“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3 ESV)

Is God welcome in you? Or will you go it alone in your sin, with separation the inevitable result? Jesus said of Himself— “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20 ESV) Has He no home in you? If you will receive Him into your life, if your desire is for you to live with God eternally and He with you, then know this-- something must be done in you. You are a sinner. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. He will change you and dwell in you. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23 ESV)

© Kevin Mahon
http://www.beforecaesar.blogspot.com

The question which comes to mind is this, “What does becoming a disciple of Christ mean today?” There are certainly many sermons and lessons taught about coming to Christ, about believing, about committing, and so forth. Later in Matthew 9, Jesus now has selected The Twelve, and they are sent out into the world into the harvest. Christ warns them that they would be only a few among the many. Earlier in that same chapter, Jesus displays great compassion when He walks among the multitudes, teaching the disciples that this is how they are to see those outside of Christ. Jesus even warns them in chapter 10, that they would be like sheep among wolves; therefore they would need to understand that there would be a great cost to being a disciple. To be able to fulfill such a commitment, they would have to love Him even more than their own families, but promises that if they were willing to lose their very lives, they would actually find them.

In Mark 8, Jesus tells Peter that he needed to place God’s interests above his own; in fact Jesus told Peter that he must deny himself. He also reminded Peter of the great emphasis that ought to placed upon the soul, rather than on those things that are temporal. He warns them of the danger of being ashamed of Him, reminding them that there will be a day when the Father will return with His holy angels. In Luke 5, when Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James, and John to again put down their nets into the water after fishing all night with nothing to show for it, they enjoy a great catch! Beginning to understand the power and authority of Christ, Peter is immediately is confronted with his own sinfulness. In the next chapter of Luke, Jesus teaches the twelve that they are to show mercy and that they are to do good to even those who have mistreated them. He also reminds them of their great need to learn from Him, as students learning from the Teacher. This places a great need for the student to be humble, to be willing to learn, and to listen to the Teacher with great expectation. These are qualities that were first needed to be learned before there would be effective teaching to others.

Others came to Christ as well, and He immediately warned them that He had no particular place to call His home. One man, who wanted to follow Christ, asked if he could first say good-bye to his family; to which Christ replied, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Commitment to Christ must require single-mindedness and a great determination to persevere. Later in Luke 14, Jesus shows kindness to those who were less fortunate. Teaching His disciples, he again focuses on the cost of discipleship by stating that they must have an impact in the world. He compared the ineffective disciple to that of salt that had lost its saltiness, saying that it was worthless.

In the gospel of John, again giving an example of humbleness, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in chapter 13. He says to the Twelve, “Do you know what I have done for you?” He tells them that since He their Teacher, is willing to wash their feet, they ought to be willing to wash each other’s feet; in other words, willingness to do what the Master has done. He reminds them that the student is not greater than his master. Following these lessons Jesus informs them that he will soon be leaving; therefore there was the need for them to love one another. Later in chapter 15, Jesus tells them that only those who are attached to the vine are real disciples; therefore the only ones who would be able to bear real fruit. In fact, bearing fruit was the proof of true discipleship. He then returns to His teaching about love and states that real love is demonstrated by laying down one’s life for another, followed by a warning that they would be hated and persecuted by many, as He was.

A disciple of Christ! No wonder Paul told Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 – ESV) Paul also told the Corinthians in 1 Cor.15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.” Paul said, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;” (Rom.12:9) John said, “Do not be surprised if the world hates you;” (1 John 3:13) and Peter said, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.” (1 Pet.5:6)

A disciple of Christ?  . . .  is one who has repented of their sin and has committed to follow Jesus; leaving everything behind, with a willingness to follow the Master. He is characterized by love, compassion, humbleness, and fruit; being single-minded and unashamed; and possessing great perseverance and determination.

In John 17:17-19, Jesus has been praying for Himself and His disciples. Prior to praying for all believers, He prays that they would be sanctified in truth and states that the Father’s word is truth. He says that as He has been sent by the Father, so He sends them. Christ has laid down the example, saying that He has sanctified Himself. John MacArthur says that this means that Jesus set Himself apart totally for the Father’s will (MacArthur Study Bible – NASB 1585). May we be disciples who set ourselves apart to do the Father’s will!

                “But you were washed, you were sanctified,

                  you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

                  and by the Spirit of our God.”           1 Cor.6:11b (ESV)         

We all understand that we are to put God first in our lives, but practically many times we fall short.  What a great reminder that as we pursue God first and with our best -- our relationship with our spouse does not suffer, rather is significantly enhanced.  When God is first, we will be fine tuned by the Master, as a result we can fulfill all that God has planned for us in our relationships with others.  So if a man truly loves his wife, he will pursue God wholeheartedly.  If a wife truly loves her husband, she will pursue God relentlessly.  When we put first things first, then God prepares and equips us to glorify Him in all the rest of our pursuits.  This is true in relationships, in relation to time, money & possessions.  God needs to be first in all these areas, but it starts with our quiet time with the Lord.  Immerse yourself in His Word to know Him, understand Him and in full obedience follow Him - thus putting Him first.  As you input the Word in your life, the Word will be likely to come out of you in your words, actions, attitudes and thoughts.  Make a plan to study His Word and be disiciplined - allowing Christ to be first in your life.

