To receive god's blessing and we're not going to end up serving mammon rather than god
You understand he goes on to say in verse 26 for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world
And lose his own soul
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul for the son of man shall come in the glory of his father
With his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works
Now the next thing I want to mention regarding this particular point is that to be a disciple it requires payment
But you know what what you get in return is great though
And it's always more than what you pay
So you think about the most costly thing?
That you have sacrificed as being a christian. The reward is far greater exponentially greater
and in the in the uh, the
In the short term it may seem as though like oh man, you know, i've kind of lost everything but you know what losing everything
pales in comparison
To the reward that you will receive from jesus christ for that sacrifice that you made
Okay
pales in comparison
Go back to go to luke chapter 9 if you would go back to the book of luke and go to luke chapter 9
Let's look at another example of this
And then by the way in uh luke chapter 14
It talks about the fact that there's certain people who don't count the cost
Right, they begin to build they have the intention to build they have the intention to serve the lord
But then they don't really think about how much it's going to cost to serve jesus christ to be a disciple
You know what happens to these people and christians who want to go all in but they don't consider the cost they end up getting offended
Some persecution comes a trial comes a sermon comes
And it's just like oh, this is offensive. I never want to come back ever again
Well, that's funny you were building you intended to build and now the project is unfinished
Yeah
And the bible actually says well
Let's read luke 9 first and then we'll go back to luke 14. Look at nine luke chapter 9 verse 57
It says and it came to pass that as they went in the way a certain man said and said lord
I will follow thee with whatsoever thou goest. I'll put jesus in my bio
I'll put christian mama
I'll put
believer
I'll put god first
You know, whatever it is lord out wherever you go I will go right
Verse 58 jesus said and said foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests
But the son of man hath not where to lay his head
Now that that's a good verse for all the prosperity preachers out there
Who want to say that if you serve god, you will always be rich. Nothing will ever have bad happen to you
You'll always be healthy. Jesus didn't even not only did jesus not have a mansion
He didn't have a place to lay his head period
He says the foxes are being taken better care of than myself
This is the birds of the air. They have nests foxes have holes. I don't even know where i'm going to sleep tonight
I wonder if the guy kept god first in his bio after that
Verse 59 says and he said into another
Follow me and he said lord suffer me first to go and bury my father
Jesus sent him let the dead bury their dead but go down preach the kingdom of god now that seems a little harsh, right?
People like man, he can't even participate in a funeral
Of his own father, but you know
You do have to take into account that the ministry of jesus christ during this time was only three and a half years
He only had so much time to accomplish what he needed to do. He didn't have time for like half in half out disciples
It's like look you this is a once in a lifetime opportunity
You know, jesus christ is here in the first century
And he's god in the flesh the word of god is made flesh he's dwelling among you he's asking you to follow him
He's telling you to follow him, you know drop everything because you're never going to get this opportunity again
Now thankfully he doesn't require that of us
To you know, just like not participate in the funerals of our of our loved ones
But you can still see the spirit of devotion there the attitude of devotion that he still requires, right?
It says in verse 61 another also said lord I will follow them
But let me first go bid them farewell which are at my home at my house
Jesus said it's him no man having put his hand to the plow looking back
Is fit for the kingdom of god now that fit for the kingdom of god doesn't mean like you're not worthy of the kingdom of god
fit means, you know, you think of the term fit is in regards to
Someone who exercises someone who is physically fit. Well, he's basically saying this person is not spiritually fit
For the kingdom of god, he's not putting his hands to the plow
He's constantly looking back at the world constantly looking back in his family constantly looking back on what he used to have
God expects for us to put our hands to the plow and just never look back
Hey, remember lot's wife, right?
And so we see there the discipleship does cost them to go back to luke 14 luke chapter 14
Verse
In verse 28 it says for which of you intending
To build a tower sit it not down first and count at the cost whether you have sufficient to finish it
And may I remind everyone here that every christian has sufficient to finish
He provides everything necessary to finish
It's just referring to the fact that are you willing to give up?
That which you have in order to finish
Less happily after he had to lay the foundation
And is not able to finish it all that behold to begin to mock him
Saying this man began to build and was not able to finish
Now, let me just say this regarding being a christian and being a disciple of jesus christ
You know because sometimes people get saved and they get really
Zealous over the things of god they become very radicalized, which is great
And then they start expressing their views and what the bible says to their family and friends
That's great, but you better make sure you stick it out though
Because one of the worst things you can do is be that person
And then three months from now you just fall out of the way and you're no longer committed
You know what people are going to do. They're going to mock you
And in fact, you're you you become an embarrassment to christianity
You become a reproach to jesus christ because this man began to build and was not able to finish
What's all that stuff you were saying before?
