Matthew
10:21-42 Discipleship
Great
Commission: Go into all the world and make Disciples -- That is our mission!
Love
God with all heart soul
. Make Disciples
Greg Laurie said once that
Every Disciple is a believer but not all believers are disciples
Some
believe saved but they are not serious Jesus is Savior but not Lord
Some are reluctant to trust Him with their lives
That
is our goal bring you to that place of Becoming a Disciple.
A)Here in Matthew 10 Jesus
is talking to His followers about Discipleship
B)Pick it up in V.21 Note
7 things Jesus told them would be a part of being His disciple
#1 Being a Disciple of Jesus
can cause family problems.
21 "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a
father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to
be put to death.
Jesus Divides families
Jewish culture book of Hebrews { forsaken
This
prophecy of Jesus came to pass as the church went through ten tragic waves of
persecution under ten Roman emperors.
During
this time, perhaps as many as 175 million Christians were killed.
Many
of them turned in by their own families
A)Sudan
today - Also China
A
funeral service is held for a family member who becomes a Christian, because in
the eyes of his relatives he is no longer alive.
In some instances the converted member has
been poisoned to death
34 "Do not
think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a
sword. 35 For I have come to 'set a man
against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law'; 36 and 'a
man's enemies will be those of his own household.' 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of
Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Now understand Jesus is not
saying that it was His intention to divide He is merely making reverence to
the fact that this would be the result
A true Disciple might be
forced to choose between Jesus and His family
Young
girl in India parents forsook her and turned her into authorities for
becoming a Christian
Russian KGB Storm Church
that was norm
Amazing 4 yrs ago 2000
stand -
Here in America Seen young
pp turn to Jesus from drugs/ sex / alcohol / - Parents get mad
Division amongst friends
lost for being saved
Some lost friends for
becoming a Disciple getting serious
#2
Being a Disciple requires endurance!
22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who
endures to the end will be saved.
Note this is not suggesting that we are saved by preserving but
rather when we preserve or endure it is proof that we are saved
God meets the true Disciple
with Supernatural ability to endure in the face of persecution
In
Uganda in 1885 three Christian boys, ranging in age from eleven to fifteen,
were forced to give their lives for Christ because they would not renounce
their faith in Him.
The king was adamantly opposed to
Christianity and ordered the boys execution if they did not recant.
At the place of execution the boys asked that the
following message be given to the king: Tell his majesty that he has put our bodies in the
fire but we wont be long in the fire. Soon we will be with Jesus, which is
much better. But ask him to repent and change his mind or he will land in a
place of eternal fire.
The
youngest of the boys, named Yusufu, said, Please dont cut off my
arms. I will not struggle in the fire that takes me to Jesus.
Because
of the boys testimony that day, forty adults trusted in Jesus Christ for
salvation, and indirectly countless more converts were won to the Lord over a
period of many years.
By
1887 a large number of other Christians were martyred, many of them inspired by
the fearless, loving testimony of those three boys.
None
of those martyrs knew much theology or much about the Bible, because most of
them were illiterate and all of them were relatively new believers. But they
had a deep love for Jesus that they refused to hide, no matter what the cost.
#3 A
Disciple needs to know when to move on.
23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For
assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.
Now this is interesting to
me in v.22 Jesus is speaking about enduring opposition
A)V.23 He tells them to flee
what is the deal
B)The latter deals with the
urgency to get the gospel out
C)Dont waste your time
trying to convert those who are against set in their ways - - - Move on!
D)Dont cast your pearls
before the swine!
1990 Yugo / Hungary THE
YOUTH - he was right
Never stop praying but
find someone who wants to hear wants to be discipled - CAMPS
5DAYS FOCUS CARNAL
#4
A Disciple remains teachable.
24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above
his master. 25 It is enough for a
disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they
have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call
those of his household!
Being
teachable is such an attractive trait!
A)Hate know it alls Think they are above
B)Mark of a Disciple is they
are teachable
C)Follow so close to his
master that his masters dust would end up on him.
Jesus
was telling these guys they shouldnt expect to be treated differently than
he was
A)They accussed me of being
from Beelzebub dont be surprised if they do that to you.
Beelzebub,
literally lord of the flies, was a Philistine god, worshiped by people who
lived in what is today known as the Gaza strip.
