Messages

[Matt 16:24-27] Repent of your sin, believe on Jesus, and follow Jesus all the days of your life - this is the discipleship. Justification is free by faith alone and we cannot add to what Christ has accomplished on that cross, but discipleship is mandatory and it will cost you everything.

[Matt 16:21-23] We continue on the significance of "discipleship" according to Christ, this time focusing on the first half of the well-known passage where Jesus tells Peter to "get behind me, Satan" in response to Peter trying to stop Him from going to the cross as a result of setting his mind on man's interests rather than God's!

[Acts 11:26] “Disciples were first called Christians in Antioch..." Discipleship - personally following Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior, and Risen Lord according to His word in the dynamic of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Inclusive of everything from repentance to the new heavens and new earth.

[Matt 4:18-22, 28:18-20] Jesus' call to “follow me” is the essence and core of discipleship. This is different from Moses whose law/teachings were followed, not Moses the himself as a person himself; not so with Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the one who we know and follow at his command. Definition of Disciple-personal follower of Jesus and his teachings, especially as presented in the Gospels and Acts; adherent, follower, learner

[1 Peter 3:8-10] Peter quotes Psalm 34 at length to make his point, rooted in the Old Testament scriptures, about how we ought to behave as God's righteous children in the face of evil done to us in order to inherit a blessing. What is this blessing and how do we receive it?

[1 Peter 3:9] When someone does evil against or insults us, it tests our Identity, and Peter spent 2 chapters on who we are in Christ first before this exhortation on how we ought to respond. How do we maintain this Christlike mindset? By remembering that this is the life we are called to-there is no surprise that we find ourselves suffering because God called us to this purpose-blessing for evil done to us, unjust suffering. We suffer with Christ! That’s the difference from those suffering apart from Jesus-our brother went before us and we enter into his suffering, blessing those who inflict suffering and evil upon us just like he did. We need to Lord to answer our prayers for strength to respond like Jesus to evil and insults. How are you blessing those who insult you or do evil against you, especially within the body of Christ?

[1 Peter 3:8-9] Brotherhood-be a brother/like a brother (Philadelphia-brotherly love) Fervently loving one another from the heart is one of the reasons for your soul’s purification (1 Pet 1:22). Within the body of Christ, titles like "father" and "teacher" are forbidden by Jesus because we are all brothers. Even elders are first brothers, and we have one father and one teacher. Our common adoption and fatherhood makes us all brethren. You "plug in" to our church body by getting to know one another and fervently loving one another from the heart.

[1 Peter 3:8-9] Be humble in spirit / lowly in mind means not seeking attention for yourself, thinking of yourself less (not thinking less of yourself), regarding others as more important than yourself, becoming a servant and pouring yourself out for others in love Jesus was humble without sin. True humility is knowing who you really are in the sight of God, not thinking too lowly nor too highly of yourself. Confidence is not in conflict with humility, but humility actually grounds your confidence in truth.

[1 Peter 3:8-9] Kindhearted compassion will move you toward meeting needs and away from self-absorption and seeking your own comfort. Jesus has a heart of compassion for people, He has time for them, and he sacrifices his own comfort to help them. This is how we ought to be in our own lives toward all men and especially those of the household of faith, full of mercy, compassion, and kindhearted love. Kindness with the affection of Christ is how we ought to feel and act toward one another in the body of Christ, because God has been merciful to us in Christ. Are you making the time to listen to others in need (which is everyone apart from Christ!), such that your kindhearted compassion draws you into action to help them in some way?

[1 Peter 3:8-9] Paul is calling the church to genuine, heartfelt sensitivity to the condition of one another, how well each one in the body is doing whether healthy or unhealthy. To be sympathetic is to suffer with or alongside another, feeling what they feel. Do you care about how your brethren are doing spiritually? If not, pray 1 Thes 3:12 that your love may abound more and more for one another!