Yet, I am not greater than my Master and they called Him the same. The enemy has not let up. Lord God Almighty, I pray that you will open minds and hearts, and remove anything that hinders your Spirit from reaching the heart, and allow your truth to sink in deep into the soul. Renounce Satans claim, then ask God for strength and protectionlock the door so Satan cant get in. No waiting until the ice thaws (try the bathtub). It must be modeled to be carried on to the next generation of soldiers. Consider it afresh in light of Johns message in First John and the theme of this chapter: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. The anger is simply an emotional response that is quite natural. It is much easier to hear and understand the gospel than to teach it and talk about it. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. Is the kingdom of God advancing through us? So where do you start? (1 John 1). Because Kingdom Christianity is very different from institutional church Christianity and your disciple will quickly settle for the easier of the two. What will judge us on the last day? Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. Kingdom Expansion. We are great, powerful, But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 13:31-35, Denomination: (Galatians 5:19-21). And as crazy as it sounds, try to avoid engaging in discipleship activities in a church setting for the first several weeks. They have to trust you and be open. Well, what he is saying is that anyone walking in the Light, abiding in Christ, will subject themselves to the Spirit and repent, confessing their sins to God and to each other. Ignoring sin is simply avoiding confrontationeither an individual exercising self-love, or a church avoiding losing membership (thereby serving two masters, God and mammon). Sincerely now, without the power of the Holy Spirit manifesting itself in and through us, we tremendously limit our ministry. Train yourself to think Kingdom expansion rather than local church growth. Then, we help them get closer to their righteous and holy Father, and nurture a zeal to take others on the journey of truth, freedom, and empowerment. Be careful in targeting the churched. When Marc approached me about writing the foreword to his book, he told me the book was a manifesto on Kingdom expansion designed to mobilize the saints for the harvest. Those were some pretty lofty claims! Your fears? If your ministry model cant handle 1,000,000 people in a year, you are thinking too small! Consider the possibilities by comparing an addition versus multiplication model: Assume an evangelist wins one soul per day as compared to a saint making one disciple (obedient follower of Christ) per year. What was the purpose of Gods redemption? They may do good works, but they have not signed that blank piece of paper that gives everything to Jesus, and they do not walk the path of righteousness. Isaiah 54:1, Denomination: Mark 16:17-18 is clearly addressed to all saints and itemizes several gifts that can only manifest by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am confident that if you have read this far, you have decided who will receive your allegiance and affection. And any of us who have walked the path of wickedness know full well that the devils allures, as attractive as they once were, lead to pain and heartache. Who are the two powers battling for our affection and allegiance? Luke 9:11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. We Learn more. Some people who share their faith put on a character. . It is an ongoing cooperative relationship. EXACTLY! You will know them by their fruits. From now on sin no more (John 8:10-11). What book of the Bible was written to so that the readers can know they have eternal life? ), New! I also decided through prayer to do a message on Noah before we go to 2nd Thessalonians. Your disciple must be able to receive from you. Now I urge you to seriously consider the patterns set forth in Scripture. However, in this parable, Jesus teaches that His kingdom is going to grow. Well, werent the manifestations of power only for the Apostles? You know this to be true deep in your soul. Here are four reasons you should share your faith . Our struggle and fight for freedom was a religious battle in many ways. However, lets say an angel appears to Johnny, and gives him a vision of him twenty years into the future playing before great audiences at Carnegie Hall, playing the most beautiful and exquisite music he can imagine. Posts Categories Adult Discipleship Opportunities - General 2; Adult Discipleship Opportunities - Men 1; Adult . Would you give up your possessions for Christ? Since we are slaves to the one we obey, if we still sin, to whom do we enslave ourselves? Most of us see our part as limited to our church, community, region, or audience. I apologize for the length of this chapter. Series: Luke. Enjoy the conversation. But what did not expect was the reaction that took place. When Peter spoke to the Gentiles in Caesarea, he described Jesus to them in this way: You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. They believe the birds that nest in the tree picture Satan and his demons. No. Lukes gospel tells us he often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16). Prayer