Disciples are called to take action.
In Mark 1:16-20 Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him. In Matthew 9:9 Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him.
Jesus’ initial call is to follow Him. It is a call to action.
Jesus didn’t call them to just come see Him or come spend the day with Him. He called them to follow Him.
The disciples followed Him everywhere.
In Matthew 8:23 the disciples get into a boat to follow Jesus.
Matthew 8:24 tells us the results. The verse says, “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep.”
They followed Jesus into a storm.
When we follow Jesus, He will lead us into storms. He will lead us to take risky action.
But Jesus has everything under control. In Matthew 8:26b it says, “Jesus rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.”
By following Jesus into the storm, the disciples experienced the power of God.
In Mark 6:1 the disciples followed Jesus to His hometown of Nazareth.
They followed Jesus into a circumstance of rejection.
When we follow Jesus, He will lead us into circumstances where we will be rejected.
But they came away from this experience with a better understanding of faith and the importance of faith in relating to Jesus.
Mark 6:5 says, “And He could do no mighty works there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
The people in Nazareth lacked faith in Jesus and rejected Him, and so it hindered Jesus from displaying His power and glory.
In Matthew 22:39 the disciples followed Jesus to the Mount of Olives. Jesus was leading them into a time of testing.
When we follow Jesus He will lead us into times of testing.
In their testing the disciples got to see Jesus follow the Father’s will and offer Himself as a willing sacrifice.
In John chapter one Andrew follows Jesus and experiences a revelation that Jesus is the Messiah. He then in John 1:41 goes and finds Peter and tells him that they had found the Messiah.
The initial action of following Jesus will lead to more and more action.
In John 4:2 we are told that the disciples, not Jesus, were baptizing new followers.
The disciples, by following Jesus, were given the privilege and responsibility of helping people to come to Jesus, connect with Jesus and begin following Jesus.
So the initial call of Jesus is to follow. It does not end there.
The command that Jesus gave His disciples before He left is found in Matthew 28:19-20. It says, “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.”
The impetrative in that passage is Make Disciples. But look at the other action words in that passage - go, baptize, teach.
We make disciples through our actions of going and baptizing and teaching.
The teaching was a result of the following. They could teach about God’s power because they saw it as Jesus stilled the storm. They could teach about faith because they saw the result of a lack of faith by the people in Nazareth. They could teach about obedience and sacrifice because they saw it as Jesus followed the Father’s will and gave himself up for us in the garden.
All of this comes out of following Jesus.
We Want to go because we are followers of Jesus.
We are Enabled to make disciples because we are followers of Jesus.
We are Qualified to baptize because we are followers of Jesus.
We Have Something to teach because we are followers of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about Following Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about Making Disciples.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about going, baptizing, and teaching.
Disciples are called to be followers. It is a call to action.
With Action Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
What a Disciple of Jesus Is
God has been speaking to me about the purpose of the church and the purpose of my life.
I believe based on Scripture, that the purpose of the church and my purpose and your purpose as followers of Jesus is to make disciples.
Matthew 28:18-20
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. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In that passage we are given the:
Authority
Command
Scope
How To Do
and
Power
For Making Disciples.
I believe that for us to do that, the church, the people of God, must experience real revival.
But I realized that if my purpose and the purpose of the church is to make disciples and I have been given the command, the authority, the power, the scope, and the how do of making disciples, I still needed one thing. - I need to know what A Disciple Is.
The word disciple means learner or pupil. The root word means to learn by use and practice.
A disciple is one who learns not just by studying something but who takes the knowledge and uses it every day.
The biblical definition of disciple is found in Matthew 4:19. It says, “And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
There are three aspect of a disciple contained in that verse.
#1: Follow Me
This is an invitation to follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus it means we come under His authority and direction. The invitation is to follow Jesus and enter into a relationship with Him but not based on how we want to follow. It is based on us submitting our lives completely to Jesus.
We don’t follow a set of values.
We don’t follow a list of rules.
We don’t follow a religious tradition.
We follow a person - Jesus.