It's all that talk
About going to church and sin this and sin that and bible this and bible that you're not even in church anymore
It's important for us to realize that when we begin to build we are determined that we're going to finish
And that's why it's important for christians to learn to maintain
Their christianity even when it's hard
It's easy to maintain christianity when everything's going good when you're feeling good. Everything's going great god's hands on you. You're being blessed
It's another thing when things are being turned upside down and it's not as easy as it was when you first got into the thing
Determined to finish regardless and you know when you're building on the christian life
You know when you're going through a hard time, you don't have to build with rapidity anymore. You can just build a lot slower
You know take it slow, but don't quit
Unless you become a reproach
Okay, the point that i'm making here is the fact that if you're going to be a disciple of jesus christ it requires sacrifice
There's a payment that's that's to be made. It's going to cost you something
God expects for you
To be willing to pay that price whatever that may be in order to be a disciple
But the second thing I want to I want to point out here and it kind of goes along with the first one
It not only includes a payment but also includes persecution
Now this is big
Persecution is a big part of the christian life for someone who is devoted to the lord. Jesus christ. Okay, what is persecution?
punishment
harassment
oppression of a severe nature
You know, uh christianity does create friction
And this is one of the reasons why christians choose not to be a disciple of jesus christ
And in fact, this is one of the reasons why churches and pastors
Choose not to be disciples of jesus christ. Why because of the persecution
And sometimes people think well persecution only happens to the pastor. It only happens to those who are
you know on the
You know the payroll of the church or something like that someone who's doing it full time. No, it's actually for everyone
Okay
It's for everyone the element of persecution
Turns people off to the idea of being the disciple of jesus christ go to matthew chapter 10 matthew chapter 10
I'm going to read to you from second timothy chapter three verse 10
It says but that was fully known my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long-suffering charity patience
persecutions
Afflictions which came to me at aniok and iconium and lystra
What persecutions I endured but out of them all the lord delivered me listen to this
Ye and all that will live godly in christ. Jesus
Shall suffer persecution
Let me say that again. Ye all that will live godly in christ. Jesus
Might suffer persecution
Shall suffer persecution
So let's let's let's uh, let's ask a couple questions here
If you don't suffer persecution
Is the bible implying that you're not living godly and the answer is yes
Because it says anyone who lives godly in christ. Jesus
the result of that
The byproduct of living a godly life, which is a life of a disciple is that you're gonna suffer persecution
I'm not saying you're gonna die. I'm not saying your hands are gonna get chopped off
I'm not saying you're gonna get beat up, but you will experience a level of persecution in your life
You will experience a level of friction in your life from others whether family members or just complete total strangers
He said well, you know what?
You know easy. I don't have family
Not married don't have kids
You know, I don't really have any moving close to me. So
I'm i'm in the clear. Well, no because if you're soul winning you're gonna get persecuted too
And anyone who's done any amount of soul winning for any length of time you've ran into doors where people have persecuted you
They reviled you they cuss you out
They slammed a door in your face. They mock you
I mean soul winning is one of the most humbling experiences when someone just kind of cuts you off midway mid sentence
And just closes the door on you
I don't know. I don't even know I don't know if you know what i'm talking about, you know
because you go up there like hi i'm from they're just like boom no, thanks, and you're just like
That's a little embarrassing
Well, that's never happened to me. Well, then you just try dropping them. Amen
Because you will experience that and it's a very humbling experience
No, I don't want to join your cult all loud and what do you say like, okay. Thank you
Thank you
And then you just move on and then it's even worse
especially if you have like a soul winning partner because you look at each other and your face is all red and you're all embarrassed and
That's called persecution as well
So even if you don't suffer persecution from your family members from people that you know
You know you you work remotely so you don't even suffer persecution at work or something
If you consistently so win you will have some level of persecution
Fact
Matthew 10 verse 17. Let's look at a couple verses here regarding persecution
Verse 17, by the way, matthew 10 is a very explicit chapter on persecution dealing with the end times
But it's very much applicable to us today
I like what jesus says in the beginning in verse 17, but beware of men
Which men just anyone?
For they will deliver you up to councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues
And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake for a testimony against them and the gentiles
But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what you shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour
What you shall speak for does not ye that speak but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you?
