All right, tonight I'm going to talk to you about the Great
Commission. Come on.
The Great Commission Pastor Mike ministered last week on Max Reps
about growing up spiritually, right?
And it is a process. Pastor Chase talked about this
invitation that God has given to us.
And are we excited about meeting with him or have our ears
allowed his voice to just be common and familiar?
Right. Well, I'm going to kind of
summarize both of these in this Great Commission because
unfortunately, when I say the Great Commission, what do you
think of going all the world? That's true, going all world and
preach the gospel? I think everybody can say that.
But the question is, is what does that actually mean?
All right, I'm going to start out with this verse in Acts
Chapter 11, verse 26, because this is where our conflict
arises. And it actually started all the
way back here where there became, there becomes a
challenge that takes place. And it is an exchange of terms.
All right, say an exchange of terms.
You understand terms or words are really powerful and you
understand you're not a cynic, nor are you a person who is
critical. But we do need to have critical
thinking and we need to be able to make sure things are rightly
divided because words are being changed constantly in every
generation. And as a result of that, people
have definitions towards certain words that may have never been
God's intent for us. That's why we always go back to
the word capital W, right? Because again, God is the Word,
so He has the right to define the terms.
And again, we cannot allow ourselves to let the world
define us, but the Word should define us, and this is the world
defining us. And when he had found him, he
brought him to Antioch and for an entire year he met with the
church and that's Paul and taught considerable numbers and
the what are they? What are they called were first
called in. It was the Antiochs or the world
that when they saw these disciples, they said, well,
they're Christians or studiers of Christ.
Now that's the term that they're using.
Well, they're studiers of Christ, or they're Christ like.
Now that by definition alone is not a problem.
But is that today's definition of Christian?
That would be a question #2 though Christian was not given
by Christ himself. So sometimes we, we, we embrace
a term that Jesus. And again, nothing wrong if you
say, well, I'm a Christian, no problem with that.
And when we have these kinds of conversations, sometimes people
say, well, it's semantics. It's really not semantics.
If you will take the time to think.
It's not semantics, it is literally being firmly persuaded
about terms. And are you allowing them to
govern your life? Because if you're not, There are
many people that I've encountered who would call
themselves a Christian but do not even know the term disciple
nor what it means to be a disciple.
In fact, this term Christian came because they were
disciples, which tells me if you're not a disciple, you're
not a candidate for the word Christian.
Which tells us this being converted doesn't make you a
Christian because the word Christian means Christ like.
And that is in every way. Now when you're born again,
you're in Christ, but are you allowing what you're in to be
seen? And that's what discipleship
will do. Now let's look at this in Mark
chapter 16, verse 15 to 18. You know, it's my responsibility
not only as an apostle but also as a pastor is to rightly divide
the word of truth into train. That's our responsibility, OK?
And that responsibility is the always cause us to want to
emulate or reflect the word of God in our lives.
And this is not just by casual conversation.
This is by intense rigor and training.
As Pastor Mike said last week, it is a process of training.
This does not happen overnight. It requires a discipline.
So Mark chapter 16. This is the one that most people
quote. Mark chapter 16, verse 815
through 18. And he said to them, go into all
the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
And he who believed and have been baptized shall be saved,
but he who has disbelief shall be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who have believed in my name.
They'll cast out demons. They'll speak with new tongues,
they'll pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison it
will not hurt them. They'll lay hands on the sick,
and they will what recover. In this particular passage of
Scripture, the word preach here is the Greek word which means to
officiate as a herald, always with the suggestion of
formality, gravity, and an authority which must be listened
to and obeyed. So this word in the Greek
doesn't just mean to say, it's how you say and what are you
demonstrating when you say? It means to herald, which is
awesome because that's a Kingdom term because the king would send
out what they called it and a herald to communicate business
or things that the king is saying.
That's where, you know, you hear the saying, hear ye, hear ye.
In essence, give attention. What I'm saying came from the
throne and it is to be observed. It is to be obeyed.
It's to be listened to and obeyed.
Are you hearing me? OK, Well, we pick up this term
going to all the world and preach and this.
So we we take this side of the Great Commission and
unfortunately for years, it's the only aspect of the Great
Commission we're wanting to say. And that is let's just go
preach. Let's go tell people about
Jesus. Let's tell people about Jesus.
