Sermon
The Great Commission - Kingdom Disciples
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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All right, tonight I'm going to talk to you about the Great
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Commission. Come on.
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The Great Commission Pastor Mike ministered last week on Max Reps
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about growing up spiritually, right?
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And it is a process. Pastor Chase talked about this
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invitation that God has given to us.
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And are we excited about meeting with him or have our ears
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allowed his voice to just be common and familiar?
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Right. Well, I'm going to kind of
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summarize both of these in this Great Commission because
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unfortunately, when I say the Great Commission, what do you
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think of going all the world? That's true, going all world and
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preach the gospel? I think everybody can say that.
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But the question is, is what does that actually mean?
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All right, I'm going to start out with this verse in Acts
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Chapter 11, verse 26, because this is where our conflict
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arises. And it actually started all the
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way back here where there became, there becomes a
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challenge that takes place. And it is an exchange of terms.
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All right, say an exchange of terms.
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You understand terms or words are really powerful and you
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understand you're not a cynic, nor are you a person who is
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critical. But we do need to have critical
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thinking and we need to be able to make sure things are rightly
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divided because words are being changed constantly in every
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generation. And as a result of that, people
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have definitions towards certain words that may have never been
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God's intent for us. That's why we always go back to
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the word capital W, right? Because again, God is the Word,
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so He has the right to define the terms.
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And again, we cannot allow ourselves to let the world
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define us, but the Word should define us, and this is the world
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defining us. And when he had found him, he
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brought him to Antioch and for an entire year he met with the
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church and that's Paul and taught considerable numbers and
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the what are they? What are they called were first
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called in. It was the Antiochs or the world
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that when they saw these disciples, they said, well,
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they're Christians or studiers of Christ.
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Now that's the term that they're using.
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Well, they're studiers of Christ, or they're Christ like.
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Now that by definition alone is not a problem.
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But is that today's definition of Christian?
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That would be a question #2 though Christian was not given
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by Christ himself. So sometimes we, we, we embrace
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a term that Jesus. And again, nothing wrong if you
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say, well, I'm a Christian, no problem with that.
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And when we have these kinds of conversations, sometimes people
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say, well, it's semantics. It's really not semantics.
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If you will take the time to think.
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It's not semantics, it is literally being firmly persuaded
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about terms. And are you allowing them to
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govern your life? Because if you're not, There are
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many people that I've encountered who would call
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themselves a Christian but do not even know the term disciple
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nor what it means to be a disciple.
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In fact, this term Christian came because they were
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disciples, which tells me if you're not a disciple, you're
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not a candidate for the word Christian.
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Which tells us this being converted doesn't make you a
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Christian because the word Christian means Christ like.
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And that is in every way. Now when you're born again,
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you're in Christ, but are you allowing what you're in to be
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seen? And that's what discipleship
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will do. Now let's look at this in Mark
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chapter 16, verse 15 to 18. You know, it's my responsibility
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not only as an apostle but also as a pastor is to rightly divide
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the word of truth into train. That's our responsibility, OK?
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And that responsibility is the always cause us to want to
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emulate or reflect the word of God in our lives.
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And this is not just by casual conversation.
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This is by intense rigor and training.
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As Pastor Mike said last week, it is a process of training.
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This does not happen overnight. It requires a discipline.
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So Mark chapter 16. This is the one that most people
Mark 16 chapter mention
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quote. Mark chapter 16, verse 815
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through 18. And he said to them, go into all
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the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
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And he who believed and have been baptized shall be saved,
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but he who has disbelief shall be condemned.
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These signs will accompany those who have believed in my name.
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They'll cast out demons. They'll speak with new tongues,
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they'll pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison it
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will not hurt them. They'll lay hands on the sick,
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and they will what recover. In this particular passage of
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Scripture, the word preach here is the Greek word which means to
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officiate as a herald, always with the suggestion of
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formality, gravity, and an authority which must be listened
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to and obeyed. So this word in the Greek
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doesn't just mean to say, it's how you say and what are you
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demonstrating when you say? It means to herald, which is
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awesome because that's a Kingdom term because the king would send
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out what they called it and a herald to communicate business
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or things that the king is saying.