In Matthew 9:9 Jesus offers Matthew the same invitation that He offered Andrew, Peter, James, and John - Follow Me.
Jesus gives us the same invitation today.
#2: I Will Make You
Jesus is a living and active God. He transforms us into new people as we follow Him as His disciples. We are changed in our relationship with Jesus. He does that by using prayer, Bible study, the guidance of other believers, and life experiences. These are all directed by the Holy Spirit.
Paul tells us that in Romans 8:29 what God wants to do in our lives. He says, “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
God wants to change us to be like His Son - Jesus.
#3: Fishers of Men
Fishers of men are people who go out and connect with and share the love of Jesus with others.
Jesus tells us in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and to save the lost.
A fisher of men is a person who follows the mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost and grow them into new disciples of Jesus.
Jesus invites us to follow Him. A disciple knows and follows Jesus.
Jesus says He will make us. A disciple is being changed by Jesus.
Jesus tells us we are to be fishers of men. A disciple is committed to the mission of Jesus.
So are you are disciple of Jesus?
It does not require:
Perfection
Super Human Faith
Great In Depth Theological Training
Complete Knowledge and Understanding of God
Great Spiritual Insights
It does require:
Faith
Passion
Submission
Humility
Courage
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being a disciple of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about making disciples.
We live in a nation where going to church is easy.
We live in a nation where making a commitment to Jesus is easy.
We live in a nation where calling ourselves Christian is easy.
Most people don’t really have to sacrifice anything to go to church, to read the Bible, to pray or to do anything connected with being a Christian.
If we want to be a disciple of Jesus it will cost.
If we want to be a disciple of Jesus there will be sacrifice.
The cost and the sacrifice is our lives.
When Andrew, Peter, James, John, and Matthew became disciples of Jesus it cost them their lives. They left home and family. They sacrificed security and comfort.
The picture that Jesus draws for us about becoming a disciple in Luke 9:23 is - DEATH.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Paul says “I killed the old self who lived for itself and now Jesus lives His live in and through me.”
That is what occurs when we become disciples of Jesus.
Crucifixion is painful; it is called death by torture.
And the old self, what Paul calls the flesh, will not go down easy.
In Galatians 5:24 Paul says, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it passions and desires.”
The flesh is not neutral; it has “passions and desires”. The flesh is going to fight. It wants control.
Disciples of Jesus give Jesus control. They make Jesus the sole Authority in their lives.
Over the next several week I want to explore the characteristics of a disciple of Jesus.
As a Disciple of Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
I believe based on Scripture, that the purpose of the church and my purpose and your purpose as followers of Jesus is to make disciples.
Matthew 28:18-20
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. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In that passage we are given the:
Authority
Command
Scope
How To Do
and
Power
For Making Disciples.
I believe that for us to do that, the church, the people of God, must experience real revival.
But I realized that if my purpose and the purpose of the church is to make disciples and I have been given the command, the authority, the power, the scope, and the how do of making disciples, I still needed one thing. - I need to know what A Disciple Is.
The word disciple means learner or pupil. The root word means to learn by use and practice.
A disciple is one who learns not just by studying something but who takes the knowledge and uses it every day.
The biblical definition of disciple is found in Matthew 4:19. It says, “And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
There are three aspect of a disciple contained in that verse.
#1: Follow Me
This is an invitation to follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus it means we come under His authority and direction. The invitation is to follow Jesus and enter into a relationship with Him but not based on how we want to follow. It is based on us submitting our lives completely to Jesus.
We don’t follow a set of values.
We don’t follow a list of rules.
We don’t follow a religious tradition.
We follow a person - Jesus.
In Matthew 9:9 Jesus offers Matthew the same invitation that He offered Andrew, Peter, James, and John - Follow Me.
Jesus gives us the same invitation today.
#2: I Will Make You
Jesus is a living and active God. He transforms us into new people as we follow Him as His disciples. We are changed in our relationship with Jesus. He does that by using prayer, Bible study, the guidance of other believers, and life experiences. These are all directed by the Holy Spirit.