Jacob, now a man, has seen and would be very aware of God’s plan for his family. He knows that Abraham was called and that the chosen line came through his father Isaac, and now through himself. Jacob, throughout his life, is aware of this blessing. Well Jacob has 4 wives, through which he has 12 sons. The question is which is the promised son? Of his 12 boys, 6 of them were born to Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon. Leah was the wife which he had received from his father-in-law through trickery, yet the Bible tells us that Leah was blessed with children, because the Lord saw that she was unloved (Genesis 29:31). Jacob had 2 sons through Leah’s maidservant, Zilpah: Gad and Asher; and 2 sons through Rachel’s maidservant, Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. In Genesis 30:22, we read that God remembers Rachel and she conceives Joseph and later Benjamin, who is much younger.

So again, who is the promised son? Well to Jacob it would be obvious. Some may have believed it was Reuben, the firstborn. Yet Reuben displayed a very sinful life all throughout the Genesis account, and Jacob had seen from the precedence already set by Ishmael and Esau that the firstborn may not necessarily be God’s choice. Continuing down the line, Simeon and Levi had proven themselves far less than honourable (Genesis 34), disgracing their Dad. The fourth son, Judah, is given a “black-eye” in Scripture as the incident in chapter 38 records. The 4 sons born to the 2 maidservants were definitely not God’s choice as Jacob likely thought of the rejection of Ishmael (through Sarah’s maidservant). But there is one choice which is obvious. Jacob who loved Rachel (29:30), and with her has a son named Joseph. The Bible tells us that Jacob loved Joseph more than all the other sons (37:3). He therefore buys him a coat of many colours, and favours him above the rest. There is no question in Jacob’s mind whom God has chosen; the selection is obvious. So throughout his life Jacob lives with this promise, and when he hears from his other sons that Joseph is dead, he decides that life is not worth living saying, “I shall go down to the grave to my son in mourning” (37:35). What is left for Jacob? For to him the promise has ended, for who but Joseph would be the chosen one? Well, as time moves on Rachel has another son named Benjamin. Would Benjamin be the one? Benjamin is sort of depicted in the story as the innocent younger brother and Jacob now favours him, for he allows all his sons to risk their lives, going to Egypt for food; that is, except for Benjamin. There is no way Jacob will now lose God’s choice, as he did Joseph, as Benjamin must be the one through whom God would bring His people.

Well, God had His choice. Jacob was right, it wasn’t Reuben, nor was it the sons of either maidservant. But it wasn’t Benjamin, nor was it even Joseph, who was alive. In his favour, Joseph was mightily used of God, and was the vessel God used to save Jacob’s family. Yet who was God’s choice? Judah…yes, Judah. From a human standpoint, Judah was a very unlikely choice. Yet Judah, the one who in Scripture has a chapter devoted to his sinfulness, is sovereignly chosen by God to bring about the salvation of Israel. For through Judah came Israel’s great kings: David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and ultimately the King of Kings, Christ! In fairness to Jacob, he would not have known, just as we today do not always understand the plans and purposes of God. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV).

Pastor Mark

I had the opportunity to sit in on a teaching seminar from Tedd Tripp (author of Shepherding a Child's Heart) while at Moody Pastors Conference, and he sharing a comment about using all kinds of things in the world to bring the conversation to the things of the Lord.  Everyday talk about the things in this world and how I could bring out and highlight Scripture from these ordinary things.  I thought this was great, so many times with my children I have missed opportunities to direct them to Christ and His Word with the ordinary things of life.

We have a great challenge from Deuteronomy 6 that we are to teach the commands of God to our children, "you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (v.8, ESV)  Basically we are to speak of the Scriptures to our children and ultimately others as well....all the time - at home, while we are on the way to the kids soccer game, we are tucking them into bed and when we begin our day.  All these times are great times to share the commands of God to others. 

In order to share about the ordinary things of our days while we are on the go (let's say driving somewhere), we need to know the Scriptures without using a concordance - so please parents, immerse yourself in the Word, memorize & meditate on the Scriptures so that you will be able to relate the Scriptures to the gate or fencing that you see as you drive by a farmers field - and drawn that to Christ being our Shepherd - the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd from John 10.  He cares for the sheep, just like the farmer who built a fence to keep them safe, and so on.  Obviously you need to make your conversation age appropriate for your children. 

Practice this on yourself first if you'd like....take something that you see and bring it around to the Scriptures and ultimately to Christ and the gospel.  Then you will feel more prepared to bring your family in on this.  Let me know if you try this and how it goes.  Feel free to leave a comment below the blog.

Blessings,
Pastor Craig

9:15 a.m. - Presentation on trip to Cuba during the adult Sunday school hour.
10:30 a.m. - Worship Service with Pastor Kevin preaching
5:00 p.m. - Supper & Guest Speaker Cory McKenna.

If planning to attend the meal, please sign up at the Welcome Centre. 
There is no cost for the meal.  A love offering will be taken.