Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL170007A
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of House Calls. 00:23 Welcome to House Calls. 00:24 Thank you for tuning into the most exciting 00:27 Bible informing program on television right now. 00:30 And I know you know that that's why you're watching. 00:33 Thank you so much humbly for tuning into this program. 00:36 I'm John Lomacang. 00:37 John Stanton, good to have you here, Pastor. 00:39 It's good to be here again. 00:40 When whenever we get together 00:41 we know the Lord is going to bless. 00:43 Yes. 00:44 And give us just a preview of what we're headed today. 00:46 Well, we've been talking about discipleship, 00:48 specifically, in the context of what is it. 00:50 Now we're gonna move in this program 00:52 to what is a disciple making church look like. 00:56 Or how can the church build and organize 00:58 to be more effective disciple makers. 01:01 And so we'll talk about that. 01:02 Wonderful, wonderful, 01:03 and I know that as you've tuned in, 01:05 you have your Bibles and you have your pens, 01:09 invite your family and your friends 01:11 see that rhymes there to join us 01:13 for this wonderful excursion together, 01:15 where we're looking forward to it. 01:17 You know, your questions, your comments, 01:18 make a huge difference in this program, 01:20 but before we do anything 01:22 we always like to begin with prayer. 01:23 John? Let's Pray. 01:25 Our Father in heaven, we come before You 01:27 asking for Your presence to be here with us. 01:30 We pray that You direct our thoughts, our hearts, 01:33 and our minds 01:34 so that we can rightly divide Your word of truth 01:37 or be with all those who have joined us here today 01:38 and bless them. 01:40 Speak to their hearts we pray in Jesus' name. 01:42 Amen. Amen, amen. 01:46 We have questions that we get on occasion and every program 01:50 we have questions either in written form 01:53 or they come through the internet. 01:55 And so if you want to send any of your questions to us 01:57 through the internet, 01:58 you can send those to housecalls@3abn.org. 02:02 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:04 And that's where we have the quickest access to those. 02:07 Try to make them as succinct and compact as you can, 02:10 we do appreciate that. 02:11 But if you don't have internet, 02:14 you can send those to PO Box 220, 02:17 West Frankfort, Illinois 62896, attention House Calls. 02:22 John, what do we have today? 02:24 What's the first out of the shoot for you? 02:26 Yeah, we have a question from Mark 02:28 and he's concerned about his sister 02:30 who has committed suicide, and just wondering 02:33 what the implications are here spiritually for her. 02:37 She was in physical and mental anguish for years. 02:41 Yet she was kind, sincere 02:43 and treated people with respect. 02:45 She accepted Jesus as her Savior 02:47 and was always talking about Him. 02:51 So she was trying the best 02:53 she could to live a Christian life 02:54 but she succumbed to suicide. 02:59 And this is always as you know, John, a difficult question, 03:03 I don't know her, even if I did I wouldn't, 03:07 I wouldn't even dare to step on the ground 03:09 of making a judgment 03:10 as to what her salvation stance is. 03:13 Right. 03:15 Certainly God knows, 03:18 He and His relationship with her 03:20 and as He's worked with her, 03:22 leading up to that 03:23 He knows how receptive she was and how she was following Him. 03:26 We don't know that, I don't know that. 03:29 And Mark probably doesn't realize that 03:31 or know that either. 03:32 There's no Bible verse that says 03:34 if you commit suicide you're lost, it's not there. 03:39 We do have verses, thou shalt not murder. 03:42 Some incorporate that into murder yourself as well, 03:46 but yet there are things that go beyond that, 03:49 that involve mental states and conditions 03:52 that are beyond our control. 03:55 And so sometimes and you know how severe mental disabilities 04:00 and other things can be. 04:02 I had a mom who over years of time suffered from dementia. 04:06 She wasn't the mom that I grew up with 04:08 or that raised me. 04:09 And so I think she's probably judged based upon who she was, 04:14 not who she was before, 04:16 not who she was just before she died. 04:19 And so, but this is, this is something 04:20 that God takes care of, and, 04:23 you know, John, I will say this, 04:24 maybe to finish this up. 04:26 God is not trying to keep people out. 04:28 Right. 04:29 He's trying to get people in. 04:31 True. 04:32 And as He said even the faith of a mustard seed 04:35 moves upon the heart of God with His power 04:38 and so we need to leave this in God's hands. 04:42 My nephew recently passed away, he had an accident, 04:45 a car accident. 04:47 We don't know if he fell asleep at the wheel or what. 04:48 All we know is the trend of his life 04:50 up to that time was his bottle by his bedside, 04:54 he had gone from a party guy into seeking the Lord. 04:58 That's all we know. 04:59 We can't answer anything else, 05:01 and so I think the best thing to do Mark is 05:03 leave your sister in God's hands 05:05 and trust that He loves her even more than you do 05:08 and wants her in the kingdom, so, He knows what's best. 05:12 Yeah, that's... 05:13 I am glad you dealt with it that way, 05:15 because it's such a delicate topic, 05:17 sometimes people are looking for answers 05:20 and we thank you for considering us, 05:22 but there are hidden issues in a person's life 05:25 that we have no idea of. 05:27 Sometimes we look at a person and we say, well, 05:29 we know they're saved, 05:30 but then again we still don't know 05:31 the hidden issues of a person's life 05:34 which are known only to God. 05:36 One thing I could say that is encouraging, 05:39 when Peter says 05:42 the Lord has not slack concerning His promises 05:46 but is longsuffering towards us, 05:48 not willing that any should be perish. 05:51 And when we think about that He's not, 05:53 He's not willing that any should perish. 05:56 Another text in John, the Book of John it says, 06:00 "Whoever the Father gives to me, 06:02 no one can take them out of my hand." 06:06 The Lord looks at the trend of a person's life, 06:09 not the momentary deed or the momentary misdeed. 06:14 That's why in the insurance industry 06:17 we have something called insurance 06:19 and they give you rewards for good driver record. 06:23 They look at your history rather than, you know, 06:26 if you have an incident that is outside of your norm 06:29 and they'll say, "Well, you've had 06:31 a good driving habits for the last four years, 06:34 so we're not gonna increase your rates 06:36 for this one infraction that happened this weekend." 06:39 The Lord is a just God, a loving God, 06:42 not willing that any should perish, 06:44 so I would say lean on the sovereignty 06:48 and the love of the Lord 06:49 and allow that issue to be settled by Him. 06:52 I had a dad. 06:55 I had two fathers 06:56 and I'm glad you mentioned your mom, 06:58 and what I'd like to reiterate is 07:01 time takes a toll on some individuals 07:03 and change them from who we knew them to be, 07:07 to who they became. 07:09 And sometimes their cognitive skills 07:11 are affected by that, their recall, 07:14 sometimes they go back into their childhood memories, 07:17 sometimes they just, they know us visibly 07:19 but they can't respond. 07:20 All these issues that are connected to sin 07:23 but the Lord knows that 07:25 and He understands that there's a point 07:28 where we are very much in control of our faculties 07:31 and another time 07:32 we're not in control of our faculties 07:34 or at the same time our emotions. 07:37 And number of years ago 07:40 an issue that came to me was this issue of euthanasia. 07:44 I thought about this, remember Dr. Jack Kevorkian. 07:49 When the issue came up they called it mercy killings 07:52 at one point and I thought, "Wow". 