New Song Students OKC

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Hebrews 11:1-3, 6

The only way to grow in prayer is through prayer.

“No other god can save. No other God can heal. No other God’s alive and active here today.”

Met By Love

PRAYING IN FAITH

D.L. MOODY PICUTRE***

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Hebrews 11:6

The great gulf fixed today is between the evangelical rationalist and the evangelical mystic. The evangelical rationalists insist upon trying to reduce everything down to where it can be explained and proved and thus have rationalized faith and have pulled the Almighty God down to the low level of human reason. On the other hand, the evangelical mystic believes God and disbelieves human reason since there are some things human reason cannot do

A.W. Tozer

One famous Jewish prayer began like this: “Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, and honored, magnified and lauded be the name of the Holy One.”

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:5-8

PRAYING IN FAITH DOESN’T REQUIRE A LOT OF…

1. WORDS

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:7-8

Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.

Charles Spurgeon

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.[a] 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 

Acts 3:1-7

2. VOLUME/ATTENTION

20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs[a] of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

1 Kings 18:20-39

22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 

1 Kings 18:22

Their writhings were born of ignorance and superstition and got them nowhere. Everything was a mistake—their zeal, their body-punishing prayer, their determination. They were wrong in spite of their zealous praying. And such error did not die with them.

A.W. Tozer

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?

14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the...

[teaching text]

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord…

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 

2 Samuel 11:26-27, 12:15-20

It requires faith and patience

It can be boring and awkward

40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.

Matthew 26:40-45

9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

Acts 20:9

It is easily misunderstood

Some prayers are like a fire escape, used only in times of critical emergency—never very enjoyable, but used as a way of terrified escape from danger. They do not represent the regular life of the one who offers them; rather they are the unusual and uncommon acts of the spiritual amateur.

A.W. Tozer

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray

Luke 11:1

"Prayer at its best is the expression of the total life."

A.W. Tozer

PRAYING IN OBEDIENCE

What is prayer?

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Luke 17:11-19

Remember that only one Samaritan wanted more than cleansing from leprosy. He wanted to know the Savior. He came back glorifying God, worshipping Him, and giving thanks. The other nine lepers just had the thing they wanted but the one leper got much more; the Savior and increased faith.

W.L. Seaver

There was an extra healing for this tenth leper. When Jesus said this, He likely meant God’s work within the man’s heart. The other lepers had whole bodies, but sick hearts.

David Guzik

Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified gold rush. Almost every book on prayer deals with the “get” element mainly.

A.W. Tozer

PRAYER IS COMMUNION

Communion: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.

Prayer is a shared life with God

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

IN PRAYER, GOD DESIRES TO REVEAL HIMSELF, HIS POWER, AND HIS KINGDOM TO US.

WHAT CAN HINDER GOD’S ANSWER TO OUR PRAYER?

DISOBEDIENCE

13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”

2 Samuel 12:13-14

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 

2 Samuel 12:13-14

The act of committal to Christ in salvation releases the believing man from the penalty of sin, but it does not release him from the obligation to obey the words of Christ.

A.W. Tozer

Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late—and how little revival has resulted? Considering the volume of prayer that is ascending these days, rivers of revival should be flowing in blessing throughout the land. That no such results are in evidence should not disc...

[teaching text]

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:1-11

We must come to realize that following Jesus is the main point of life.

John Mark Comer

BECOME LIKE HIM

PICTURE*

VIDEO***

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

Matthew 4:23-24

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 

Matthew 8:23-24

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
     and him only shall you serve.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Matthew 4:8-11

19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 14:19-21

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:12

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41

Humans are capable of achieving amazing things, like the very things we see Him doing, and humans are capable of achieving terrible things, like the very sins we see Him warning against.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 

Genesis 2:7

And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Colossians 3:10

The true nature of man in the image of God was also seen in the earthly life of Christ.

Wayne Grudem

The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of principles to be obeyed apart from identification with Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting his way with us.

Oswald Chambers

As the saying goes, “A black belt is just a white belt who never quit.” A saint is just an ordinary apprentice who stayed at it with Jesus.

John Mark Comer

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:7-8

gymnasia—training: the exercise of the body in a palaestra or school of athletics

The aim and substance of spiritual life is not fasting, prayer, hymn singing, frugal living, and so forth. Rather, it is the effective and full enjoyment of active love of God and humankind in all the daily rounds of normal existence where we are placed. The spiritually advanced person is not the one who engages in lots and lots of disciplines, any more than the good child is the one who receives lots and lots of instruction or punishment. 

People who think they are spiritually superior because they make a practice of a discipline such as fasting or silence or frugality are entirely missing the point.

Dallas Willard

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

Romans 6:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…  10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:1, 10-11

WHAT IS ROMANS 6 PUSHING BACK AGAINST?

LAZY CHRISTIANS

WHAT’S THE POINT OF BECOMING LIKE JESUS IF I’M ALREADY PERFECTLY LOVED BY HIM? 

