Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL170005A
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend and sit back
00:03 as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of House Calls. 00:25 Welcome to House Calls, my name is John Lomacang, 00:28 this is the program that you want to be watching 00:30 so don't turn away and his name is John Stanton, 00:33 good to have you here, John. 00:34 It's good to be here again. 00:36 I tell you, we are continuing our track 00:37 in this very important topic on Discipleship, 00:40 so we are very pleased 00:42 that you've taken the time to join us. 00:44 Hopefully you have your Bibles and your pens 00:46 and I like to make it rhyme, 00:48 invite your family and your friends. 00:49 And, John, give us some preview 00:51 of kind of what we're gonna be talking about 00:52 as far as Discipleship, 00:54 that's your area in the conference. 00:55 Yeah, we in the last program we talked about discipleship 00:59 and it's impact on the church, and accomplishing its mission 01:03 and how important it was. 01:05 And this one we're gonna talk about discipleship 01:08 what it looks like in the eyes of Christ. 01:11 He gave four conditions of discipleship, 01:13 we're going to talk about those. 01:14 Okay, wonderful and we look forward to that. 01:16 And as you know we always invite you to join us 01:20 for this program, because it's very important. 01:22 However, before we do anything, before we answer questions 01:25 or go into the Bible, we always begin with prayer. 01:28 John, would you pray for us? Yes. 01:30 Gracious Father in heaven, 01:31 we again ask for Your presence here 01:33 to be with us. 01:35 We know that we cannot open Your word 01:37 and rightly divide it 01:38 without the leading of your Holy Spirit and so, 01:41 please Lord help us today, 01:43 and touch the hearts and minds of those 01:45 that are listening or hearing this program, 01:48 and to just pray that you would prepare a blessing 01:51 for each one of us as we study together 01:53 in Jesus' name, amen. 01:54 Amen. Thank you, John. 01:57 As many of you know that if you watch this program 01:59 before we have questions that we like to entertain. 02:01 I get the snail mail. 02:04 John gets the ones from the internet. 02:06 I get the ones from the internet also, 02:09 but if you have any questions you'd like to send to us, 02:11 here's the information you need, 02:12 send those to housecalls@3abn.org 02:15 That's housecalls@3abn.org, 02:19 and try to make them concise and to the point. 02:22 You surely do increase your chance of having 02:24 those questions read and answered on the program 02:27 and we appreciate everything you do 02:29 for this network as we go and grow looking forward 02:32 to the coming of our Lord and Savior. 02:35 John, what's our first question for today? 02:37 What do you have? I got a question from Janelle. 02:39 All right. 02:40 And she writes here that her husband 02:42 and her are confused about Genesis 1. 02:45 Okay. 02:46 It's speaking about creation stating that the evening 02:49 and the morning was the first day 02:50 and the second day and the third day and so on. 02:53 Could you please explain the evening 02:56 and morning as a day 02:58 and not being evening to evening? 03:00 So a good question and I think 03:02 there's a fairly simple answer to this. 03:06 Moses who wrote the Book of Genesis, 03:09 obviously wrote as a Hebrew and very much understood 03:16 the culture of the Hebrews and from a very early on, 03:19 a time early on where Jesus called them as His people, 03:22 He gave them a clarity 03:25 as to what encompassed each day. 03:29 And contrary to what we practice here 03:32 in our modern society, 03:34 modern culture is that the day started 03:38 when the sun went down, not when the sun came up. 03:42 Our emphasis here is when the sun comes up, 03:44 the day gets started, but not so much back then. 03:48 The Hebrews saw the day starting 03:50 when the sun went down 03:52 and it entered into the evening hours, 03:54 and so what Moses is simply saying here 03:57 is that the day that begins in the evening 04:00 and ends during the day was the period of time 04:03 that creation occurred. 04:04 That's right. 04:06 So he's simply using terminology 04:07 that it was in their own understanding, 04:09 their culture, what they were familiar, 04:12 very familiar with practicing. 04:14 To us it sounds a little strange, 04:15 but to them it made a lot of sense. 04:17 Very simple, in a nutshell he's simply saying 04:20 that the evening and the morning 04:22 are a part of the day. 04:25 The reason why he started with the evening 04:26 is because when the Lord began creation in Genesis 1, 04:29 the Bible says, darkness moved on the... 04:33 the earth is without form and void and darkness, 04:36 there was darkness first, so the day always begins 04:39 at the dark part. 04:42 When the day ends it goes back into the dark part, 04:45 but the day is made up of the evening and the morning. 04:49 You know, John, I thought it was interesting 04:50 that when we get to midnight a lot of people think, 04:52 okay, it's 12:01, it's now Tuesday, 04:55 you know, first minute into Tuesday 04:57 or 12 o'clock and one second, 05:00 they think is one second into the next day, 05:03 but it's called midnight for a reason, 05:06 because the night has already begun 05:07 when the sunset 05:09 and that's why you hear the meteorologist say 05:11 sunset tonight is or sunrise tomorrow morning, 05:14 and then we get to noon lunchtime as we would say, 05:17 we say mid day, so the day already started 05:21 and the night already started 05:22 and the Bible's reckoning is clear. 05:25 But another question we have here. 05:28 Lincoln from Belize, I've been to Belize, 05:32 love that country, 05:33 it's beautiful not too far off shore 05:36 and Belize is a set of coral reef 05:38 that's almost like the reef out in Australia, 05:41 beautiful, people go to Belize 05:42 for diving and clear, clear waters. 05:45 I didn't get a chance to go, 05:46 but thank you for sending the question. 05:49 I didn't get a chance to go to the reef that is, 05:51 but the question is, 05:52 "Why is the Sabbath so important?" 05:55 Well, let's go first of all to Exodus 20, 05:59 I'll show you the reason why it is important. 06:02 Will begin in Exodus 20 and matter of fact 06:06 in my Bible I could turn there quicker, 06:08 we have these digital Bibles nowadays, 06:10 they are lot of fun but you know 06:12 when you could rightly divide the word of truth 06:13 by turning there, it sure does make it a lot easier. 06:16 Exodus 20 and we're going to look together at first verse 8 06:22 and then verse, portions of verse 10. 06:26 We're gonna read 8, 9 and 10. 06:28 Now first of all... 06:29 The context here are the Ten Commandments. 06:31 The context is, 06:32 are the Ten Commandments, exactly. 06:33 Ten Commandments, not ten suggestions, 06:36 not nine commandments and one suggestion, 06:39 because oftentimes the Ten Commandments 06:41 are handled as though they are nine commandments 06:44 and one suggestion, but the one suggestion 06:46 that people often forget 06:48 "suggestion they make it seem that way 06:52 but there are Ten Commandments, none of those are suggestions." 06:57 Verse 8 of Exodus 20, the reason why it is important 07:01 is because it begins with the word remember, remember. 07:06 When God says, "Remember," it's a serious injunction. 07:10 You know, we have a couple of remembers in the Bible, 07:13 one is remember Lot's wife. 07:16 Remember Lot's wife, what's the lesson there John? 07:18 What was the lesson? What did she do? 07:20 Yeah, I suppose she turned back 07:22 looking at the world that she left behind 07:24 and turned into a pillar of salt. 07:25 That's right so, the lesson there is don't, 07:28 when God says, "Go forward, don't turn back." 07:30 Don't even look back and she looked back 07:33 and that's why the question, it's a simple verse remember 07:36 "Lot's wife," just those three words. 