That's the Great Commission. Go tell people about Jesus.
Well, the Bible tells us let everything be confirmed by what
2 or so? Is there another scripture that
communicates the Great Commission?
Yes, Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28 uses the word
go as well and we'll look to see it here in verse 18.
Prior to this, let's look what Jesus said.
Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been
given to me in heaven and on earth.
Now let me stop right here. This is why they can lay hands
on the sick, cast out devils. They can do the why 'cause all
authority. So you see how these two verses,
these two contexts of scriptures connect.
Now Jesus didn't say or Mark, the writer doesn't say that all
authority has been given to Jesus.
This is why you're doing it. But Matthew lets us know because
you're not casting out devils without the name of Jesus, who's
been authorized, who's given the name above every name.
OK, he said I've got been given all authority.
Here it is verse 19. Go therefore and make disciples.
Now if you read out the King James, it says go therefore and
preach. You say, oh it doesn't say make
disciples. Well, that's why you have to go
to the original language, because the word preach in Mark
chapter 16. The Greek word is not the same
Greek word as in Matthew chapter 28.
In Matthew chapter 28, the word preach from the King James, but
most other translations use this definition of that Greek word.
Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
Verse 20 Teaching them to what? Observe all that I commanded
you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age. So here we see this term
disciple invoked. And if you break this word down,
disciple in the Greek it means to become a pupil.
It also means enroll as a scholar.
It means to follow precepts and instructions.
So in essence, Go has within it the reality of proclaiming and
heralding news from about the King and discipline training to
produce visual results because as a disciple you should have
visible results that you are of God.
It is not something unseen. It's in the unseen, but it
produces in the scene. And This is why people in
Antioch, when they saw the disciples, they labeled them
Christians because they saw something.
They saw something. I remember Pastor David EMI when
he teaches on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And with Simon the sorcerer, when Philip went down and
preached and all of a sudden it said that he wanted this gift of
the lane on the hands to receive of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. He said that Greek word when he
laid hands and people prayed in other tongues.
It has the term having saw. He saw with his eyes and heard
with his ears. So he saw something in
manifestation that came out of a spiritual realm that transformed
that person where they spoke in a tongue not known to them.
Well, the guys that the people at Antioch see this group of
people and they are seeing something about their lives that
is so radically different than theirs.
And probably what they've heard about what Jesus had done or
maybe from other communities where Christ had been priest or
his name and vote. They began to say, well, that's
the studiers of Christ, studiers of the King.
You understand what he say Christ are saying studiers of
the King so there's something that the world should see if you
are a disciple if we're a disciple.
So in essence, if we are a person to go can notice this it
says go into all the world and preach well when you're going.
The reason why you can herald and the formality or the gravity
and the authority by which your words carry that should be
listened to and obeyed is because they see what you preach
happens in your life. You're actually a reflection of
what you're talking about because you understand there's
nothing worse than saying without producing.
And this is where Jesus kept rebuking the Pharisees.
He said do what they say, but do not do what they do.
They Harold me, but they don't do me.
And he never called a Pharisee a disciple.
So that tells me knowledge of God's Word alone does not make
you a disciple. In fact, knowledge alone of
God's Word not applied will make you a Pharisee.
In fact, knowledge of God's Word that you do not apply will cause
you to put your opinion on God's Word and teach it as precepts of
men instead of commands of God. And This is why we have what we
have on social media today. Everybody has their own truth
about Scripture. Well, I'm glad it's your truth,
but you're not the truth. Come on now.
No, he's the truth, the way and the life.
Hallelujah. Smith Wigglesworth said this.
He said there is a time coming that it will be difficult for
believers to receive healing because of the advancement of
medical science. In essence, he said he was
saying that because medical science is advancing, they'll
put more trust there first before they go to God.
Now, there's nothing wrong with medical science and there's
nothing wrong with going to the hospital.
There's nothing wrong with finding out what's going on with
you. No issue.
But here's what we do know. By his stripes, ye were healed
and that is reality. But you understand, when there's
other opportunities out there, then sometimes we won't get as
firmly persuaded when we need that firm persuasion, because
even if you go to the doctor, you need a firm persuasion.