Paul tells us that in Romans 8:29 what God wants to do in our lives. He says, “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
God wants to change us to be like His Son - Jesus.
#3: Fishers of Men
Fishers of men are people who go out and connect with and share the love of Jesus with others.
Jesus tells us in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and to save the lost.
A fisher of men is a person who follows the mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost and grow them into new disciples of Jesus.
Jesus invites us to follow Him. A disciple knows and follows Jesus.
Jesus says He will make us. A disciple is being changed by Jesus.
Jesus tells us we are to be fishers of men. A disciple is committed to the mission of Jesus.
So are you are disciple of Jesus?
It does not require:
Perfection
Super Human Faith
Great In Depth Theological Training
Complete Knowledge and Understanding of God
Great Spiritual Insights
It does require:
Faith
Passion
Submission
Humility
Courage
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being a disciple of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about making disciples.
We live in a nation where going to church is easy.
We live in a nation where making a commitment to Jesus is easy.
We live in a nation where calling ourselves Christian is easy.
Most people don’t really have to sacrifice anything to go to church, to read the Bible, to pray or to do anything connected with being a Christian.
If we want to be a disciple of Jesus it will cost.
If we want to be a disciple of Jesus there will be sacrifice.
The cost and the sacrifice is our lives.
When Andrew, Peter, James, John, and Matthew became disciples of Jesus it cost them their lives. They left home and family. They sacrificed security and comfort.
The picture that Jesus draws for us about becoming a disciple in Luke 9:23 is - DEATH.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Paul says “I killed the old self who lived for itself and now Jesus lives His live in and through me.”
That is what occurs when we become disciples of Jesus.
Crucifixion is painful; it is called death by torture.
And the old self, what Paul calls the flesh, will not go down easy.
In Galatians 5:24 Paul says, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it passions and desires.”
The flesh is not neutral; it has “passions and desires”. The flesh is going to fight. It wants control.
Disciples of Jesus give Jesus control. They make Jesus the sole Authority in their lives.
Over the next several week I want to explore the characteristics of a disciple of Jesus.
As a Disciple of Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Seeking God's Face
God has directed me over the last six weeks to lead my faith family through a study of revival. The purpose was not to just learn about revival, but to let God put us as His people in a position to receive revival. Revival is a sovereign act of God so you cannot make it happen. You can get your life in a surrendered and repentant condition so that, when God does pour out His Spirit in revival, you can be ready.
One of the verses that God has been using is 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”
I want to focus on one phrase in that verse that God has impressed on me. It is a phrase that I had overlooked as I thought about the verse and even as I prayed it for my faith family.
The phrase “seek His face.”
We many times pray for God to bless us or thank Him when we perceived He has blessed us. But seeking God’s face and seeking God’s blessings are, I have come to understand, two very different things.
When I seek God’s blessings I am seeking God’s hand. I am seeking what He can DO for me. I believe seeking God’s blessings please God. God wants us to acknowledge our dependence on Him and seeking God’s blessings does that.
Seeking God’s face means I am seeking God presence. I am seeking God’s heart. I want to know and experience God as He is. I am not just interested in what God can do for me, I want to know WHO GOD IS.
I believe that seeking God’s face, His presence makes God smile. I really believe that it makes God laugh with great joy.
When we go to see our children and grandchildren, our grandchildren usually come running with arms open wide shouting “Grammy and Pops.” They don’t do that because we have gifts for them. They do it because they genuinely are glad to see us, to have us with them.
Well, God is overjoyed when His kids are genuinely glad to see Him and are excited about hanging out with Him.
So, from a practical aspect, what does it mean to seek God’s face?
I see in Scripture six things that will allow us to seek God’s face, to hang out with God if we will practice them.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
We invite God to know us.
We invite God to examine us.
We invite God to rebuke us.
We invite God to correct us.
If God is going to do that, we have to be TRANSPARENT with Him. We cannot invite Him in and close off areas of our life. We have to let Him go anywhere He wants in our lives.
Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
We are to love. Love God with all we are. Love others like we love ourselves.
If we are going to love God like that we have to be PASSIONATE.
If we are going to love others like that we have to be GRACIOUS.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
If we are going to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness above all else (that is what “seek first” means), we have to be OBESSED with Jesus.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
If we are to do that, we have to possess two things:
A Holy Humble Fear of God (awe)
A Holy Humble Courage
When I think of God, two thoughts come to my mind. First is fear or awe. This is the All-Mighty, All-Knowing, Ever-Present God we are talking about. The second is comfort. This same awesomely fearful God loves me and is on my side.
For us to have both fear and courage we have to be DEVOTED to God. Devoted means to cling to something. It means we have to have it or our life will not be right or good.
John 15:4-5
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Abide means to remain as one.
If we are to abide, remain as one with Jesus, we have to be completely DEPENDENT on Him.
Joel 2:12-13
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; He relents over disaster.
If we are to repent and return to God we have to be HUMBLE. We have to admit our wrongness and our sin. We then have to come back to where God wants us.
Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
I remember when I was dating Jan. I would spend a long time getting ready. I would pick out the clothes I thought she liked. I would spend time making my hair look good (yes, I had hair at one time). I wanted to show her that she was special, that she was The One I cared for above all others.
Jesus wants to know that He is our first love.
If we are to truly return to our first love, we have to be HONEST. We cannot tell Jesus we love Him and go live in direct opposition to His word and character. We cannot tell Him we love Him above everything and have anything else as the focus of our lives.
Seeking God’s face means we are to be:
Transparent
Passionate
Gracious
Obsessed
Devoted
Dependent
Humble
Honest
If I were really clever I would spell a word using the first letter of those words, but I not so I am not going to try. If you can come up with one, please let me know.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about seeking God’s face.
Seeking God’s face will not always be fun or pleasant, but it will be necessary and a blessing.
You see the real blessing that God wants to pour out on us His children is - HIMSELF.
God is the blessing.
Seeking His Face Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
One of the verses that God has been using is 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”
I want to focus on one phrase in that verse that God has impressed on me. It is a phrase that I had overlooked as I thought about the verse and even as I prayed it for my faith family.
The phrase “seek His face.”
We many times pray for God to bless us or thank Him when we perceived He has blessed us. But seeking God’s face and seeking God’s blessings are, I have come to understand, two very different things.
When I seek God’s blessings I am seeking God’s hand. I am seeking what He can DO for me. I believe seeking God’s blessings please God. God wants us to acknowledge our dependence on Him and seeking God’s blessings does that.
Seeking God’s face means I am seeking God presence. I am seeking God’s heart. I want to know and experience God as He is. I am not just interested in what God can do for me, I want to know WHO GOD IS.
I believe that seeking God’s face, His presence makes God smile. I really believe that it makes God laugh with great joy.
When we go to see our children and grandchildren, our grandchildren usually come running with arms open wide shouting “Grammy and Pops.” They don’t do that because we have gifts for them. They do it because they genuinely are glad to see us, to have us with them.
Well, God is overjoyed when His kids are genuinely glad to see Him and are excited about hanging out with Him.
So, from a practical aspect, what does it mean to seek God’s face?
I see in Scripture six things that will allow us to seek God’s face, to hang out with God if we will practice them.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
We invite God to know us.
We invite God to examine us.
We invite God to rebuke us.
We invite God to correct us.
If God is going to do that, we have to be TRANSPARENT with Him. We cannot invite Him in and close off areas of our life. We have to let Him go anywhere He wants in our lives.
Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
We are to love. Love God with all we are. Love others like we love ourselves.
If we are going to love God like that we have to be PASSIONATE.
If we are going to love others like that we have to be GRACIOUS.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
If we are going to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness above all else (that is what “seek first” means), we have to be OBESSED with Jesus.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
If we are to do that, we have to possess two things:
A Holy Humble Fear of God (awe)
A Holy Humble Courage
When I think of God, two thoughts come to my mind. First is fear or awe. This is the All-Mighty, All-Knowing, Ever-Present God we are talking about. The second is comfort. This same awesomely fearful God loves me and is on my side.