And the brother shall deliver a brother to death
That's called persecution
The father the child the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death
I mean, this is a very extreme case of persecution
To the point where your loved ones are willing to have you die be executed because you're a christian
And you shall be hate listen to this ye shall be hated
Of all men for my name's sake but he that endured to the end shall be saved
So it's telling us here that you will be hated
This is contrary to the narrative of most churches that if you become a christian, everyone's gonna like you
And if people don't like you then there's something wrong with your testimony
Something wrong with your christianity people should like you you're driving people away from christ wrong the bible. Jesus said
That people will hate you
And if i'm gonna be like jesus, well jesus was crucified
I mean, it's crazy to think that people think well you and once you become a christian
It's just everything is just roses and daisies. There's no friction. No conflict. What do you mean? They killed jesus
Why don't you people are like jesus i'm trying but you know, i'm not godly enough to get crucified
Jesus was crucified. He was scourged. He was beaten many of his disciples were beaten. They were persecuted heavily physically
I mean some of them were killed
So, you know, it'll help these people to actually crack open the bible and read it
And look at what happened to the disciples when they lived godly they said well that's in the first century
Things are not like that anymore
Uh, yes it is
Now obviously we're living in a day and age where maybe people aren't christians aren't being killed in the united states
But christians are being persecuted in the united states at various levels
I mean our church was physically targeted and bombed a couple years ago. That's called persecution
They put an i.e.d in the building and blew it up because they didn't like what I was preaching that's called persecution
You know our friends at in texas
At steadfast baptist church. They were persecuted to the point where they had to be kicked out of their building
They were moving from building to building to building
We've had friends who've been protested
By I can't remember how many pastoring men is that but he had?
hundreds of protesters out there
Just you know reproaching him reviling him
We've had issues like that. And you know what? That's not something that's just that's not unique
That comes with the territory
And i'm not saying that your house is going to get bombed
But you should suffer some level of persecution for being a christian and i'm not saying you should go look for the persecution either
It's just like all right, i'm gonna be the biggest jerk I can be
Because I need to rack up this persecution if i'm gonna be a disciple
No, just live godly and it'll just come to you
That's just literally how it works. Okay
You know just be a light
And uh, you'll attract all kinds of bugs
Okay
But just mark it down though. You will be hated though
And you know, that's hard for some people because sometimes people are just people pleasers
They want people to just like them and i'm not saying the whole world's gonna hate you
Because you will have people who admire you who love you who respect you
But at the end of the day there will be people throughout your life who not just don't like you they actually hate you
for what you believe
And don't be the christian is just like oh man. I just I don't like that feeling you should just rejoice
leap for joy, amen
For so persecuted they the prophets
He says in verse 23 and when they shall persecute you in this city flee into another, you know
Like if they persecute you in omani come to orange county
For verily I say unto you he shall not have gone over the cities of israel to the son of man become
The disciples not above his master nor the servant above his lord. I like that in other words
It's interesting that christians out here want to think that oh, you know
If they just live a godly christian life, everyone's going to love them. Oh, are you saying that you're better than jesus then?
Because that's not how I work with jesus christ
It is enough for the disciple to be as his master and the servant as his lord
Look look down at your bibles verse 25 if they have called the master of the house beelzebub
How much more shall they call them of his household? He's basically saying if they're calling jesus the devil
What kind of names do you think they're going to conjure up for you who is part of his household?
You know and and you know what part of being a christian is just getting name called all the time
People just railing on you
Cussing you out blaspheming you reviling you
Calling you a devil calling you every name under heaven because you're part of the household of god
The point that i'm making here is that if you want to be a disciple
You can't expect everyone to love you and like you for your faith
A lot of people will a lot of people will respect you but you know what it comes with its share of persecution
And hatred, you know what and and you know, some of you in here might even think like yeah
I know, you know, i'm getting persecuted by my family
My family's completely shunned me
They've completely left me. They can't stand who I am
I don't have any contact with my family or they cut me from their company because i'm a christian
That's the price you got to pay though
to be a disciple of jesus christ
And so being a disciple and I don't want to be doom and gloom here
I'm, just being realistic but just know this if god before us
Who can be against us
Soulless yourself and realizing that if people hate you it's okay
Haters make you famous. Amen
But it's okay because of the fact that god is for you
And if the lord loves you he's for you. His hand is on you
He's blessing you then what more do you really need?
