Freedom to be discipled and disciple others

Good morning and welcome to CCC and welcome to July. Hard to believe June is gone but it is and here we are in July.

I pray everyone had a safe fourth of july and pray that you focused on your freedom in Christ more than you freedom as an American

Your freedom as an American can be taken away tomorrow but you are free in Christ for an eternity

Lets pray

START RECORDING

This morning we wrap up our Living Unashamed for Christ sermon series with the message Freedom to be discipled and disciple others

Discipleship is a huge part of a Christians life and if it is not a huge part of yours I pray when you leave here this morning it will be

I would go as far as to say one will never leave the milk to meat of Christian maturity without being discipled and discipling others

Hebrews 5:11–14

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“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Strong words there from God through the writer of Hebrews

As we will see salvation is milk

foundation

beginning

it was never meant to be a place Christians hang out for years

If you were building a new home and the builders came and did the dirt work....Holy Spirit preparing you for repentance leading to salvation

and then poured the foundation......Repenting and accepting forgiveness and making Jesus your personal Lord and Savior

then they showed up once a week and talked about working but never did anything........coming to church on Sundays and leaving without being a doer of the Word and having no discipleship in your life

it wouldn’t take long for you to fire that company and get another to finish the job

Many of you are saved but not engaging in discipleship and are even making justifications as to why you just look at the foundation....talk about the work that needs to be done but never do it

Discipleship.......the work that leads to Christian maturity

Before we dive completely into discipleship it is imperative that we understand this

As a Christian Christ has set you completely free

Galatians 5:1

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“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

In Christ you are free

completely free

Free from the power of

sin

death

satan

the world

your flesh

you still struggle with sin because you are human but sin has no power over you

Melody has been gone this week, please join me in praying for their safe return from Iowa tomorrow

but since she left on Wednesday I have been battling with a stronghold in my life

a stronghold sin that I have always fallen to but this week…yesterday God delivered me from that stronghold

I struggle with it but yesterday I truly realized it has no power over me except the power I give it

through Christ Jesus I no longer give it power in my life

Praise Jesus!!!!!

You are free

however Christ did not set you free to keep that freedom to yourself

no

You are not free to serve yourself but free to serve Christ and others

as i said a minute ago

This freedom is freedom from the power of sin

Freedom for the power of death

freedom from the power of the world and satan and your past

Free

Redeemed

Purchased

Adopted

Indwelled with the Holy Spirit

returned to right standing with God

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!

This freedom takes many different forms but here is true freedom

Matthew 11:28–30

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“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Rest

not lack of work

not lack of labor

but rest because your eternity is secure

you are now Christ’s and in His hand

Nothing and no one can pluck you from God’s hand

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!

You labor to work out your salvation

repent when convicted

die to yourself all day everyday

be holy as God is Holy

You are also told you have the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit

The more you obey the more like Jesus you become

FREEDOM!!!!!!

Since you are free from the power of sin and death and satan and the world and your flesh and your past you then are free to spread the Gospel

Free to live from Jesus

Free to live counter-culturally no matter the consequences

And one of the most important things that you are free to do is

Free to be discipled by Christ and Holy Spirit and more mature Christians and free to disciple others

Matthew 28:18–20

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“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

All authority in heaven....spiritual authority

and on earth....physical authority

given to Jesus

As a Christian Jesus lives inside of you so you too have all authority in heaven....spiritual....and on earth…physical because of JESUS!!!!!!

Why are you living ashamed for Christ again?

Because of that authority you are free to GO

again two weeks ago and Doug Gamble last week talked about the lost.....you should seek the lost…share the gospel with the lost....love the lost....meet needs to open up spiritual conversations

You are also free to be discipled by Jesus and more mature Christians and free to disciple Christians who are less mature than you

Now I want you to understand

discipleship is messy

discipleship is hard work

discipleship can be painful and exhausting

You can’t disciple someone without jumping in their mud hole with them

You also cant be discipled without allowing someone to jump in your mud hole with you

CCC discipleship must be a priority

You must make it a priority to be discipled and make it a priority to be discipling someone else

i want to say that again

discipleship must be a priority both for each of us as individuals and as a church body in CCC