For us to have both fear and courage we have to be DEVOTED to God. Devoted means to cling to something. It means we have to have it or our life will not be right or good.
John 15:4-5
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Abide means to remain as one.
If we are to abide, remain as one with Jesus, we have to be completely DEPENDENT on Him.
Joel 2:12-13
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; He relents over disaster.
If we are to repent and return to God we have to be HUMBLE. We have to admit our wrongness and our sin. We then have to come back to where God wants us.
Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
I remember when I was dating Jan. I would spend a long time getting ready. I would pick out the clothes I thought she liked. I would spend time making my hair look good (yes, I had hair at one time). I wanted to show her that she was special, that she was The One I cared for above all others.
Jesus wants to know that He is our first love.
If we are to truly return to our first love, we have to be HONEST. We cannot tell Jesus we love Him and go live in direct opposition to His word and character. We cannot tell Him we love Him above everything and have anything else as the focus of our lives.
Seeking God’s face means we are to be:
Transparent
Passionate
Gracious
Obsessed
Devoted
Dependent
Humble
Honest
If I were really clever I would spell a word using the first letter of those words, but I not so I am not going to try. If you can come up with one, please let me know.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about seeking God’s face.
Seeking God’s face will not always be fun or pleasant, but it will be necessary and a blessing.
You see the real blessing that God wants to pour out on us His children is - HIMSELF.
God is the blessing.
Seeking His Face Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
How Jesus Made Disciples
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives us as His people a command - Go Make Disciples.
How do we do that?
Jesus made disciples while He was physically here on earth. We as the church, the Body of Christ, are to continue Jesus mission of making disciples.
In John 17 Jesus prays about His disciples. He prays for those that were there then and for those, like us, who would become disciples through the testimony of those who were there then.
In this prayer Jesus tells us how He made disciples and thus brought glory to the Father. That was Jesus’ mission and ours.
John 17:2-3
Since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life that they may know You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jesus made disciples by giving eternal life to them.
We have defined eternal life as “going to heaven.” Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the Father and Himself.
If we look at eternal life as a relationship with the Father through Jesus and not as a place or an achievement, then a disciple is not just a person who is going to heaven when they die, but a person who knows God.
The only way you come to really know God is by surrendering your life to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing eternal life with others.
John 17:6
I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
John 17:8
For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know the truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Jesus made disciples by revealing the Father and truth through the Word of God.
The Word of God is our sole authority for how to live. The Word of God is not just good stuff; it is Life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing truth, God’s Word with others.
John 17:9
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given Me, for they are Yours.
Jesus made disciples by praying for them.
Jesus didn’t pray for comfort for them or for them to be removed for the world or for wealth and health. He prayed they would become formed into His image.
We pray many times for people to be removed from difficult circumstances. Maybe we should be pray that God would use the difficult circumstances to make them more like Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about praying for other believers.
John 17:11
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.
John 17:16
They are not of the world, just as I am not of this world.
Jesus made disciples by setting them apart. Jesus made them holy.
Disciples are in the world (they live and operate and have contact with the world), but not of the world (don’t buy into the ideas and values of the world).
If we are too attached to the world, we will love the world and the love of the Father is not in us. If we are too isolated from the world, we can’t relate to people and we are not effective in sharing God’s life with them.
We have to be connected with the people but reject the values.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being holy, set apart for God’s use only.
John 17:20-21
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
Jesus made disciples by giving them the understanding that allowed them to stayed connected with the Father.
We can do nothing disconnected from God. We only produce fruit when we are connected with God. Producing fruit glorifies God.
The message Jesus taught His disciples allowed them to understand the truth that they needed God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing the truth and helping people to understand that they need God.
God is not an option for our lives. He is the essential.
John 17:22-23
The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in Me, that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.
Jesus made disciples by loving them.
God is love.
