Discipleship

Good morning and welcome to CCC. We are so very glad each of you have put God first this morning and are here with us in person.

To those watching on our live stream Welcome. We are so very glad you have put God first and are joining us on the live stream. If you live in the Nevada area we would love to worship with you in person very soon.

Yesterday was our monthly men’s breakfast and I unfortunately had to miss it. I have been fighting a cold and needed a day of rest and recovery. God is so very good and helped me feel better and be ready for this morning and the upcoming week. I am confident it was a wonderful breakfast with great fellowship and Word

Today is the second sunday so we will be having our monthly congregational board meeting following services today anyone is welcome to attend

This month’s Worship night and dinner will be held at James and Tracy Washburn’s house. It will be Sunday 10/27 starting at 6 pm. We will have a cook out so bring a dish that can be outside and goes with a cook out. Bring your chairs as well

I have been talking with Pastor Ian in Kenya and they have a need. The government recently put drilled a well close to their town for them to have clean water.

They have been having lots of sickness and even death due to the contaminated water they were having to drink prior to this new well

They have run piping from the well to their location but are in need of a tank that they can hook up the pipes to and have a constant supply of clean water for their community.

There is a company in Kenya in their region who produces tanks and the community feels the need for a 10,000 liter tank. That tank costs $123,865 Keynan shillings which is $961.65 USD. I want each of you to be praying for how God wants you to help our brothers and sisters in Kenya. I am excited to see how God is going to meet this very real need.

While we are here on our brothers and sisters in Kenya I wanted to share a few videos with you that Pastor Ian sent to me

Show the pipe being laid video

Pastor Ian wanted me to pass along to you how much they love you

that they are praying for you each and every day

and that they are praying that many of us can make the trip to Kenya to worship and minister together very soon

As you can see the work is back breaking but being done and in fact is done I believe

I talked with Pastor Ian yesterday and was under the impression they got all the pipe laid out.

I also wanted to share with you a video Pastor Ian shared with me from Friday’s Bible study there in Kenya....this past summer I would actually video call Ian and share a devotion with them on Friday mornings.

Show 2nd video outside church

Lets Pray

START RECORDING

Last week we looked at What is It?

Salvation and Discipleship

We looked at salvation....what it is....how one receives it.

We looked at scriptures for you to use to help others find salvation

We also looked at the fact the gift of salvation is free…freely offered but to accept it costs you everything

Jesus even said if you want to be my disciple you must count the cost!

This morning we are diving into discipleship. Many run from discipleship because of the high cost

It requires

commitment

sacrifice

you being open and vulnerable

However discipleship is exactly how one obtains life....and life abundantly from Jesus

You can be saved without discipleship but you can’t truly grow…move from milk to meat....become spiritually mature without discipleship!

Many want the growth

many desire a deep

intimate

personal relationship with Jesus

but get frustrated when they dont obtain it but the only discipleship they try to receive or enter into is here…Sunday mornings…Monday nights…Wednesday nights…Friday at noon

That is never going to work. Those things are good and you should be at them but if that is your only discipleship you will not grow as God intends for you to grow

If you will remember last week we talked about our call to be peculiar people

1 Peter 2:9

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“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

You and I as Christians are a chosen generation

a royal priesthood

peculiar people

This is all through Jesus and His blood and sacrifice on the cross

How does one go from sinful by nature

sinner

evil

selfish

worldly in action and thinking

to peculiar

DISCIPLESHIP!

1 Peter 1:13–16 __________________________________________

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

How are you holy as God is holy

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Holy Spirit. You have nothing to do with it…you have work to do....you have a mindset that must be present as a Christian but the power to change…the power to become holy as God is holy is through the Holy Spirit not you!

Be mentally alert and engaged. Gird up loins of your mind

Be disciplined....sober minded

Be locked in…hope to the end

How do you do those four things....Discipleship

There are many ways to be discipled and to disciple others

God will show you those things and those people

If you do not have someone who is actively discipling you be praying that God sends you that person and that God is preparing them to disciple you

If you are not actively discipling someone else you need to be praying for God to show you that person and that God is working in that person to prepare them to be discipled

This morning I want to focus on the heart of discipleship.....the why....the IT of discipleship

Romans 12:1–2

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“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Living sacrifice

dead to you

dead to sin

dead to the world

dead to anything not for or of God Himself

Are you dead?

completely dead?

What do people see when they see you?

Are you a peculiar person?

What do people hear when they hear you?

Who do people think you are when they see your social media?

Are you a living sacrifice?

Are you holy?

Are you acceptable to God?

That is you reasonable service by the way

reasonable comes from Greek adjective log-ik-os means reasonable of the word....rational…agreeable to reason…following reason

When you meet Jesus and realize how evil you truly are

realize He became your evil

your sin

so He could die in your place

pay your price

you accept Him then your rational of the Word....your reasonable response to Jesus is to die to the old

evil

person

actions

thoughts

beliefs

conversations

That is minimum…reasonable…expected

How do you do this?

Being transformed by the renewing of your mind by God’s Word.....Discipleship

You discipled by God through His Word!