Are you hearing me? The same thing is happening
today, that there are so many voices out there that believers
are having a hard time hearing the spirit without some kind of
confirmation. And we are taking kind of a step
back because if you need a word from someone outside of the Holy
Ghost in you to act on a situation, well, I'm going to
act now because someone confirmed.
You need to continue to develop what you're hearing on the
inside. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
So in essence, to go, we should actually be reflecting Matthew
38, Matthew 38. John said it this way.
He said therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
This is the essence of a disciple.
A disciple is someone who has repented and then produces the
fruit of which they have repented from.
One changed their thinking and gone to another way of thinking,
another way of living, and it produced that kind of living in
their lives. And again, John is talking to
religious people when he makes this statement.
He's saying to them, you're talking a talk.
I see no fruit from now in today's society.
We have taken going to all the world and preach the gospel and
we said I will do you know Jesus says your Lord, Do you know if
you if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?
Do you know that you know where would these are the kind of
questions we ask, you know, because you know, you need to
know where you're going to go when you die.
This is how we sell good news. This is how we have caused the
gospel to become right. Do you know where you're going
to go when you die? Well, that's good news.
Let's talk about my death. I mean, just understand the
premise here, right? You, Jesus Christ, and then we
insert truth, right? Jesus came, He died for your
sin. Everyone has sinned and he's
paid the price and his blood is forgiven you.
If you'll just call on the Lord, you'll be saved.
You understand if someone doesn't, they're going to be
born again, even if that's how you sold this thing, if that's
how you, you know, presented Jesus, right?
So then we say now, you know, so pray this prayer with me.
And so they pray with you and say, now you're born again.
You know, you're going to go to heaven when you die.
And then we walk off. We're like, oh, glory to God.
But where in these two verses put up Mark 16 real quick so
they can see it Mark 16 and let's read it real fast because
again, it's Mark 16 that people get really upset about or they
use the most going all the world and preach the Gospel.
He can walk. I could walk away and say I did
that. But let's go over to Matthew
because the second witness of going or what we are supposed to
do says go, therefore make disciples.
Well, now the minute I walk away, I didn't make a disciple,
but I do have a convert supposedly say supposedly.
Now if God has changed this individual, well then I know
this is what the Holy Spirit does when he moves in.
Because when the Holy Spirit moves in, the Bible is very
clear what the Holy Spirit does. The only thing we tend to
present to them is that the Holy Spirit, you're going to receive
the Holy Spirit. You're going to be the temple of
the Holy Ghost. He's going to bear witness with
your that you are a child of God.
Stop there. But you know what?
He doesn't stop there. The Holy Spirit would then say
this to a brand new believer. Now you need to not forsake the
assembling of yourself together. You need to go to church because
I've called you to be a student. I am your teacher and I'm going
to teach you through gifts that are in the body.
It's called the fivefold ministry.
You need to get in church. Pastor Mike has testified this
on more than one occasion when he really got born again.
No one, no one had to beg him to come to church.
And he's only been in three churches his whole life.
The one he was born again or even he got born again.
He went to that church and he only left that church because
God said go get trained for ministry.
So then he went to Rhema where he got trained for ministry and
went to the church associated with that.
And then he stayed there until the Lord said, I'm going to
release your gifted anchor Faith Church.
And he's come here and he here he is.
You see what I'm saying? So his moves were not well.
You know, I'm kind of bored of this church.
I'm going to go somewhere else. Well, this church has offended
me. I'm going to go somewhere else.
He went as directed by the Lord to the place where it deploys
him. I mean, he would have stayed in
Ohio his whole life had the Lord not say, go somewhere to be
trained because I have more for you than just this particular
role. I've got things to release, but
in order to release, I need to train you further.
So. So Pastor Mike had already
started a process of discipleship through Ed Cole's
stuff when he was, you know, in Ohio and learning how to be a
man that is called discipleship. Then he went on to learn how to
be a minister of the gospel and understand doctrine so that he
could then do what he's doing today, which is minister to word
to you and been doing it in this location for 21 years.
Wow, how amazing is that? I mean these are the kind of
examples you want to follow, not church hoppers, not people who
run to 1 conference to the next. You want to find people who get
rooted, grounded and know who they are in the word.
That's what a disciple looks like.
But we have replaced disciple with Christian and because we
like Christian that we just define as I asked Jesus to come
into my heart and save me, which Antioch did not define it that
way. Antioch unbelievers defined it
as a follower of Christ that did the works of Christ, not someone
who asked Jesus in their heart and save them.