And you know what we're called to be disciples not politicians
Politicians
Politicians say whatever they need to say in order to please anyone everyone
You know republicans supporting abortion
Just to support the liberal republicans
They'll say anything it takes to make people happy with them. Sorry christianity doesn't work that way
We don't just say whatever it takes to make people happy. We try to get people on god's program
And you know what? They're not going to like it. So be it
A disciple of jesus christ doesn't
Compromise and change the message and just kind of you know tiptoes around the tulip pussyfoots around the message
Just to please people if they don't like it. They don't like it. But you know what if you
Explain what your beliefs are to certain people. They're gonna love it
The admiration that you crave will come from someone who's actually looking for the truth
Okay
And so god is for you
Go go to first peter chapter four first peter chapter four
Hey young people your classmates will mock you
Family will separate you from their company
Spouses may reject you
There may be divisions between children and parents
And there will come a time where our lives will be at stake
plain and simple
And you know this idea that all well, I hold to the position that one day all of christians are just going to permeate society
We're just going to permeate all governments and businesses
And we're just going to make this place of this world just a better place
That's a fantasy. It's never going to happen
So, how do you know because the bible says that the antichrist will make war with the saints and overcome them
And let me just explain to you what that means. He's going to kill you
He's going to kill christians. They're going to be persecuted
Christians in the end times will be public enemy number one
Public enemy number one christians
And that's a sermon for a different day. Look at first peter chapter 4 verse 12 beloved thinking not strange concerning the fiery trial
Which shall try you as though some strange thing happened to you
but rejoice
In as much as ye are partakers of christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed
Ye may be glad also with exceeding joy if ye be reproached for the name of christ
Happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of god rests upon you on their part
He is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody in other men's matters
Yet if any man suffers a christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify god on this behalf
So the bible says it's actually a happy thing when you get persecuted
Okay, so when you're knocking on doors and people are cussing you out saying hail satan and blah blah this, you know
It'd be like well cool, you know, I got persecuted. That's another reward for me
You know your family calls you
uh an extremist
And oh man, you've changed
Just kind of like inwardly rejoice over that
Like well, I guess i'm i'm doing a good job then
If your friends are like, well, you're not cool anymore because you don't hang out with us on fridays
You don't do what we used to do. It's like christianity has changed you or something. That's a good thing
You
Know and here's the thing obviously if you have opportunities to talk to people about the bible talk about the bible to your family
And friends let me just say this a lot of times when you do it's going to create friction
Over the last 17 years of being a christian, you know, I pretty much there's there's a couple family members
That still keep in contact with me, but a lot don't I don't have to chase people away from my life
The bible does it for me
And it's not like all right gather around everyone let me just let me tell you about the reprobate doctrine real quick
Okay, gather on everyone gather around I want to tell you what my views are on sodomites
It's just one of those things where they want to know
What you believe they'll ask you and they kind of just kind of egg you on
They want to egg you on and I don't want to get ahead of myself, but you know what don't be ashamed of the bible either
Well, yeah, you know the bible does say that but you know, but what that's what the bible says
I'd rather walk away hated but respected
Than liked and disrespected
And so when family and friends ask me about the faith i'm just like yeah, this is what I believe and I don't flinch
don't flinch
Don't stutter
Don't flinch just say this is what I believe. Yep, and you should too
Pure pressure them into believing it. Amen
The point that i'm making here is that you can't have this expectation that you're you could be a disciple of jesus christ and have
No persecution whatsoever. And look one day we'll come where someone in our church is going to get beat up for their faith
Possibly out soloing don't let that don't let that deter you from going out soloing though
Don't don't
Rank it and wuss out and you know not want to go preach the gospel because you're afraid you might get beat up
It might come to that
I mean during that persecution time even when we're here we're out in santa and my family and I were surrounded by
a group of guys
They were being you know, they're threatening and they're they're getting aggressive with me and i'm thinking like I got my family with me
You're really gonna do this in front of i'm not even gangsters do that
Gangsters at least wait till you're like by yourself
You know and they're like surrounding me as if they're gonna jump me and i'm just like well, this is it I guess you know
But it's gonna happen now nothing happened at that point because we just like walked away
But at the end of the day, you know one day it will happen though
one day you will
suffer a physical
Altercation or harassment at the hand of someone because that's that's the world we're living in. That's where we're heading towards. It's gonna happen
Go to john chapter eight john chapter eight
The title of the sermon is the qualifications of a disciple
It requires payment
But it also includes persecution
Number three it also includes perseverance in the word
Look what it says in john chapter 8 and verse number 30
It says as he spake these words john 8 verse 30 as he spake these words many believed on him
Then said jesus to those jews which believed on him if ye continue in my word then are ye my disciples indeed
Meaning a disciple
Has the bible as his centerpiece?
It's what dictates his life
And notice he's he didn't say if you continue in this devotional book
If you continue in the verse of the day
If you continue in the commentary
If you continue in this lexicon
If you continue in this podcast that talks about the bible
Then are you my disciples disciples indeed? No in my word
He said well, they didn't have the bible
Then well, yeah, they did have the old testament. The bible is obviously being written at this time completed
It's not completed yet at this time, but we do have the bible though
So we can take this commandment as a literal commandment to continue in this because we have all 66 books of the bible
Now most christians just mark it down because this is an important point
Most christians only read the bible when they have to reference it
You say what do you mean, you know, most christians believe the bible people are saying they believe the bible they love the bible
But they only crack open the bible when someone you know approaches them with the bible question or something
Oh, yeah, where's that in the bible? Let me see and you know, they they're going through their
uh
Bible app and looking through that that's probably the only time to actually look through the bible
Is when they're confronted about something about their beliefs?