07:40 And then the other one is in Ecclesiastes 12:1, 07:44 "Remember now the creator in the days of your youth." 07:48 Well, nobody would argue with the fact 07:50 that young people need to know the Lord, right. 07:52 Young people today, one of the reasons our society, 07:55 and this is not just in the 2000s or 2017s 07:58 or whatever the case may be, but this is in all generations, 08:02 young people in every generation 08:04 have a tendency not to have a desire to know the Lord. 08:08 The world grabs on to the mind of the young people 08:10 whether it's the 50s 08:13 when it was out to a movie theaters 08:15 or when rock and roll begin to become... 08:18 I remember looking at some of the stories 08:19 when rock and roll began to surface, 08:21 young people just dove into that, 08:24 so we could see in every generation 08:26 from ancient times to the present, 08:28 young people need to know the Lord, 08:30 and nobody would argue, 08:32 if I said remember the creator while you're young, 08:34 nobody would say, well, that's not important. 08:37 But we get to the Sabbath and it says, 08:38 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 08:43 Not to make it holy, 08:44 we don't pick a day to make holy, 08:46 we simply choose the day the Lord has already made holy 08:49 and He says, "Remember it to keep it holy." 08:51 Now the question is why is it important? 08:54 Look at verse 10. 08:56 "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, 09:01 your God." 09:03 The question is who is your God? 09:07 When you honor the Sabbath, you are acknowledging 09:11 that the God of creation is your God, 09:14 so why is it important? 09:15 First of all he says, "Remember" 09:17 secondly if you identify with the Sabbath, 09:20 you identify with a God of creation. 09:22 Go to Genesis, look at Genesis 2. 09:27 Genesis 2 and then we're going to show one more here. 09:31 The Sabbath is important, 09:32 then we'll show one few more texts, 09:35 but the God of creation, when creation was done, 09:39 notice what the Bible tells us about the end of creation. 09:43 "Thus the heavens and the earth, 09:45 and all the host of them were finished." 09:48 Genesis 2:1, "And on the seventh day 09:51 God ended His work which He had done, 09:55 and He rested on the seventh day 09:58 from all His work which He had done. 10:00 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, 10:05 because in it He rested from all His work 10:08 which He had created and made." 10:10 And so when he says in Exodus 20, 10:15 "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth," 10:17 Exodus 20:11, "For in six days 10:20 the Lord made the heavens and the earth," 10:22 is taken us way back to when there was only Adam and Eve, 10:25 only two individuals. 10:27 No Jews, no Greeks, no other nationality, 10:30 just mom and dad, the beginning of creation. 10:34 So when you honor the Sabbath, you are saying, 10:37 "I am connected to the God of creation." 10:40 But there's one more thing. 10:41 Ezekiel, do you have Ezekiel 20, John, 10:44 go there and I want you to read for us 10:46 verse 12 and verse 20. 10:48 Ezekiel 20:12 and 20, 10:54 this is important, very important. 10:57 Okay. 10:59 "Moreover I gave them My Sabbath, 11:00 to be a sign between them and Me, 11:02 that they might know that I am the Lord 11:03 who sanctifies them." 11:05 Okay, first of all, when you honor the Sabbath, 11:07 it is a sign that you know that the Lord is the one 11:11 that sanctifies you, I thought that was interesting 11:14 because in Exodus chapter... 11:15 in Isaiah 66, one of the reasons Isaiah 65, 11:19 one of the reasons why people are going to be destroyed 11:22 is because they sanctify themselves, 11:25 but when you honor the Sabbath, you recognize that the Lord 11:28 is the one that is sanctifying you, 11:30 but there's something else, verse 20. 11:34 "Hallow My Sabbaths, and there will be a sign 11:37 between Me and you, that you may know 11:39 that I am the Lord, your God." 11:40 Right, so when you hallow the Sabbath, 11:42 you are saying the Lord of creation is my God. 11:48 Why is it so important? 11:50 It is a sign between you and God 11:52 that He's the one that sanctifies you. 11:55 It is a sign between you and God 11:57 that you acknowledge that He is your God. 12:00 Is it important to know that He is your God? 12:02 Yes. 12:04 "And this is life eternal," John 17:3, 12:06 "that you might know God, the only true God 12:09 and Jesus Christ whom He sent." 12:12 The only true God is the one that is connected to creation. 12:16 There are many God's, many lords, 12:19 we are told not to have any other god. 12:21 When you ignore the Sabbath, then you are saying, 12:24 I am not connected to the God of creation, 12:27 and there is no other god that can save you 12:29 but the Lord of creation. 12:32 What's interesting, John, is that it is, 12:36 the Sabbath has come under scrutiny. 12:37 I'm talking about the seventh day Sabbath, 12:39 this might come under scrutiny 12:40 because the accusation has been levied 12:43 by many Christians in the world as those that keep that day, 12:47 the seventh day from Friday sundown 12:49 to Saturday sundown are doing, 12:52 are gauging in legalistic works based system. 12:56 When what we just read shows exactly the opposite. 12:59 By keeping the Sabbath what God is saying 13:01 is that you're showing a dependency, 13:04 a faith relationship with me 13:05 trusting that I am the one that sanctifies you 13:08 and acknowledging that I am your God. 13:11 So the very opposite is actually true 13:13 and Satan works this way, 13:14 I mean he, he knows the Sabbath there's a blessing in that, 13:17 there's a connection between God as the Creator 13:20 and His creation in that and not only to create them 13:26 but Deuteronomy 5 connects recreation with the Sabbath. 13:32 That's right. 13:33 Because it says in that, toward the end of that verse 13:36 which is a recapitulation 13:37 by Moses of the Ten Commandments. 13:39 He says there at the end of the fourth commandment there 13:43 that God was the God who brought you 13:45 out of slavery. 13:46 That's right. He's God of deliverance. 13:48 So God of creation and God of deliverance to recreate, 13:52 so everything here points to God setting this day apart, 13:56 to enter into the life and heart of his people 14:00 and as they trust Him, as they depend upon Him 14:02 and put their faith in Him, He sanctifies them, 14:04 He changes them, recreates them 14:06 and they become blessed as a result of that. 14:09 And the devil comes along and says, 14:10 "The day doesn't matter." 14:12 I mean that's amazing because there's... 14:14 I'm sure that the person, well, I'm highly, 14:17 it's a high probability that the person 14:19 that asked this question is a Christian. 14:21 And there are many Christians that watch our program, 14:23 and the majority of Christians in the world today 14:25 have been told that the Sabbath doesn't matter, 14:28 that is for the Jews, it was nailed to the cross, 14:31 it is a symbol of works. 14:33 Let me answer that one, it is, 14:35 first of all it was not nailed to the cross, 14:37 because it had nothing to do with the cross. 14:39 It was established before sin even entered the world. 14:42 Why would something perfect have to be done away with? 14:45 If the Sabbath was nailed to the cross, 14:46 then marriage is nailed to the cross, 14:48 because those are the two institutions 14:50 the Lord blessed before sin even entered the world. 