07:55 And the question really came down, 07:57 if you had a loved one that was suffering, intense, 08:02 irreversible pain that had no remedy to it, 08:06 what would you prefer? 08:07 If you knew their quality of life 08:08 was not gonna be restored 08:10 and they just lived in a moment, 08:11 constant moment of suffering. 08:13 Would you want them to go on that way? 08:16 Or would you want to put them to sleep out of mercy? 08:19 And this guy Dr. Jack Kevorkian made a lot of decisions 08:23 based on people who said I want my loved one 08:25 to be put to sleep in mercy. 08:26 I don't want to watch them suffering like that, 08:28 but it was not a legal process. 08:30 So sometimes we think 08:32 what's the nicest way to pass away, 08:35 you know, lay down in the night 08:36 and don't wake up in the morning, 08:38 which has been the experience of so many. 08:40 But when it comes to suicide, 08:42 it's that gray area that you don't know 08:44 what happened at that particular moment. 08:46 Yet I say, I was so excited 08:48 when I read in the quote of Ellen White. 08:50 The Lord looks at the trend of our life, 08:53 He looks at where our lives were headed, 08:55 not that momentary misdeed or that momentary good deed 08:59 and it really makes a difference. 09:01 So when my dad passed away, 09:03 I was at the Andrews University church 09:06 and Dr. Dwight Nelson was speaking 09:09 and my dad was a musician his whole life, 09:11 and he looked at me and he said, 09:14 "If there's a way, if there's a possibility 09:17 then your dad will be saved, the Lord will save him, 09:20 but leave it in God's hands." 09:22 And you know I left him there and that brought me 09:23 such a lasting peace, 09:25 that I don't concern myself with it, 09:27 but I know that when I get to the kingdom, 09:30 during the thousand years 09:31 which is the time we're gonna be in heaven with the Lord, 09:33 looking at the records of those who were saved and lost, 09:36 it'll be a settling moment 09:38 that God's judgments and decisions have been just. 09:42 So don't let that be haunting memory for you, 09:46 think of your sister and all the things 09:48 that she meant to you. 09:49 Just like did you mention your nephew? 09:51 Yeah, it's a sad thing 25 years old, 09:54 you know, it's unfortunate. 09:55 You look at young people and you say 09:57 they had so much life ahead of them 09:58 and I'll tell you one last story. 10:00 And I'm just reaching out to you in a very real way. 10:03 My sister-in-law, 10:06 she was not an Adventist Christian, 10:07 she was a Christian of a different nomination 10:09 and so she began to inquire 10:11 about things that were different. 10:13 Let's be specific she was Catholic 10:15 and I said to her, 10:16 she said, "One day tell me what you believe?" 10:17 And I said, "If I tell you what I believe, 10:19 it's gonna destroy everything that you thought of it." 10:22 She said, "I could handle it." 10:23 So I began to share with her, 10:25 her eyes were open to the Sabbath, 10:27 the state of the dead, all the different doctrines 10:28 supported by scripture, 10:30 and then she noticed she was diagnosed with cancer, 10:34 a very on her foot melanoma, you know, 10:37 from the sun living in the Virgin Islands. 10:40 And it wasn't handled as well as it could have been 10:42 and it ended up taking a life at 34 years old. 10:46 But just when she passed away in the hospital, 10:48 the hospital room was cold, cold, cold, 10:53 and 15 minutes after she was declared dead, 10:56 she sat up on the bed. 10:59 Six family members there plus 11:00 the nurse seven people in the hospital room 11:02 and the nurse later said in 28 years of nursing 11:05 I have never seen anything like this ever happened. 11:09 She wore a very thick glasses 11:11 but when they declared her dead, 11:12 they took the glasses off, 11:14 they took all the leads out 11:15 and she looked across the room and said, What time is it? 11:17 3:15 I could be out of here in 15 minutes 11:20 and her mom said, 11:21 "First of all what's going on here?" 11:23 Then after you declared dead, 11:24 confirmed dead and you sit up in 15 minutes 11:26 and just start talking 11:28 and she settled all the issues with her family members 11:31 but my brother what he said is the point of the story 11:34 and he said to her, 11:35 "We have been praying for you to be healed, 11:38 we've been praying for you to be healed," 11:40 and she said, "I have been," 11:42 she said, "The Lord is allowing me to be laid 11:44 to rest now because I'm ready, 11:48 instead of healing me 11:50 and letting me go back out of the world 11:53 and giving me the possibility of going back, 11:56 she said I'll be just fine, 11:58 I'm gonna go to sleep, I'm gonna rest 12:00 and I'll see you in the morning." 12:02 And so we had this picture 12:03 we took of her pointing at her dashboard 12:05 and "Why worry" 12:06 and we put that on the screen at the funeral "Why worry". 12:09 And so there's so many issues of life 12:10 that are gonna be a bright surprise to us. 12:13 The Lord is not slack concerning His promises 12:16 as men count slackness 12:17 but it's a longsuffering towards us, 12:20 not willing that any should perish, 12:22 and I'm holding on to that promise 12:23 because I have some friends, 12:25 I'm looking forward to seeing in the kingdom. 12:27 And I'm sure they're looking forward 12:28 to seeing me too 12:30 when we all get there but, you know, 12:31 those issues of life, 12:33 there're gonna be some surprises in both sides. 12:35 One surprise is, 12:37 we're gonna see people there we gonna say, 12:38 "How did you get here?" 12:40 And they gonna say, "How did you get here?" 12:41 Exactly. How beautiful heaven's going to be. 12:43 This is a cute little question, I'm just gonna read this 12:46 because the person that took the time to write it 12:48 felt important to write it. 12:51 He says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, 12:54 I'm not trying to be rude 12:55 but I feel the Lord has impressed on my heart 12:59 to rebuke you for telling people 13:01 to write to your show with our Bible questions 13:05 because I'm sure mine is not the only ones 13:08 that has not been answered by mail or on TV. 13:12 So I think you should stop telling people. 13:16 Stop telling people 13:17 that if you are not going to respond 13:18 to our letters with our questions. 13:21 Thank you and God bless you. 13:22 I love your show, 13:24 all the good solid Biblical texts you teach, 13:27 the good solid answers you give, 13:28 I think you both are great pastors." 13:31 He rebuked us and he commended us. 13:33 We can take that. We can take that. 13:35 I thought it was a nice letter, you know, so, John, and, John, 13:38 so I just decided to read that. 13:40 I want to tell you we try our best, John, 13:42 to get to so many questions 13:44 but when we hit the internet and we start scrolling down, 13:46 there's list and pages and pages and pages, 13:49 sometimes and even the letters, 13:51 sometimes they come when we're not here. 13:53 And I have a lot of letters 13:55 that sometimes come before we tape our programs 13:58 and it just sometimes you miss it. 14:00 And it appears as though we try to be clear and kind 14:04 so we apologize if we haven't read your question but... 14:07 And I think that's where we give some instructions 14:09 if you kind of get straight to the point 14:11 instead of long several paragraphs 14:13 or something we tend to take those. 14:15 Right. 14:17 And given them priority over the ones 14:18 that are like these big treatises 14:20 as to what someone believes, 14:22 they're trying to convince us of something, so we just, 14:24 we want questions, we want things 14:27 that we know that others are thinking as well 14:29 and we tend to give those priority. 14:31 That's right and so that was just a question, 14:33 that was a statement I want to read, 14:35 but here's the question. 