A question about the bible or they're just kind of they just feel like reading the bible
That's not behavior of a disciple
Because what is the disciple again? It's a disciplined one. It's someone who reads the bible
Consistently, even if they don't feel like doing it
And let me just say this we don't always feel like reading the bible
Don't be a holier than thou hyper spiritual person as if you just always have a full tank of gas that wants to read the bible
Every single day it doesn't exist
Because you still have the flesh
Yay, even myself also who's a pastor been saved for 17 years
You know what? There's times when I don't feel like reading the bible like so what do you do not read the bible?
No, I still read it because I want to be a disciplined one
Continuing in his word essentially means that you're a lifelong student of the bible
And how can you become a lifelong student of the bible by reading the bible every single day? Okay
Now this would include church attendance, would it not?
How so well because the local church is the institution that god is sanctioned for the word of god to be expounded onto them
And the bible says in titus 1 3 but he hath in due times manifested his word through preaching
So it's not just a matter of reading the bible every single day
Which by the way, everyone should have the goal of reading through the bible at least once a year
Okay, every christian should
Just like a bare basic
You should read the bible
Once every year, okay, and you say well i'm not there right now then start today and finish next september
Like well, I kind of like the january to december thing. Well, you know what you should like it's just a lifelong thing
Just reading the bible just lifelong
Okay
Well, you know, I just you know that new year's resolution. We'll do a september resolution
Because you can't afford not reading the bible consistently from here on out to december or till january or something
Just because you want to start in january start today, man
Start reading the bible today
Start continuing in his word today
But when you come to church, you're also getting biblical principles reinforced
You're putting you're positioning yourself to intake more bible content and that's what a disciple does
So obviously coming to church is like one of those things that are just included in being a disciple
So, you know these parachurch ministries out there that claim to be disciples of jesus christ, but they don't even go to church
That's it's false
Because that bare minimum christians disciples should be in church
The bible says take heed into thyself and unto the doctrine continue in them for in doing so thou shalt both save thyself
And them that hear thee referring to church
This also includes living your life in accordance to the bible
Marriage you make decisions in your marriage based upon the bible
You make decisions about your child rearing based upon the bible
You work at your job or your work ethic is based upon the bible
Not based upon david goggins's principles
Not based upon whatever, you know, uh gurus out there. What does the bible say?
And i'm not saying these things don't have biblical principles attached to them because I know people are offended at that because you probably listen
to that
But you know, maybe you go to god before the physicians though
You know bait you base your relationships off of the bible
You base how you handle money
Based off of what the bible says about it
It's almost as if like, you know, the bible kind of runs your life
You're like, yeah, that's a little much. Yeah, it's it's like that's for disciples
It's not a casual reading of the bible
Let's just let me just do the proverb not of the date of the month
Go to mark chapter eight if you would mark chapter eight mark chapter number eight
And this is a challenge for everyone here
That you know because in this church this size, there's someone who just stopped reading the their bibles. That's just fact
You know i'm not saying you don't love the bible. It's just that's just how it is sometimes
You know life gets busy, especially if you're married you have children you're working
You have a lot of responsibilities
You know things can just pile up and then you one thing that kind of goes out the window is your bible reading
That's just how it is. So this is your reminder your wake-up call get back in the bible today
Get back in the bible tomorrow morning start making it a part of your daily life something that you do every single day
And it doesn't you know because sometimes people have this
You know idea that like oh man, I have to read the bible. That means like how much should I read though?
Well, just start with like one chapter if you're not a Christian or a Christian
Well, just start with like one chapter if you're not accustomed to reading a lot
And one chapter is not a lot or if you just want to you know determine by time increments
You could just say read a bible for like 10 to 15 minutes
You're on social media for way longer than that
You know you read fake news more fake news longer than that
So continuing in his word not only requires church attendance reading the bible consuming bible content
But it also just includes taking a stand for the bible and not being ashamed of it
Okay, look what it says in mark 838 whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me
And of my words and this adulterous and sinful generation
Of him shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels
That is a powerful passage right there
What does it mean to be ashamed like you make excuses for the bible?
Because you're embarrassed over the fact that the bible says some controversial stuff
And so when you're when you're confronted with that, it's just like you make excuses for the bible
Why well, you know the cultural context or whatever
Or you know, yeah, it says that yeah, it's kind of crazy, huh?