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That's where, you know, you hear the saying, hear ye, hear ye.
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In essence, give attention. What I'm saying came from the
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throne and it is to be observed. It is to be obeyed.
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It's to be listened to and obeyed.
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Are you hearing me? OK, Well, we pick up this term
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going to all the world and preach and this.
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So we we take this side of the Great Commission and
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unfortunately for years, it's the only aspect of the Great
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Commission we're wanting to say. And that is let's just go
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preach. Let's go tell people about
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Jesus. Let's tell people about Jesus.
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That's the Great Commission. Go tell people about Jesus.
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Well, the Bible tells us let everything be confirmed by what
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2 or so? Is there another scripture that
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communicates the Great Commission?
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Yes, Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28 uses the word
Matthew 28 chapter mention Matthew 28 chapter mention
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go as well and we'll look to see it here in verse 18.
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Prior to this, let's look what Jesus said.
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Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been
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given to me in heaven and on earth.
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Now let me stop right here. This is why they can lay hands
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on the sick, cast out devils. They can do the why 'cause all
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authority. So you see how these two verses,
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these two contexts of scriptures connect.
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Now Jesus didn't say or Mark, the writer doesn't say that all
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authority has been given to Jesus.
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This is why you're doing it. But Matthew lets us know because
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you're not casting out devils without the name of Jesus, who's
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been authorized, who's given the name above every name.
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OK, he said I've got been given all authority.
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Here it is verse 19. Go therefore and make disciples.
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Now if you read out the King James, it says go therefore and
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preach. You say, oh it doesn't say make
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disciples. Well, that's why you have to go
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to the original language, because the word preach in Mark
Mark 16 chapter mention
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chapter 16. The Greek word is not the same
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Greek word as in Matthew chapter 28.
Matthew 28 chapter mention
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In Matthew chapter 28, the word preach from the King James, but
Matthew 28 chapter mention
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most other translations use this definition of that Greek word.
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Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
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them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
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Verse 20 Teaching them to what? Observe all that I commanded
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you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
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age. So here we see this term
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disciple invoked. And if you break this word down,
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disciple in the Greek it means to become a pupil.
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It also means enroll as a scholar.
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It means to follow precepts and instructions.
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So in essence, Go has within it the reality of proclaiming and
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heralding news from about the King and discipline training to
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produce visual results because as a disciple you should have
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visible results that you are of God.
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It is not something unseen. It's in the unseen, but it
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produces in the scene. And This is why people in
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Antioch, when they saw the disciples, they labeled them
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Christians because they saw something.
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They saw something. I remember Pastor David EMI when
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he teaches on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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And with Simon the sorcerer, when Philip went down and
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preached and all of a sudden it said that he wanted this gift of
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the lane on the hands to receive of the baptism of the Holy
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Spirit. He said that Greek word when he
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laid hands and people prayed in other tongues.
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It has the term having saw. He saw with his eyes and heard
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with his ears. So he saw something in
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manifestation that came out of a spiritual realm that transformed
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that person where they spoke in a tongue not known to them.
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Well, the guys that the people at Antioch see this group of
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people and they are seeing something about their lives that
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is so radically different than theirs.
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And probably what they've heard about what Jesus had done or
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maybe from other communities where Christ had been priest or
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his name and vote. They began to say, well, that's
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the studiers of Christ, studiers of the King.
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You understand what he say Christ are saying studiers of
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the King so there's something that the world should see if you
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are a disciple if we're a disciple.
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So in essence, if we are a person to go can notice this it
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says go into all the world and preach well when you're going.
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The reason why you can herald and the formality or the gravity
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and the authority by which your words carry that should be
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listened to and obeyed is because they see what you preach
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happens in your life. You're actually a reflection of
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what you're talking about because you understand there's
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nothing worse than saying without producing.
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And this is where Jesus kept rebuking the Pharisees.
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He said do what they say, but do not do what they do.
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They Harold me, but they don't do me.
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And he never called a Pharisee a disciple.