14:37 "I know Jesus had 12 disciples but why is that, 14:40 why is it that the list in Matthew 10 14:42 and Luke 6 do not match. 14:45 Example Thaddeus is mentioned in Matthew's account 14:48 but not in Luke, 14:49 and Judas the son of James is in Luke but not in Matthew. 14:53 Please help me understand. 14:54 Well the gospel writers in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John 14:57 had differences in their gospel. 14:59 The one thing I'd like to point out 15:01 if four people stood on four corners at the end, 15:03 at an intersection and looked at a car accident 15:06 and the insurance company interviewed every one of them. 15:09 They will all see the car from a different angle, 15:11 they will see people that are there 15:12 and people that are not there 15:14 and so in the explanation of the gospels, 15:18 the intention of scripture 15:20 is to combine scripture with scripture, 15:23 compare scripture with scripture 15:25 to get the complete picture. 15:27 One of the examples, 15:28 so the names that are mentioned in Matthew and John, 15:31 I mean, Matthew and Luke, all include, 15:32 you combine them together 15:34 to get the complete picture of the disciples. 15:37 Another example 15:38 that the Bible talks about Peter, James, and John. 15:40 Well, which James? 15:42 You have two James mentioned, and you have James and John, 15:49 and then you have James, Judas the son of James, 15:52 and then you have Judas Iscariot, 15:54 so it depends on how you go through the list 15:56 and how they are, 15:57 but when you combine them together, 15:59 then you get the complete picture, 16:01 it's kind of we call it 16:02 a reconciling the text together. 16:05 Another example in scripture 16:06 where you have to combine the gospels, 16:08 one that talks about the resurrection of Jesus. 16:10 The Bible talked about while it was yet dark 16:13 and then somebody said at the breaking of the day, 16:15 another one says early in the morning, 16:17 and the ones that talk about that 16:19 are not the ones that were at the actual experience, 16:22 the one that was actually there was John, 16:24 so we tend to take John's account as an eyewitness 16:27 because John went to the tomb with Peter, 16:29 but if you combine them together, 16:31 you come to the conclusion 16:33 that Jesus rose the first day of the week. 16:36 So combine them together 16:38 and to get a better understanding of that 16:40 rather than saying one was left out 16:41 and one was included. 16:43 Yeah, and there's also a specific explanation 16:44 in regard to Thaddeus, 16:46 because Thaddeus is in two 16:47 and then Judas the son of James is in the other two, 16:50 not Thaddeus, 16:51 and most have concluded that that's the same person, 16:54 but using different names and so... 16:56 Like... 16:57 Yeah, go ahead. 16:59 Like Simon and Peter, you know, some say Simon, 17:01 and other say Peter. 17:04 So you have to understand what Simon in the context 17:07 because you have Simon in the New Testament 17:09 in the Book of Acts, 17:10 then you have Peter, Simon Peter, 17:13 so you have to understand the context of the verb. 17:15 There's just, there's no aberration 17:17 as to all of a sudden a new one appearing 17:19 in one of the gospels, there isn't anyone else. 17:20 That's right. 17:22 That doesn't exist but you have a pretty easy explanation here 17:25 that probably it's the different names 17:27 refer to the same person among the lists 17:30 and it's just a matter of like you said lining them up, 17:33 and you'll see the whole and all encompassing list. 17:36 Yeah, reconcile them together makes a difference. 17:38 What do you have out? 17:39 What else do you have, John? 17:41 This question says or asks, it's coming from Carlos, 17:45 "If we daily may fall away from God into sin, 17:48 doesn't that make salvation our responsibility? 17:51 I'm confused." 17:53 We all sin daily. 17:55 God calls, God calls why, no, 17:58 why would He call us to knowing Him, 18:01 if we would fall away. 18:03 God's nature is good. 18:04 Sorry I'm confused, help me. 18:07 And he says he likes the program 18:09 so he's looking forward to an answer. 18:13 There's a lot of things in here, 18:15 like we got a lot of different tangents on this 18:17 and so I'm trying to get at the heart 18:18 of what Carlos is asking here. 18:21 A couple of things here, number one, 18:23 and I know we have said this recently is just 18:25 because you've committed a sin doesn't mean you're lost. 18:29 We live a life, our life in Christ 18:33 sometimes making mistakes 18:35 and He doesn't cast us away when we make mistakes. 18:38 He's our advocate applying His blood 18:40 to cover our sin, 18:42 when we make mistakes, 18:43 that's why He asks us to confess and repent. 18:45 And if we live a life of repentance 18:48 and confessing those sins, 18:49 He doesn't cast us off when we sin. 18:53 As you said earlier, John, the trend of our life is living 18:56 and trusting in God 18:58 to stand in to be our substitute 19:03 for the sinful life that we do live. 19:05 Right. 19:07 Now in regard to falling away, 19:14 is there seems to be implied here in this question, 19:16 you know, why would He call us to Him, 19:18 if we are going to fall away. 19:20 And there's no guarantee of falling away 19:23 or of making it to the end, 19:25 to a degree there is some correctness in this. 19:29 There is a responsibility that we have. 19:32 We can't save ourselves, 19:34 but God does ask us to respond to His invitation to salvation. 19:37 Right. 19:39 So the salvation of God has appeared to all men. 19:43 He came to save the world 19:44 and save His people from their sins 19:46 and so He has done that. 19:48 He has paid the price for every sin 19:49 that anyone will ever commit on the cross. 19:51 The question is, 19:53 have we responded and accepted 19:55 that salvation that He brings and when we do, 19:58 it involves living daily with Him. 20:01 And of course we just mentioned, 20:03 what that looks like there's a life, 20:05 that our life's not perfect. 20:06 Yes, we're sinners and He can handle that. 20:10 But in regard to, you know, why would He call us, 20:13 if we would fall away, 20:15 He doesn't predestine anybody for anything. 20:17 There's no predestination here. 20:19 I think the issue is that 20:21 it is our responsibility to respond to that invitation. 20:23 In fact, Revelation 3 tells us that Jesus stands at the door 20:28 He knocks, and He knocks, and He knocks. 20:32 And He won't open the door and force His way in, 20:34 we have to respond to that invitation 20:36 and let Him in, 20:38 and He's asking us to let Him in, 20:39 and when we do, 20:41 all of the benefits that He's given us, 20:42 as our substitute and our surety of salvation 20:45 are a portion are given to us, 20:48 so we're imputed, righteousness, 20:52 and then we are imparted righteousness 20:54 as we live and walk in Him, 20:56 we live in righteousness even though we are sinners. 20:59 And I'll tell you what, there is no greater offer, 21:02 John, than this. 21:04 True. 21:05 There's just no greater offer in the world, 21:07 there could be a lottery. 21:10 And the lottery is $25 million, 21:14 and you have just been given a chance 21:17 that you're one out of only ten people 21:18 to get to play and someone's going to win. 21:22 You might think those are great chances 21:23 and what a great deal. 21:25 Let me tell you this offer that Christ gives to us 21:27 is absolutely 100% guaranteed. 21:30 And there's no greater offer in this world 21:34 than eternal life. 21:36 And so salvation isn't our responsibility, 21:39 it's God's responsibility, 21:40 yet He asked us to respond to that, 21:42 because He will not, He will not interfere 21:46 with our free will, 21:47 He's given us the ability to choose 21:49 and that is what pure love is all about. 21:51 A couple of passages I want to add to that 21:53 which is really important 21:55 because one of the points he made here, 21:57 which is to some degree important, 21:59 we have to make decisions. 