So when they die, they go to heaven.
Now why do I have to teach like this?
Because we've come to the place in the world where this is not
being taught. This is the only reason I have
an obligation to stay with the word.
And then when you really stay with the word, it looks a lot
different than what's being said, right?
And again, we're not here to offend.
We're here to empower. Because when you actually grow
as a believer, it'd change your life.
Let me read you this story by Hubbard.
He said this, he said here a story or a parable in a delight
in a delightful bit of country. Early 1 summer morning I walked
out to be refreshed by the pure sweet air and sight of fields
and woods, grasses and flowers, beasts and birds, when
pleasantly I came upon an orchard into which I entered.
The trees were beautiful to behold, The air was fragrant,
the fruit was abundant, and wandering on almost enchant, on
almost enchanted, until my great wander, I came upon a tree
having neither bloom nor fruit. I was so painfully impressed
that without any thought of hurting or giving offense as to
myself, I said, You poor lost tree, what can you, what can you
be doing here? I marveled.
You are not removed. Upon which, to my astonishment,
the tree replied not without tardiness.
Oh indeed, Sir, indeed. No doubt you think you are wise,
wise above your father's. You think you know much more
things, I dare say. But you are in are in a great
mistake. I am neither poor nor lost.
Well, I said, you have neither leaves nor fruit, and I should
judge no SAP. What has this to do with that?
It broke out. Your ignorance is inexcusable.
The tree said you seem not to know that a great Savior of
trees have been down here and I have believed his gospel, and I
am saved by grace. I have accepted salvation as a
free gift, and though I have neither leaves nor fruit, I am
saved all the same. I looked at it with pity and
said, you are a poor deluded tree.
You are not saved at all. You are only a dead good for
nothing tree. Despite all your talk about
grace and redemption, the only salvation you can ever know is
to be made living and fruit bearing life.
That is salvation. When I come to see you laden
with fruit or even showing signs of leaves, I will say, ah, that
poor tree is saved at last. It shall receive the IT.
It has received the gospel, and is saved by grace.
As I turned away, I heard it say, You are, you are not sound,
you do not understand the gospel.
And I thought so It is. As with the trees, so with men.
They talk as if grace and salvation were something God
keeps from them outside themselves, and will not
understand nor believe that he who is saved, he who takes
Christ fully and rest on his atoning work alone, is made free
from sin, and has fruit unto holiness.
We have accepted that salvation and grace has no need of fruit
bearing when fruit bearing is proof that we are.
Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Yeah, it is proof that we are and we easily not to offend
except people going around saying that they are born again
and born of God and all these things.
Yet when you encounter them at work, when you encounter them
at, you know, events, you encounter them at restaurants or
wherever and you've been around them and then all of a sudden
you're ready to witness to them and then they tell you all
they're born again. You're like, I never would have
known by your lifestyle. And yet too many except that
they are. Now I can hear the critics right
now on podcast. Oh man, you're judging, you're
judging, you're judging. I'm not judging.
I am examining fruit. At the end of the day, fruit.
Don't take my word for it though.
Let's look at John chapter 15 because again, I'm not saying
something that the word is not saying.
Look at John chapter 15 and verse 16.
Jesus said Jesus said say Jesus who said this?
Jesus said you did not choose me but I boy that's true isn't it?
You didn't earn it. You couldn't have worked for it,
couldn't have done anything. In fact he chose you.
You couldn't even come to his Kingdom unless he drawed you by
a spirit. He said you didn't choose me,
but I chose you. Now did he just choose you?
Does it have an and So what does and mean?
It means also you didn't choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you would you would what go?
There's that word and and bear fruit.
So Jesus expects you to man and I could preach on all kinds of
parables talking about fruit bearing right now.
I can give tons of examples. Gave 151211.
He expected it produce 5 produce 52 produce 21 buried gave back
what he had and he called him wicked and lazy.
He did not lose a thing, right? He received from the father what
he did not have himself, yet gave back the father the very
thing he received from the father that he did not earn.
Oh, you don't want to hear this, but because there was number
interest, no kind of production farmer goes in, spend three
years, there's trees nowhere producing fruit.
He says to this gardener, cut it down.
