DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY
Where He leads us we will follow
Take up your cross and follow him
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.
Mat 16:26 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Mat 16:27 For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.
Following Christ should be all or nothing. We are all called to be His disciples
"Christ must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all."
Jesus himself said: "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Mat 6:24
Jesus said "Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. Luk 11:23 There is no halfway place. We cant hold Christ in one hand and the world in the other. It must be one or the other -- all or nothing.
Our faith either means everything to us or it means nothing.Jesus in calling His first disciples said some things which we might find hard to take.
Mat 10:37 If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Mat 10:38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Ask yourself who is your first love?
Do you see what Jesus said to the disciples?
Mat 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Mat 4:19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt 4:20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Are you a fisher of men, do you take on board the great commission?
To the rich young ruler He gave this command, "Come, take up the cross, and follow me"
Mark 10: 21.
We might well connect this to the call of the disciples when He said, "Follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men." Let us put a period after the "you" and let the two passages read, "Come, take, follow, and I will make you."
Christ-made men are Christ-surrendered men and Christ-transformed men.
Consider the three verbs-words of action:
1. Come -- We have to make a change of place
Come always means leave. Leave the old life, leave the old places, leave the old habits,
leave the old companions, leave the old ideals, leave the old pleasures, leave the old sins. Before one can come one must leave. That is step number one.
2. Take -- We have to take up something new
Instead of pleasure and comfort take up the cross. There are duties and responsibilities in
the world as well as rights and pleasures. There is a task to be done that requires sacrifice and toil, but with it come the greatest of satisfaction and the thrill of achievement.
3. Follow -- A Change of Allegiance
Before the call my loyalties are to self and Satan. When Christ taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and follow Him, my loyalties are shifted and my allegiance is given to a new Leader and a new life. One is never the same after that tap on the shoulder. It is life's supreme moment. If one rejects, life becomes miserable. If one accepts, life becomes happy. If one spurns the call of Christ, he becomes disloyal to the truth and murders his own best self. If he responds to the call a new day dawns, a new life comes, a new inspiration thrills.
4. The fourth verb is make. "I will make you." Jesus will change you so that your old
environment will not be attractive any more.
He'll change you so that the habits of old will not control you any more.
He'll change you so that your old companions will not be in a dominating factor in your life any more.
He'll change you so that your old ideals will no longer be able to govern you any more.
He'll change you so that your old loyalties will not bind you any more.
Luk 14:27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Denying ourselves means being willing to renounce any so-called right to plan or choose, and to recognize His lordship in every area of life. To take up the cross means to deliberately choose the kind of life He lived. This involves:
Coping with opposition of loved ones.
Coping with reproach from the world. Forsaking all else for Him if need be, and the comforts of this life.
Complete dependence on God.
Obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Proclaming an unpopular message.
Being lonely.
Suffering for the sake of righteousness.
Enduring slander and shame.
Pouring out ones life for others.
Death to self and to the world, denial of self.
It also involves laying hold of a brand new life, real life in Jesus! It means finding out the real reason for our existence. And it means eternal reward. We so often run away from a life of cross-bearing. Our minds are reluctant to believe that this could be Gods will for us. Yet the words of Christ If anyone desires to come after Me mean that this is the cost of discipleship for each of us, but consider the blessings to follow, and the joy that comes from living close to the Lord.
When we meet the Lord on that day to we want Him to say " Well done my good and faithful servant.
So it is all or nothing. What a change is wrought in our lives when we surrender our all to the Lord.
The hymn writer expressed the truth of this when she wrote:
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my being's ransomed powers,
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours!
It was not until after Pentecost that the disciples started to take the gospel out to the people.
ASK YOURSELF HAVE YOU GIVEN JESUS YOUR ALL? THERE ARE NO HALF WAY MEASURES.
ALL OR NOTHING
ALL OR NOTHING
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Following Christ should be all or nothing. We are all called to be His disciples
As someone aptly put it, "Christ must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all."
Jesus himself said: "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Mat
Our faith either means everything to us or it means nothing. It
should erase the past, cleanse the present, give perspective for the future.
Jesus in calling His first disciples said some things which we might find hard to take.
Mat 10:37 If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Mat 10:38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Ask yourself who is your first love?
Do you see what Jesus said to the disciples?
Mat 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Mat 4:19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt 4:20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Are you a fisher of men, do you take on board the great commission?
