In Luke 7:1-10 the centurion exhibited faith that released the healing power of God to another person. That it is possible to believe God for another's healing is a very important truth. Many of us have friends and family who are ill or suffering in other ways, and we would love to be able to assist them in receiving God's miracle power. Let's gather some insights concerning the centurion's faith. 

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A disciple is someone who believes in the Lord and intends to serve Him. That doesn't mean you don't have another job. But we are talking about the orientation of the heart. For every disciple, the call on our lives is to preach the gospel and make other disciples. A disciple is constantly in the process of bringing people to Christ and teaching people to obey all that Jesus has commanded (Mt 28:18-20). In disciple making, our heart is what is finally reproduced in others, so we need to be sure our own heart is in order before trying to influence other people.

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What kinds of responses are we to have when we meet hostility? Jesus has just appointed 12 apostles from among his disciples. He is planning on his own disciples making other disciples. In Luke 6:27-38 Jesus talks about a disciples' attitude toward hostile unbelievers. Jesus says, "When you make disciples, you are going to hit persecution. And these are the attitudes I want you to have when you do."

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Disciples will test each of these areas: money, appetites & physical comfort, emotional peace and popularity. Each of these will tend to hold us back from obedient service. Jesus is not talking about personal disciplines or scolding those who enjoy humor or condemning anyone with a good income to hell (the poor aren't going to heaven because they're poor anymore than the rich are going to hell because they're rich). Jesus is warning us of forces that stifle fruitfulness in a disciple.

Today we're going to focus on the first area Jesus points to, and that is our money. All of the Lord's disciples are not poor, but all must have certain attitudes toward money.

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Jesus didn't trick people into becoming disciples, neglecting to mention the hardships until people were too far in to back out. He didn't try to sell them by focusing only on the benefits. He didn't suggest people try discipleship for a little while and then if they didn't like it, they could always quit. No, He came right out and explained, in detail, the persecutions they would face and the personal transformation that would be required. He wanted people to make an informed choice and to count the cost so that those who said "yes" to His invitation to ministry would persevere.

You would think that this blunt approach would prevent anyone from serving Christ, and there certainly are a majority of people who refuse His call, but Jesus is convinced there is no other way to produce people whose faith will last.

After selecting twelve men who are to be sent out as church planting missionaries, Jesus gives them, along with all the rest of His disciples, this sobering charge. Those of us who wish to be His disciples today would do well to listen to what He says. 

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In Luke 6:1-5, we're looking at an event in Jesus' ministry where the subject of the Sabbath comes up. We'll look at what the issues were, what the Lord says about it, and we'll look at some practical things about the business of giving a day to the Lord. We'll talk about whether it's required or not and what might be the benefits of it. 

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The new wine is an illustration that Jesus gives. The Pharisees, along with the disciples of John the Baptist, can't understand why Jesus and His disciples are not adhering to the same rituals, like fasting and Sabbath observance, that they do. Jesus answers in Luke 5:34-39 and says, "I am bringing a new spiritual walk with God. I am not rejuvenating Judaism. I am making a break and introducing a whole new walk with God." What we have as Christians is deeply, foundationally different than any man or woman in the Old Testament. Yes, there will be saved people in heaven from the old covenant, but what Jesus brought is so different that the old and new cannot be put together. It's new wine. 

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As we read Luke's account of that first Resurrection Day, we are startled by the unbelief and confusion in the disciples as they discover the Lord has been resurrected. If Jesus had never explained what would happen to Him, their response might have been understandable. But that was not the case. Jesus had clearly taught that He would die and rise again after three days (see; Lk. 9:22-24,44,45; Mt. 12:40; 16:21-25; Jn. 2:18-22). Oddly enough, though His own disciples did not understand Him, the religious leaders who opposed Him did hear Him and understood exactly what He meant (Mt. 27:62-66). Why were His own so confused, while those who didn't believe in Him were not?

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In this account of the Lord's calling of Matthew to be His disciple, we see a stark contrast between the heart of God and the attitudes of religious people toward unbelievers. Whereas God is merciful and aggressive in seeking to rescue lost people, religion tends to build up a wall of separation. First we need to understand how and why that wall builds up, then we need to look carefully at Jesus and listen to some of His pertinent parables to discover how God wants us to relate to unbelievers.

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When people reached Jesus, their restoration came easily. But there are obstacles that keep us from coming to Jesus and receiving His care. Our lesson today gives us two powerful examples of people who refused to let obstacles keep them from receiving from Jesus. As we read these accounts, not only do we see Jesus' power to touch lives, but we are prophetically confronted by models of aggressive faith. These people pressed through hindrances until they reached Jesus. Once they were face to face with Him, the answer to their need came quickly. The principles we'll see here are not only applicable to physical healing but to deliverance, guidance, transformation of attitudes, forgiveness, reception of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit andgeneral spiritual renewal.

The main gift of the Holy Spirit we see at work in both the leper and the friends of the paralytic is faith. Their faith in Christ impelled them through whatever obstacles would keep them from Him, until finally, face to face, they found their answer. Let's look more closely at the issues that are raised here and ask ourselves if any of these keep us from breaking through into Christ's presence to find our answer. 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

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