22:00 You know, Paul says, "Let's not sin reign 22:02 in your mortal body that you should obey it 22:04 in the lust thereof." 22:06 We have to make those decisions. 22:07 And sometimes we do, sometimes we don't, 22:09 but I want to point out a passage 22:11 that kind of takes you down the path where 22:13 and John led into this by saying, 22:17 and I maybe paraphrasing it a little bit, 22:20 but I want to read it and then I'll go ahead and classify it. 22:24 The Lord knows that we are sinners. 22:27 His righteousness is our only hope. 22:31 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 22:35 He is our righteousness, 22:37 always has been, always will be. 22:39 But there is a context I want to show you here, 22:41 a few passages. 22:43 First of all, Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore we also," 22:47 talking about our personal responsibility, 22:50 "since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." 22:54 Since everyone is watching, "let us lay aside every weight 22:58 and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 23:02 and let us run with endurance 23:03 the race that is set before us." 23:05 Now the endurance talked about here 23:07 is not endurance for those who could run fast, 23:09 but those who keep running. 23:11 Right. There you go. 23:12 He who endures to the end, 23:14 I want to add to that shall be saved. 23:17 The battle of the Christian life 23:18 is a daily battle dying to self, 23:21 that's a part of the enduring. 23:23 And you know, that when you wake up 23:25 in the morning sometimes 23:26 you're faced with two decisions, 23:28 do I pick up my iPhone, or my cell phone first, 23:30 or my Android, or do I pick up my Bible first? 23:33 Do I turn on the news first, or do I pray first? 23:36 So much decides, so much is depended 23:39 on the right action of the will. 23:41 God wouldn't force us to say, 23:42 you better pick up your Bible first, 23:43 you better not do that, but 1 John 3:3, 23:47 everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself 23:51 even as He is pure. 23:53 The Lord purifies us, 23:55 but we have to make pure choices. 23:57 That's the key. 23:59 And choices is a very important thing. 24:00 Sometimes we say there was a person that once asked, 24:03 well, if God knows who's going to be saved, 24:04 who's going to be lost. 24:06 No, God isn't predestined some to be saved, 24:08 and some to be lost, He predestines all of us 24:10 to be sons and daughters of God. 24:12 He is made a provision for us to become His children. 24:14 And, you know, when we do, He knows as a babe in Christ, 24:17 there is no point and the parent knows this. 24:20 One parent told me, they said, I can't wait till he hits 18, 24:24 and I said to them, and his problems 24:27 will transition into a different area. 24:29 Because there're parents that have children 24:31 that are fully grown, been married have children, 24:33 still have problems. 24:35 Parents don't get rid of their children 24:37 because their children have problems. 24:39 In the very same way, if anyone sins, 24:42 he has an advocate with the Father, 24:44 Jesus Christ the righteous, He knows, 24:47 He knows that we are capable by His strength to avoid sin, 24:51 but He also knows that because we are sinful creatures, 24:53 we can fall into sin. 24:54 If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father. 24:57 But here's the part that's encouraging. 24:59 1 John 5:16-18, 25:03 and look at that a very interesting passage, 25:04 we often don't see this, it says, 25:09 "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin, 25:13 which does not lead to death, He will ask, 25:18 and He will give him life, and he will give him life 25:22 for those who commit sin not leading to death, 25:25 and he will give him life for those who commit sin 25:29 not leading to death." 25:30 I want to say that again, "And he will give them life 25:32 for those who commit sin not leading to death." 25:34 Now somebody might say, what kind of sin is there 25:36 that does not lead to death? 25:38 An athlete is a perfect example. 25:41 I've seen in the Olympics, 25:43 athletes are running all they have, 25:45 their country is cheering, 25:46 the flags are waving and they stumble in the crowd, 25:50 everyone in the crowd, 25:51 whether they are supportive or not goes, oh! 25:55 Because they see this, this well trained machine 25:59 of an athlete fall into a human frailty 26:03 called stumbling. 26:06 And they know he didn't do that intentionally. 26:09 So one of the most amazing stories 26:11 and I told this in one of my sermons, 26:12 I looked in the audience and everybody's tears 26:14 were in their eyes. 26:15 One man who, the sun rounded, running as hard as he could, 26:19 and he caught a Charley horse, and he Charley horse 26:22 and he fell in agony to the ground 26:24 and he laid face to the ground on his knees 26:27 just lamenting that he had let his country down, 26:30 and it was just all the other athletes 26:32 already crossed the finish line. 26:34 And it was just like this hush, people didn't know what to do. 26:37 I mean, look at this guy, what do we do, what do we say, 26:39 do we cheer, do we boo. 26:41 The crowd was, we couldn't even pick an emotion. 26:44 Then this man broke away from the crowd. 26:47 Stout Gentleman, it was his dad, 26:50 went out and scooped up his son 26:54 and put his arm of his son on the shoulder. 26:57 And the crowd just began to cheer, 27:01 I mean, I cannot tell whole story. 27:03 Yeah, I remember seeing, it's fantastic story. 27:06 The crowd began to cheer. 27:08 This guy wasn't representing their country. 27:11 The crowd began to cheer, then all of a sudden 27:13 they began in a cadence and to by rhythm 27:16 mentioning his name. 27:18 And then he and his father was walking with him 27:20 to the finish line 27:21 and he got close to the finish line, 27:23 and his dad let him go, 27:25 so he could cross the finish line by himself. 27:26 And I thought, when I saw that I don't get emotional, 27:30 when I saw that story, it still impacts me 27:32 to this very day. 27:33 It reminds us of us, when we stumble to him 27:37 that it is able to keep you from falling 27:39 and to present you faultless 27:41 before the presence of His glory 27:43 with exceeding joy. 27:45 When that young man crossed the finish line, 27:47 it didn't matter what country he was from, 27:49 he was surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. 27:52 And that stadium erupted not that he won, 27:57 but that he crossed the finish line. 27:59 And I thought to myself, 28:00 that's who our Heavenly Father is, 28:02 not that we went and came in first, 28:05 not that we were the first one to get into the New Jerusalem, 28:07 but that we crossed the finish line. 28:09 We endured to the cross. We endure to the end. 28:10 Yeah. And that young man his... 28:13 Instead of the athlete I felt bad for the winners 28:16 because they didn't make the front page, 28:18 this young man who fell and got up, 28:20 and crossed the finish line in agony 28:22 was on every newspaper 28:23 and every language in almost every country, 28:26 he was the story of the Olympics that night. 28:28 I felt bad for the guy who crossed the line 28:31 with the gold medal, he was an after mention. 28:33 So be encourage, you may fall, 28:36 but there's a father in the stands. 28:38 He's watching his children press toward the mark, 28:41 press toward the prize. 28:43 When we fall He's going to break rank and come out, 28:46 and pick us up, and carry us to our destiny. 28:49 So be encouraged, I mean, I did intend to get emotional. 28:52 But I remember that story and you know, John, 28:54 it's your story. 28:56 It's my story, it's our story. 28:58 Our Father wants to get across that... 28:59 And He's not willing that any should perish. 29:01 Yeah. 29:02 You know, I think some have this idea. 29:05 You know, they hear that we don't believe in the Bible 29:07 doesn't support a once saved always saved theology. 