Like don't be ashamed of the bible
Someone confronts you with a controversial passage. Here's what I do. Yeah, that's like my favorite part
So
Why because there's going to be a time folks and I know it's hard for some people to believe I know they know it
And they believe it but it's hard for them to understand. We will stand before jesus christ one day
We are going to see him face to face one day and I do not want him to be ashamed of me
I mean think about how that's going to look what he's saying. He goes i'm going to be ashamed of you
He doesn't say like i'm not going to save you
Right because this has nothing to do with salvation
He's saying when he comes he's gonna he's gonna kind of be like disappointed in you. I don't want jesus to be disappointed in me
I want him to look at me and say this guy loved my word to the very end
He was never ashamed of me
He never made excuses for the bible for my word or you know made apologies for it or whatever
Or try to take things out of context to make the culture fit the bible or whatever it is. No, he was he loved the bible
Don't be ashamed of the bible
You know if the bible if someone comes to you and says does the bible teach the death penalty? Oh, yeah
Do you want me to give you some examples?
Does the bible really teach the death penalty for gay people this is what you say? No, it doesn't
It doesn't
God's for happy people living being happy is not a crime it teaches the death penalty for sodomites
You know and you know, um, I was talking to a neighbor of mine
And he's a christian and he saved and you know, we're talking about the bible a little bit
And he was just talking about some of the challenges that he experiences at a public school that he works at
He started using this term transgender
And so I just kindly said yeah, we actually use the term transvestite
And he was you know a little he kind of bristled that a little bit
Bristled that a little bit it's more it's transgender right? I'm like no because you can't change your gender
I said a trans and I explained the etymology of the word transvestite and he was like
I didn't know that
but you know why that is is because when you stop using certain words, they lose their meaning people just
Forget what they mean
And you know what christians should not be offended at the word transvestite
Okay
And we should not be offended the bible teaches that trans being a transvestite is an abomination in the eyes of god
Well, you know that's old testament
I'm glad you know where verses in the bible are
Thank you for explaining that to me
But nowhere in the you know, jesus didn't die to make cross-dressing
A thing now if you if you if you think like jesus died on the cross
So that people could be a cross dressers. That means that jesus died on the cross to make bestiality a thing, too
sodomy a thing too incest a thing, too
They're not going to agree to that
So don't be ashamed of what the bible says
You know, obviously if you have opportunities talk about the bible talk about the controversial things of the bible. Why not?
You don't have to impose it on people
But if the opportunity presents itself and let me just say this there's a lot of people out there
Who want to hear the truth because they've been saturated with such snowflake narratives and opinions by christians
They're just kind of sick and tired of all the cotton candy preaching
They need someone to actually tell the truth
Of what the bible actually says and not be ashamed of it too many people are confronted or talk to christians who are ashamed of
The bible, you know what people are kind of tired of that
Be someone who's and it doesn't require a whole lot of boldness
To just say that's what the bible says leviticus 2013. They should be put to death
Oh, wow christian believes the bible
How what a unicorn
You you'll be surprised some people are like i'm not surprised you believe that because you're a christian right so you should believe
What they're surprised that are the are the pussyfooters of this world
Who tiptoe around the tulips and make excuses for what the bible say?
Jesus is going to be ashamed of them at his coming
Okay
So to be a disciple of jesus christ requires for you to continue in his word
And the more you continue in his word
The more you know the bible the more you're able to provide answers the more you're able to lead people to righteousness
The more wisdom and knowledge you have the more boldness you get
You become a disciple of jesus christ go to john 15 if you would john chapter 15
We're talking about the qualifications of a disciple number four is that it includes production
And
More specifically i'm referring to soul winning in order to be a disciple a follower of jesus christ, bro
You actually have to do some soul winning
Lifelong soul
Now this is now a lot of christians agree with my previous point, you know about the bible
This is one that they're kind of sketchy on sometimes
Is the soul-winning part
And most christians listen to me most christians have more of a casual approach to preaching the gospel nowadays
You know, they when the opportunity presents itself, you know, do you do you go soul-winning when the opportunity presents itself?
To friends and family, you know co-workers sometimes lunch break or whatever which which is great if it were true
So
But let me just say this this type of approach does not guarantee that you're going to be preaching the gospel consistently
Because what if you approach bible reading the same way?
Do you read the bible when the opportunity presents itself?
right
You know when someone asks a question or when I feel like doing it or if the bible just happens to be there
I'll read it or something. You're never going to read it
It's just never going to happen
Because at the end of the day we carry our bibles everywhere we go
Even if you don't have a physical one you have your phone
right
Like in order for you to read your bible consistently every single day. You have to have a plan
Right, you need a place you need a time and a place and a plan of what you're going to read
By the way, let me just say this don't just read the bible like this like, all right
Let's see what i'm going to read today
All right. There we go
I'll just start
There you know
Have like a systematic plan of how are you going to read the bible?