14:53 And how amazing it is today 14:55 that both of those institutions are under fire, 14:57 homosexuality, same sex marriage 15:00 has attacked the family in the marriage. 15:02 And Sunday which has been established as a tradition 15:06 have nothing to do with the scriptures. 15:09 People try to make it connect to the scriptures, 15:11 but those who established it, 15:12 it has no connection to God's command whatsoever. 15:16 It does not connect to any command 15:18 to honor His resurrection. 15:20 Baptism is the symbol of death, burial, and resurrection. 15:24 That's right. 15:25 Walk in the newness of life, raised to the newness of life, 15:28 so men have come up with these 15:30 discombobulated pile of illegitimate excuses 15:35 as to why the Sabbath should be forgotten. 15:37 Let me make the point in transition 15:38 to the next question, 15:40 why is it important? 15:41 Because God said, remember. 15:43 Now here's a simple question. 15:45 I did this a number of years ago, 15:48 and it resulted in a couple giving their lives to Jesus, 15:51 coming out of darkness into this marvelous light. 15:53 I said this and I'll repeat it on this program, 15:56 look at these five words Saturday, Sunday, Sabbath, 15:59 the seventh day, and first day. 16:01 Saturday, Sunday, Sabbath, seventh day, and first day, 16:06 look that up and take it to your pastor 16:08 and ask him to explain 16:10 why you don't honor the Bible Sabbath. 16:13 I had a Presbyterian couple come 16:14 one Wednesday evening to our church 16:16 and stood up and I thought they were visiting 3ABN, 16:19 and I came to find out after asking questions, 16:20 "Are you an elder? 16:22 Are you a deacon? Are you a member? 16:23 Are you an Adventist? 16:25 And they said, "No, no, no, no." 16:28 I said, "Why are you here?" 16:29 In the very questions I put out, 16:31 they said, "Well, we were watching House Calls 16:33 and you said, "Look up Saturday, 16:34 Sunday, seventh day, first day and Sabbath." 16:37 And we did and we went to our pastor 16:39 and that's why we're here." 16:41 And their pastor said to them, 16:44 this man was an elder in his church 40 years, 16:47 the pastor said to them, 16:48 "You're causing problems in our church." 16:51 And he said, "No, I'm not Pastor, 16:53 I'm simply following the Bible." 16:55 And then this pastor ended by saying, "You have a problem, 16:58 you fix it." 16:59 And he said, "I am, 17:01 I'm going to the Seventh-day Adventist Church." 17:02 You also mentioned something 17:03 to the effect that you're a member, 17:05 you sit in a pew. 17:07 I'm the pastor, I'm the one that preaches. 17:09 Exactly, he said, "I speak, you listen." 17:12 And he said, "No, it doesn't work that way." 17:13 And they went away, and they came 17:15 and they both got baptized and they accepted the Sabbath. 17:18 But it's a simple equation, God says, remember. 17:22 Let me say that again because somehow 17:25 our ears have been so tuned to the wrong voice. 17:29 God says, "Remember." 17:32 God says, "Remember." 17:34 Man says, "Forget the Sabbath." 17:38 God says, "Remember the Sabbath." 17:40 And mankind and the majority of Christians 17:44 follow what man says and not what God says. 17:48 That shows you how important it is. 17:51 The devil would not attack something so vehemently 17:54 if it was not important to God. 17:56 Yeah, yeah. 17:57 He knows what a blessing it can be 17:59 and we know that the advancement of evolution 18:04 wouldn't have been so strong and gained so much ground, 18:07 how do we remember the Sabbath? 18:09 Because the Sabbath points to the creator 18:11 and the week of creation. 18:13 He created the world in six days 18:16 and rested on the seventh. 18:18 Had we remembered that, 18:20 we wouldn't have forgotten and fell into evolution, 18:23 macroevolution as we have today. 18:25 You know what amazes me also, John, 18:26 there is a Creation Research Institute, 18:29 they do a great job. 18:30 Creation Research Institute, 18:32 recently I think they've built 18:33 a whole model of the creation week. 18:36 I'm just blown away 18:38 that they could put a model of the creation week 18:41 and they only covered six days. 18:44 They are the Creation Research Institute 18:48 and they put a model that people lord over 18:51 and you go then they say this is the week of creation 18:54 and they exclude the seventh day. 18:57 Which is the capstone. 18:58 Which is the capstone of the week. 19:00 And there is no place in the world 19:02 not in the constellation, not in the rotation of the sun, 19:05 not in the rotation of the moon, 19:06 the full moons during in the month, 19:08 not in the seasons changing four times a year 19:10 and not in the entire 365 day year. 19:14 There is no place you can find a seven day week 19:16 except in the Bible. 19:18 There's a reason why God gave the seventh one, 19:20 it is the perfect number, the number of divinity, 19:23 and it is the capstone of our relationship 19:25 between Him and you, and Him and us. 19:28 And by the way, I didn't mention the text, 19:31 but some people say 19:32 but the Sabbath is not mentioned 19:34 in the New Testament. 19:35 The Sabbath is mentioned 60 times in the New Testament. 19:38 The first day is only mentioned 12. 19:41 Eight of those references 19:42 have to do with the resurrection. 19:43 So you only have four chances 19:45 to come up with a replacement for the Sabbath 19:48 and you cannot because those four have 19:50 nothing to do with the change of the Sabbath. 19:52 One has to do with the breaking of bread 19:53 on the first day of the week 19:55 which they did every day. 19:57 The other one has to do with collecting offering 19:58 in Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 16, 20:00 which was an offering that was collected not at church 20:03 but from house to house like the Salvation Army would. 20:06 And the other one was simply saying, 20:09 I'll meet you on this particular first day, 20:12 and the last one was the disciples 20:14 hiding for fear of the Jews 20:16 after the resurrection of Jesus at the death of Jesus, 20:19 and the Bible says, and they gathered together, 20:21 and people teach that they gathered together 20:23 for worship service. 20:24 Read the whole context, 20:26 they were hiding behind locked doors 20:27 for fear of their lives, it was not a worship service. 20:31 So let's be honest and follow God's word, 20:34 and you will understand that when you love the Lord, 20:37 the Sabbath is not an issue. 20:39 Yes. 20:41 Okay, we have one more question here 20:42 before we move into the rest of our program. 20:44 Sure. 20:45 It's in regard to Hebrews 9:12. 20:50 Oh, yes. 20:52 And here's what Chapter 9:12 actually says, 20:56 and I'm reading from the New King James Version. 21:00 Well, I'll read verse 11 first, 21:01 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, 21:05 which the greater and more perfect tabernacle 21:07 not made with hands, 21:09 that is not of this creation. 21:10 Not with the blood of goats and calves, 21:12 but with His own blood 21:14 He entered into the Most Holy Place once and for all, 21:17 having obtained eternal redemption." 21:21 The question is asked here is surrounding some confusion, 21:26 King James Version says, "Holy Place," 21:28 New King James says, "Most Holy Place." 21:30 In fact, most other translations 21:32 also say most holy place there. 21:35 So is the writer referring 21:36 to Jesus entering the Holy Place on His ascension 21:39 or the Most Holy Place upon His ascension? 21:42 We as Adventist understand that Christ 21:45 and especially all high priest, 21:48 the priestly service surrounded the high priest 21:50 entering into the Holy Place first 21:53 throughout the year 21:54 offering they continue to bring in the continual sacrifices 21:56 into the tabernacle. 