Making Disciples

All right, let's pray.

Abha, we thank you for this privilege we have to gather together, Abha, as a family.

This privilege to hear from you and to walk with you.

As we sang earlier today, you are Almighty God.

You have no rival.

No enemy can stand before you.

You wear the victor's crown.

You are a life giver, you are a deliverer.

We could not choose you, Abha.

Only you could choose us.

Thank you for choosing us and for bringing us here.

Abha, for the next few minutes, we want to hear from you everything that you have for

us.

Help us to hear and allow your spirit to work in our hearts.

All glory belongs to you.

We recognize you as our source.

From you, we have become what we are.

Thank you, Abha.

Everything is for you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So for the last couple of weeks, we've been looking at the overarching theme for any church,

any believer.

And there are three things we talked about.

One is making the Father known, which is what we touched on last week.

And today we're going to talk about, again.

Okay, let's get rid of this one.

Let's get another one.

Making disciples.

So this is what we're going to be looking at today.

Let's read Matthew chapter 28, 16 to 20.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Matthew 28, 16 to 20.

We'll be going through several different verses today.

So I want us to be prepared to go through your Bible.

Be prepared to read.

Be prepared to write down, because this is just the beginning.

We've got multiple verses we'll read through.

We'll understand as we go.

Very familiar verse.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed

them.

And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded

you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

So Jesus, this is a few verses everyone here pretty much knows by heart.

But I want us to go back to this because the second theme or the mandate that we have as

a church of making disciples straight away comes from these verses.

When Jesus said go and make disciples, he wasn't suggesting to the disciples that they

are to go out and make disciples.

He wasn't requesting the disciples that, hey, go and make disciples.

He wasn't telling them that out of the five different priorities he have, here is one

more you can perhaps add to your plate and whenever you have some time to do this, maybe

you can go out and make disciples.

No, Jesus was commanding them to go and make disciples.

It is a command.

The command is go and make disciples of all nations, not one type, not two types, of all

nations.

Okay.

And then he said, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit.

One name in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

And then he says, teach them to observe everything that I have commanded you, all of it.

Teach them all and thereby you make disciples.

So those are the verses we're going to take everything out from for the next 30 minutes

or so.

So Jesus' commandment to the disciples then is the same commandment.

No, Brandon is saying 30 minutes.

Yeah, maybe 30 minutes.

Who knows?

So Jesus' commandment is for us too.

And we are privileged to be part of this, aren't we?

Because I want us to look at the last few weeks of what's been happening as God stirring

the pot.

Okay.

That's how I see it.

I see everything that God has been doing over the last little while as God is stirring our

hearts.

In Habakkuk chapter one where God said to the Israelites, I want you to go up the mountain

and build.

And they heard God and then in Habakkuk chapter two, it talks about this where it says their

hearts were stirred up because God had been working in them.

That's how I see it.

That's how we need to see it in that over and over again, God is reminding us of the

main thing.

There is nothing more important than this here on earth.

There is nothing more, nothing better than this.

This is the main thing.

The main thing in life is to make the Father known.

The main thing in life is to make disciples.

The main thing in life is to multiply churches.

And it doesn't matter where we come from, where we are at.

This is the main thing.

And I know that some weeks when we go over this over and over again, it may sound like,

oh, this is another way to say the same thing.

It is.

It is.

Because this is what God has been doing in our lives.

This is what God wants us to hear so that our hearts are stirred up to a point where

we know exactly how his heart is beating.

So that we are not, we are people who listen to this and we are people who run with this.

See when a father, if Sheldon were to tell Phoebe when she is let's say eight years

old, go and make your bed.

I'm going to run to TNT.

Maybe TNT is where he shops.

I don't know.

I don't know why I said TNT.

So maybe it's superstore.

I don't know.

We're going to run to TNT and I'm going to come back in 15 minutes.

I need to make sure that you make your bed.

See by the time Sheldon comes back, there is no way Phoebe will tell Sheldon, you know

what dad?

I know what you told me.