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So that tells me knowledge of God's Word alone does not make
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you a disciple. In fact, knowledge alone of
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God's Word not applied will make you a Pharisee.
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In fact, knowledge of God's Word that you do not apply will cause
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you to put your opinion on God's Word and teach it as precepts of
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men instead of commands of God. And This is why we have what we
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have on social media today. Everybody has their own truth
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about Scripture. Well, I'm glad it's your truth,
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but you're not the truth. Come on now.
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No, he's the truth, the way and the life.
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Hallelujah. Smith Wigglesworth said this.
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He said there is a time coming that it will be difficult for
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believers to receive healing because of the advancement of
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medical science. In essence, he said he was
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saying that because medical science is advancing, they'll
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put more trust there first before they go to God.
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Now, there's nothing wrong with medical science and there's
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nothing wrong with going to the hospital.
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There's nothing wrong with finding out what's going on with
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you. No issue.
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But here's what we do know. By his stripes, ye were healed
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and that is reality. But you understand, when there's
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other opportunities out there, then sometimes we won't get as
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firmly persuaded when we need that firm persuasion, because
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even if you go to the doctor, you need a firm persuasion.
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Are you hearing me? The same thing is happening
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today, that there are so many voices out there that believers
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are having a hard time hearing the spirit without some kind of
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confirmation. And we are taking kind of a step
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back because if you need a word from someone outside of the Holy
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Ghost in you to act on a situation, well, I'm going to
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act now because someone confirmed.
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You need to continue to develop what you're hearing on the
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inside. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
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So in essence, to go, we should actually be reflecting Matthew
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38, Matthew 38. John said it this way.
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He said therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
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This is the essence of a disciple.
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A disciple is someone who has repented and then produces the
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fruit of which they have repented from.
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One changed their thinking and gone to another way of thinking,
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another way of living, and it produced that kind of living in
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their lives. And again, John is talking to
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religious people when he makes this statement.
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He's saying to them, you're talking a talk.
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I see no fruit from now in today's society.
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We have taken going to all the world and preach the gospel and
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we said I will do you know Jesus says your Lord, Do you know if
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you if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?
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Do you know that you know where would these are the kind of
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questions we ask, you know, because you know, you need to
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know where you're going to go when you die.
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This is how we sell good news. This is how we have caused the
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gospel to become right. Do you know where you're going
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to go when you die? Well, that's good news.
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Let's talk about my death. I mean, just understand the
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premise here, right? You, Jesus Christ, and then we
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insert truth, right? Jesus came, He died for your
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sin. Everyone has sinned and he's
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paid the price and his blood is forgiven you.
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If you'll just call on the Lord, you'll be saved.
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You understand if someone doesn't, they're going to be
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born again, even if that's how you sold this thing, if that's
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how you, you know, presented Jesus, right?
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So then we say now, you know, so pray this prayer with me.
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And so they pray with you and say, now you're born again.
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You know, you're going to go to heaven when you die.
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And then we walk off. We're like, oh, glory to God.
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But where in these two verses put up Mark 16 real quick so
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they can see it Mark 16 and let's read it real fast because
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again, it's Mark 16 that people get really upset about or they
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use the most going all the world and preach the Gospel.
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He can walk. I could walk away and say I did
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that. But let's go over to Matthew
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because the second witness of going or what we are supposed to
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do says go, therefore make disciples.
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Well, now the minute I walk away, I didn't make a disciple,
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but I do have a convert supposedly say supposedly.
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Now if God has changed this individual, well then I know
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this is what the Holy Spirit does when he moves in.
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Because when the Holy Spirit moves in, the Bible is very
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clear what the Holy Spirit does. The only thing we tend to
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present to them is that the Holy Spirit, you're going to receive
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the Holy Spirit. You're going to be the temple of
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the Holy Ghost. He's going to bear witness with
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your that you are a child of God.
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Stop there. But you know what?
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He doesn't stop there. The Holy Spirit would then say
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this to a brand new believer. Now you need to not forsake the
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assembling of yourself together. You need to go to church because
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I've called you to be a student. I am your teacher and I'm going
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to teach you through gifts that are in the body.
