BACK TO BASICS – PART 3

  

Colin preached This message at Word Of Grace Church on June 30th 2024. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

 BACK TO BASICS – PART 3

When you walk through these doors, you become a prospect of becoming a disciple.

Matt 28:18-20 The call of every Christ follower is to be a disciple and make disciples.

WHAT DOES A DISCIPLE LOOK LIKE?

The Word disciple is used 270 times, and the word Christian is used only thrice in the New Testament.

Who are called Christians? Acts 11:19

Most of the followers of Jesus witnessed the Jews, but some also spoke to the Gentiles, and they were saved. When the Apostles realised this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to work with them. (v22-23)

V25 – Paul and Barnabas taught them for a whole year. Let us look at the calling of the first disciples. The calling of the first disciples is in all the four gospels. The most detailed is in Mark 1:16-20.

Mk4:19 – The calling of Simon and Andrew

Lk 5:1—The Lake of Gennesaret (the same as the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias). Jesus was already preaching and gathering a crowd. He sat in Simon and Andrew’s boat to preach. In Lk 4:38, Jesus went to Simon’s house and healed his mother-in-law. So, Simon and Andrew were aware of Jesus’ preaching and healing.

Lk 5:4—Jesus tells Simon to put his boat out into the deep for a catch. In V5, you see Simon’s faith and respect for Jesus: “Because you say so, I will let down the nets.” This is the key—when we act on God’s word in belief, we will see results.

V6. Their nets began to break, and then the overloaded boats began to sink. When Simon saw this amazing catch, he realized that it was the ‘finger of God,’ and he fell at Jesus’ feet.

This is the prayer we need to make in our lives: I want you to work in my life so that people around me will see and say, ‘This is the finger of God’ in my life, and God gets the glory.

V8 Simon realised who Jesus is and who he is compared to Jesus.

Have you had that revelation and understanding of who Jesus is?

V10-11—From now on, you will catch men. And they left their nets and followed him. Here, we see the disciples' first call.

 

THREE THINGS THAT DEFINE A DISCIPLE.

1.  FOLLOW ME – We accept Jesus as our Lord, i.e. ‘ You are the boss, and I will do whatever you want me to do’.

Peter made a mental decision first. Jn12:26 ‘Whoever serves me must follow me. My father will honour the one who serves me’.

Jn 14:23-24- If anyone loves me, he will obey my teachings.

The willingness to follow Jesus is evidence of our love for Him. Matt 16:24. If anyone will come after me, deny themselves, take up your cross, and come follow me.”

 

2. AND I WILL MAKE YOU

This speaks of a heart transformation. Jesus takes imperfect people and conforms them to the image of Christ.

Rom8:29, 2 Cor 3:17-18 We are transformed from one degree of glory to another.

Jesus had a vision for their lives. Simon went from a reed to a rock.

Lk 9:54-55 James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven. Jesus took these rough guys and transformed them. Later in his life, John was called the apostle of love.

Think of your own life – is there transformation that you need? The question to ask is, are you following Him?

‘I will make you’—This is a transformation of the heart. John, who wanted to call down fire from heaven, became the apostle of love.

Transformation comes through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Word, and the Holy and Unholy people God places in our lives.

Jn 15:1-2 The Father cuts what is dead in our lives and prunes what is growing well for better growth.

Gal 5:23 The fruit of the Spirit must grow in our lives. When our hearts desire change, we know that we are being transformed.

 

3. FISHERS OF MEN

When we decide to follow Jesus, our hearts and actions change. We fish for men, and we have a purpose in our lives.

Matt 16:26 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?

A true disciple lives to catch men and women for Jesus.

2 Cor 5:15-20 We live for Him who died for us. v17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation… and we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, and we are Christ’s ambassadors.

Our life’s mission is to seek and save the lost, just as Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

How many people in the church are actively involved in soul-winning? We all need to be faithful disciples of Jesus.

Matt 16:27 The He will reward each person according to his actions”.

 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.