That's what a disciple does. He's disciplined and he keeps track of what he's reading
He or she is reading and everyone does it differently. You can have a log a paper log or something and you're marketing your bible
That's great. As long as you're keeping track of what you're reading
I use the the app the reading plan and it's great
You just and I kind of I like it because I like to check boxes, you know
And it's just like yeah, you know, just like all right
But it helps me keep track of it
Keep track of your bible reading
If you don't have a plan, you're never going to read it. What are you going to do? Wait for inspiration to strike?
That's what christians typically do
Like i'm going to read psalm 23 today
But how many times you're going to read it though?
You have to read the whole bible and you know what?
You have to discipline yourself to read parts of the bible that may not be as exciting to you right now
Okay
But you know what the same goes with soul winning
What if you approach so in the way you approach your bible reading which is if the opportunity presents itself?
It's never going to happen folks
And I will say this is that if you consistently if you have a time and a place to go soul winning
Then operate more opportunities actually present themselves to you thereafter
Okay
Most people who just say I just do it when opportunity presents itself don't really have a whole lot of opportunities
But if you're always so winning you actually get a lot of opportunities, you know
Why because to whomsoever much is given or not. That's not the first i'm thinking about. Uh, what's the first i'm thinking about stewardship?
What oh, yeah, he that is faithful and little shall be faithful and much good thing people can hear and know the bible
Meaning that if you're being a good steward
Of your soul winning time going out weekly
Multiple times a week or whatever it is, then you know what god says
Oh, this person is actually a good steward of the gospel. I'm gonna give him more chances to preach the gospel
Elsewhere because I know he he or she preaches the gospel
He provides more opportunities outside of your regular soul winning time to preach the gospel, okay
Soul winning is a spiritual activity
That's just as important as reading your bible praying or church attendance
And you know what?
We are first works baptist church meaning that we emphasize the first works and the first works is preaching the gospel getting people saved
Okay, you need a scheduled time when this is done to guarantee you are doing it consistently
And you know what a lot of churches out there don't provide this
A lot of churches out there don't even have a pastor who does it
Some somebody don't even have a pastor who know how to do it
It's like some of the members know more about sowing than the pastor himself
But here we actually have consistent bio consistent soul winning times
Where you can go and we have a unique way of doing things here where we have so many in between services
Kind of you know as a matter of convenience for you now that you're here since you're here
Go out and preach the gospel for about an hour
And get it done and then you can check it off your list. I went soloing this week or whatever
That guarantees you that you will be a disciple of jesus christ because of the fact that the bible says listen to me
The bible tell jesus said this, okay
That if you're going to be a follower of jesus he's going to make you a fisher of men
So if you follow jesus the natural result of that is that you become a fisher of men
So if you're not fishing for men meaning soul winning
Does that mean that you're not following jesus? Yes, that means you're not following jesus
Pretty simple
The byproduct of following the lord jesus christ is that you become a soul winner and I know this is new for you
for a lot of people because maybe they've never done it and it's just you know, it's
It's kind of daunting at first but the truth is is that
In our church you go out as a silent partner
You see other people persecuted you see other people being mocked and see how other people how they do it
And then you end up catching the bug
And you're like, you know what? I want to try this and then you start winning people to christ yourself
Look at john 15 verse 1. I am the true vine
My father is the husbandman every branch in me that beareth not fruit
He taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit. He purges it that it may bring forth more fruit
Now you're clean through the word, which i've spoken unto you
Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except that abide in the vine
No more can ye accept ye abide in me
I am the vine here the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me
He can do nothing
Skip down to verse number seven
If you abide in me and my words abide in you
You should ask what you will and shall be done unto you herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit
So shall ye be my disciples
Now this is not referring to the fruit of the holy spirit
So, how do you know because the fruit is of the holy spirit?
He's the one that's producing that whereas here it's talking about the fact that the person actually begins to bear fruit
And it's referred that fruit is referring to people
skip down to verse 16
Here's the proof ye have not chosen me
But i've chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain
That whatsoever you shall ask of the father in my name
He may give it you meaning that god has ordained for you to go and preach the gospel
And when you get people saved guess what they remain
Meaning they remain saved
eternal security
The point that i'm making here is the fact that in order to be a disciple of jesus christ
You have to consistently go out so many. Okay, and you know what can't call yourself a follower of jesus christ if you don't
Now obviously people have different schedules, especially moms they go through seasons
You know where they have children they have babies, but you know what?