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It's called the fivefold ministry.
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You need to get in church. Pastor Mike has testified this
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on more than one occasion when he really got born again.
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No one, no one had to beg him to come to church.
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And he's only been in three churches his whole life.
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The one he was born again or even he got born again.
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He went to that church and he only left that church because
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God said go get trained for ministry.
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So then he went to Rhema where he got trained for ministry and
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went to the church associated with that.
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And then he stayed there until the Lord said, I'm going to
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release your gifted anchor Faith Church.
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And he's come here and he here he is.
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You see what I'm saying? So his moves were not well.
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You know, I'm kind of bored of this church.
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I'm going to go somewhere else. Well, this church has offended
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me. I'm going to go somewhere else.
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He went as directed by the Lord to the place where it deploys
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him. I mean, he would have stayed in
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Ohio his whole life had the Lord not say, go somewhere to be
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trained because I have more for you than just this particular
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role. I've got things to release, but
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in order to release, I need to train you further.
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So. So Pastor Mike had already
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started a process of discipleship through Ed Cole's
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stuff when he was, you know, in Ohio and learning how to be a
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man that is called discipleship. Then he went on to learn how to
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be a minister of the gospel and understand doctrine so that he
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could then do what he's doing today, which is minister to word
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to you and been doing it in this location for 21 years.
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Wow, how amazing is that? I mean these are the kind of
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examples you want to follow, not church hoppers, not people who
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run to 1 conference to the next. You want to find people who get
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rooted, grounded and know who they are in the word.
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That's what a disciple looks like.
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But we have replaced disciple with Christian and because we
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like Christian that we just define as I asked Jesus to come
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into my heart and save me, which Antioch did not define it that
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way. Antioch unbelievers defined it
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as a follower of Christ that did the works of Christ, not someone
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who asked Jesus in their heart and save them.
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So when they die, they go to heaven.
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Now why do I have to teach like this?
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Because we've come to the place in the world where this is not
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being taught. This is the only reason I have
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an obligation to stay with the word.
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And then when you really stay with the word, it looks a lot
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different than what's being said, right?
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And again, we're not here to offend.
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We're here to empower. Because when you actually grow
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as a believer, it'd change your life.
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Let me read you this story by Hubbard.
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He said this, he said here a story or a parable in a delight
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in a delightful bit of country. Early 1 summer morning I walked
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out to be refreshed by the pure sweet air and sight of fields
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and woods, grasses and flowers, beasts and birds, when
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pleasantly I came upon an orchard into which I entered.
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The trees were beautiful to behold, The air was fragrant,
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the fruit was abundant, and wandering on almost enchant, on
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almost enchanted, until my great wander, I came upon a tree
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having neither bloom nor fruit. I was so painfully impressed
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that without any thought of hurting or giving offense as to
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myself, I said, You poor lost tree, what can you, what can you
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be doing here? I marveled.
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You are not removed. Upon which, to my astonishment,
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the tree replied not without tardiness.
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Oh indeed, Sir, indeed. No doubt you think you are wise,
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wise above your father's. You think you know much more
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things, I dare say. But you are in are in a great
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mistake. I am neither poor nor lost.
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Well, I said, you have neither leaves nor fruit, and I should
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judge no SAP. What has this to do with that?
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It broke out. Your ignorance is inexcusable.
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The tree said you seem not to know that a great Savior of
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trees have been down here and I have believed his gospel, and I
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am saved by grace. I have accepted salvation as a
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free gift, and though I have neither leaves nor fruit, I am
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saved all the same. I looked at it with pity and
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said, you are a poor deluded tree.
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You are not saved at all. You are only a dead good for
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nothing tree. Despite all your talk about
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grace and redemption, the only salvation you can ever know is
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to be made living and fruit bearing life.
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That is salvation. When I come to see you laden
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with fruit or even showing signs of leaves, I will say, ah, that
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poor tree is saved at last. It shall receive the IT.
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It has received the gospel, and is saved by grace.
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As I turned away, I heard it say, You are, you are not sound,
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you do not understand the gospel.
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And I thought so It is. As with the trees, so with men.