29:12 No, no. 29:13 This is either a situation 29:15 where we're either growing steadily 29:17 or we're steadily declining. 29:18 Right. 29:19 Rarely do we ever find the case where someone goes 29:21 from walking in Jesus to the next day saying, 29:24 I think I'm going to stop. 29:25 Right. 29:27 That's not what we're talking about, 29:28 we're talking about losing our salvation, 29:30 this happens very slowly, 29:31 and the Bible's full of analogies 29:33 in regard to that, one of them is the moth, 29:36 your garments are moth eaten. 29:38 That's right. Okay. 29:40 What happens with moth? 29:41 I mean, do you know 29:42 that a moth is eating your suit, 29:44 your wool suit in your closet when he's doing it, 29:47 do you know it? 29:48 No, you don't know. No. 29:50 Because if you did, what would you do? 29:51 You'd stop him. Right. 29:53 But usually it's when you pick up the clothing 29:56 and you hold it up, I'm going to wear this 29:57 and what's that, there's a hole in your garment. 30:00 That's right. 30:02 Well, that's the analogy here is that this happens slowly 30:04 and imperceptibly a lot of times, 30:07 because when you're not growing, you're dying. 30:09 That's right. 30:11 You never stay stagnant, there's no such thing 30:12 as maintenance in a relationship with Jesus. 30:15 And so 2 Peter 3:17, speaks to that, 30:18 and verse 18 as well, 30:19 "You therefore beloved since you know this beforehand, 30:22 beware, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness." 30:25 That's right. 30:27 "Being led away with the error of the wicked." 30:29 This is leading away, not all of a sudden, 30:31 boom, you're falling away. 30:33 But it's a steady leading away, and then verse 18, 30:36 which is what we hope for everyone 30:38 but grow so this is opposite, 30:40 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord 30:42 and Savior Jesus Christ, because that is His, 30:47 that is His will for us to grow in His grace. 30:50 And so, we just encourage all of you 30:52 who have this question, who have wondered. 30:54 I know sometimes we have this thing of, 30:56 you know, am I saved, am I walking with God. 30:58 You know, if I done the right things 30:59 or I made a mistake, does He cast me off. 31:01 No, He's looking for a steady direction 31:06 in your life of growing in grace, 31:08 learning from your mistakes, 31:10 and let God not only be the author of your faith. 31:14 But let Him take you to that as you said before, 31:15 the finish line. 31:17 That's right, the finish line. 31:18 He is the author and finisher of our faith. 31:21 So, "Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, 31:25 lest he walks naked, and they see his shame." 31:27 The garment is that righteous character of Jesus. 31:30 Day by day, let's keep it that way 31:32 by our choices we make. 31:33 Choices are influenced by what you put in your mind. 31:40 If you are reading your Bible, and you are praying, 31:41 you have the best food to direct your life. 31:44 Thank you for your questions and comments, 31:46 and if you have any more questions or comments 31:48 you can send them to housecalls@3abn.org. 31:52 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 31:56 And surely, we'll get a chance to download those, 31:59 and even the ones we miss periodically we hoped 32:03 and thank you for your patience. 32:05 John, lead us into our topic today. 32:07 This topic, very important about discipleship. 32:11 Yeah, we've been talking about discipleship 32:13 in several contexts, basically up to this point 32:17 what does a disciple look like, what does it mean to walk 32:21 and be disciple by Christ, 32:23 to engage in a life of discipleship 32:26 and as a commitment, 32:27 a lifelong commitment to Christ. 32:29 So we're looking at several areas, 32:30 we've talked about the implications 32:34 regarding the church. 32:35 I made the statement a couple times already 32:37 that if the church did discipleship right 32:41 in the way that God intended, 32:42 that evangelism would largely take care of itself. 32:45 The mission of the church would be fulfilled 32:47 just by virtue of disciples 32:49 fulfilling their great commission, 32:51 the great commission given to them by God. 32:53 Then we looked at the conditions of discipleship. 32:56 The four conditions that Jesus gave for discipleship. 33:00 In another program we looked at discipleship 33:02 in the context of the Spirit and the truth 33:05 that Christ mentioned there as He said, 33:08 the Father is looking for true worshipers 33:10 to worship Him in spirit and truth. 33:11 What did that mean? 33:12 How the spirit, the heart, conversion, 33:16 transformation is key to the life of a disciple, 33:19 but also to walk in truth, that's also important 33:22 in the life of discipleship. 33:24 Now we're getting to a point, John, 33:25 where we're shifting gears. 33:28 We want to look at the church as a whole. 33:31 And how can we as a church like Jesus did methodically 33:36 with His disciples, how could we as a church 33:38 with disciples of Christ help to disciple them, 33:41 and to grow them, and to nurture them, 33:44 so that they might as well become disciplers of others. 33:46 Okay. 33:48 This is a situation where it's just not addition here 33:50 and there like a few leaders finally get one or here, or two 33:53 and they come to the church, this is a multiplication thing. 33:56 It's supposed to, the church is supposed 33:58 to grow exponentially, 33:59 okay. 34:00 And so that means everybody living the life of discipleship 34:02 and responding to Christ, and to sharing and testifying 34:06 as to what He's done for them. 34:08 And as they witness the church grows exponentially. 34:12 So what is the church, what do we need to do? 34:14 How is a church...? 34:16 What does it look like when a church 34:17 is organized for discipleship? 34:19 So we'll look at what's called 34:20 the disciple making matrix today. 34:23 And will also start with the great commission, 34:25 will spend some time with that here. 34:26 In fact, that will be our first verse that we go to. 34:29 Okay, let's go to that. 34:31 We mentioned, I think 34:32 it was in the first program John 14, 34:34 I want to bring this out, I did, 34:36 I mention it in passing but I want to take 34:38 a look at this here briefly, if you turn to John 14. 34:46 And I believe it's right around verse 9. 34:49 Okay. 34:51 Have I been with you so long? 34:54 No. 34:57 It is, yeah, we can, let's start there 34:59 because it's 9-11. 35:03 Okay. 35:04 Jesus said, "Have I been with you so long, 35:07 and yet you have not known Me, Philip? 35:09 He who has seen Me has seen the Father, so how can you say, 35:12 Show us the Father? 35:14 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, 35:17 and the Father in Me?" 35:19 And here is the key passage. 35:21 "The words that I speak to you 35:23 I do not speak on My own authority 35:25 but the Father who dwells in Me does the works." 35:29 Now, did you know what he just did? 35:30 Did you see what he did subtly? 35:33 He said, I'm going to emphasize this again 35:34 as I read this. 35:37 The words that I speak to you 35:39 I do not speak on My own authority 35:41 but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 35:46 He just shifted from words to works. 35:48 Right. 35:50 Very subtly, unless you're looking for that, 35:52 it's hard to pick it up. 35:54 So words also always must translate into what? 35:57 Works. Works. 35:58 So here's the context of this passage. 36:01 What I've been teaching. 36:03 What I've been showing you all these things you've learned. 36:04 We're going to talk about 36:06 how these words translate to works. 36:09 Verse 11, "Believe in Me that I am in the Father 36:11 and the Father is in Me, or else believe Me 36:13 for the sake of the works themselves. 