The Body of Christ is to be love.
The world will not be attracted to Jesus by our judging and condemning them. They will be attracted to Jesus as we, with godly standards, love them as Jesus loves them.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving people as Jesus loves them.
The way that Jesus made disciples is exactly how we are to make disciples.
We make disciples:
By Sharing Eternal Life
By Sharing God’s Word
By Praying
By Being Holy
By Sharing the Message of the Need for God
By Sharing God’s Love
The purpose of all followers of Jesus is to glorify the Father.
The way we glorify the Father is by producing fruit.
The fruit that is pleasing to the Father is godly character that produces new disciples.
If we are going to be Jesus’ disciples, we have to die to ourselves so He can be born and live in us.
Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be My disciple.
Making Disciples With Jesus by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
How do we do that?
Jesus made disciples while He was physically here on earth. We as the church, the Body of Christ, are to continue Jesus mission of making disciples.
In John 17 Jesus prays about His disciples. He prays for those that were there then and for those, like us, who would become disciples through the testimony of those who were there then.
In this prayer Jesus tells us how He made disciples and thus brought glory to the Father. That was Jesus’ mission and ours.
John 17:2-3
Since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life that they may know You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jesus made disciples by giving eternal life to them.
We have defined eternal life as “going to heaven.” Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the Father and Himself.
If we look at eternal life as a relationship with the Father through Jesus and not as a place or an achievement, then a disciple is not just a person who is going to heaven when they die, but a person who knows God.
The only way you come to really know God is by surrendering your life to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing eternal life with others.
John 17:6
I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
John 17:8
For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know the truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Jesus made disciples by revealing the Father and truth through the Word of God.
The Word of God is our sole authority for how to live. The Word of God is not just good stuff; it is Life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing truth, God’s Word with others.
John 17:9
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given Me, for they are Yours.
Jesus made disciples by praying for them.
Jesus didn’t pray for comfort for them or for them to be removed for the world or for wealth and health. He prayed they would become formed into His image.
We pray many times for people to be removed from difficult circumstances. Maybe we should be pray that God would use the difficult circumstances to make them more like Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about praying for other believers.
John 17:11
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.
John 17:16
They are not of the world, just as I am not of this world.
Jesus made disciples by setting them apart. Jesus made them holy.
Disciples are in the world (they live and operate and have contact with the world), but not of the world (don’t buy into the ideas and values of the world).
If we are too attached to the world, we will love the world and the love of the Father is not in us. If we are too isolated from the world, we can’t relate to people and we are not effective in sharing God’s life with them.
We have to be connected with the people but reject the values.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being holy, set apart for God’s use only.
John 17:20-21
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
Jesus made disciples by giving them the understanding that allowed them to stayed connected with the Father.
We can do nothing disconnected from God. We only produce fruit when we are connected with God. Producing fruit glorifies God.
The message Jesus taught His disciples allowed them to understand the truth that they needed God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about sharing the truth and helping people to understand that they need God.
God is not an option for our lives. He is the essential.
John 17:22-23
The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in Me, that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.
Jesus made disciples by loving them.
God is love.
The Body of Christ is to be love.
The world will not be attracted to Jesus by our judging and condemning them. They will be attracted to Jesus as we, with godly standards, love them as Jesus loves them.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving people as Jesus loves them.
The way that Jesus made disciples is exactly how we are to make disciples.
We make disciples:
By Sharing Eternal Life
By Sharing God’s Word
By Praying
By Being Holy
By Sharing the Message of the Need for God
By Sharing God’s Love
The purpose of all followers of Jesus is to glorify the Father.
The way we glorify the Father is by producing fruit.
The fruit that is pleasing to the Father is godly character that produces new disciples.
If we are going to be Jesus’ disciples, we have to die to ourselves so He can be born and live in us.
Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be My disciple.
Making Disciples With Jesus by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 2, 2014
God's Relentless Love
The relentless love of God is overwhelming to me. The relentless love of God is also intimidating to me.
