Post by Cindy on Sept 1, 2015 12:17:01 GMT -5
Matthew 7:24–27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Do you see the key to being prepared? It's by being wise and building our lives on a solid foundation of God's Truth. In other words, it's by being His disciples. The disciple that is obedient and daily lives his life according to God's Word will be prepared when the storms come and will survive them, the ones who aren't real disciples, who aren't walking daily in Him, will be surprised by the storms of life and be defeated by them.
Why do I say that the key is being a disciple? If you read the first sentence of that passage again you'll see that is the definition of a true disciple. A disciple of Jesus is someone who doesn't just "read their bible", but who puts what they read/study into practice.
Let's see what Jesus says about being His disciple since that's what we're concerned with.
John 8:31–32, To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
In this passage Jesus say those who "hold" to His teachings are really His disciples, as opposed to those who simply hear them and believe them. The word "hold" means to "abide" or "remain" or a more modern way of saying it would be to say "continue " in the teachings. Also, the word translated "teachings" is also translated "Word", meaning the scriptures of course..
Luke 14:26–27, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Matthew 16:24, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
In the above passages Jesus tells us that anyone that wants to be His disciple must always put Him first above everyone and everything else in their lives. He doesn't say that we have to do this on Sundays, but every moment of every day. Jesus and His Will must come before everything and everyone else, including ourselves. That's the part most people forget about. Our own desires, wills, wants, needs, etc must be in second place to those of Jesus. If we don't do that, then we're not His disciples.
Matthew 10:24–25, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.
This is again showing that we must submit to Him.
John 13:35, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus also tells us that one of the fruits of discipleship that others will see is our love for each other, for all others who are saved.
John 15:8, This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus tells us that disciples will bear fruit, the more the better and it's that fruit that proves we're disciples. Therefore anyone who claims to be a disciple who's life doesn't show it, isn't telling the truth.
Mark 9:30–31, They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples.
John 16:13–14, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
I included the above because it shows that Jesus teaches His disciples and we know that He tells us that once He ascended that the Holy Spirit would be the one teaching all those who follow Him. So another mark of a disciple would be their relationship with the Lord and the fact that they're constantly being taught by Him.
Mark 16:20, Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
2 Corinthians 5:19–20, ...And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
These passages show that disciples share what they know with others, both with believers & unbelievers and that the Lord actually works with us when we do this.
John 13:13–16, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Finally Jesus tells us that His disciples are to serve others, not Lord it over others.
Many years ago when I looked around at all the people who called themselves "Christians", I knew that something was wrong with them but I didn't know what it was. But their lives sure didn't look anything at all like the lives of the disciples or early Christians. (I was an ancient history buff so I'd studied that too) The vast majority of Christians today simply didn't have the supernatural "power" that the early Christians did. I knew the Bible said that God didn't change, so I figured the fault then had to be with the people today. Something was wrong with us, but what???
I finally realized that most people today who say they are Christians, don't put Christ first. They don't study His Word and they don't live it. They don't hunger and thirst for His Word, in fact if they spend 15 minutes a day reading it they're doing better then most, and that's a very sad commentary. They pray when they want something from Him and then get mad and throw a tantrum if they don't get it, even though they're being disobedient to Him. It's like they think God "owes" them or something. They don't really love Him, because they don't really know Him, they just know about Him. Some of them are actors, pretending to live a Christian life but when the storms come they fall so the storms show them for what they really are.
So that's the difference between Christians today and the disciples and the early Christians. The early Christians were imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit because they weren't "just believers". They were disciples. Maybe the church has preached too much about "believing" and not enough about "following". I don't know but perhaps that is what many of the storms of life are about right now during these end times; to separate the wheat from the chaff and to let those who really are saved know that it's time to show it. Jesus constantly stresses that we have to obey, we have to do what He says, not "just believe".
Luke 11:28, He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
In fact they must have had problems with some people "just believing" even back then because James specifically says that when people think that's all they have to do, they're deceiving themselves.
James 1:22–25, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
Please don't think that I'm saying we need works to be saved, that's not at all what I'm saying. Works are what naturally occur because someone is saved, they don't precede salvation. So we believe to be saved, but those who truly believe are going to obey and that fact will be evident in their lives by their works and their fruit. See what I mean?
I guess the difference is in thinking that salvation is like those things you check saying you "agree" (believe) with the license agreement when you install a new program on your computer. You check the box saying you agree and the program is installed and you're done. You don't have to do anything else, think about the agreement ever again, or anything. But salvation isn't like that. Yes, belief is the requirement, but when you really believe, you're going to do more then just put a check mark in the box. See what scripture says?