36:15 Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me 36:18 the works that I do. 36:20 He will do also. 36:23 And greater works than these He will do, 36:25 because I go to My Father and whatever you ask 36:28 in My name that I will do, 36:30 that the Father may be glorified in the son. 36:32 If you ask anything in My name, I'll do it." 36:34 Now do you see the context of that now, 36:35 you see that's in the context of doing 36:37 the works of Christ carrying on His ongoing mission, 36:41 not just name it, claim it whatever you want. 36:43 That's right. 36:45 He'll do it, if we're doing it to glorify our Father 36:47 and to glorify Christ to whom we serve. 36:50 And so here what you find is the bookend 36:53 for the great commission, the same language is used here. 36:58 Jesus is talking about the mission that He had, 37:01 the works that He wants them to carry out, 37:04 how these words, 37:05 the things He's been teaching will translate into works 37:07 that they're going to do, and they'll be greater works, 37:09 not because they're better than Christ's works, 37:12 but because they're greater in number. 37:14 Okay. 37:15 Okay, that's the reason why they are greater works. 37:19 And then He says, "That you're going to receive, 37:22 if you go on in the rest of the passage 37:24 or receive a helper to help you do that, 37:25 it will be Christ living in us, 37:27 who are actually doing the works through us." 37:30 And so I share this with you, because now as we go 37:33 to the Great Commission, turn to Matthew 28. 37:39 You will find the exact same thing. 37:41 It's almost as if Christ was telling them 37:45 what was going to happen, 37:47 then of course His crucifixion happened 37:49 because that was in the upper room, 37:51 that John 14 took place in the upper room. 37:53 That's right. 37:54 The night before His crucifixion, 37:56 and then afterward when He comes back, 37:57 He gives them the Great Commission. 37:59 And the Great Commission has the same language. 38:02 Notice the language of the Great Commission 38:03 in Matthew 28, starting with verse 18. 38:07 "Jesus came and spoke to them, all authority has been given 38:10 to Me in heaven and on earth, 38:13 go therefore and make disciples." 38:16 And that word make disciples 38:17 is actually meaning be disciplers of others. 38:19 Okay. 38:21 Is what it's saying there in the Greek? 38:22 "Of all the nations baptizing in the name of the Father 38:26 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 38:28 teaching them to observe all things 38:30 that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always 38:33 even to the end of the age." 38:34 So not only is He saying, the words that you learned, 38:38 now go do, teach, baptize, 38:41 in other words you're making disciples. 38:44 And then notice it comes back to Him, 38:46 I'll be with you. 38:47 This is the same format of the passage we just read 38:50 in John 14. 38:51 Because he says in John 14, "Pray for the Holy Spirit 38:54 because when it comes, it will be Me 38:56 coming along with Him and I will help you." 38:58 And here it says, He's saying, "I will be with you." 39:01 So it's beautiful here, this Great Commission 39:04 is more than just nice words, 39:08 it really is intended 39:11 not just for the disciples that were there, 39:13 it's intended for every disciple 39:15 that professes Christ today in the church. 39:19 This is their commission. 39:21 Wow, I like that that you brought that out, 39:22 when we make disciples, He is with us even to the end. 39:27 Yeah. 39:28 When I make a disciples and the connection was 39:30 and I saw the connection, 39:32 you know, I have a look at program here, 39:33 I highlight text and do a little thing 39:35 that reminds me of what we talked about, 39:38 this is the words John 14:10, 39:40 "The words that I speak to you, 39:43 I do not speak on my own authority." 39:45 And then later on he says, "All authority is given to me." 39:48 That's right, there we go. 39:49 It's the same language being used there, 39:51 it's fantastic. 39:52 "All authority is being given to me." 39:53 So now, now that 39:55 I am speaking with all authority, 39:58 I'm telling you to go. 40:00 To go. Remember opening Jammy. 40:03 Yes. 40:04 Remember, what he used to say standing up there. 40:06 He's a Personal Ministries director for years in Fairfield 40:09 and he'd stand up in front of the church during 40:11 the Personal Ministries time 40:12 and you remember what he would say? 40:14 God did not ask people to come. 40:17 He tells you go, go, where did you go this week? 40:23 I remember distinctly, he used to, 40:25 he used to challenge us, are you going? 40:28 That's right. 40:30 And this is a reminder today, are we going 40:33 or we're just part of the church 40:35 that keeps on doing what it's doing, 40:38 maintaining, it's okay, I'll be saved. 40:44 I had a problem with the one thing, 40:45 you know, we used to say this thing. 40:46 The only thing you can take with you to heaven 40:48 is your character. 40:50 No, that's not true. 40:52 Yeah, you take your character, I agree with that. 40:53 But you can also take somebody else. 40:57 Very good point and so this would be, 40:59 there will be no stars, crowns that you can take with you. 41:02 Yes, the Lord wants us to take somebody else. 41:06 Now something else that's interesting here. 41:10 I see that Great Commission has less of a mission 41:17 of the church as it is a disciple's job description. 41:22 Okay, I could understand that because... 41:26 So, you know, we talk about in the context, okay, 41:28 our mission is the Great Commission 41:30 given to the church. 41:31 Actually, it's the disciple's job description 41:34 more than it's the church commission. 41:37 Because sometimes, you know, how sometimes, John, 41:39 when we speak in generalities, we don't apply it 41:41 to us personally very well. 41:44 We need something to actually speak to us personally, 41:46 to be relevant, to engage us. 41:49 So to engage us in the mission, I think, 41:51 it's better to think of this as not just, 41:53 oh, the church's mission is fantastic, make disciples. 41:56 No, it's Christ telling us as disciples to go 42:00 because it's my job description as a disciple. 42:03 That's right. 42:05 Matter of fact, Ephesians 2 and this is a text, 42:07 a lot of times people believe that well, 42:09 I shouldn't say believe, but sometimes we respond 42:11 as we were just called to wait for Jesus to return. 42:16 He didn't call us to wait for Him to return, 42:18 He called us to get others ready for His return. 42:20 You know, on the baptismal certificate, 42:22 will you buy your life and your influence help others 42:25 get ready for the coming of the Lord, and we say, 42:27 I will when I get a chance. 42:30 But the Lord says in Ephesians 2:10, 42:34 speaking about for by grace are you saved through faith. 42:36 That's verse 8-9, 42:37 it is a gift of God not of works, 42:39 lest any man should boast. 42:41 We are not saved by works, we are saved for works. 42:44 That's right. 42:45 Verse 10, for we are his workmanship 42:48 created in Christ Jesus for good works 42:52 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 42:56 So before you come to, before we come to Christ, 42:59 He has work for us to do. 43:02 When a person goes for a job interview, 43:04 I like the fact that you made this a job description 43:07 rather than an activity. 43:09 When a person goes for a job, they look in the newspaper 43:13 and they say, "Oh, okay, I could fit that position." 43:18 What Christians, what people 43:20 that have given their life to Jesus ought to say is, 43:24 I want to be a part of that, rather than I want to be, 43:27 I want to get a paycheck. 43:30 Somebody once said, people stop looking for work 43:33 when they find a job. 43:35 They don't want to work, they just want the job. 43:37 They want to make ends meet, they want to pay their bills. 43:39 But the Lord has called us for good works. 43:42 These works are already there. 