21:58 He only went into the Most Holy Place 22:00 once at the end of the year 22:02 in the ceremonial system and that was called, 22:04 "The Day of Atonement". 22:06 And then on that day it completes the annual cycle 22:09 of sacrifices and ceremonies... 22:11 That's right. 22:12 That provide a picture, 22:14 overall picture of the plan of salvation. 22:19 The church has been challenged in the past, 22:23 on this understanding based upon this verse, 22:26 because this verse as most read it 22:28 and most translations give it says, Most Holy Place. 22:33 But it actually isn't the Most Holy Place, 22:36 it's a wrong translation in most every case. 22:39 And just a quick way, we can get it, 22:41 we could spend a whole program on that 22:43 but we're not going to do that. 22:44 Just a quick thing here, 22:45 just a couple of things to take a look at. 22:48 You have to follow from Hebrews 9: 1-5 first 22:53 and follow the words used for sanctuary, 22:57 and for Holy Place and Most Holy Place. 22:59 You have to follow that very carefully, 23:01 and you will find that the only time 23:04 the Most Holy Place is mentioned is in verse 3. 23:08 Because in verse 3 it says, hagia hagioon, 23:11 which is holy of holies, that's in verse 3. 23:15 Nowhere else in that passage not even down in 9:12, 23:18 does it say hagia hagioon. 23:20 It's either hagia or hagioon. 23:24 Plural and singular also has an effect 23:26 on how you interpret this, 23:28 so the interpreters as they went through this thing 23:31 did the best they could with their understanding 23:33 at the time and probably in many cases 23:36 not linking it to the depth of study 23:38 that we have had now up to the time today 23:41 of the old ceremonial system to understand the process. 23:44 So what you're reading here in verse 12, 23:47 actually relates to the first apartment of the sanctuary, 23:52 not the second. 23:54 Good. 23:55 So that's the answer to the quick question, 23:57 hopefully clearing out some for that, 23:59 but I suggest you also continue to read that, 24:01 read the passage and especially read in the Greek. 24:04 You don't have to know Greek, 24:05 but read the words there 24:07 and you'll see that they're very inconsistent 24:08 in these translations as to how they translate 24:11 those different apartments. 24:13 And the reason why I say 1-5 there, 24:15 John, is because it clearly spells out 24:19 the sanctuary in general, 24:20 the first apartment and second apartment, 24:23 second apartment and it tags 24:25 or specifically mentions those with the words 24:28 that describe them and from there 24:30 they lose consistency in most cases, so anyway. 24:33 In understanding it, 24:34 I'm glad you made that point 24:35 understanding of the ceremonial services 24:37 and how they occurred, 24:38 you'll know clearly, but when it said, 24:41 I'll just turn the passage away but when he says, 24:43 he entered the Most Holy once for all, 24:45 he's just simply talking about the completion 24:47 when he entered once for all. 24:49 The inference is better, he entered once, 24:52 he entered once a year. 24:54 He didn't enter that at the time of his accession, 24:56 he went to the holy. 24:58 And the once a year 24:59 was the part of the cleansing of the sanctuary, 25:02 but you did a very good job on that, thank you, John. 25:05 I have one quick question 25:06 I think we could answer this in the time 25:07 we have before we go into our topic, 25:10 but the question is, "I have, I had always, 25:12 this is from Collin, thank you Collin 25:18 for this question about the lamb's wife. 25:23 I had always thought so, 25:25 is the church the bride of Christ? 25:26 He said, I'd always thought so. 25:29 Fundamental belief number 12, 25:31 the church is the bride for whom Christ died 25:34 that He might sanctify and cleanse her 25:36 and that's in the church manual chapter 2 of the church manual 25:41 and the scriptures analogies 25:43 of the husband wife relationship. 25:45 He said, "But I read in Great Controversy Chapter 24, 25:48 which says, "The holy city, the New Jerusalem, 25:49 which is the capital 25:51 and the representative of the kingdom 25:52 is called, "The Bride, the Lamb's wife". 25:54 And that's in fact true, Revelation 21:9, 10. 25:58 Let me read that passage here and it says, verse 9, 26:03 and one of the seven angels, Revelation 21:9, 26:07 "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 26:10 filled with the seven last plagues 26:11 came to me and talked with me, 26:13 saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. 26:17 And he carried me away in the spirit 26:19 to a great and high mountain, 26:21 and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, 26:24 descending out of heaven from God," 26:27 and the answer is, 26:29 is the New Jerusalem the Lamb's wife? 26:30 And the answer is, yes. 26:32 That's what the Bible says clearly. 26:34 The only reason why this connection was made 26:38 was in conjunction with Revelation 19, 26:42 because you find and here's, here's the beautiful parable, 26:45 you know, the parable of the ten virgins? 26:47 You have the... 26:49 Those are the bridesmaids if you were to consider that, 26:52 it's five wise, five foolish, 26:54 and then you have the bridegroom, 26:57 and then you have the bride, 26:58 and they're waiting for the bridegroom to come, 27:00 behold the bridegroom cometh, go out to meet Him. 27:03 Now if the church represents the five wives 27:06 and five foolish virgins, they can't represent the bride, 27:09 and that was a parable 27:11 of the five wise and the five foolish, 27:12 the division of the church 27:14 or as we would say the wheat and the tears. 27:16 If they represent the five wise and the five foolish virgins 27:19 which are like the bridesmaids at the wedding, 27:21 they cannot represent the bride. 27:23 Until Revelation makes it very clear, 27:25 where they connect those 27:27 where the statement is made is when Paul says, 27:31 "Speaking of the woman, 27:33 husbands love your wives 27:35 as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it." 27:38 And then he talks about, 27:39 "He's going to sanctify her and He's coming back for church 27:42 without spot or wrinkle or any such thing." 27:45 He's speaking about 27:46 the righteousness of the Christian 27:49 who is looking forward to the coming of the Lord, 27:52 and here's Revelation 19:7, 27:54 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory, 27:58 for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 28:00 and His wife has made herself ready." 28:03 That's the other's connection, so here's the condition, 28:07 to have the New Jerusalem to be involved in the wedding feast, 28:12 you have to have guest. 28:13 So the wedding feast will include the guest 28:16 which is in fact 28:18 spoken of as since Jesus is the bridegroom, 28:21 His church will be in fact connected as the bride 28:24 without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 28:26 And here is the support for that. 28:28 I just read Revelation 19:7, 28:31 "For the marriage of the Lamb has come, 28:33 and His wife has made herself ready." 28:35 And notice how the wife is identified. 28:37 "And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, 28:41 clean and bright, for the fine linen 28:44 is the righteous acts of the saints." 28:47 So the saints are referred to as fine linen, 28:50 and finally verse 9, "Then he said to me, 28:52 "Write: 'Blessed are those 28:54 who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" 28:56 And he said to me, 28:58 "These are the true sayings of God." 29:00 So the church is spoken of in context of the saints 29:03 covered in the beauty of the bride 29:05 and the New Jerusalem 29:07 which is in fact the Lamb's wife of the bride. 29:09 And there would be no New Jerusalem 29:11 without the saints in it. 29:13 Exactly. 