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They talk as if grace and salvation were something God
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keeps from them outside themselves, and will not
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understand nor believe that he who is saved, he who takes
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Christ fully and rest on his atoning work alone, is made free
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from sin, and has fruit unto holiness.
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We have accepted that salvation and grace has no need of fruit
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bearing when fruit bearing is proof that we are.
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Yeah, that's right. That's right.
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Yeah, it is proof that we are and we easily not to offend
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except people going around saying that they are born again
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and born of God and all these things.
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Yet when you encounter them at work, when you encounter them
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at, you know, events, you encounter them at restaurants or
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wherever and you've been around them and then all of a sudden
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you're ready to witness to them and then they tell you all
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they're born again. You're like, I never would have
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known by your lifestyle. And yet too many except that
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they are. Now I can hear the critics right
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now on podcast. Oh man, you're judging, you're
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judging, you're judging. I'm not judging.
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I am examining fruit. At the end of the day, fruit.
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Don't take my word for it though.
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Let's look at John chapter 15 because again, I'm not saying
John 15 chapter mention
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something that the word is not saying.
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Look at John chapter 15 and verse 16.
John 15 chapter mention
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Jesus said Jesus said say Jesus who said this?
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Jesus said you did not choose me but I boy that's true isn't it?
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You didn't earn it. You couldn't have worked for it,
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couldn't have done anything. In fact he chose you.
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You couldn't even come to his Kingdom unless he drawed you by
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a spirit. He said you didn't choose me,
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but I chose you. Now did he just choose you?
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Does it have an and So what does and mean?
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It means also you didn't choose me, but I chose you and
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appointed you that you would you would what go?
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There's that word and and bear fruit.
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So Jesus expects you to man and I could preach on all kinds of
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parables talking about fruit bearing right now.
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I can give tons of examples. Gave 151211.
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He expected it produce 5 produce 52 produce 21 buried gave back
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what he had and he called him wicked and lazy.
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He did not lose a thing, right? He received from the father what
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he did not have himself, yet gave back the father the very
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thing he received from the father that he did not earn.
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Oh, you don't want to hear this, but because there was number
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interest, no kind of production farmer goes in, spend three
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years, there's trees nowhere producing fruit.
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He says to this gardener, cut it down.
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Tired of it taking resource out of the ground when it's not
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going to do what it was called to do, He said hold back, give
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me one more year. I'll dig around it, fertilize it
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and give it another shot to bear fruit.
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But if it doesn't, we'll cut it down.
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Oh, y'all don't want to hear this, Matthew?
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John 15 goes on and says what it says.
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Man, you are going to bear fruit, and he'll prune you so
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that in the next season you'll bear what?
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More fruit? But if that branch bears no
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fruit, he cuts it off and discards it.
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The branch is of the tree which has the roots, and the roots are
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Christ. He said I'm the bond and you are
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the branches. If a man remains in me, he'll
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bear. Not if a man remains in me,
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he'll bear nothing, but he goes to heaven.
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He just should be excited. He's attached.
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And we are turning the Great Commission into a destination
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with no responsibility for fruit bearing.
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And we want to talk about great revivals.
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Then we need to have a great revival.
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Well, what we need is we need a revival of disciples first in
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order to get a revival of the lost.
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Because a disciple, when they herald, there's power and
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authority behind it because they're living what they're
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preaching as opposed to someone who is preaching something
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they're not living. Because it's easy for me to wait
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to receive Jesus when the one telling me about Jesus lives
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life like I live. Because you're selling me hopes
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of what happens after I die that it's obvious has no change of
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what you're doing right now. Say Amen anyway.
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Said you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
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that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain
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so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, I may give it
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to you. Again jumping back up to verse
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seven and eight of the same chapter, he said, if you abide
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in me and my words abiding you ask whatever you wish and it
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will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this,
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by what that you bear much fruit and here it is.
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So prove I don't I don't have nothing to prove to you.
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I asked Jesus into my heart to save me.
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I'm a Christian too. Well, prove me your prove you're
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a disciple. I should see the proof of your
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discipleship, he says. You want to know if they're my
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disciples, they can prove it to you and it isn't proving it to
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me because at 10 years old you came down and asked Jesus Christ
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to come into your heart and save you.