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QUOTE
As Russel DeLong says When the rich young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life. He was educated. He had power. He possessed wealth. He held position. He was moral. He kept most all of the commandments. The fact is, he was better than most of the present-day church members. But that wasnt enough. Jesus said, "One thing thou lackest." In other words, the young man was unwilling to surrender something. The terms of Jesus were "All or nothing." Our surrender to Him should be complete and unconditional.
To the rich young ruler He gave this command, "Come, take up the cross, and follow me"
Mark 10: 21.
We might well connect this to the call of the disciples when He said, "Follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men." Let us put a period after the "you" and let the two passages read, "Come, take, follow, and I will make you."
Christ-made men are Christ-surrendered men and Christ-transformed men.
Consider the three verbs-words of action:
1. Come -- A Change of Place
Come always means leave. Leave the old life, leave the old places, leave the old habits,
leave the old companions, leave the old ideals, leave the old pleasures, leave the old sins. Before one can come one must leave. That is step number one.
2. Take -- A Change of Activity
Instead of pleasure and comfort take up thy cross. There are duties and responsibilities in
the world as well as rights and pleasures. There is a task to be done that requires sacrifice and toil, but with it come the greatest of satisfaction and the thrill of achievement.
3. Follow -- A Change of Allegiance
Before the call my loyalties are to self and Satan. When Christ taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and follow Him, my loyalties are shifted and my allegiance is given to a new Leader and a new life. One is never the same after that tap on the shoulder. It is life's supreme moment. If one rejects, life becomes miserable. If one accepts, life becomes happy. If one spurns the call of Christ, he becomes disloyal to the truth and murders his own best self. If he responds to the call a new day dawns, a new life comes, a new inspiration thrills.
4. The fourth verb is make. "I will make you." Jesus will change you so that your old
environment will not be attractive any more.
He'll change you so that your old habits will not control you any more.
He'll change you so that your old companions will not dominate you any more.
He'll change you so that your old ideals will not govern you any more.
He'll change you so that your old loyalties will not bind you any more.
Luk
Denying ourselves means being willing to renounce any so-called right to plan or choose, and to recognize His lordship in every area of life. To take up the cross means to deliberately choose the kind of life He lived. This involves:
Coping with opposition of loved ones.
Coping with reproach from the world. Forsaking all else for Him if need be, and the comforts of this life.
Complete dependence on God.
Obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Proclaming an unpopular message.
Being lonely.
Suffering for the sake of righteousness.
Enduring slander and shame.
Pouring out ones life for others.
Death to self and to the world, denial of self.
It also involves laying hold of life , real life in Jesus! It means finding out the real reason for our existence. And it means eternal reward. We so often run away from a life of cross-bearing. Our minds are reluctant to believe that this could be Gods will for us. Yet the words of Christ If anyone desires to come after Me mean that this is the cost of discipleship for each of us, but consider the blessings to follow, and the joy that comes from living close to the Lord.
When we meet the Lord on that day to we want Him to say " Well done my good and faithful servant.
So it is all or nothing. What a change is wrought in our lives when we surrender our all to the Lord.
The hymn writer expressed the truth of this when she wrote:
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my being's ransomed powers,
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours!
It was not until after Pentecost that the disciples started to take the gospel out to the people.
Luk 24:48 And you are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of
ASK YOURSELF HAVE YOU GIVEN JESUS YOUR ALL? THERE ARE NO HALF WAY MEASURES.
Discipleship under the influence and power of God
When you and I were chosen to be disciples of our risen glorified Lord it was because we heard the Spirit of God speaking to our own spirit deep within us
Nobody can approach God without knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and confessing him to be the Lord over them publicly
To be born again simply means to recognize that when we hear the preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ that we are all sinners going to a lost eternity, and he Jesus Christ offers a way back to be with his Father God by accepting Him as Lord. The Spirit of God reignites the soul and spirit within us. The spirit within us has come to life, when before that time it was dead, now by the activity and work of the Holy Spirit He brings it back to life.
I have to recognize that without relying on God the Holy Spirit to help and strengthen me to love Jesus Christ my Lord and please God the Father I am not able to do it. Nobody can! Therefore; you and I who have accepted Jesus Christ to be Lord over our earthly lives down here must always obey what God the Spirit has to say concerning how we live. The choice is always with us until the Lord of Glory calls you and I home.
There is no merit for me to be born again as I have described the whole thing is the work of God within that work I see His love, mercy and compassion towards the whole of the human race.