1. DESIGN

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

John 15:8

1. WITNESS

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 

John 15:8 

1. FULFILLMENT

10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:10-11

THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

DISCIPLINES OF ABSTINENCE...

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:34-40

I have listened to at least three thousand sermons in my life thus far, with many more to come, I am sure. I remember only a few of them, usually the atrocious ones or the brilliant ones. I have forgotten the vast majority. Not that they were entirely forgettable. The brain can only store so much information, and my brain has decided not to store that many sermons. I do believer however, that they have left an impression on me, doing their quiet work in the soul, just as the many words of instruction and advice I have received over the years from my parents, teachers and friends have influenced me, though I do not remember many of those words either.

Gerald Sittser

68% of the American population identifies as Christian.

A disciple during the time of Jesus was a Jewish person who had been invited by a rabbi [teacher] to come and follow him for a long period of time.

“Disciple” had less to do with what you did or could do, and more to do with who you were actively following.

BEING WITH HIM

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:35-36

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Joshua 1:8

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:27

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:17-18

3 Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and given to the poor?”

John 12:3-5

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Matthew 23:27-28

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:34-40

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:34-40

THE HIGHEST PRIORITY OF A DISCIPLE IS TO LOVE GOD.

19 We love because he first loved us. 

1 John 4:19

WE LEARN TO LOVE GOD AS WE ARE LOVED BY GOD

The most important thing that happens between God and the human soul is to love and be loved.

Kallistos Katfygiotis

As a general rule, we become more loving by experiencing love, not by hearing about it in a lecture or reading about it in a book. Psycologists’ basic rule of thumb is that we are loving to the degree that we have been loved. This is why it’s so much easier for those who were loved by their parents or caregivers in their early years to give and receive love as adults. That said, no family of origin is healthy enough to transform us into the kind of love we see in Jesus, and no family is dysfunctional enough to keep us from become people of love in Jesus. All of us have the potential to grow and mature into people of agape. But to do so, we have to experience the love of God. 

John Mark Comer

One way of knowing involves learning information about God; it is doctrinal. Another way of knowing leads to union with God; it is mystical.

Gerald Sittser

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Ginōskō—know: to feel

“I look at Him, He looks at me, and we are happy.”

What’s your response when you are aware of your sin? If you’re like me, you know Christ died for that, and you’re grateful. But just to show how grateful you are, or to seal the deal, you do a bit of psychological self-inflicted pain to top it off. Not., of course, to self-consciously add to Christ’s work. Heaven forbid. Just to let Him know how much you care, to make it clear that you’re a serious Christian. Nothing physical. Just a bit of externalized obedience or forma...

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-62

COUNTING THE COST

THE WAY OF JESUS

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-19

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

John 1:35-42

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Luke 4:38-39

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. 

Luke 5:1-3

When the disciples said “yes” to following Jesus, they were choosing to follow Him from now on as their rabbi.

“Contrary to what many assume, Jesus did not invite people to convert to Christianity. He didn’t even call people to become Christians; he invited people to apprentice under him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.”

John Mark Comer

Bet-sefer “House of Book”

Bet-midrash “House of Learning”

Talmid“Apprenticeship”

Simon and Andrew were fisherman. Think about that for a second: This means they didn’t make it into an apprenticeship program. They weren’t the best of the best; they were the ones who got sent home to “make babies and pray they become rabbis.” But Jesus invited them to be His apprentices. Before they believed in Jesus, He believed in them.

John Mark Comer

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Matthew 16:24

Apprentices had three main objectives:

1. Be with their rabbi

1. Become like their rabbi

1. Do what their rabbi did
    

As of 2023, 68% of Americans identify as Christian.

Gallup

If disciple is something that is done to you (a verb), then that puts the onus of responsibility for your spiritual formation on someone else, like your pastor, church, or mentor. But if disciple is a noun—if it’s someone you are or are not—then no one can “disciple” you but Rabbi Jesus Himself.

John Mark Comer

WE NEED AN OLD VISION OF DISCIPLESHIP

Apprentices to Jesus is about:

1. Being with Jesus
2. Become like Jesus
3. Doing what Jesus did

There is no problem in human life that apprenticeship to Jesus cannot solve.

Dallas Willard

THERE IS A COST TO FOLLOW JESUS

THE WAY OF JESUS IS CONFLICTING

59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-62

THE WAY OF JESUS IS ALL-CONSUMING

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Matthew 16:24

THERE IS A COST TO NOT FOLLOW JESUS

“People often complain about how hard the spiritual life is. And the honest truth is, yes, it is. Bu that’s missing from this diagnosis is that the unspiritual life is even harder. Life is hard, with or without God. But what’s really hard—nearly unbearable for some—is facing the pain and suffering of life apart from God. So is trying to save yourself rather than be saved. Living in a godless, shepherdess, meaningless universe—that’s really, really hard.” 

John Mark Comer

25 For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Matthew 16:24

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20