Tired of it taking resource out of the ground when it's not
going to do what it was called to do, He said hold back, give
me one more year. I'll dig around it, fertilize it
and give it another shot to bear fruit.
But if it doesn't, we'll cut it down.
Oh, y'all don't want to hear this, Matthew?
John 15 goes on and says what it says.
Man, you are going to bear fruit, and he'll prune you so
that in the next season you'll bear what?
More fruit? But if that branch bears no
fruit, he cuts it off and discards it.
The branch is of the tree which has the roots, and the roots are
Christ. He said I'm the bond and you are
the branches. If a man remains in me, he'll
bear. Not if a man remains in me,
he'll bear nothing, but he goes to heaven.
He just should be excited. He's attached.
And we are turning the Great Commission into a destination
with no responsibility for fruit bearing.
And we want to talk about great revivals.
Then we need to have a great revival.
Well, what we need is we need a revival of disciples first in
order to get a revival of the lost.
Because a disciple, when they herald, there's power and
authority behind it because they're living what they're
preaching as opposed to someone who is preaching something
they're not living. Because it's easy for me to wait
to receive Jesus when the one telling me about Jesus lives
life like I live. Because you're selling me hopes
of what happens after I die that it's obvious has no change of
what you're doing right now. Say Amen anyway.
Said you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, I may give it
to you. Again jumping back up to verse
seven and eight of the same chapter, he said, if you abide
in me and my words abiding you ask whatever you wish and it
will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this,
by what that you bear much fruit and here it is.
So prove I don't I don't have nothing to prove to you.
I asked Jesus into my heart to save me.
I'm a Christian too. Well, prove me your prove you're
a disciple. I should see the proof of your
discipleship, he says. You want to know if they're my
disciples, they can prove it to you and it isn't proving it to
me because at 10 years old you came down and asked Jesus Christ
to come into your heart and save you.
That's no proof. Oh y'all don't want that's no
proof. Listen, let us not some people
may be on their track. The hell the enemy has done such
a great job of trying to paralyze Saints from holding
other Saints accountable to behavior.
You're a disciple. Why you gossiping right now?
You a disciple? Why you slandering right now?
You a disciple? Why you lying right now?
You a disciple? Why you backbiting right now?
Oh, don't talk, don't you? Why are you not producing the
fruit that comes with repentance?
Because that's not a disciple and you calling yourself a
Christian. I can go find lost that do
better do a do a job that do that.
They don't even do a job as good as you do.
Are you hearing me? What did Paul say concerning the
man who was in the church sleeping with his father's life?
He said even the world's not doing this, and you're like and
like, he's your brother. We don't know the first thing
about the love of God when we act like this.
We should be living, breathing fruit bearing examples that
really other believers should. Why is it that today's Saints
are so weak and feeble that when they get around a true disciple,
they're so intimidated? It's because they've been sold
lies that they're a disciple, but they know they don't measure
up because they don't have the fruit, he says.
If if you abide in me, if it's a conditional statement, am I?
So being born again doesn't mean you abide in.
Abiding in is effort. You have to discipline yourself
to be in him, meaning in the Word, your Spirit man is in
Christ. I have no problem with that.
But if it is in Christ, it will listen to the Holy Spirit and
the Holy Spirit says you need to renew your mind.
You need to become a student of the Word.
You need to allow the fruit of the Word to produce in your
life. When I was talking to Pastor Jay
when I was going to the airport, he said, Pastor Earl, I realized
more and more and more today we need to be making disciples
because missionaries ran over into other countries and just
told them about Jesus and said, where are you going to go when
you die? Make Jesus the Lord of your
life, repent of your sins and then left.
And the only message they told the these born again people go
start churches and tell them that Jesus Christ died for their
sins. And though that's true, that's
not discipleship. He goes, Pastor Earl, when do
you know you have a disciple? I said, because they are a doer
of the Word. It produces the behavior in
their life that when challenges come, they do the Word, not what
the world does. They respond from the Word, not
from the world. That's when you know, so he
said, abiding me and my words, abiding you.
The reason why today's Saints struggle so much is because
first and foremost, they're not even in the Bible.
Now I did not grab this statistic, but I do know it's
extremely low. I think it may be even less than
10% of believers, so-called Christians that read the
Scripture. They don't even read scripture.