You told me go make the bed.

When you were away, I even meditated on what you said for 30 minutes.

Go make the bed.

And even better, I know it in Greek and in Hebrew.

Go make your bed.

Will that help Sheldon?

No.

Sheldon just said one thing.

Go make the bed.

He doesn't care about the Hebrew.

He doesn't care about the Greek.

He cares about just one thing.

Go make the bed.

So when God says go make disciples, he cares about one thing.

Go make disciples.

That's it.

And there is not much to say.

Go make disciples.

But we look at this so that God can continue to speak to our hearts and we are ready for

the work at hand because we are people who are building, rebuilding what he is building

or wants to build here on earth.

So there is a difference between hearing, understanding, and hearing, understanding,

and doing.

And God is looking for a generation who is looking at these verses, looking at what God

has been telling us and who is wanting to go out and do what he is requesting or commanding

us to do.

Not requesting, commanding us to do.

That is who is looking for a generation.

And if all of Christianity, all of the Christians, all of the people who went before us as believers

looked at these verses and looked at this as commandment for every single believer,

I can assure you our world today will not look like how it is looking today.

And that is why God is saying this is the time where for you Acts 29 and if you are

listening to this and if you are part of this body in some way or the other, I am stirring

up something in your hearts so that you are readied for the work at hand.

You are readied for what I am building here on earth.

Now everything that Jesus is commanding is tied to one thing.

It's tied to his authority.

So see that before he says go therefore and make disciples, the line that precedes that

is I now have authority over all earth and heaven.

I have authority over that.

Therefore you are to go out and make disciples.

Let's look at it a different way.

The reason Jesus says that at that point is because of this.

On my way here, around 10.20 or something, I am thinking I need to get here around 10.25,

at least five minutes early.

And guess what?

The intersection of Victoria and Boundary and Grandview, I am parked right there, I

am stopped right there because it's a red light and I am supposed to take a left.

All of a sudden in a matter of a few seconds two big SUVs come park and flashing lights

and they come out and everyone stops.

No traffic is moving.

There are two SUVs, two police guys, that's it.

But the entire traffic was stopped for five minutes.

Why?

There is about 100 of us in my lane waiting, 100 of us, some with more expensive cars.

There is 100 in each of the roads waiting.

But it doesn't matter.

When they come and they say stop, you stop.

Because they have the authority to execute what they need to execute here in Vancouver

because by law, by jurisdiction, by the authority given to them, they are able to do that.

And everyone else has to listen.

Same thing with soccer.

Why?

There are two teams playing at any given time.

11 people on one side, 11 people on the other.

And some of these guys are really rich guys because they make about a million dollars

a week.

A few million dollars every two months.

Really rich guys.

Some of the best athletes on earth.

But on the field, there is a third guy or a third team, referees.

He's got a whistle, he's got two cards, red card and a yellow card.

It doesn't matter how much money you earn.

It doesn't matter how fast you can run.

It doesn't matter how strong you are.

It doesn't matter.

When he says game stops now, game stops.

When he blows the whistle, you stop.

When he says run, you run.

When there is a conflict and he interferes and he says red card, you're out, you're

out.

Because he's got a rule he's carrying out, an order he's carrying out because he's employed

by the league who runs the whole thing.

So for us, taking both those parallels into account, for us here on earth, this field

that we operate in, it belongs to Jesus.

On earth and in heaven, all authority is his.

It helps us to understand this better.

He is the king.

Everything belongs to him and he has full authority.

So when he says, Mark, I am now giving you authority to go into such and such place and

do this, Mark now has everything he needs to go in and do that.

Because Mark is not going there as Mark.

Mark is going to that place, to that situation, knowing fully well that Jesus has given him

the authority to do whatever he needs to do.

And as long as Mark is in relationship with Jesus, as long as he is in fellowship with

Jesus, as long as he is abiding by the rule book, he has got the authority.

So these words somehow, sometimes are far out there, but they're not.

It's right here.

Authority, power belongs to Jesus.