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That's no proof. Oh y'all don't want that's no
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proof. Listen, let us not some people
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may be on their track. The hell the enemy has done such
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a great job of trying to paralyze Saints from holding
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other Saints accountable to behavior.
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You're a disciple. Why you gossiping right now?
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You a disciple? Why you slandering right now?
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You a disciple? Why you lying right now?
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You a disciple? Why you backbiting right now?
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Oh, don't talk, don't you? Why are you not producing the
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fruit that comes with repentance?
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Because that's not a disciple and you calling yourself a
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Christian. I can go find lost that do
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better do a do a job that do that.
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They don't even do a job as good as you do.
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Are you hearing me? What did Paul say concerning the
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man who was in the church sleeping with his father's life?
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He said even the world's not doing this, and you're like and
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like, he's your brother. We don't know the first thing
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about the love of God when we act like this.
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We should be living, breathing fruit bearing examples that
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really other believers should. Why is it that today's Saints
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are so weak and feeble that when they get around a true disciple,
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they're so intimidated? It's because they've been sold
-
lies that they're a disciple, but they know they don't measure
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up because they don't have the fruit, he says.
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If if you abide in me, if it's a conditional statement, am I?
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So being born again doesn't mean you abide in.
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Abiding in is effort. You have to discipline yourself
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to be in him, meaning in the Word, your Spirit man is in
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Christ. I have no problem with that.
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But if it is in Christ, it will listen to the Holy Spirit and
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the Holy Spirit says you need to renew your mind.
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You need to become a student of the Word.
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You need to allow the fruit of the Word to produce in your
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life. When I was talking to Pastor Jay
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when I was going to the airport, he said, Pastor Earl, I realized
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more and more and more today we need to be making disciples
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because missionaries ran over into other countries and just
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told them about Jesus and said, where are you going to go when
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you die? Make Jesus the Lord of your
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life, repent of your sins and then left.
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And the only message they told the these born again people go
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start churches and tell them that Jesus Christ died for their
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sins. And though that's true, that's
-
not discipleship. He goes, Pastor Earl, when do
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you know you have a disciple? I said, because they are a doer
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of the Word. It produces the behavior in
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their life that when challenges come, they do the Word, not what
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the world does. They respond from the Word, not
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from the world. That's when you know, so he
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said, abiding me and my words, abiding you.
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The reason why today's Saints struggle so much is because
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first and foremost, they're not even in the Bible.
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Now I did not grab this statistic, but I do know it's
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extremely low. I think it may be even less than
-
10% of believers, so-called Christians that read the
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Scripture. They don't even read scripture.
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The single greatest success of the environment of Anchor Faith
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Church has been that we read the Bible.
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That's been our single greatest success.
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On Sunday, June the 15th, Father's Day, we had a guest in
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our service. I mean we have guests that come,
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but this particular guest was a student pastor, a youth pastor
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of a church and he text my son and it said this my name is
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Ashton, I serve as a student pastor of a church in
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Clarksville, TN. My wife had the chance to visit
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Anchor Faith on the 15th while we were in route to our vacation
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spot and came back with nothing but great things to say.
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I was honestly bummed I didn't get to meet you and your team as
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you were headed out for camp. Heading out for camp, but the
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hospitality at your church was spot on.
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Regardless, I just wanted to take a moment to encourage you.
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What God is doing through Anchor Faith in your student ministry
-
is truly powerful. We were blessed by the warmth
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and presence of your church family and I pray it's just the
-
beginning. I'm praying the half has not yet
-
been told over Anchor Faith. I'd love to stay in touch with
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you and make myself available, encourage one another and see
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how their students can support our students and partner in any
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way. Much love to you and your team.
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Now, why is that? Because you are proving to be a
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disciple. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah. It becomes proof of your
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discipleship because people come in and they begin to hear your
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environment, see the environment.
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When Sonny Matthews and his wife Stephanie came and they've been,
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you know, she's been doing ministry, traveling with her
-
father all over the world, done a lot in India.