1 John 4:8 and 16 both say that God is love. Those verses don’t say that God is a God of love. They say God is love. He is the very essence of love. He is love as love really is.
We know based on those verses He is love.
John 3:16 says that God loves the world, the people, so much that He sent Jesus, and through faith in Jesus we have eternal life.
We know based on this verse that God’s love caused Him to give the most precious gift He could give - His Son.
But it is in the Old Testament book of Hosea that we see the relentlessness of God’s love for us.
In Hosea 1:2 God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute.
It would have been interesting to seen Hosea explain to his parents why He was marrying a prostitute. Love to have heard that conversation.
Hosea obeys God and marries Gomer. (Every time I read this passage I have visions of Hosea marrying Gomer Pyle.)
So we ask why would God tell a godly man like Hosea to marry a prostitute?
In Hosea 1:2 God says it is to show that His people are committing spiritual prostitution because they are worshiping other gods.
Gomer and Hosea have three children.
The first is Jezreel. That name means God scatters.
The second is Lo-ruhamah. That name means not loved.
The third is Lo-ammi. That name means not my people.
Each of these names reflects the strain in the relationship of God and His people.
Gomer then leaves Hosea and goes back to her old life of prostitution.
In Hosea chapter 3 God tells Hosea to go find Gomer and take her back as his wife. When Hosea find her she is being sold as a slave and Hosea buys her for fifteen pieces of silver and ten bushels of barley. This was an exorbitant price.
God also renames the children from “not loved” to “love” and from “not my people” to “you are my people.”
The relentlessness of God’s love is shown in:
Hosea’ s love for Gomer in the first place.
Hosea’s buying Gomer back after she had betrayed and abandoned him.
The renaming of the children showing that a people who were not loved and who weren’t God’s people were now loved by God and were reclaimed by Him.
You and I are Gomer. We are the ones that God created and loved who betrayed and abandoned Him. The names of the children show how we related to God. We didn’t want His love or to be His people.
Hosea represents God:
The One who loves us.
The One who bought us with an exorbitant price
The One who pours out His love on us.
The One who wants us as His people.
There is another part to this whole event that we many times overlook.
In Hosea 3:3 Hosea says to Gomer after he has bought her out of slavery, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
Hosea tells her that because of the great price he paid, out of his love for her, she has to be with him and no one else.
Three aspects of God’s love in Hosea 1-3.
First, God’s love is forgiving.
God’s desire is to forgive. It is not to punish or condemn or destroy.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God sent Jesus to die for your sin so that He could offer you forgiveness. God wants to forgive and He is waiting to forgive.
Second, God’s love is merciful.
Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve.
Gomer deserved for Hosea to leave her to the consequences of her actions. He was directed by God to rescue her from slavery. She did not deserve that.
In the same way God has saved us from what our actions deserve by sending Jesus to take our punishment. Jesus died in our place on the cross.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit.
Third, God’s love is gracious.
Grace is being given more than you deserve.
Ephesians 1:7-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
God didn’t just do the minimum. He lavished the riches of salvation on us along with great wisdom and insight.
He didn’t just save us from hell. He saved us to be in heaven.
That is the overwhelming part.
The intimidating part is that God commands me to love in that same way.
Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am to love God with all that I am.
I am to love other people in the same way I love myself.
It is great to know that God’s love is forgiving, merciful, and gracious. But my love is also to be forgiving, merciful, and gracious.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about accepting and receiving God’s love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about living daily in God’s love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about giving God’s love to others.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving just like Jesus loves.
How can we do that?
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
God has poured into us by the Holy Spirit His same relentless love.
Am I capable of loving like Jesus? - No!
I am not a capable in my own natural resources. But God has poured into me His supernatural resources so that it is not me loving; it is actually God loving through me.
God gives us a command in Ephesians 4:32. He says, “Be kind to one another, tendered hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
God says love, forgive and show mercy and give grace, just as He does to me. The Holy Spirit will fill you and love through you. We have to surrender to allow God to do that.