It is for ours to execute because he has now given us the authority to do so.

So when we are associated with Christ, who now has all the authority in heaven and on

earth, and as we follow him relationally, we are given authority.

And all upgrade is through association.

All upgrade in life is through association.

Because of the fact that I am associated with Christ, because of the fact that I'm appointed

by him, because of the fact that he is the one who's asking me to be his representative

here on earth.

Now I have upgrade and upgrade in my authority.

I walk into exactly the places he wants me to go to.

It's interesting to travel with Jacob because he's got all of these carts that he can use

at airports.

So when I travel, I fly peasant class economy.

So I fly economy and if Jacob is traveling with me, he'll have all of the carts that

gives him access to certain lounges that I otherwise would never go into.

There was one time, I don't remember where, maybe Dubai.

I am back in line.

Jacob is in a different lane and he is getting quick access.

But he said, come.

I'm like, no, I don't have the...

He said, just come.

So I move on to the other side.

I don't have any right to be there.

I'm with him and the lady at the counter asks Jacob, who is he?

Jacob said, he's with me and I get access to the lounge.

It's a good example.

It's not that I carry anything by myself, but because of my association with Jesus,

I now have been granted permission authority to do what he wants to do on earth.

I really pray that this settles in our mind.

Because if we've been Christians, we've been hearing this for ever, forever.

But let's practice this because this is for us to do.

This is for us to walk into.

So there are two types of Christians.

There are disciples who have gone public and there are covert secret agents.

There are two types of Christians.

There are covert Christian agents and there are disciples who have gone public.

What does that mean?

I have the ability when I walk into my office to be a covert secret agent, secret Christian,

or I have the ability when I'm at my workplace to be a disciple who publicly proclaims that

I am a disciple of Christ, not just in words, but in deeds as well.

And it's true for every area of our life.

And I know that this sounds weird and it's almost like you classify people into two,

but I can guarantee you as far as Jesus is concerned, he does that.

He looks at his people and he goes, who are the ones who are proclaiming that they belong

to me?

Where does that come from?

There is a verse that we need to read.

Let's read Matthew chapter 10, 32 to 33, because I ain't making this up.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Matthew 10, 32 to 33.

Matthew 10, 32 to 33.

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my father who

is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in heaven.

So there is no room for covert Christians.

Because if I am a Christian, if I belong to Christ and to this kingdom, then I am to publicly acknowledge Jesus before men in all walks of life.

It's a good question.

What happens in places like North Korea?

God gives wisdom, man.

God gives wisdom in places like that.

Because some of the places where gospel is the most proclaimed is places like North Korea.

China has the largest underground church because the gospel is proclaimed there more than here.

So no room for covert Christians.

Only publicly proclaiming Christians.

We have to think like this.

We have to more and more think like this so that everywhere we go, we carry this badge that's on our chest.

That we've got a crown that he has placed on our heads.

We are representatives of the king.

And the representatives of the king have to act like, walk like, talk like.

They belong to the king.

When no one is watching, they walk like it.

When no one is watching, they talk like it.

When no one is watching, they think like it.

That is how we are to be.

See 9-11 when that happened, I still remember I was 13 or 14 years old I think.

Something like that. I don't know.

Forget that. I know I fully could remember the day. That's all I meant.

Okay. All right.

Let's move on from that.

So when it happened, I still remember I came out of the shower and the TV was on.

And I saw the second flight airplane striking the tower.

Everything changed in terms of air travel all across the world after that.

I didn't travel before, but I've heard that everything changed before and after are completely different.

Why?

Because a bunch of guys who had a very evil radical idea, who was radically committed to what they believed in, did that.

But the world changed.

What makes us think that a bunch of guys who are radically committed to an idea and a commandment from Jesus,

who obeys it, who goes out to love the world, who operates in his principles will not change the world.

We will change the world.

We can change the world.

And that is what the commandment is.

So I've got a few points that I want to run through.

And this is where I want us to open our Bibles and read through as well so that whatever God wants to do in our hearts can happen while we run down this list.