Luckily as a church
We'll we will make a soul winning time for you if need be
Like if your schedule doesn't fit any of what we going on here. Just let me know
We'll create a midnight soul if you want or after you put the baby to sleep or if that's what you want, whatever you got
Maybe we'll make it happen
Because obviously it's difficult sometimes there's certain seasons where it can't be done because maybe a lady just had a baby
But at the end of the day if you need a specific
allotted amount of time
To be dedicated to so many we'll make it happen for you or if you want to make it happen for yourself. That's fine, too
The point that i'm making is you need to go out solely
This is a gospel preaching church and I don't just mean that i'm preaching the gospel
I mean everyone here should be a formidable soul winner at one time or another
Okay
To be a disciple of jesus christ requires that
And you cannot call yourself a follower of jesus and you cannot call yourself a disciple if you're not doing so
Jesus saith unto them follow me and I will make you fishers
Of men first corinthians 9 16 says for though I preach the gospel
I have nothing to glory of for necessities laid upon me. Yea woe is unto me if I preach not
The gospel and look once you learn how to go soul winning
Then you have all of this this these these uh tools under your belt
And now when the opportunities do present themselves
At lunch break and someone comes to you or you hear someone talking about some biblical topic
You can actually interject
With the gospel. I mean we have people in our church who are in our church
They're saved now because they were having some sort of biblical conversation with someone and someone else in our church
Basically interrupted them started talking to them got them saved now they're in our church
But you know that person who did that go soul winning every single week though
And it could be that this, you know
When you go out consistently soul winning the reason you provide it with more opportunities because you're more conscious of it
You're thinking about souls all the time and you're always looking for the opportunities
but what i'm the point that i'm making here is that
In order to be a follower of jesus christ, like you you need to be telling people about jesus
Right, and i'm not just saying like jesus loves you
Okay, well I do that on my social media, you know, I tell them that jesus loves them
You know, that's great, but that's not enough for salvation. Sorry
It's not let me just give you the hard truth that does nothing for a person's eternal soul
Because most people already know that
Most people know that jesus loves them
They need to they need to know the gospel. They need someone to come to them in a systematic manner explain to them their condition
Explain to them the penalty of sin explain to them the sacrifice of jesus christ his resurrection
Explain to them what believe on the lord jesus christ means explain to them that they can never lose their salvation
And explain to them how they can call upon the name of the lord at this moment to be safe
They need someone to do that
They need you to do that
And I know it's it's a major thing for introverts, but you know what? This is the price of discipleship though
It's for you to be a soul winner and i'm peer pressuring you into doing it right now. Yes
But obviously everyone grows at their own pace
So we don't just throw you at the door like the first day or something and just like all right
You're on your own and but team leaders don't do that
I don't think anybody does that but just
in case
you know, you knock on the door and like
This person has something to tell you
That's wrong
Okay, but you know
There's certain team leaders that have systematic ways of teaching people how to so when they teach them how to do introductions first
And once they get through that introduction then they hand it off
They kind of get warmed up a little bit and then they add more points and after a while
They're just like a full-fledged soul winner
They kind of wean them on to soul winning and preaching the gospel learn that
Be a disciple be a soul winner
Learn how to get people saved
And then lastly it requires proof. You don't have to turn there
The bible says in john 13 34 a new commandment I given to you that you love one another as I have loved you
That you also love one another by this shall all men know that you're my disciples if you have loved one to another
So what is the last requirement of discipleship loving the brethren?
And luckily the bible teaches us that god teaches us how to love so that's not really hard
But obviously this includes fellowship and includes spending time with other disciples
Okay, it includes spending time with other followers of the lord. Jesus christ
and having
Communion and fellowship with other believers. What's the sermon today? These are just the qualifications of a disciple
Let's not use this term flippantly and think that every christian is a disciple of jesus christ. That's not 100 true
Okay, there's certain things that come with it
And you know if you don't abide by these five things that the bible highlights according to the bible united disciples
You said what if i'm doing four out of five though? You're on your way
And great but you know what just cover all five
Be a disciplined one
Be a person who makes jesus christ the bible
the centerpiece of your life
and
Seek to be a lifelong student a pupil of jesus. Amen. Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word
And thank you for the clear instructions of the bible. Help us as your people lord strive to be
Uh disciples followers of you lord
That we would uh sit at your feet and hear your word lord walk with you daily
Pray unto you daily
Preach the gospel weekly attend church weekly lord
Help us to deny ourselves lord and also recognize that
There's going to be instances in our life where we have to choose between you and a person and may we always make the right choice
And we have to choose between you and a job you and a person
You and an activity may we always select the lord jesus christ
And may there be no question about it and lord us those of us with families may we as fathers
and husbands
Uh seek to be disciples
To exemplify that before our little ones so that they would grow also to become disciples of jesus christ
And have that same level of commitment and devotion to you
And I pray that you bless us as we go on our way. Thank you so much for all that you've done
We love you. We thank you pray these things in jesus name. Amen
Please turn your song books to song number three hundred and seven