With God’s Love Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
1 John 4:8 and 16 both say that God is love. Those verses don’t say that God is a God of love. They say God is love. He is the very essence of love. He is love as love really is.
We know based on those verses He is love.
John 3:16 says that God loves the world, the people, so much that He sent Jesus, and through faith in Jesus we have eternal life.
We know based on this verse that God’s love caused Him to give the most precious gift He could give - His Son.
But it is in the Old Testament book of Hosea that we see the relentlessness of God’s love for us.
In Hosea 1:2 God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute.
It would have been interesting to seen Hosea explain to his parents why He was marrying a prostitute. Love to have heard that conversation.
Hosea obeys God and marries Gomer. (Every time I read this passage I have visions of Hosea marrying Gomer Pyle.)
So we ask why would God tell a godly man like Hosea to marry a prostitute?
In Hosea 1:2 God says it is to show that His people are committing spiritual prostitution because they are worshiping other gods.
Gomer and Hosea have three children.
The first is Jezreel. That name means God scatters.
The second is Lo-ruhamah. That name means not loved.
The third is Lo-ammi. That name means not my people.
Each of these names reflects the strain in the relationship of God and His people.
Gomer then leaves Hosea and goes back to her old life of prostitution.
In Hosea chapter 3 God tells Hosea to go find Gomer and take her back as his wife. When Hosea find her she is being sold as a slave and Hosea buys her for fifteen pieces of silver and ten bushels of barley. This was an exorbitant price.
God also renames the children from “not loved” to “love” and from “not my people” to “you are my people.”
The relentlessness of God’s love is shown in:
Hosea’ s love for Gomer in the first place.
Hosea’s buying Gomer back after she had betrayed and abandoned him.
The renaming of the children showing that a people who were not loved and who weren’t God’s people were now loved by God and were reclaimed by Him.
You and I are Gomer. We are the ones that God created and loved who betrayed and abandoned Him. The names of the children show how we related to God. We didn’t want His love or to be His people.
Hosea represents God:
The One who loves us.
The One who bought us with an exorbitant price
The One who pours out His love on us.
The One who wants us as His people.
There is another part to this whole event that we many times overlook.
In Hosea 3:3 Hosea says to Gomer after he has bought her out of slavery, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
Hosea tells her that because of the great price he paid, out of his love for her, she has to be with him and no one else.
Three aspects of God’s love in Hosea 1-3.
First, God’s love is forgiving.
God’s desire is to forgive. It is not to punish or condemn or destroy.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God sent Jesus to die for your sin so that He could offer you forgiveness. God wants to forgive and He is waiting to forgive.
Second, God’s love is merciful.
Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve.
Gomer deserved for Hosea to leave her to the consequences of her actions. He was directed by God to rescue her from slavery. She did not deserve that.
In the same way God has saved us from what our actions deserve by sending Jesus to take our punishment. Jesus died in our place on the cross.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit.
Third, God’s love is gracious.
Grace is being given more than you deserve.
Ephesians 1:7-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
God didn’t just do the minimum. He lavished the riches of salvation on us along with great wisdom and insight.
He didn’t just save us from hell. He saved us to be in heaven.
That is the overwhelming part.
The intimidating part is that God commands me to love in that same way.
Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am to love God with all that I am.
I am to love other people in the same way I love myself.
It is great to know that God’s love is forgiving, merciful, and gracious. But my love is also to be forgiving, merciful, and gracious.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about accepting and receiving God’s love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about living daily in God’s love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about giving God’s love to others.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving just like Jesus loves.
How can we do that?
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
God has poured into us by the Holy Spirit His same relentless love.
Am I capable of loving like Jesus? - No!
I am not a capable in my own natural resources. But God has poured into me His supernatural resources so that it is not me loving; it is actually God loving through me.
God gives us a command in Ephesians 4:32. He says, “Be kind to one another, tendered hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
God says love, forgive and show mercy and give grace, just as He does to me. The Holy Spirit will fill you and love through you. We have to surrender to allow God to do that.
With God’s Love Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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