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She leaves worship in her own church.
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And both of them together do a phenomenal job worshiping the
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Lord. In fact, they're on a process
-
right now because you cannot convert people in India to be
-
followers of Christ. So they are cracking down on
-
evangelism there. So one thing that's still
-
acceptable, you can't say, you can't have anyone, say, confess
-
Jesus Christ as Lord in India legally, nor can you eat beef in
-
India legally. He'll go to jail for that.
-
With that being said, Sonny is now writing songs that are
-
straight from scripture that are communicating Jesus is Lord and
-
it through music. The government is accepting it
-
and churches are being so hindered that they are wanting
-
this music because they're using it as the evangelistic tool to
-
see people come into the Lord. OK, we have a nation open and we
-
want us. Persecution tries to limit a
-
message. Yet in the most persecuted
-
nations, the churches are the best attended.
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Sayla. That means pause and think on
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these things. We're in a nation that we can go
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line upon line, precept upon precept.
-
Oh my goodness, are you hearing what I'm saying?
-
And the reason why people are going to be shaken in the last
-
days is because they're not abiding.
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They've accepted this traditional thought of
-
Christianity. I asked Jesus into my heart to
-
save me. I'm a Christian.
-
I know I'm going to go to heaven when I die.
-
Jesus never once said go and convert people so they'll know
-
where they go when they die. He said go make disciples.
-
They're going to have to abide. They're going to have to.
-
They're going to need to grow and grow and grow and I should
-
see fruit because God's not mocked.
-
You must produce the fruit of the Kingdom in your life.
-
The disciples understood the gravity of Mark 16 and Mark
-
Matthew 28 when Jesus said go make disciples.
-
Because Jesus has talked about the cost of disciples earlier in
-
Luke chapter 14, verses 25 to 27.
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What does it mean to be a disciple #1 You're a studier of
-
the Word that produces the fruit of the Word in your life, not
-
just a confessor that Jesus is Lord.
-
It is manifest fruit, but he goes on, and this is what
-
discipleship looks like. Jesus said there's now a large
-
crowd. Jesus was around.
-
He said now a large crowd, we're going to along with him.
-
You know what? Most churches are just going
-
along with Jesus. Going along with Jesus is not
-
the same as following him. I know when someone's going
-
along with Jesus because they go along to this church, to that
-
concert, to this conference, to this, but yet I see no fruit.
-
They're going along and Jesus has some people just going
-
along. So he wanted to say, well, if
-
you're going to follow me, let me define that.
-
Now who's going to define it? Do we define it?
-
So when someone said, now look, come on brother, now you know,
-
if you just ask Jesus in your heart and save your disciple,
-
you can say, come on, brother, you haven't read the Bible and
-
you are deluded when I look, I didn't earn this thing.
-
You can't earn it by doing a bunch of works.
-
I'm not doing works. I'm living by faith, producing
-
fruit. What are you doing?
-
Because again, man will try man in the flesh, carnal man, and
-
the world will try to get you to live the lowest possible form so
-
that you're not much different from them.
-
And I'm, I'm amazed that Saints accept it, but the only reason
-
you will accept that narrative is because you're not in the
-
word to challenge the narrative, he said.
-
If conditional statement anyone comes to me and does not hate
-
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers
-
and sisters. Jeez, this is heavy talking,
-
bro. I mean, this kind of preaching
-
does not make it in 98% of churches in the United States
-
today. This is our bothering plan.
-
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a strong word, man.
-
You should hate anyone. Well, then why is Jesus using
-
the term? Oh, y'all want to hear this?
-
I want to close. I want to finish.
-
I don't want to get back and preach super long if anyone
-
comes to me and does not hate now.
-
He's not like saying I hate you, I'm never going to be around
-
you. He's saying my relationship with
-
my father, my mother, my wife, my children, my brothers and
-
sisters compared to him looks like I hate them.
-
They never take precedent of my Lord.
-
He goes on to say yes and even his own life.
-
Which means I don't even have the liberty to say, man, I just
-
wish I could. This is how I want to live.
-
I can't even love my life like that.