So number one, only disciples can make disciples.

So if you're making disciples, only disciples can make disciples.

So who is a disciple?

The first one, a disciple is someone in whom Jesus's words abide and who abides in Jesus.

A disciple is someone in whom Jesus's words abide and who abides in Jesus.

Where is that coming from?

It is coming from John 15, 7 to 8.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

By this my father is glorified.

We don't need to go there now.

But if you abide in me and my words abide in you.

So what does abide in Jesus mean?

In that every day in terms of my fellowship with Jesus, every day in terms of my walk here on earth, I am remaining in Christ in my thinking, in my speaking, in my acting.

Because that is my primary identity.

Remember last week we talked about father and houses and his house and there are many rooms and that we are to live in the father's house?

We are to abide in Jesus every day in everything we do, in everything we think and talk.

When no one is watching, that is the person who is a disciple.

And then it's not just that you're living in Jesus, that you're remaining in Jesus.

It's also that you receive Jesus' words, you read Jesus' words, you hear Jesus' words and you let the word to remain in you.

And whenever the word of God, word of Jesus remains in you, what it does is it beautifully works inside you.

It transforms you.

So a disciple then is someone who is continually transforming.

Any knowledge, any word that we hear when not acted upon is pointless.

Only knowledge or information that goes through application will come out as transformation.

Right?

I hear, I understand.

Great, but not great enough.

I hear, I understand.

Now I do it or apply it, now I am changed.

So without application, information is pretty much obsolete, it's pointless.

But when information and knowledge is combined with application, now there is transformation inside me.

And the thing about God's word is that, see some of the things we need to be grateful for because we are completely out of the equation.

It helps us.

The point is Jesus' words is always at work.

If we allow, he will always change us.

There is a song that kind of catches that glimpse which is, even when I am not, what is it, even when I am not?

Yeah, even when I can't see it, you are always working.

It's so true.

What I hear and what I receive and what I allow God to keep in my heart, when I allow it to remain in my heart, it is always working.

So that is the first mark of a disciple.

They allow the word to become flesh inside them.

They allow the word to become flesh inside them.

Second Timothy 3.16.

Today man, let's read, let's read together.

I'm not going to go very quickly because I want us to go there, see that verse and read it.

Second Timothy 3.16.

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.

So for everything I need, for my teaching, for my reproof, for my correction, for my training in righteousness, all scripture breathed out by God is enough.

And so when I read it and I feed myself with the word, what, to what end?

To the end of obedience.

To the, the idea is to hear, understand and then obey, hear, understand and then act on it so that I get transformed by it.

A disciple has the desire to master the scriptures.

A disciple has a desire to master the scriptures.

And I pray that from wherever we are at right now, that God instills in us a desire to not read the scriptures, but to master the scriptures.

Not read the scriptures, but to read, understand, apply, be transformed so that we can then share it with others.

A disciple has a desire to master the scriptures.

And in all of this, guys, in terms of abiding in Jesus, Jesus's words abiding in you, the desire to master the scriptures, with all of this, there is one thing we need to make clear, which is delight precedes discipline.

We have heard that before here. Delight precedes discipline.

Meaning all of this becomes so much effortless when I am delighted in or when I take delight in Jesus.

When I take delight in the Father, over the last five, six days, I had to do a certain thing at a certain time for the last six days.

One of the things that I find about it is when I am delighting in Jesus, it's not work.

It's not effort. It is, Abba, I'm here again.

It's a delight. It's a relationship.

And so mastering the scripture never becomes, oh my goodness, like studying integration and differentiation in school.

It's not like that at all. It's completely different.

This is pleasure. This is delight. All of his words available for me and he guides me.

He changes me. He transforms me. And I'm in so much love with the Father.

I love his Son. I love his Holy Spirit.

And I take pleasure in learning what he has to teach me.

We cannot change the world around us publicly unless we have been transformed and are being transformed internally.

We cannot transform the world around us publicly unless we are transformed and are being transformed internally.