29:14 So it's interchangeable, there is no hard and fast rule 29:17 that one or the other is preferred, 29:19 but both are connected 29:20 because when you have the marriage feast, 29:22 the church is there. 29:23 Yeah, and the imagery in the Old Testament 29:25 also is that the... 29:27 heed that God's people are His bride, 29:28 He is the bridegroom. 29:30 That's right. 29:31 So there is a definite connection 29:32 between the New Jerusalem 29:34 and the saints that are in it here. 29:35 In that respect, they're both part of His bride. 29:37 Right. 29:39 And you find the woman spoken in Revelation 12, 29:41 she's pregnant, she's going to have a baby, 29:43 and she's arrayed in clean and white, she has the sun, 29:48 moon and stars, the glory of God's righteousness. 29:51 So the pictures are there and the symbolism is there, 29:54 so there's no hard and fast rule 29:56 that one must be preferred above the other, 29:59 but both are connected. 30:00 Or one to the exclusion of the other. 30:01 Exactly. Yeah. 30:03 Right, John, take us into it. 30:04 By the way, if you have any more questions 30:06 to send to us, you can send those questions 30:07 to this following email address, 30:09 housecalls@3abn.org 30:11 That's housecalls@3abn.org 30:13 And thank you very much 30:15 for your support of this network 30:17 and this program. 30:18 Takes us to our topic today, John, "Discipleship", 30:20 a study that you put together as Personal Ministries 30:23 and Sabbath School Director 30:25 in the Upper Columbia Conference. 30:26 Yeah, it's a seminar, it's kind of a series, 30:28 a miniseries, and it's something that I use 30:31 and we hope to at least in our conference 30:33 encourage our churches to get back to the discipleship model 30:36 that Christ instituted from the very beginning. 30:39 You know, Jesus spent three and a half years 30:43 preparing His disciples, creating disciples, 30:45 making disciples Himself, 30:48 and He did that through a number of ways. 30:52 Doesn't it make sense 30:53 that the church would put in a lot of time 30:57 and energy as well 30:59 in preparing people to be disciples as well of Christ? 31:01 It would make sense. 31:03 It makes sense to me, 31:04 and I mentioned this quote in the last, 31:07 in the last program, 31:08 and I want to mention it again that, 31:11 if the church did discipleship right, 31:15 evangelism would largely take care of itself. 31:19 So if people accepted and committed 31:21 to a life of discipleship 31:23 in the way that Christ has called His disciples... 31:25 Right. 31:26 The church wouldn't be begging 31:28 through flyer sent out all the time for interest 31:31 and new people coming into the church 31:33 in response to the gospel. 31:36 And so I think that 31:37 one of the things we are missing, 31:38 a huge thing we're missing in North America specifically 31:41 because other countries are experiencing incredible growth 31:43 and their focus, their emphasis is discipleship. 31:47 Their pastors come around 31:48 and they're seen maybe once every... 31:50 A cycle. 31:51 Twenty visits or something so we are not suggesting 31:56 that we go to that immediately here, 31:57 but there is coming a time 31:59 where I think the Lord is transitioning us 32:01 out of necessity back to a model 32:04 that is less pastor dependent and more discipleship focused. 32:08 So what I want to talk about today 32:10 as we then transition is, 32:11 what did Jesus say in regard to His disciples? 32:14 What were the conditions? And there are four of them. 32:17 What were the conditions of discipleship 32:19 that Christ specifically mentions, 32:22 so that we can understand 32:24 what it means to be a disciple of Christ, 32:25 because that's where we kind of have to start, right? 32:27 What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? 32:30 Before we get there, I want to mention... 32:32 Well, I'm not going to mention that, 32:34 I'm gonna wait till the next program to do it, 32:35 so let's dive right into that. 32:37 In fact on your notes that I gave you there, John, 32:39 it's right around or slide, 32:45 it's 26, I think it is, so you'll find that. 32:49 I shared my program here with John, 32:50 and we're working off that for our notes today. 32:55 In making disciples and creating His disciples, 32:57 Jesus did several things that were very intentional. 33:01 Okay, and I'm gonna name seven things, 33:03 so we're not getting yet 33:04 to the conditions of discipleship. 33:06 We're looking at seven things Jesus did as He made disciples. 33:09 Number one, He chose a small number of disciples. 33:11 Okay. 33:12 So first when He created, 33:13 He spent time personally with a smaller number. 33:16 This is another reason 33:18 why pastors can't be depended upon 33:20 to create all the disciples in the church. 33:22 The whole church and its leadership 33:24 needs to be involved. 33:26 Disciples are disciple makers and you need a group, 33:29 you need a limited number 33:31 that you work with personally to mentor, 33:33 to coach and to help them understand 33:34 what it means to be disciples, Jesus did that. 33:37 He built personal relationships. 33:39 He invested time in them personally. 33:42 He became a servant leader. 33:45 Discipleship isn't about leading from position 33:49 or from some part of a title or office. 33:53 It's about being a servant leader 33:56 and spending time with them 33:57 and helping them along as disciples. 34:00 Number five, He taught by word and example, 34:02 so He didn't just teach it, He didn't just say it, 34:04 He went out there and He did it. 34:06 And so many times 34:07 we like to have seminars in churches today 34:10 about this or that including discipleship, 34:12 and we think, okay, now let's see if it's changed, 34:16 and we don't actually effectuate 34:18 or help that change by doing what we've just talked about. 34:21 Right. 34:23 And that's, I think that's one of the challenges 34:24 of bringing somebody in 34:26 and not having good follow up after something. 34:28 If you really mean that that individual 34:30 who comes in is to help effect change in the church, 34:33 follow up and do something about it. 34:35 True. 34:36 And number six, then He sent them out 34:38 to practice what they had learned 34:40 and then lastly, He held them accountable, 34:42 you have, find him teaching after the fact 34:44 as to what happened in their experience. 34:48 And so this is what Jesus did. 34:50 And so as we get to this point of talking 34:53 about the four conditions of discipleship, 34:55 we're talking about a Jesus 34:57 who is a Messiah with His disciples 35:00 who has a hands on relational nurturing experience 35:05 with the people, not just principles He taught. 35:08 I want to get this point across. 35:09 This is something that He nurtured them, 35:12 He gave them special attention 35:13 to help bring them along and understand it. 35:16 And that, you know, John, when you think about that, 35:18 the whole idea of choosing a small group, 35:22 even among the 12 35:24 he had a smaller group, Peter, James, and John. 35:27 He had His internal support group, 35:30 the other disciples for whatever reason, 35:32 and Jesus, you couldn't argue with His choice, 35:35 He chose a close knit group, 35:37 and you find they're mentioned quite a bit. 35:39 Matter of fact, 35:40 the New Testament highlights them too, 35:42 Peter, James, and John. 35:44 Unfortunately, James became a victim 35:47 in the formation of the New Testament church 35:50 he became, he was victimized, he lost his life. 35:53 Peter eventually was crucified upside down, 35:57 and John survived to pen the Book of Revelation. 