If you are not being discipled by God through Christ in the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit you are not being transformed in your mind

As we talked last week you are transformed at salvation

old is gone

new is here

but transforming your mind takes dedication

commitment

DISCIPLESHIP

The world teaches you to fight for your rights

to fight for your life

You do you

look out for #1 cause no one else will

Use any means necessary to get ahead and be successful

the end justifies the means

That is not what Jesus teaches

That is not what God teaches

That doesn’t match God’s Word

Luke 9:23–26

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“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

Strong words from Jesus that point to discipleship

This goes against everything natural to us as humans

Our nature is sinful

evil

self-centered

Jesus says die to that or lose your life for eternity

nothing you gain on earth is permanent but Jesus is eternal

you will live with Him for eternity or be separated from Him and tormented for eternity

there is nothing worth hell my beloved brothers and sisters

NOTHING!

Every morning you rise you have a decision to make

Do I take up my cross

Do I die to myself and live from Jesus

or

Do I ignore Him and live for me

You must be completely transformed

2 Corinthians 5:17

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“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

At salvation you are a new creature

inside you have been transformed

you are redeemed

you are free

you are reconciled…brought back into right standing with God!!!

That is who you are

you are no longer a sinner

you are no longer an addict

you are not longer weak

you are no longer defined by your past

you are no longer defined by your failures

you are no longer defined by your upbringing

you are no longer defined by your circumstances

you are new

you are free

you are a blood bought child of God

THAT IS WHO YOU ARE!!!!!

To stay there yo must be renewed by the transforming of your mind!!!!!!!!!

Colossians 2:6–7

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“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

This is discipleship

walking in Jesus

rooted and built up in Him

So many today want Jesus

they want freedom from sin

freedom from addiction

freedom from mental illness and mental health issues

but refuse to walk in Jesus

refuse to be rooted and built up in Him

You see they refuse…maybe you refuse because

Pride gets in the way

religion gets in the way

tradition gets in the way

I love the Old Testament

there is so much to discern and glean from the OT

but so many return to the bondage of the law

bondage of isn

the only power the law had was to prove men can’t live up to it

It pointed to how sinful we are and the fact that we are helpless

we must have a Messiah…a Savior....His name is JESUS!

If you dont have Jesus you are doomed

Once you have Jesus if you dont die to you …you will never grow and mature in Christ!!!!!

Many people blame the church for many failures and problems in society…rightfully so to an extent because the church has softened and many churches refuse to truly preach the Bible

That is true but ultimately you and I are the church....you and I are the body of Christ so WE have failed here

If you are not dying to self

if you are not rooted and built up in Christ

You are failing as a Christian

How do you become rooted and built up in Christ

Jesus

Discipleship

Refusing to allow anything or anyone to get in your way of being discipled by Jesus in the secret place EVERYDAY

I struggle here.......God is working with me just as much as with y’all

I am too busy

I see needs and jump in

everything I do is for Jesus and a ministry but God has been showing me most of my secret place time is for others not for me being discipled by Jesus

God has been showing me just how evil my mind really is

how evil my thoughts are

how evil I am

At first I was really down and depressed by it but just recently I realized this is Gods Word in action....the closer we get to God the more we realize how evil we are…this is a good thing....God is showing me so much I can confess and repent of and grow closer to Him

I am not a pastor or preacher whatever word fits that sits on high and tells you how to be perfect like them.....if you are ever under a preacher or pastor like that run......no one is perfect.....only Jesus was perfect on earth

God doesnt bring people into pastor or leadership roles because they are perfect but because they are broken and know they are broken so they depend on Jesus with all that they are and all that they have

You and I must make an excuse to be in the secret place EVERYDAY

we must make an excuse to study Gods Word EVERYDAY....not just casually read it but dive in....study it.....look at original words and what the intent of God truly is in each and every verse

You and I must stop at nothing to be with brothers and sisters in Christ at every opportunity to fellowship and sharpen iron…talking about scripture..talking about issues....talking about Jesus..praying and doing life together

Die to you

Die to your desires

die to your will

die to your lusts

You are saved

you are eternally good

you will be with God forever in heaven when you die or Jesus returns

Stop living for you and start living from Jesus

DIE TO YOU

As I said earlier if you don’t have a more mature Christian discipling you…men with men and women with women.....pray for God to show you who that should be

If you are not discipling someone again men with men and women with women…pray for God to show you who that should be

Are you plugged in?

Make an excuse to be in groups

make an excuse to be here when the doors are open

This can’t be your only discipleship but you have to be plugged in

God is here

God is working

Are you here to meet Him and be worked on?

Discipleship is an all out commitment to Jesus

death to you

full focus and effort to be in His presence 24/7/365

It transforms you because jesus transforms you

Are you being transformed by Jesus through Disciplehsip?

If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you can’t be discipled by Jesus

You and I are born sinners

because of that sin we must face God’s wrath and pay the price of sin which is death

eternal spiritual death in hell

Only Jesus who lived a perfect life

willingly mounted a cross and became your sin and my sin

willingly died in our place to pay our price

Only Jesus can save you

Do you know Him this morning? If not come

Maybe God has been working on you to truly become a disciple

maybe there are things you need to die to this morning

i invite you to come…get on your knees and talk to God and give Him what He is asking you to give to Him this morning.

Whatever it is this is the time to die to you and move in and through Christ Jesus

STOP RECORDING

Invitation song

STOP STREAMING