Because everything that happens on the inside is what comes out to the outside.

Next one. A disciple is someone who bears fruit.

And the thing with fruit is it's not tasted by the tree. It's tasted by those who surround the tree.

Some birds come and taste it. Some guys come and taste it.

The tree doesn't taste its own fruit. It is always tasted by the surrounding world.

And a disciple is someone who bears fruit.

And when they taste the fruit, they know the waters by which you are planted. That's someone.

I am always around Sue. As Sue was that great story that Sue shared before.

It's evident for people who are around us to know that there is something about Sue with regards to her relationship with Christ that allows her to operate a certain way.

And when I as a person associate with Sue and eat of the fruit which is evidently there, I see who she is connected to.

And I benefit from it.

And so if fruit, the fruit that we bear is a mark of discipleship.

So among my peers, among my coworkers, in my family, in whatever places I belong to, I am to bear fruit.

John chapter 15 verse 8. John 15 verse 8.

John 15:8 John 15:8

I told you there will be verses.

John 15 verse 8. By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15:8

By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So I can read as much of the Bible as I want to.

But it's actually pointless unless it transforms me.

And so Jesus is saying if you abide in me and my words abide in you, then you know what will happen?

By this my father will be glorified because then you will be bearing much fruit, Derek, and then you will prove to be my disciple.

Next. Disciples are separated from heroes and knowers by the fruits they bear.

And they are associated with their master and represent him to the world around them.

Disciples are separated. They are separated from heroes and knowers by their fruits.

They are associated with their master and represent him to the world around them.

Yes. Disciples are separated from heroes, people who just here, and knowers, meaning I heard and I understood, by their fruits.

They are associated with their master and therefore represent him to the world around them.

Next one. A disciple is someone who is with Jesus. A disciple is someone who is with Jesus.

Where is that from? Mark 3, 14.

And he appointed twelve whom he also named apostles so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.

Disciples are marked by this intimate relationship with Jesus.

Any day you talk with them, any day you go to them, they are not talking about a Jesus who they met twenty years ago.

They are not talking about a Jesus who they met fifteen years ago. They are talking about a Jesus they talked with this morning.

The relationship is so evident. The fruits are there to see. And anyone who comes close to them will see it, will touch it, will taste it.

Next one. A disciple is someone who loves one another like Jesus loves. Man, this is, we need help with this.

A disciple is someone who loves one another. Just hear that. A disciple is someone who loves one another like Jesus does.

John 13, 34-35.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

It doesn't stop there. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

These are the patterns that he has, or the blueprints that he has laid out for us.

That my love for one another proclaims to the watching world that I am his disciple.

I won't go over it again. Next one. A disciple is someone who has surrendered his life to Jesus and follows Christ.

He has surrendered his right to self-determination. We have heard that before here.

A disciple is someone who has surrendered his life to Christ and follows him. He has surrendered his right to self-determination.

That is Luke chapter 14, 25-27.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

Now great crowds accompanied him and he turned and said to them,

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his own cross and comes after me cannot be my disciple.

So a disciple has surrendered his right to self-determination.

Next one. I want to touch on this because

hear me out. True disciples do not settle for the lie that they are not enough or that they are not ready for the work at hand.

True disciples do not settle for the lie that they are not enough or that they are not ready for the work at hand.

Read 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 2.

2 Timothy 2:2

This is Paul writing to Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 2.

2 Timothy 2:2

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Hey Timothy, the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust it to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

So Jesus' disciple making process does not look for perfection.

Jesus' disciple making process is you hear it, you understand it, you work with God to apply it and you teach others.

Timothy is being told by Paul that all you've got to do is I've taught you some things.

You now go and entrust it to some other people and they will then, reliable people, they are reliable people, they will then pass on to others.

So never settle for the lie that you know what, I'm not there yet.

Because if you're not there yet, continue to be a disciple.

Because when you're continuing to be a disciple, there is no way you cannot be a disciple maker.

That is the way Jesus has set this up.