36:01 But Jesus had that small group with Him, 36:04 these three disciples, Peter, James, and John, 36:06 so choosing a small group, 36:09 it's easier for one person to disciple three 36:12 than one person to disciple 12, 36:15 but the other nine followed Jesus 36:19 and were taught by His example. 36:21 And I'm glad you brought that out 36:23 of becoming a servant leader. 36:25 Because a servant leader, when Jesus talked about this, 36:28 He says, Matthew 10:24, 36:32 look at Matthew 10:24. 36:36 This is a very important servant leader passage 36:40 that talks about discipleship. 36:43 Matthew 10:24, here I am. 36:46 Okay. 36:48 My pages have been participating so well, 36:51 they've refused adhere one to the other, 36:54 and Jesus said, "A disciple is not above his teacher, 37:01 nor a servant above his master. 37:06 It is enough for disciple that he be like his teacher, 37:09 and a servant like his master. 37:12 If they have call the master of the house Beelzebub, 37:15 how much more will they call those of his household!" 37:19 You know, Jesus is in essence saying. 37:22 The servant is... 37:24 I mean the disciple is not above his teacher. 37:28 So you have Jesus establishing authority, 37:31 the teacher and the disciple, the leader or the servant, 37:36 and those who are being led 37:37 and those who are being taught how to serve. 37:40 So discipleship is a leader, a teacher, a servant position. 37:44 The discipler is the leader, the teacher, 37:48 and the one modeling the life of a servant. 37:51 And look what Jesus did in the upper room. 37:52 Yeah. 37:54 You know, they're all looking around to see 37:55 who is going to take up the towel 37:56 to wash everybody else's feet and Jesus does it. 37:58 Yeah. 38:00 He was right there, He was their example 38:01 as to what they should do... 38:03 He said in John... 38:06 Yeah, he said in John 13, I've left you an example. 38:10 "Do you not know what I have done?" 38:11 John 13:11, or verse 12, 38:15 He says, "So when He had wash their feet, 38:18 taken His garment, 38:19 and sat down again, He said to them, 38:21 "Do you know what I have done to you?" 38:24 You... 38:26 Once again, "You call Me Teacher," 38:28 John 13:13, 38:29 "You call Me teacher, teacher and Lord, 38:32 and you say, well, for so I am." 38:34 Once again, He took the role, I'm teaching you, 38:37 I'm teaching you, and so discipleship to a large degree 38:41 is where the leader teaches, not just preaches, 38:47 and I think you mentioned that. 38:48 Right. 38:50 Preaching and teaching are not the same. 38:51 Preaching is a one hour exercise a week, 38:54 depending on what kind of church you have. 38:56 Some churches less time, some churches more time, 38:58 but generally within the one hour 39:00 of 168 hour a week, 39:03 you have that one hour designated 39:05 to communicate a message. 39:07 But then you step out of the pulpit, 39:08 step into it preach, proclaim, 39:11 step out of that and you become now 39:14 the one that builds personal relationships, 39:16 the one that invests time become a servant, leader, 39:20 teach by word and example. 39:21 And then you send them out, 39:23 and then you hold them accountable 39:27 for what they've done. 39:28 Yeah, absolutely. 39:29 And so there's, 39:31 there was a definitely an intentional method 39:33 that Jesus had for equipping or for training 39:37 and teaching His disciples. 39:39 And I think the church can learn a lot from that, 39:42 from His example in how we do that in the local church. 39:45 You know, we as a church tend to be very intellectual 39:48 in our approach to the gospel, 39:51 and there's nothing wrong with that 39:52 because Jesus did say to come and see, He taught them, 39:57 He shared with them words 40:00 from scripture to impress upon their mind. 40:03 God in the Old Testament, "Come, let us reason together." 40:06 You know, there's this cognitive aspect to the gospel 40:10 that we do need to accept. 40:12 But God's trying to also reach the heart 40:15 and that is done through relationships, 40:17 not through intellectual mental assent to truth. 40:19 That's right. 40:20 And so the relational part, 40:22 the investment of time 40:23 that is something he did very deliberately 40:25 with a smaller group of people as we talked about, 40:27 and that is what changed their heart except one, 40:30 who is resistant obviously to that. 40:32 Right. 40:33 But, so that, that's I think the church needs to be 40:36 aware of that, knowing that 40:38 if we just stick to the intellectual, 40:40 if we're just bringing people into an evangelistic series 40:42 to try and impress upon their mind 40:44 the fact that this is truth 40:46 and what they maybe have heard in the past is not true, 40:48 is a error, that's not going to, 40:51 that's not going to convert anybody. 40:53 There needs to be a relational component 40:54 that our members have to connect with new people, 40:56 there's got to be relationships develop there. 41:00 Now let's look at then the last 15 minutes we have 41:03 or so here at the four conditions of discipleship. 41:06 Okay. 41:07 So Jesus is teaching them 41:08 and He's showing them by example, 41:10 but what are the things that He's saying 41:12 or He's showing them are crucial components. 41:18 Indispensable components of discipleship 41:19 and there are four of them. 41:20 Okay. 41:22 And I found these four 41:23 because these are direct statements 41:25 in the gospels of Jesus Himself 41:28 and He says either one of two things, 41:30 "If you do this, you will be My disciples 41:32 or if you do not do this, you cannot be My disciples." 41:35 Right. 41:36 So each one of these are backed up 41:39 by a direct statement of Christ to that effect. 41:41 Okay. So let's take the first one. 41:44 Take a look at the first one here. 41:47 Love for God and people. 41:52 I have one text and I'm sure there are many others 41:54 and you can chime in on any of these here. 41:56 But John 13:35, says, 41:59 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, 42:02 if you have love for one another." 42:04 Okay. 42:05 So love is the center, is the motivator, 42:10 the impetus behind discipleship. 42:14 If there's no love for God and love for other people, 42:17 you can't be a disciple. 42:19 I've said many times 42:21 there are lots of people in the church 42:24 that profess Christ and they live like the devil. 42:29 And I say, live like the devil 42:30 not necessarily in their outward lifestyle, 42:32 but they live like the devil in how they treat other people. 42:35 Okay, I like that. 42:36 It's almost like when they see an error in the church 42:38 or something happens in the church 42:40 they disagree with, 42:41 they dispense all Christ's likeness 42:43 for the sake of defending the truth 42:45 and they become downright, dogmatic, 42:49 unapproachable, unkind, 42:53 and there's no greater evidence 42:56 truly of a true sincere Christian 42:59 than someone who's lovable Christ like 43:01 and very kind toward others. 43:03 And so this is the first condition that Christ gave. 43:06 You got to have love for other people. 43:08 Love for Me as well, 43:09 He talked about love for Himself and for God. 43:11 Of course that's the centerpiece, 43:13 the first part of the commandments 43:14 love for God, the second part, love for our fellow men. 43:17 You know, Proverbs 10:12, says, "Love covers all sins." 43:23 You know, sometimes love covers a multitude of sins, 43:26 but love covers all sins, and when we come... 43:29 Now, I'm so glad you brought this point up 43:31 because in order for you to be 43:33 able to be attractive to others, 43:35 we're not talking about physical beauty 43:37 but we're talking about Christian attraction. 43:41 You have to know how to love 43:43 and people hear love in your voice, 43:45 they see love in your action, 43:47 they see love in your body language. 