was Jesus regular practice, but what did Jesus pray? Of particular significance are verses 21-22, which reveal that before He began His public ministry, He had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. . The Western church system centralizes ministry around programs, events, structures, and a few formally trained individuals. These blogs were written to seek to accurately interpret some difficult Biblical passages, These are blogs written concerning the church plant in Rancho Cordova. Name three examples in the Bible of the man of peace.. Model the Kingdom lifestyle, offer specific suggestions and encouragement for your disciple, be available in a watching mode as they grow, then let them go once they have successfully perpetuated the training sequence into the second or third generations. Lord, I pray that you will mobilize multitudes to get on the mission. I now want to shed light on his methods and the root of his power in our lives. Amen. Insist on full repentance. This is very good. How could that be? We need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this work! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! (This is not only possible, but probable.) The Pharisees, along with everyone else, just assumed that the kingdom would be ushered in with great pomp and power and splendor. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. But this much He made clear: discipline has real protocol. However he was a pretender who constantly sought to tha short-cuts. He spoke exactly what the Father told Him to say. Show them what it means to be a disciple by doing life together. We also know for certainty that we are given the Spirit as a seal of redemption at rebirth (Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30, and 2 Corinthians 1:22). Engage in ministry (service or otherwise) with your disciple to see if the next generation candidate emerges. Matthew 13:33, Denomination: One consideration in choosing a disciple is the convenience of investing quality time with him/her. Read Mark 16:17-18. Similarly, they interpret the leaven as false doctrine that false teachers inject into the church which causes the whole external church to become corrupt. It depends on her repentance. Sharing your faith is a reminder of how good God has been to you. 6. Remember, God draws straight lines with a crooked stick. God is on the move and enlisting the willing. These disciples are in turn responsible for doing the same (since they obey His commands, and His command is to make disciples). Signing this document will lay the foundation for His service, and qualify us to train the reserves for the mission. Talk about what Jesus came to do and why he came to do it. 2020 Values-Driven. There were the same ladies that used to yell at us for playing in the flowers. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and Last week we looked at one of Jesus favorite teachings, the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God advances one life at a time. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." It was a direct frontal attack on the character and trustworthiness of our Creator. 18 He said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like? Based on 1 Chron 4:10, For a few years now people have been praying the prayer of Jabez made popular by Bruce Wilkinsons book The Prayer of Jabez. What? Yet God deserves our hearts and our allegiance, and we are blessed when we catch the vision of serving for His glory! There is victory moment by moment. I pray that the Lord will speak to you through these words to challenge and inspire you with greater passion in the Holy Spirit, to spread His Glory by mobilizing the saints into the Kingdom harvest. Interesting, huh? He had only a handful of ragtag followers. Marcs solution is to get back to the model of the Early Church, when leaders led by example, not by charismatic personalities. Passage: Acts 11:1-18. To the contrary, the wise children seek the protection of the righteous parent. It is reported that 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity every day, and 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity in Africa alone every year. Both Acts 1:5 and Acts 11:16 make it clear that Jesus told them they would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit; He even used that terminology. We are at war. The Parable of the growing seed Mark 4:26-29 . Why do so many professing followers of Christ experience the same problems as the rest of the world? Can you sense the times? You may not read it in the text books anymore but there is no denying that America was founded on Christian principles. by Brian Anderson | He is again saying, indeed, has God said? Remember that what it says is exactly what it means. Likewise, it is prudent to match more mature mentors with less mature disciples, so that they have the experience to provide life counsel (you dont want a college kid mentoring a married man with multiple children, for example). 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. We dont just have a building, we have a kingdom awaiting us. For pastors, gifted leaders, and those born and bred in the institutional environment: dont try to control or suppress the move of the Spirit! 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