He is not making five disciple makers and seven hundred disciples.

He is making five disciple makers who make seven hundred disciples who in turn are seven hundred disciple makers.

That is the math of the kingdom.

That is how he works.

And so I should not settle for the lie that I'm not enough or that I'm not there yet.

If I'm not there yet, I just got to grow as a disciple.

Because when I grow up as a disciple, there is no way I cannot be a disciple maker.

See, there is a graph.

On the y-axis is being able and the x-axis is being available.

And this guy right here is highly able, not available.

This guy right here is not really able or available.

This guy here is highly available, highly able.

This guy here is highly available, but not able.

But you know what the thing, this is what they teach in any business school.

But here is what Jesus does.

Jesus says, I really don't care about this.

I only care about this.

That is Jesus' way of functioning.

If you are available, I'll make you able.

Come with this, you're in the best place you can be.

So the ability factor is completely taken out of the equation

because it is all of Jesus' power and Jesus' transformation that works in my heart and in my life.

The only thing I need to do is completely be willing to be available.

And I was thinking about this, I got reminded of something that has been taught here very often.

If you came in the last two years, you might not have heard this,

but this is something that we went over much three, four years ago.

Disciples engage and invite the world.

So the thing with Jesus is, anytime he found someone, he invited them to come follow.

Up until then, any of the rabbis, how it worked out is,

if there is a rabbi, if Miguel is a rabbi, I have to go to Miguel has a rabbi look.

That's right. He's the only guy here with a rabbi look.

So if Miguel is a rabbi, I had to go to Miguel and say, hey Miguel, can you teach me?

And then when that happens, Miguel will say, you're not good enough or you're good enough,

and Miguel will take me into his school.

But Jesus did not do that. He went to Nick and said, Nick, come follow me.

Jeremy, come follow me. That's what Jesus did.

And when Jesus did that, he shifted the whole way of operating this.

Because what he is doing is he is engaging the world around him and he is inviting them in,

which is exactly what I'm supposed to do as well.

That I am supposed to engage with those around me,

identify them as the spirit leads me and invite them in into what God has for them.

So Jesus went after people and called them to be in a personal relationship with him.

And I need to invite. I cannot be making disciples if I do not invite.

And you know what I was reminded of? Sometimes you invite once and you stop.

Don't do it. But some people, Jesus invited again and again.

You can't just take that and always apply it like that,

because then you also need wisdom and discernment and see what the spirit wants you to do.

But I can assure you, Jesus invited more than once.

So I will daily, intentionally and unconsciously engage those that Jesus has paid a price to rescue.

I will on a daily basis, intentionally and unconsciously engage with the world that Jesus has paid a price to save.

Now, this is the part that we have gone over here as a church.

I thought it was a good time to remind ourselves of this again.

Anyone who gets this right gets a treat.

Tell me what's the process. So I'll begin, OK?

To seek. What's the next step? How do you engage the world?

You go seek. Do you remember this?

This is from three, four years ago.

You go out seek. You engage, you seek, you build relationships.

Let's do this. This is fun.

Build relationships.

So you go out into the world, you build relationships. What's the next one?

Open your home and life. Now you remember this better.

OK, there you go. Open your homes and lives.

What's the next one?

Anyone? Pray and minister.

Next one is make the good news known.

To what end?

To make the good news known and to lead people to faith in Jesus Christ and baptize them.

So go over this again.

I am to engage the world. How? I go out and seek.

I then build relationships with people.

I then open my home and my life to them.

I pray and minister to them as God leads me.

I then make the good news known to them.

They are saved and baptized.

Now here's the thing.

It is easy to think that the objective of all of this is to get people saved and baptized.

But it's not. It is just the beginning of the good news.

It is the beginning of the good news.

It is the beginning of the good news.

But it's not.

It is just the beginning of the process.

At this point when someone is saved and baptized,

they begin the process of being a disciple.

So that's where sometimes Christianity has gotten it wrong sometimes because

we think of this as let me get him saved.