Romans 10:8–11, Are you a disciple? Are you prepared for the storms of life? But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Do you see the key to being prepared? It's by being wise and building our lives on a solid foundation of God's Truth. In other words, it's by being His disciples. The disciple that is obedient and daily lives his life according to God's Word will be prepared when the storms come and will survive them, the ones who aren't real disciples, who aren't walking daily in Him, will be surprised by the storms of life and be defeated by them.
Why do I say that the key is being a disciple? If you read the first sentence of that passage again you'll see that is the definition of a true disciple. A disciple of Jesus is someone who doesn't just "read their bible", but who puts what they read/study into practice.
Let's see what Jesus says about being His disciple since that's what we're concerned with.
John 8:31–32, To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
In this passage Jesus say those who "hold" to His teachings are really His disciples, as opposed to those who simply hear them and believe them. The word "hold" means to "abide" or "remain" or a more modern way of saying it would be to say "continue " in the teachings. Also, the word translated "teachings" is also translated "Word", meaning the scriptures of course..
Luke 14:26–27, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Matthew 16:24, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
In the above passages Jesus tells us that anyone that wants to be His disciple must always put Him first above everyone and everything else in their lives. He doesn't say that we have to do this on Sundays, but every moment of every day. Jesus and His Will must come before everything and everyone else, including ourselves. That's the part most people forget about. Our own desires, wills, wants, needs, etc must be in second place to those of Jesus. If we don't do that, then we're not His disciples.
Matthew 10:24–25, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.
This is again showing that we must submit to Him.
John 13:35, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus also tells us that one of the fruits of discipleship that others will see is our love for each other, for all others who are saved.
John 15:8, This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus tells us that disciples will bear fruit, the more the better and it's that fruit that proves we're disciples. Therefore anyone who claims to be a disciple who's life doesn't show it, isn't telling the truth.
Mark 9:30–31, They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples.
John 16:13–14, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
I included the above because it shows that Jesus teaches His disciples and we know that He tells us that once He ascended that the Holy Spirit would be the one teaching all those who follow Him. So another mark of a disciple would be their relationship with the Lord and the fact that they're constantly being taught by Him.
Mark 16:20, Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
2 Corinthians 5:19–20, ...And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
These passages show that disciples share what they know with others, both with believers & unbelievers and that the Lord actually works with us when we do this.
John 13:13–16, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Finally Jesus tells us that His disciples are to serve others, not Lord it over others.
Many years ago when I looked around at all the people who called themselves "Christians", I knew that something was wrong with them but I didn't know what it was. But their lives sure didn't look anything at all like the lives of the disciples or early Christians. (I was an ancient history buff so I'd studied that too) The vast majority of Christians today simply didn't have the supernatural "power" that the early Christians did. I knew the Bible said that God didn't change, so I figured the fault then had to be with the people today. Something was wrong with us, but what???
I finally realized that most people today who say they are Christians, don't put Christ first. They don't study His Word and they don't live it. They don't hunger and thirst for His Word, in fact if they spend 15 minutes a day reading it they're doing better then most, and that's a very sad commentary. They pray when they want something from Him and then get mad and throw a tantrum if they don't get it, even though they're being disobedient to Him. It's like they think God "owes" them or something. They don't really love Him, because they don't really know Him, they just know about Him. Some of them are actors, pretending to live a Christian life but when the storms come they fall so the storms show them for what they really are.
So that's the difference between Christians today and the disciples and the early Christians. The early Christians were imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit because they weren't "just believers". They were disciples. Maybe the church has preached too much about "believing" and not enough about "following". I don't know but perhaps that is what many of the storms of life are about right now during these end times; to separate the wheat from the chaff and to let those who really are saved know that it's time to show it. Jesus constantly stresses that we have to obey, we have to do what He says, not "just believe".
Luke 11:28, He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
In fact they must have had problems with some people "just believing" even back then because James specifically says that when people think that's all they have to do, they're deceiving themselves.
James 1:22–25, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
Please don't think that I'm saying we need works to be saved, that's not at all what I'm saying. Works are what naturally occur because someone is saved, they don't precede salvation. So we believe to be saved, but those who truly believe are going to obey and that fact will be evident in their lives by their works and their fruit. See what I mean?
I guess the difference is in thinking that salvation is like those things you check saying you "agree" (believe) with the license agreement when you install a new program on your computer. You check the box saying you agree and the program is installed and you're done. You don't have to do anything else, think about the agreement ever again, or anything. But salvation isn't like that. Yes, belief is the requirement, but when you really believe, you're going to do more then just put a check mark in the box. See what scripture says?
Romans 10:8–11, Are you a disciple? Are you prepared for the storms of life? But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
!!