There
were those who said, Jesus is using demonic powers to
do His work. Hes demon-possessed.
So here Jesus is saying to His disciples, If theyre calling Me the lord of the flies, theyre also
going to come down on you.
Interesting
that those who want to deny Christianity will say the disciples became famous
from it{ Saints
A)Nothing could be further
from the truth Hated persecuted eventually all lost their lives
#5
A Disciple needs to be Bold!
26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that
will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 "Whatever I
tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach
on the housetops.
28 And do not
fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them
falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more
value than many sparrows. 32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,
him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I
will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Three times in these 8
verses the disciples were told not to fear Fear is the greatest enemy of our
faith
Fear is a normal response
We must not live in fear
Fear wants to dominate
cripple
Dont be afraid
to speak the truth - Heard in secret
proclaim from the housetops
Much of what we read in the
gospels was revealed in private to disciples Purpose training them to
reach the world
We get to be like a fly on
the wall so to speak as we read put yourself in the story
NOW WE ARE TO PROCLAIM
Dont
fear those who can only kill the body
A)Fear in this sense
terrorized
B)But fear Him {God who can
destroy both
. In hell.
C)This word fear means to
reverence and respect
Healthy
fear of God remember: He controls what happens to your soul
A)Jesus is saying LIVE W/
ETERNITY IN VIEW
B)Dont worry about the
temporal harm the body
Ridiculed etc
C)Where you spend eternity
is what matters!
Over a period of some 300
years of terrible persecution, ten generations of Christians dug nearly 600
miles of catacombs beneath and around the city of Rome. Archaeologists estimate
that perhaps a total of 4 million bodies were buried there. A common
inscription found in the catacombs is the sign of the fish, the Greek word for
which (ichthus) was used as an acrostic for Jesus Christ, Gods Son,
Savior. Another common inscription found there is The Word of
God is not bound. During the most prolonged period of persecution in
the history of the church, those believers revered God more than they feared
man.
Reason
to be bold and not to fear!
A)You are valuable to God
Sparrow falls God sees
DUCK HUNTING -
B)#
of hairs on your head thoughts more than sand
Jer
29:11 Thoughts of good not of evil
C) I sometimes forget this
Start to think I am all alone -
1)What are you going to do
about Homo marriage
Hate Crime to Call Homo. as
sin
A)Nothing against
Homosexuals Sinners just like
Adulterers / Fornicators /
Liars / etc
B)All need a savior Pretty
soon it will be considered a hate crime to call anyone a sinner
C) I will preach the truth
not because I like calling pp sinners -
but because we need a Savior
1)Need to know what we need
to be saved from!
A
Disciple needs to be Bold
A)Joshua Be strong and
courageous ! Just as I was with Moses I will be with you
B)Today: Be strong and
courageous Just as I was with my Disciples I will be with you!
C)Not ashamed to call us His
brothers Not ashamed to own you Dont be ashamed to own him
#6
A disciple must carry his cross!
38 And he who
does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and
he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
What is my Cross?
A)Some say: My wife my
boss teenager
My parents
B) My Cross is my Arthritis /
my Cancer / lousy job
My Noisy
neighbors / my unsaved husband or wife
A)
But those things ARE NOT the CROSS / those things are just things
that are common Challenges &
Problems of everyday life
1)
Common
to every man BELIEVER OR UNBELIEVER
A) The Cross is when you die to yourself in order to Help or to save
another !!!
B) That is what Jesus told us /
greater love has no
life for his friends
1)
And
that is what He showed us / He laid down His life we
saved
C)
That is what the Cross is / When you give of yourself / so that
someone else can be saved or helped / You die to self / someone else ADVANCED
D) NOW WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO
THAT ? It goes against my very nature & the mindset of the world that says Look out for #1 = ME !!!
1)
What
would make me want to put others first ?
E)
Again
it is born out of or is the RESULT OF REALIZING the Love that Jesus has
DISPLAYED toward me .
When I begin to GRASP the Wdt./ Ht. / Dpth/ Lgnth of His love for me
I want to show that love to others
A Disciple lives with that
mentality JOY Jesus others you!
#7
A disciple will be rewarded
40 "He who
receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of
a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man
in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little
ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to
you, he shall by no means lose his reward."