts.

Evangelize, Disciple, and Serve.

As we guide others through these concepts, not only do they have a chance to grow, but we also learn and continue to mature in His wonderful Holy Spirit.

Who will answer the call tonight?

Who besides me sees where you can be more of a guide and less of a travel agent?

Who in here tonight wants to make a difference in someone else’s life.

You don’t have to be a great speaker, look at Moses and his speech impediment.

You don’t have to by from a family of wealth and power, look at Gideon.

In the state you are in now, God can call you out to a closer walk with Him.

Heed His call tonight.

Hear as Jesus knocks on your heart’s door and answer the call.

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