When I became a born again Christian it was because God the Father chose me in and through His Son Jesus Christ who with His loving consent in His obedience to his Fathers will and purpose came to earth to die on my behalf. He who is God consented to become a man like me without sin because like his Father loves me. He still was God but without his power and majesty relying on God His Father and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable him to accomplish the mission entrusted to Him. That mission was concluded when he died a barbarous and cruel death on the cross at
You and I who know Christ have been given a great salvation but with that comes an even greater responsibility to live as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. I write of my own experiences to encourage you to live in your own holy faith, like mine precious in the sight of God
When you and I received the free gift of salvation none of us were made perfect we are still left to battle against our old carnality whatever shape and form that will take. The enemy the devil will attack us at our weak points. I do not say that to frighten you because Jesus Christ has given each of us the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable us to overcome our enemy. Temptation comes to us all and we have to turn to the Lord and ask his Spirit to help us to overcome whatever temptation that may turn out to be.
To be able to talk to people about Jesus Christ our Lord cannot be done unless we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. The starting point of being a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. Taking on the responsibility of our salvation being brave and willing to do so.
A number of my brothers and sisters in the Lord have said to me I cannot do what you do and I have replied Neither can I because it is only the Spirit of the living God who enables me to do this.
All of us have within us the Godhead. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You and I have the Spirit of the living God dwelling inside of us. God the Holy Spirit lives in you and me. He lives in my spirit and in yours but He will not force Himself upon us. We have to permit Him to use us. Even although we have been saved we still have a choice to obey or refuse. God will find somebody else. The conclusion we already have what we need to be dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither the church pastor nor the leadership can take on the responsibility of how we live before Jesus Christ our Lord that is our responsibility not theirs.
The pastor delivers to all of us the message he receives from God to give to us and prays that the Spirit will help us to take it on board and put it into use how we live. Again the choice is always before us to either accept or reject. I know this really sounds negative but it really comes down to what you want and what you are happy with because we all like to be comfortable. The challenge to all of us is this is that what Christ expects of us? The risks are great but the rewards are greater.
Nothing beats the love of God in our experiences of Him and we only get close to Him when we are committed to his cause. To be truly a disciple of our risen Lord is not easy but his grace is sufficient enough to take us through all obstacles. Remember what Jesus said to his early disciples the world has hated me so it will hate you
However he knew that he had made a provision for these early disciples that after his death and resurrection they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable them to successfully take the
You can go to all kinds of Christian training but if you are not obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit it is totally meaningless. It would have been better if you had stayed at home
Do you really want to be a dedicated and committed disciple of our Saviour and Lord then you have to forget about your own personal earthly life and put God first. He will know you mean business. You and I are carriers of the good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel or good news of Jesus Christ is reflected in how you allow the Holy Spirit to use you to that end glorifying God our Saviour Jesus Christ here on earth being prepared to give up ones earthly life at an early age to go home to glory. If that is the case? Not always but the challenge is always there before us.
While you and I live down here upon the earth we are to show the fruits of the Spirit in how we live and only God the Holy Spirit can enable us to do that if we allow Him. Jesus Christ loved us and continues to do so and we are to continue to show that very same love that is in us to our brethren and the lost so that they can see the reality of heaven in us. (Gal.5:23, 24) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (24) gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law.
Note that the Holy Spirit enables all of us to do that. It is not beyond us.
I would like to share something with you for our mutual edification and encouragement that brings the reality of heaven closer to us. In June of this year I was told I had cancer of the left kidney but it was contained as far as they could see from the x-ray and they would need to cut the kidney out through key hole surgery. But they do not know properly until they open up the body. I knew that. I prayed that God would guide the surgeons hands while they operated on me in August. Strangely I never prayed for Irene my wife and the family, not because I did not love them it did not enter my head. It was while I was being operated on I had a meeting with God our heavenly Father. He said to me, Are you going to ask me for something regarding your family or are you going to leave it with me to decide whether I call you home or leave you on the earth for now? In that loving kindly manner of His. I knew instantly I had to leave it with Him because He knows best and loves me.
The surgery was a success and I was able to witness and testify to the patients particularly those who did not give very little for my chances of surviving the reality of heaven and that the Lord had said my time had not yet come. In my own private thoughts
Those of you who want to be true disciples of our risen Lord will and would be able to do this if the occasion arose and even bigger hurdles. Love our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to control what you do. Be committed and dedicated disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. The decision is yours..