43:44 That's why Jesus said, the harvest is ripe 43:46 but the laborers are few. 43:48 The harvest is plentiful, look everywhere, 43:51 but I don't have anyone that wants to go out there 43:52 and bring the harvest in. 43:54 And so we have the ministries, 43:56 let's talk about this for a moment. 43:57 We have... 43:59 When a person is appointed to an office, 44:01 and I think you mentioned this before 44:02 in one of our prior programs. 44:04 When a person is appointed to an office in church like 44:06 deacon, elder, deaconess, treasurer, 44:08 Sabbath schoolteacher. 44:10 That's internal. That's not discipleship. 44:14 That's simply the function of the body. 44:16 He gave some to be administrators, 44:18 some helps, some teaching, some pastoring, some preaching. 44:22 Those are all the functions of the body. 44:24 Giving an example, your body is functioning perfectly. 44:27 Your eyes, your ears, your nose, 44:28 it doesn't mean you're a baseball player. 44:31 It doesn't mean you're a football player. 44:32 Your body is functioning just like theirs, 44:34 all the components are working just fine like theirs, 44:37 but they've taken on a different mission. 44:39 I'm gonna get on the field. 44:40 The fans have working bodies but their working bodies 44:43 are sitting in the stands. 44:44 Right. 44:46 The athletes are on the field where they are doing something. 44:48 They've got a goal, they want to get to that goal. 44:50 The other ones wants to get to that goal. 44:52 So unless there is a goal in your life that pushes you 44:54 to mission, you're just a spectator. 44:57 You're sitting in the stands with fully functioning bodies 45:00 that have no purpose at all. 45:02 Can you imagine sitting there two and a half to three hours 45:05 and the most I can do is drink my soda, 45:08 eat my popcorn and yell, go. 45:11 Well, this is, I think... That's the church today... 45:14 I think conceptually we have it wrong 45:16 in regard to worship, 45:17 when we come to worship from Sabbath to Sabbath. 45:21 Worship is less about what I get out of the service 45:25 and more about what I give to God, okay. 45:30 I mean, this is an important distinction. 45:34 We have people that complain, they come to the church 45:36 and they complain, well, the pastor is nut, 45:38 it wasn't a very good message 45:39 or so and so treated me poorly or this, 45:43 the Sabbath school lesson, it just, 45:44 I wasn't into it today. 45:46 The writer, I don't like the editor 45:47 on how they put this one together. 45:49 We talk about all the things 45:50 because we're not getting something out of it. 45:52 When Christ is actually calling us before Him, 45:55 He extends the call to worship that we might bring to Him 45:58 an offering of ourselves, 46:01 a living sacrifice of ourselves for his, 46:04 for reasonable service out there to others. 46:07 The worship service is to give God glory, 46:09 to give of ourselves and then to receive 46:12 the sending commission to then go out 46:14 for the rest of the week, do His work 46:17 and then come back the next week 46:19 to talk about it and praise for it. 46:20 In fact, Ellen White made 46:22 an interesting distinction one time. 46:23 She says, there is far too much sermonizing in church. 46:26 Because sometimes the church just needs to get together 46:29 and talk about what's going on all week long evangelistically 46:33 to encourage, to stir up good works, 46:35 and to help us continue to focus 46:37 evangelistically on our mission. 46:40 But no, often we turn internally and we... 46:44 Well, I'm not getting this or that out of it. 46:46 Oh, the church doesn't really do a lot for me 46:47 and that's why I don't go and... 46:49 That's not why God calls us to worship Him. 46:52 We worship Him with as a living sacrifice, 46:55 as we give ourselves to Him 46:57 and offer ourselves for His use, for His service. 47:00 That's right. 47:02 And so many people in America primarily, 47:05 let's look at, I'll just use one example. 47:10 We have, our churches are all over 47:12 in different locations. 47:14 But if we had one mega church, 47:16 let's just use Joel Osteen as an example. 47:18 I'm not speaking about his preaching or sermons. 47:20 You know, he has a lot of good positive things. 47:22 That's not the point, I'm gonna use. 47:24 I'm not gonna try to down him or anything. 47:26 But let's just say, 30,000 people come on a Sunday, 47:29 30,000, we saw the pictures of those stadiums, 47:32 it's just awe inspiring to see how many people 47:34 can pack into that arena. 47:36 But there is one man that's upfront speaking 47:39 and 30, 000 after the sermon, or however long it is, 47:44 or after the entire service, 30,000 go back 47:47 in 30,000 different directions. 47:50 And what would happen 47:53 if 30,000 people left that stadium 47:56 and hit the streets that afternoon, 48:00 going from door to door, home to home? 48:02 Even if it's all week long, you know. 48:04 I'm going there. Yeah. 48:06 And then you exponentially push that 48:07 to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 48:10 activity all week long. 48:12 That stadium wouldn't be big enough 48:14 in just a matter of a month. 48:17 If he said, bring one person with you next week, 48:20 there would be 60,000 people next week. 48:23 Let's put that down to a smaller scale, 48:25 a 120, bring one person with you next Sabbath, 48:28 and pray all week long for just one person, 48:32 there will be 240 people the next week. 48:35 Hey, the person you brought with you, 48:37 bring one of your friends with you next week, 48:40 there would be 360 people the next week 48:43 and just if you try that, if you said, 48:45 I'm just gonna bring a friend, there is no commitment. 48:48 You don't have to buy anything, 48:49 you don't have to give any offering, 48:51 just come as you are. 48:53 We have a special invitation just for you, 48:55 and you've made your focal point 48:58 just that one week to meet one person invite them 49:01 and secure that they're coming with you next Sabbath. 49:03 Do you realize how the church will explode 49:06 and that's what happened on the day of Pentecost. 49:11 They left Pentecost, they left Jerusalem with a mission 49:15 and the church exploded 3,000, 5,000 multitudes 49:18 and then they got to the point 49:19 where they couldn't count anymore 49:21 and in 34 short years, 49:24 the gospel went to the entire world 49:26 because they were filled with the idea 49:28 that if we get the gospel to the entire world, 49:30 Jesus will come. 49:32 So Matthew 28, the commission there to make disciples 49:35 is not a come for a good sermon and then go home 49:39 and enjoy the trees and go, you know, walking through, 49:43 looking at butterflies. 49:45 That's great, you don't have to spend the entire day 49:47 but be a mission minded person 49:49 rather than just maintaining the needs of the membership 49:52 because there is a need of the membership. 49:54 Some people are ill and sick, they need to be visited, 49:57 they need to be prayed with. 49:58 But then there is a mission outreach. 50:00 What are you doing in your mission outreach? 50:01 And this is, this is balanced thing. 50:03 Yeah. 50:04 Because I don't want to minimize the fact 50:05 that sermon shouldn't be good, they shouldn't be encouraging. 50:09 You know, they should, 50:10 we should do a good job with that. 50:12 We should do a good job with our Sabbath schools. 50:13 We should do a good job 50:14 as we come together to encourage 50:16 and to build one another up. 50:18 But we shouldn't leave the other undone. 50:21 That's right. 50:22 'Cause if we do that, the focus will just become eternal, 50:24 internal and I think that's kind of the problem. 50:27 That we're seeing in a lot of our churches today, 50:29 we've lost that working in the harvest field aspect 50:33 in lieu of just kind of being consumed about 50:36 what's happening in the church. 50:38 Now, we're gonna shift here in the last few minutes 50:42 and talk about what I put together here 50:45 which I believe is biblical. 