The single greatest success of the environment of Anchor Faith
Church has been that we read the Bible.
That's been our single greatest success.
On Sunday, June the 15th, Father's Day, we had a guest in
our service. I mean we have guests that come,
but this particular guest was a student pastor, a youth pastor
of a church and he text my son and it said this my name is
Ashton, I serve as a student pastor of a church in
Clarksville, TN. My wife had the chance to visit
Anchor Faith on the 15th while we were in route to our vacation
spot and came back with nothing but great things to say.
I was honestly bummed I didn't get to meet you and your team as
you were headed out for camp. Heading out for camp, but the
hospitality at your church was spot on.
Regardless, I just wanted to take a moment to encourage you.
What God is doing through Anchor Faith in your student ministry
is truly powerful. We were blessed by the warmth
and presence of your church family and I pray it's just the
beginning. I'm praying the half has not yet
been told over Anchor Faith. I'd love to stay in touch with
you and make myself available, encourage one another and see
how their students can support our students and partner in any
way. Much love to you and your team.
Now, why is that? Because you are proving to be a
disciple. Hallelujah.
It becomes proof of your
discipleship because people come in and they begin to hear your
environment, see the environment.
When Sonny Matthews and his wife Stephanie came and they've been,
you know, she's been doing ministry, traveling with her
father all over the world, done a lot in India.
She leaves worship in her own church.
And both of them together do a phenomenal job worshiping the
Lord. In fact, they're on a process
right now because you cannot convert people in India to be
followers of Christ. So they are cracking down on
evangelism there. So one thing that's still
acceptable, you can't say, you can't have anyone, say, confess
Jesus Christ as Lord in India legally, nor can you eat beef in
India legally. He'll go to jail for that.
With that being said, Sonny is now writing songs that are
straight from scripture that are communicating Jesus is Lord and
it through music. The government is accepting it
and churches are being so hindered that they are wanting
this music because they're using it as the evangelistic tool to
see people come into the Lord. OK, we have a nation open and we
want us. Persecution tries to limit a
message. Yet in the most persecuted
nations, the churches are the best attended.
Sayla. That means pause and think on
these things. We're in a nation that we can go
line upon line, precept upon precept.
Oh my goodness, are you hearing what I'm saying?
And the reason why people are going to be shaken in the last
days is because they're not abiding.
They've accepted this traditional thought of
Christianity. I asked Jesus into my heart to
save me. I'm a Christian.
I know I'm going to go to heaven when I die.
Jesus never once said go and convert people so they'll know
where they go when they die. He said go make disciples.
They're going to have to abide. They're going to have to.
They're going to need to grow and grow and grow and I should
see fruit because God's not mocked.
You must produce the fruit of the Kingdom in your life.
The disciples understood the gravity of Mark 16 and Mark
Matthew 28 when Jesus said go make disciples.
Because Jesus has talked about the cost of disciples earlier in
Luke chapter 14, verses 25 to 27.
What does it mean to be a disciple #1 You're a studier of
the Word that produces the fruit of the Word in your life, not
just a confessor that Jesus is Lord.
It is manifest fruit, but he goes on, and this is what
discipleship looks like. Jesus said there's now a large
crowd. Jesus was around.
He said now a large crowd, we're going to along with him.
You know what? Most churches are just going
along with Jesus. Going along with Jesus is not
the same as following him. I know when someone's going
along with Jesus because they go along to this church, to that
concert, to this conference, to this, but yet I see no fruit.
They're going along and Jesus has some people just going
along. So he wanted to say, well, if
you're going to follow me, let me define that.
Now who's going to define it? Do we define it?
So when someone said, now look, come on brother, now you know,
if you just ask Jesus in your heart and save your disciple,
you can say, come on, brother, you haven't read the Bible and
you are deluded when I look, I didn't earn this thing.
You can't earn it by doing a bunch of works.
I'm not doing works. I'm living by faith, producing
fruit. What are you doing?
Because again, man will try man in the flesh, carnal man, and
the world will try to get you to live the lowest possible form so
that you're not much different from them.
And I'm, I'm amazed that Saints accept it, but the only reason
you will accept that narrative is because you're not in the
word to challenge the narrative, he said.
If conditional statement anyone comes to me and does not hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers
and sisters. Jeez, this is heavy talking,
bro. I mean, this kind of preaching
does not make it in 98% of churches in the United States
today. This is our bothering plan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a strong word, man.