43:49 My wife and I were in Australia a number of years ago, 43:53 and we were there, 43:55 she did a seminar for women 43:57 and it was tremendous first time 43:59 she did that step out of her comfort zone 44:00 and did a tremendous job 44:02 but included in that seminar for women, 44:07 young ladies teaching them about Christian principles, 44:10 there was a video 44:12 that she showed about how to communicate 44:14 and it was all about 44:15 the hidden language of the body, 44:17 how we communicate to people, 44:19 how when people talking to us, 44:21 how we communicate body language. 44:23 That's good. 44:24 The silent art of communication. 44:26 And so it was they were standing to the side 44:28 when somebody is talking to us whether they are like this, 44:31 you know, communication and it was a lady 44:33 that was talking about and I learned some things 44:35 from that even though I like, 44:37 even though I teach in seminars and relationship 44:40 as a relationship coach teaches some of those things. 44:44 It was important that 44:46 when you go to church on Sabbath, 44:48 there's this phrase we use every weekend, 44:50 matter of fact it's almost traditional 44:51 in many Adventist Church as we say, "Happy Sabbath." 44:55 Somebody once said, "What's so happy about it?" 44:59 You know, if we don't show happiness... 45:01 Yeah, yeah. 45:02 If we don't show happiness to one another, 45:05 if we don't let people know that they can come, 45:08 they don't have to be happy, 45:09 if they're not happy we can be happy for them 45:12 and bearing their burden. 45:13 We used to say that word and you'll finish it 45:15 'cause you're the one that came up with it 45:16 or maybe you got it from somebody else, 45:17 I don't know, but if you're happy, you notify... 45:20 Your face. 45:22 I think, now, I can't claim to be the originator of that, 45:27 but in fact it's a truism, 45:29 if you're happy, notify your face. 45:31 Let people know by your demeanor. 45:34 Don't just say you're happy, you know. 45:36 I said to somebody and we did this in the seminar 45:38 once I said, "Try to do this with a smile 45:40 and say to somebody, 45:41 'You know John, I really hate you."' 45:45 They wouldn't believe it. That makes you laugh. 45:46 I really hate you, I mean here's that with a smile 45:50 they wouldn't believe it, 45:51 he's just joking or try to see this with smile, 45:53 without a smile, I can't even do it right now. 45:57 With the most sourest frown you say, "I really love you." 46:02 The body in the words we say is so vitally important. 46:06 And you know, John, what I like about this topic, 46:08 it's a practical one, 46:09 we've dealt with a lot of doctrinal issues, 46:11 but the practicality of the conditions of discipleship 46:14 is very important. 46:16 Jesus says... 46:17 and hear children, one of the things 46:19 that really bothered the disciples 46:21 is that children were attracted to Jesus, 46:23 He said, "Don't forbid them, let them come to Me." 46:28 He had to have an attractive demeanor 46:31 in order for children to want to be around Him. 46:33 It was a break in the cultural perspective too 46:36 because they typically figured that that kids, 46:38 children have their place. 46:40 Right. 46:41 And they should be silent, they should be quiet 46:43 in the background and Jesus said, 46:44 "No, let them come." 46:47 And obviously then, Jesus was very approachable, 46:49 His demeanor was very open and loving and accepting. 46:52 And to have a friend the Bible says, 46:56 "One must first show themselves to be friendly." 47:01 When you go to a church and say, 47:02 "I don't have any friends." 47:04 It's like you must ask yourself the question, 47:07 "Are you friendly?" 47:08 We had a gal in our church years ago 47:12 and she approached another church member 47:15 and she said to him, he had, 47:18 they've been talking in Sabbath school 47:19 and he was painting a picture of how he viewed Christ 47:22 and she says, "I don't agree with you." 47:25 He says, "Well, at what point?' 47:26 She said, "Jesus never laughed, He was a man of sorrows." 47:32 So her picture of Christ was very much sorrowful always. 47:36 And He said, "I'm sorry, 47:38 but that's just not my view of Jesus." 47:41 Right. 47:43 And I think our view of Christ often will drive 47:45 how we treat other people too as Christians, 47:48 so as disciples we need to see what Jesus really was like 47:51 and then be like Him as He showed the disciples, 47:55 especially accepting of children 47:56 coming to Him and things. 47:58 You know that He wasn't solemn before children, 48:00 children don't respond to that. 48:01 No. 48:03 He was probably very happy joking, yeah. 48:06 Approachable and that's why... 48:09 I'll find a text in a moment here, 48:11 but, the other one I just alluded to 48:13 is Proverbs 18:24, 48:15 "One who has friends first show themselves 48:18 to be friendly." 48:19 Jesus had an approachable demeanor. 48:21 When it says a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, 48:25 it talked about what he went through for us, 48:28 He didn't have to be the one to be crucified, 48:32 but the sorrow and the sin of the world was laid on Him, 48:36 however, the Bible says, 48:41 "The joy of the Lord is my strength." 48:45 You cannot create me with the ability to laugh 48:49 and you as a creator never smile. 48:53 You know, we're not talking about giddy and insensitive 48:55 and losing your mind as a... 48:57 Yeah, joking and ingesting kind of thing... 48:59 Right, we are not talking about that. 49:00 Playful, playfulness too, to your interactions 49:03 with people too, I don't think that was beyond Christ at all. 49:06 And somewhere the Lord had to have some sense of humor, 49:09 look at Elijah when they were on Mount Carmel 49:12 and they were trying to get their God's attention, 49:13 He said, "Hey, maybe He's sleeping. 49:17 Maybe He's on a long journey. 49:18 Maybe He can hear you a little louder." 49:20 I mean, he was in essence mocking their God 49:24 because there was no real God that responded that way. 49:27 And there're the scriptures, God is a pleasant God. 49:29 Yeah. 49:30 Let's go through three others here. 49:32 I wish we had time to spend more time 49:35 to spent on each of these. 49:36 I might do in the seminar but we don't on this program. 49:39 Number two: A commitment to follow Jesus. 49:43 He's looking for a strong commitment 49:45 to follow Him, Luke 14:27, 49:48 "And anyone who does not carry his cross 49:50 and follow Me cannot be My disciple." 49:53 And then look in verse 33, "In the same way any of you 49:56 who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple." 50:00 But that's a pretty strong request, 50:03 the commitment isn't a mental commitment, 50:06 the commitment is with everything you've got, 50:08 you're giving everything up for Him. 50:12 And that's why I put commitment in a different category 50:17 as obedience. 50:18 That's right. 50:20 Because our following Christ begins with commitment. 50:22 If you haven't committed all to Him 50:24 at your beginning of your relationship with Jesus, 50:26 you're going to waver throughout. 50:28 We've got to know and count the cost, 50:30 what's the other text I'm talking about, 50:32 what a man who doesn't build having first counted the cost 50:37 to complete the project before he ever get started. 50:40 So you've got to go through that process to do. 50:42 Now Jesus also said in Luke 9:23, 50:44 "If anyone desires to come after Me, 50:46 let him deny himself, 50:48 take up his cross daily and follow Me." 50:51 Denial of oneself is... Well, that's a huge thing. 50:55 It's hard, it's tough to every day, 50:57 but He said daily, it's got to happen. 