50:46 I got this straight from the word. 50:50 As a disciple making matrix there are four quadrants, 50:53 four components or aspects to this disciple making matrix, 50:57 and all four of them combine together 51:00 represent important characteristics or qualities, 51:06 things that church will do to make disciples. 51:09 To build a disciple making culture, 51:11 and so if you wanted, 51:13 if you like to see a church become 51:14 more of an evangelistic disciple making culture, 51:18 the thing that we've been talking about here 51:19 for the last several programs. 51:21 These are the things that you need to look at, 51:23 this is kind of the test and also things to implement 51:26 that the church should do to put that or establish that 51:29 within the church. 51:31 So it might become that 51:32 disciple making church you wanted it to be. 51:34 That's right. 51:35 We won't talk, I don't, I can see right now, 51:36 we're not gonna get to each 51:38 and every one of them individually. 51:39 We'll finish in our next program 51:40 talking about these things individually, 51:42 because there are some wonderful things in that. 51:43 Okay, sounds good. 51:44 But we'll introduce this and talk about 51:46 the importance of just the cycle. 51:47 All right. 51:49 Number one, so think of this as four quadrants, 51:52 one, two, three, four. 51:55 Okay. 51:56 Starting with the upper left which is the first quadrant, 51:59 so you're going to start with the first one 52:02 which is to connect. 52:04 That means to begin the process of discipling others 52:09 and helping the church foster 52:10 or build the culture of discipleship. 52:12 We have to know that connection with the church 52:15 is an important part of it. 52:16 Right. 52:17 And significantly and we'll talk in more detail 52:19 about this in the next program, 52:21 but significantly this revolves around relationships, 52:25 not doctrinal teaching. 52:27 Right. 52:28 Connection happens through relationships, 52:31 and so there needs to be a strong emphasis 52:33 on meeting people that are non-Adventists 52:37 in the workplace, as you socialize... 52:41 and being intentional about this, 52:42 and we'll talk more about this next time. 52:44 So I don't want to get ahead of myself. 52:45 But let's go to the number two, quadrant two. 52:49 Quadrant two is to grow. 52:52 Once a connection is made, an individual has accepted 52:55 Christ as your savior. 52:57 I think a lot of times in our churches, 52:59 we kind of think at the time of the baptism, 53:01 oh, they are in the church now and we kind of relax. 53:05 But what needs to happen is there needs 53:07 to be an intentional deliberate nurturing process 53:11 that encourages them to grow in the grace of Christ 53:14 like we just read in the text from 2 Peter. 53:16 That's right. 53:18 So grow is the next part of a disciple making matrix. 53:21 So now we've got connect and we've got grow, 53:23 and this is personal growth 53:25 and all the things that come with, 53:28 it's a very important spiritual practices 53:30 in the life of a Christian, 53:31 the devotional life of a Christian. 53:33 Then the third quadrant of the matrix, 53:35 dropping down from grow is equip. 53:40 And, John, equip, to equip the church is probably 53:44 the most significant deficiency we have in churches today. 53:48 We are not intentional about equipping our members 53:51 but we need to be, 53:52 because equipping brings empowerment. 53:56 If you're not equipped 53:57 and you're not feeling comfortable 53:59 and able to be able to share your faith 54:03 because you haven't been equipped, 54:04 you're not gonna do it. 54:06 It's like sometimes we go from connect to grow, 54:09 straight to send. 54:10 Now send them out. 54:12 And people, they are not comfortable with being sent out 54:15 because they really don't know what to do. 54:16 This equipping process is not being met. 54:18 I would say, it's probably the biggest deficiency 54:20 in our churches today is not equipping 54:22 our members for service. 54:24 Okay. 54:25 That doesn't bring empowerment, and then lastly is descending. 54:28 Once you're equipped, you got to go use it. 54:32 Christ was intentional about sending His disciples out 54:34 and we'll talk a little bit about that 54:35 in the next program as well. 54:37 So connect, grow, equip, send, each of these things 54:41 are key to determining whether or not your church 54:44 has got a well-rounded program that disciples others, 54:48 builds leadership and then sends others 54:51 out to disciple yet more people, 54:53 to increase the size of a church 54:55 and grow the church exponentially. 54:57 You know, the John 15 aspect of this whole matrix 55:00 if I can use that phrase is the first part, 55:05 it's important to put some support to these, 55:08 each of these steps. 55:10 Connect, Jesus, in the connection of John 15, 55:14 he says, "I'm the vine 55:16 and my father is the vine dresser." 55:18 He also says, "I'm the vine, verse 5, 55:21 you're the branches." 55:22 So the vine, we connect to the vine and we branches, 55:27 branches don't, the branches don't hug the tree. 55:31 Branches reach out from the tree. 55:34 So we are the reach out or the outreach of the church. 55:37 We are the branches, the vine is Christ, 55:41 He's the vine where the branch is. 55:43 But then He says, the reason why the connect 55:45 is so vitally important is because without Me, 55:47 you can do nothing. 55:48 So there are those of us who joined the church 55:51 and let's put this all together. 55:52 The pieces are very important. 55:54 Each component is very important. 55:56 The component of connecting 56:00 and reaching out are inseparable. 56:05 The branch cannot separate itself from the vine 56:08 and still reach out. 56:10 It look like it's sticking out, 56:11 but there is no life flowing through it. 56:13 So you have to have a daily connection with Christ 56:16 in order to even, in order to even be 56:19 capable of reaching out, 56:20 and I would say if you go down to the seed of this, 56:23 yes, equipping is a very important part of it, 56:26 but so many people don't maintain 56:28 a daily connection to Christ in a living thriving study. 56:33 You see Jesus has His roots down 56:35 into the work of the kingdom. 56:37 He has grown up as the Bible, as Peter points out 56:41 that we've all grown, you know, we're growing in the Lord. 56:46 We are all growing. We're growing in grace. 56:49 We're not growing into grace. We're growing in grace. 56:52 That's right. 56:53 That's the day by day 2 Peter 3:18. 56:55 We're growing in grace and knowledge. 56:56 But that can't happen if we are not connected. 57:00 Jesus was very intentional about His own disciples 57:02 and He provided an example of what we are 57:04 talking about here, connect, grow, equip, send. 57:08 If you take a look at your next slide here, 57:10 what you'll find there, John, is a description 57:13 of how this thing fits in with the model that Jesus had. 57:17 First of all Jesus called His disciples. 57:21 There is the connect piece. 57:23 Then He taught His disciples, there is the growth piece. 57:27 Then He showed His disciples, there is the equip piece. 57:30 Example. And then He sent His disciples. 57:33 There is the send piece, He sent them out. 57:35 That's right. 57:37 And so Jesus is very methodical about this. 57:38 I call it Jesus Christ's other method. 57:41 You know, how Christ's method of reaching out to people 57:43 and we talk about that from Ministry of Healing 143, 57:46 how He socialized, sympathized 57:48 and when people looked harsh to Christ 57:50 and bid them follow me. 57:51 Well, He has a method of also equipping, 57:54 growing His disciples too. 57:55 Wow. 57:57 Well, that's wonderful, you know, 57:58 discipleship is what the Lord calls you to, 58:00 may you respond to that wonderful call today. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-07-06