You should hate anyone. Well, then why is Jesus using
the term? Oh, y'all want to hear this?
I want to close. I want to finish.
I don't want to get back and preach super long if anyone
comes to me and does not hate now.
He's not like saying I hate you, I'm never going to be around
you. He's saying my relationship with
my father, my mother, my wife, my children, my brothers and
sisters compared to him looks like I hate them.
They never take precedent of my Lord.
He goes on to say yes and even his own life.
Which means I don't even have the liberty to say, man, I just
wish I could. This is how I want to live.
I can't even love my life like that.
If you don't hate your father, mother, wife, children,
brothers, sisters and yes, even your own life, he can not be my
disciple. Now who says this?
Who said this? I did not say this.
He said this. Yet we have plenty of Saints
telling you that you look, there is things going around in the
church well today that say sound like this.
Now, look, we don't want to do too much because you know,
people have another life. They have a life outside the
church now. Well, you know, that sounds good
and it sounds like you're even being compassionate and so
caring, but that's not how Jesus framed discipleship.
Now, first and foremost, you're not going to spend your ever
living moment in this building anyway.
But if you compared how much time and opportunities for you
to grow and be discipled and have discipleship by which then
you go out and do here, it's still you have a lot of time on
your own that you manage, but that still should be his.
That's right. Well now, man, these pastors are
just pushing them too hard. Well, you're not following Jesus
and I'm not. I'm not pushing like I'm telling
you, I'm not pushing like Jesus. Whoever does not carry his own
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
And he said go and make disciples.
He didn't say go make converts, go make, go make disciples.
Discipleship has a call. Then jump down to verse 33.
He says this. So then none of you can be my
disciple who does not give up all his own possession.
I'm not saying go sell everything and sit here and say
pastor, I sold everything. I'm just here.
That's not. He's saying, in comparison,
there's nothing you possess that possesses you.
So when you get connected to God, who is the head of the
church, which is the body of Christ by which you are part of,
and when the king or the head of the church begins to say as a
body, I want you to do this. Well, you do, because that's
what disciples do. Then you produce the fruit of
what All that is, not negotiate. Well, you know, we we come a
lot. I mean, I'm here every Sunday,
surely. Well, you know, they're doing
another event. Come on.
Well, I would go, but the game's on now.
Again, no problem. I understand there's thing.
No, I'm not. I'm just saying you have to ask
the question. Is there anything in your own
life that you know you'll put before the call of God?
And that's a problem because God sees you as sold out to him.
Now understand this, God has us in every sector of society.
And as a result of that, you're being an example in front of
them. Because if you don't have enough
time in the church and serving the church that people see you
acquainted with the church, they should be asking like, why are
you always there? It's a fruit because I'm around
my King and his children and we love it not because we have to,
but because I chose to be a disciple, not a casual pass
through living the American dream, expecting the Kingdom of
heaven. Let me close with this verse.
John 831 to 32 says this. So Jesus was saying to those
Jews who believed him. If you continue in my word,
again, conditional statement, you are truly disciples of mine
and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.
The reason why many Saints are not free today.
Why are they not free of depression?
Why are they not free to of worry and doubt?
Why are they not free of of needing to be known, needing to
be heard? Why are they not free from the
cares of life? Well, it's because they don't
continue. They've accepted that they're a
disciple by mere fact. They ask Jesus to save them when
it's a disciple that is in the Word, allowing the Word to
transform their thinking, their behavior, their thoughts, so
that then they produce the fruit.
And that fruit is letting everyone know you're free.
No more bondage. No more bondage.
Cause true disciples are not bound to the things of the
world, to substance. They're not bound to images,
they're not bound to behaviors, they're not bound to
generational issues because they're a disciple.
So the Great Commission was never for us to go into all the
world and tell people about a Jesus we don't live.
It was only to go into a world to tell people about a Jesus we
serve and have the fruit of serving him.
And you cannot have the fruit of serving Him if you are not a
studier of the Word and submit yourself to it on a continual
basis. You'll never know enough about
God that you can stop because the minute you do, He becomes
knowledge and not revelation. He becomes a seed that you leave
on a shelf and it doesn't produce a plant that has the
opportunity to produce fruit. The.