-
If you don't hate your father, mother, wife, children,
-
brothers, sisters and yes, even your own life, he can not be my
-
disciple. Now who says this?
-
Who said this? I did not say this.
-
He said this. Yet we have plenty of Saints
-
telling you that you look, there is things going around in the
-
church well today that say sound like this.
-
Now, look, we don't want to do too much because you know,
-
people have another life. They have a life outside the
-
church now. Well, you know, that sounds good
-
and it sounds like you're even being compassionate and so
-
caring, but that's not how Jesus framed discipleship.
-
Now, first and foremost, you're not going to spend your ever
-
living moment in this building anyway.
-
But if you compared how much time and opportunities for you
-
to grow and be discipled and have discipleship by which then
-
you go out and do here, it's still you have a lot of time on
-
your own that you manage, but that still should be his.
-
That's right. Well now, man, these pastors are
-
just pushing them too hard. Well, you're not following Jesus
-
and I'm not. I'm not pushing like I'm telling
-
you, I'm not pushing like Jesus. Whoever does not carry his own
-
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
-
And he said go and make disciples.
-
He didn't say go make converts, go make, go make disciples.
-
Discipleship has a call. Then jump down to verse 33.
-
He says this. So then none of you can be my
-
disciple who does not give up all his own possession.
-
I'm not saying go sell everything and sit here and say
-
pastor, I sold everything. I'm just here.
-
That's not. He's saying, in comparison,
-
there's nothing you possess that possesses you.
-
So when you get connected to God, who is the head of the
-
church, which is the body of Christ by which you are part of,
-
and when the king or the head of the church begins to say as a
-
body, I want you to do this. Well, you do, because that's
-
what disciples do. Then you produce the fruit of
-
what All that is, not negotiate. Well, you know, we we come a
-
lot. I mean, I'm here every Sunday,
-
surely. Well, you know, they're doing
-
another event. Come on.
-
Well, I would go, but the game's on now.
-
Again, no problem. I understand there's thing.
-
No, I'm not. I'm just saying you have to ask
-
the question. Is there anything in your own
-
life that you know you'll put before the call of God?
-
And that's a problem because God sees you as sold out to him.
-
Now understand this, God has us in every sector of society.
-
And as a result of that, you're being an example in front of
-
them. Because if you don't have enough
-
time in the church and serving the church that people see you
-
acquainted with the church, they should be asking like, why are
-
you always there? It's a fruit because I'm around
-
my King and his children and we love it not because we have to,
-
but because I chose to be a disciple, not a casual pass
-
through living the American dream, expecting the Kingdom of
-
heaven. Let me close with this verse.
-
John 831 to 32 says this. So Jesus was saying to those
-
Jews who believed him. If you continue in my word,
-
again, conditional statement, you are truly disciples of mine
-
and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.
-
The reason why many Saints are not free today.
-
Why are they not free of depression?
-
Why are they not free to of worry and doubt?
-
Why are they not free of of needing to be known, needing to
-
be heard? Why are they not free from the
-
cares of life? Well, it's because they don't
-
continue. They've accepted that they're a
-
disciple by mere fact. They ask Jesus to save them when
-
it's a disciple that is in the Word, allowing the Word to
-
transform their thinking, their behavior, their thoughts, so
-
that then they produce the fruit.
-
And that fruit is letting everyone know you're free.
-
No more bondage. No more bondage.
-
Cause true disciples are not bound to the things of the
-
world, to substance. They're not bound to images,
-
they're not bound to behaviors, they're not bound to
-
generational issues because they're a disciple.
-
So the Great Commission was never for us to go into all the
-
world and tell people about a Jesus we don't live.
-
It was only to go into a world to tell people about a Jesus we
-
serve and have the fruit of serving him.
-
And you cannot have the fruit of serving Him if you are not a
-
studier of the Word and submit yourself to it on a continual
-
basis. You'll never know enough about
-
God that you can stop because the minute you do, He becomes
-
knowledge and not revelation. He becomes a seed that you leave
-
on a shelf and it doesn't produce a plant that has the
-
opportunity to produce fruit. The.