Let me get him baptized and that's it.

But that's just the beginning.

So remember this guys. Go over this in your thinking.

When you're driving to work, when you're out in the grocery store,

think about this. I am to engage the world.

I seek out, build relationships, open my home and my life.

I pray and minister, make the good news known,

and lead people to faith in Christ and baptize them.

Next, discipleship occurs in the context of a body.

Discipleship occurs in the context of the body.

And the disciple is in a, even after this,

when they are saved and baptized, they are joining a local body.

They are in a covenantal relationship with the body of Christ

and start the relational training.

They are in a covenantal relationship with the body of Christ.

Got two more points.

Disciples bring order to the chaos of the communities they live and operate in.

How do you know you're a disciple?

You bring order to the chaos of the communities you live and operate in.

Because you carry a kingdom authority and you carry the principles of God,

which always shines light in darkness.

Where there is chaos, it is only natural for a Christian to walk into that chaotic place and bring peace.

We have to expect it all the time.

Next, there is a cost to discipleship.

There is a cost to discipleship.

A disciple forsakes that which hinders me to follow him.

A disciple forsakes anything that hinders me or hinders him or her from following Jesus.

I want us to read 2 Timothy 4-7.

2 Timothy 4-7.

Sorry, chapter 4 verse 7.

2 Timothy chapter 1, 4-7.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

Is it one or two? One of those. I don't have it here on my notes.

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

So there is no way a soldier who is enlisted for duty can get entangled in civilian pursuits.

So if I am a disciple of Christ, I have to forsake, I have to let go of anything that hinders me from following him.

And there is a cost to discipleship.

There are so many other verses from everything that Jesus said that we can quote, but think of it this way.

If I am a disciple, if I am a true disciple, I have to let go of certain things in my life.

It can be certain relationships. It can be things that I considered valuable.

It could be that I always was brought up in a culture where I had to look intact and look perfect,

but now I am beginning to look foolish and some of my relatives don't even understand what I am doing.

This is pretty bad because my mom and my dad thinks that I am a fool.

It doesn't matter because there is a cost to discipleship.

So disciples are consistent in what they do, even though they may not be perfect.

Disciples are consistent in what they do, even though they may not be perfect.

Because God makes them better every day.

God transforms them from one place of strength to another every day.

They are not seeking perfection, they are seeking obedience.

Disciples are seeking obedience, not perfection.

Let me close.

I want to read another verse.

Colossians chapter 1, 28 and 29.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Colossians chapter 1, 28 and 29.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

These are pretty heavy words that Paul is writing.

He says,

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,

that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

But here is the best part or the key part that I want us to look at today.

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy, that he powerfully works within me.

Whose energy?

Christ's energy.

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy, that he powerfully works within me.

So in all of this guys, in everything we have said so far,

it's not our strength, it's not the way we do it.

This is completely his strength and that's how Paul did it.

Just like the widow in 2 Kings chapter 4 I think,

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

where she came to Elijah and said,

you know what, my husband is dead and I've got debtors or creditors who are coming after me.

They want to take away my two sons.

Elijah said, you go, what do you have in your house?

I have some oil.

And he had her pour oil into the empty jars.

She kept pouring out oil and eventually she ran out of empty jars.

The thing with everything that I've said is this, I can guarantee you this,

if you find empty vessels to pour into, the oil will never stop.

It will never stop.

There is a reason why Jesus kept saying things like,

seek first the kingdom of God and everything will be added to you.

This is his nature.

You take care of what he delights in, what he beats for,

then he will take care of everything that you need.

He will take care of all of life's needs.

The oil will not stop. It will keep flowing.

And don't you want a life like that where the oil does not stop, the oil keeps pouring.

So Father, we come to you together as a body.

Today about we test on something that's very close to your heart

and prepare us as a body, Father.

Throughout this week, I pray that when we are out and about,

when we are talking with people, when we are thinking about our week,

that we will remind ourselves that we carry the badge of Christ.

We carry the authority of Christ.

I pray that you remind us that we have