Discipleship must be an IT thing here at CCC and in your own heart

You must make it a priority to be discipled and make it a priority to be discipling someone else

If it is not a priority you are standing against scripture

Jesus told you…commanded you

to go and make disciples

You must first be a disciple then go make disciples

Again that is part of IT

Salvation and discipleship the only two things that matter....IT

Here is the deal with discipleship

You must be willing

you have to want it

it takes work

it takes sacrifice because it demands time

it demands vulnerability

it demands openness

it demands honesty

it demands humility

You can never truly form a discipleship relationship without time

Committed

non-negotiable time

Not in a pew on Sunday morning....you should be there but that is not true discipleship

not in a chair in Sunday school.....you should be there but that is not true discipleship

and if that is the only discipleship you are getting you will grow some but are missing out on so much that God has for you

You will never be able to carry out all the good works God has created for you to do

So what is God calling you to this morning?

True

authentic

life-changing

Discipleship

Here is where you start

Psalm 91:1–2

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“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.”

If you have been around me or here at CCC long at all you have heard about the secret place

The secret place is where ever you meet Jesus every day

It is the place where you boldly enter the throne room and sit at God’s feet as He teaches you through His Holy Spirit and Word

It may be a home office

It may be your prayer closet

It may be a deer stand

It may be the lake shore

It may be on your walking path

Wherever you set aside time to be with God in prayer

with God in His Word

with God listening to Him speak to you

That is the secret place

Psalm 91 is where the secret place comes from.......after Encounter in my discipleship group we read Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge and as we walked through that book and studied the scriptures that book was based off of God moved mightily in my life

God made it clear the secret place is non-negotiable…I fail and do not always meet God in the secret place everyday but in my heart it is a must

look at the beauty and freedom here

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Dwell....live… your dwelling is your home....you know it…you look forward to it…you seek protection in it.....you dwell in it

Through the secret place you can dwell in the shelter of the Most High

Perfectly

completely

absolutely provided for and protected by God Himself

Why would you not go there again????

Why would you ever choose to dwell anywhere else?

This is a 24/7/365 lifestyle thing

You go everyday

You live every minute of every day there

make it non-negotiable to you

Set time aside for Jesus

Meet with him

pray with Him

pray to Him

Read Him....Jesus is the Word

Ask the Holy Spirit to teach and apply Jesus to your life!!!!

Be discipled by Jesus!

That is what the secret place is all about…

discipleship

being discipled by Jesus and the Holy Spirit

being matured and grown

developing that

deep

personal

intimate

relationship with Jesus

but you forfeit all of that when you don’t show up

you can’t be discipled by Jesus if you aren’t present in the secret place!!!!

The secret place is also

Your refuge…complete and absolute safety from enemies is in the secret place…spiritual safety not necessarily physical safety

As you are discipled by Jesus

as you dwell in the shadow of the Most High you

truly

absolutely

wholeheartedly

begin to trust Him and Him alone

Think about that

Think about how beautiful that relationship truly is

You can have that

I pray you are so desperate to have it when you leave here you never miss a day in the secret place

Do you truly want Him?

Do you absolutely trust Him?

Get into the secret place and live in a freedom that is perplexing to the world and those around you

The secret place must be IT to you

There are only two options in regards to the secret place

make it a priority and be there

or

reject Jesus because that is exactly what you do when you do not go to the secret place.......you reject Jesus

the secret place and that discipleship relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit......

That is where your growth is founded.....the secret place

but just like spiritual gifts your spiritual growth is not just for your benefit

1 Corinthians 12:7

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“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”

Spiritual gifts are to be used for common good

Spiritual gifts are to be used to profit ALL Christians

the good of the bride of Christ…the church…all brothers and sisters in Christ....all Christians

Your growth

your discipleship is also not just for you as well

Ephesians 4:11–16

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“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

We have talked about the discipleship relationship

the

deep

intimate

personal relationship that you develop with Jesus in the secret place as you are discipled by Him

We see another result of discipleship in verse 12

Ephesians 4:12

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“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