50:59 'Cause the human flesh 51:00 and the things that we've learned, 51:02 I mean you talked about the vices, 51:03 you came out of, I had a lot of vices I came out of, 51:05 and along the way the devil throws vices at you 51:07 just kind of, we live in this cacophony 51:09 of demonic suggestions every day, 51:12 the hell born dissonance 51:13 that just grabs our attention sometimes 51:16 and rocks our very committed to Christ. 51:19 We have to come to the point where we have to deny self 51:21 and flesh the flesh that we've had, you know, 51:24 growing up and I'm growing up, this leads us to the place 51:26 where we have to say, okay, no, no, 51:29 have you resisted unto death? 51:31 Right. 51:32 Have you resisted unto death as the Bible talks about 51:35 and many people haven't. 51:36 Yeah, yeah, I agree. 51:39 The next one, number three: 51:40 Is obedience to God and His Word. 51:44 John 8:31, "If you abide in My word, 51:46 you are My disciples indeed." 51:48 Very good point. 51:49 And that word abiding there is really a word connected 51:52 to following in the ways of Christ, 51:57 it's residing in Christ as you obey Him 51:59 and walk with Him. 52:01 And so you find over and over again, 52:03 Jesus is asking the disciples to follow His actions, 52:08 to obey His commands. 52:11 He wouldn't have given commandments 52:13 unless He didn't expect obedience. 52:16 Okay. 52:17 There would be no reason, you don't command anybody 52:19 to do anything unless you expect them to obey. 52:22 And let's remember, the disciple simply means 52:25 pupil or learner. 52:30 And so as a learner, as a pupil you have a master. 52:34 This is an important point, disciples have a master 52:38 and what disciple doesn't follow 52:40 the master's commands. 52:41 True. 52:43 It's just common sense and so Jesus does 52:45 as the condition of discipleship require 52:47 obedience to His ways. 52:49 You know, John, everything that we do in life 52:51 has a factor of obedience in a company, 52:54 you have rules and parameters, 52:55 and operational principles of a company. 52:57 And a country too, laws. 52:58 In the country we have laws, in the military we have laws, 53:02 you have a commander, you have the general, 53:04 you have the sergeant, you have the captain, 53:07 you have the colonel, 53:08 depending on what branch you're in, 53:10 there's always a level of command 53:12 and obedience to the strictest form 53:14 is in many cases a life or death matter 53:18 in the military. 53:19 You know when they say down, or they say, you know, 53:21 look to your left or watch your six, 53:25 you got to be.. you can't say, "Do I do that again today." 53:29 Let me think about it. Yeah. 53:30 You could, your life could be taken very easily, 53:33 so when we mention obedience, that's the word 53:35 that's often missing in Christianity. 53:36 Yeah. It's like a bad word. 53:38 It's gotten a bad rap. 53:39 Yeah, obedience, but a very good point. 53:42 And then number four, this is the last one, 53:43 faithful fruit bearing. 53:46 So a disciple, he loves God and people, 53:50 he's committed to following Jesus, 53:52 he's obeying Him and His word, and then he is taking it 53:55 to that next step of faithful fruit bearing 53:58 and it says here in John 15:8, 54:01 "By this My Father is glorified, 54:03 that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciples." 54:08 So discipleship again 54:10 very much connected to bearing fruit. 54:13 Those that don't bear fruit, 54:14 in fact, I think you mentioned this 54:16 in the last program or two 54:17 where we talked about this fig tree 54:21 that was not bearing fruit and what did Jesus say to do? 54:24 Cut it down. Cut it down. 54:25 In fact, Jesus was walking by a fig tree 54:28 that didn't bear fruit and He cursed it 54:29 and it withered and died. 54:31 And so the example here is that what good is a tree 54:34 that is intended to bear fruit, if it bears no fruit 54:37 for the Kingdom of God and for His glory. 54:40 Now here's another principle of discipleship 54:41 which is kind of a hard thing and it's not a new principle 54:44 but bearing fruit is, is kind of along the same lines. 54:47 One of the hardest things to do 54:48 is you ask yourself the question, 54:50 why am I going through such difficulty 54:53 if my life is so successful as a leader, 54:56 as a discipler, as a servant, 55:00 why am I going through difficulty? 55:03 Why am I facing hardship? 55:06 I mean everything's that I'm doing 55:08 what I'm supposed to do at least 55:09 as far as I'm concerned, 55:11 the pruning process is something 55:12 that many Christians don't look forward to. 55:15 We tend to think that if a tree is not bearing fruit, 55:17 then you need to prune it and get it ready. 55:20 But the Bible gives a different concept, 55:22 John 15, and we're going to look at verse 2, 55:26 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit..." 55:30 as you just mentioned, "He takes away." 55:32 Because there's no fruit coming from it. 55:34 "And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, 55:40 that it may bear more fruit." 55:42 So, why am I going through the pruning process? 55:47 And Ellen White points out the pruning process 55:51 is the very discipline in our lives 55:54 that we just don't welcome. 55:55 You know, we don't welcome the Lord 55:57 getting cut here or getting cut there. 56:00 It hurts. It hurts. 56:01 Yeah. 56:02 But the pruning is necessary and so, 56:04 I saw someone yesterday actually matter of fact, 56:07 the weather was conducive to that, 56:08 and I saw them outside with their, you know, 56:10 with their shears and they were cutting the trees 56:14 at a certain level, I thought, ah, man, it's warm weather, 56:16 they're getting ready for the change in seasons. 56:19 And so God does the same thing, our lives, 56:21 we have changing seasons, and the Lord knows 56:24 He has to prepare us for those changing seasons 56:26 and the only way to do it is by pruning us. 56:28 That's right. 56:29 And the fruit that happens as a result of that is twofold, 56:33 there's the fruit in our own lives 56:35 coming from the fruit of the spirit. 56:38 And then there is the fruit that results 56:40 from engaging in our spiritual gifts 56:42 to advance the kingdom of Christ, 56:44 the fruit of other people's lives. 56:46 One person said, and maybe I'm going to quote this right 56:49 but I'm gonna try my best. 56:54 "The fruit we give appears on other people's trees 56:59 something to that effect." 57:01 In other words, as we bear fruit, 57:02 as we share our faith, means, 57:04 we encourage others as we disciple others. 57:07 The fruit that we will see happen 57:08 will appear on other people's trees. 57:11 And I think, and it also appears 57:13 on our trees of course, 57:14 but I think there is something to be said about that, 57:16 so fruit in that our own lives and then fruit in that 57:20 the lives of others are transformed 57:22 by the Christ that they have now accepted 57:24 because of our testimony. 57:26 And so this topic of discipleship conditions 57:29 are very important. 57:30 If you were to give us a preview of 57:32 what we're going to talk about 57:34 in some of the upcoming problems, 57:35 what would it be? 57:36 I mean about this particular subject. 57:38 We'll talk about couple of other things 57:39 relating to discipleship. 57:40 Jesus said some profound words to the woman at the well. 57:43 The true worshippers 57:45 will worship in spirit and truth. 57:46 We'll see how that applies to discipleship. 57:48 Wow, well, you know, here at House Call 57:50 we surely believe that the Lord is going to call each of us, 57:54 there's a call coming to our lives 57:55 and the call to discipleship is one of the highest. 57:59 May you answer that call, and God bless you too, 58:01 we'll see you again. |
Revised 2017-06-29