You are discipled by Jesus to be equipped

equipped for what

equipped for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.....

it is not about you

Jesus is very concerned about your and your personal relationship with Him

He died for you on the cross....He cares deeply for you

However it was never meant to stop at you

from that personal relationship.....from that personal discipleship…from that love for you comes

truth

compassion

edification

encouragement

rebuking

correcting

discipling others

Helping, through the Holy Spirit, others to be equipped for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ

One of the reasons discipleship is so important is found in vs 14

Ephesians 4:14

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“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”

We are going to look at Spiritual Warfare in depth later this summer and early fall but here in vs 14 is a picture of it

are you on milk

are you a spiritual child

if you are not in the secret place

if you are not being discipled by Jesus and Holy Spirit and Christians who are more mature than you

If you are not discipling Christians who are less mature than you

then you are still a child.....a spiritual child being tossed to and fro and being carried about with every wind of doctrine

not pastor joshs words but God’s Words

Are you grounded in Christ and therefore always on solid rock or

grounded in the world and tossed about and carried about with every wind of doctrine

out there chasing your tail and claiming to be Christian.....

deceived by a slick tongue and smoke and mirrors and lights and sound

deceived by the cunning enemy who is laying in wait to deceive you

that is a picture of spiritual warfare that we will dive into later this summer

it is also a picture of the result of true discipleship

If you are truly being discipled by Jesus in the secret place you then these things have no power over you

Make no mistake about it if you get serious about discipleship and commit to the secret place and allow Jesus to build that

authentic,

deep,

personal relationship that comes from discipleship

then spiritual warfare will ensue

When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior no matter how old you are you are now a spiritual babe in Christ

You are a newborn

You are on spiritual milk…the Gospel…the love of Jesus

repentance that lead to salvation....God never intended for you to stay there

Babies are pretty easy to deceive because they don’t know much

They go with the flow and are tossed about

Look at children…even teenagers

chasing after the next big, popular thing or trend

The problem with Christianity today is not Christ but a bunch of 30 and 40 and 50 and more year old babies

People who found Jesus

Truly made Jesus Lord and Savior of their lives but never moved off the milk of repentance and salvation to the meat of discipleship

Found a church to be a consumer in....

show up....

hear solid teaching....

good worship....

solid preaching and go home

no repentance

no conviction acted upon

never got in the secret place

never entered into a discipleship relationship with Jesus

for sure never reached out to be in a discipleship relationship with another Christian....

aint nobody got time for all that they said

I can’t let someone in my mud hole

I for sure dont want to get in someone else’s mud hole

and they stayed right where Jesus found them

I get why people reject Christianity based on that model and example

I get it

if that is all there is to Christianity I wouldn’t want it either

Brothers and sisters it should not be so with you

But it is much more than that

Discipleship

first discipled by Jesus and Holy Spirit in the secret place followed by being discipled by a more mature Christian then moving to discipling someone less mature than yourself is exactly how you move from milk to meat

How you move from child to mature

How you defeat every wind of doctrine

how you see and avoid and defeat human cunning

how you see and avoid and defeat deceitful schemes

how you don’t get tossed to and fro following the next great fad in religion

Discipleship

being in God’s Word

Praying God’s Word

Allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word

Truly seeking a deep

meaningful relationship with Jesus

truly seeking a deep meaningful relationship with Christians who are more mature than you to be discipled

truly seeking a deep meaningful relationship with Christians who are less mature than you to disciple them and help them grow in Christ!!!!!!

So many of you are full of

anxiety

worry

depression

addiction

all kinds of things because you ignore discipleship!!!!!

You don’t have the peace of Jesus because you ignore Jesus!!!!!!

If you would dive into and crave discipleship you would see your world change

you would see people drawn to you because of Jesus

you would see strongholds defeated

you would see deliverance from addictions

you would see chains and family cycles broken

you would see freedom

you would see JESUS!!!!

To be a disciple you must have a 24/7/365 lifestyle of discipleship

that is discipleship

Where are you

It is time to get serious and commit to discipleship

it is time to get serious and commit to the secret place

Where are you?

STOP RECORDING

Invitation

STOP STREAMING