Sermon on 28 July 2024 by Pastor Justin Chia
You embrace Jesus to build a relationship with Him. You then move into an intimate fellowship and complete Oneness with Him. You must have the everyday consciousness that the life of Christ is in you. You also need to discard the old man that grew corrupt in a deceitful life. Embracing and abandoning are the foundation of discipleship.
John 15:8 - “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
Matthew 4:18-22 - “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
The essence of the call to discipleship is an immediate and total response to Jesus’ invitation through embracing and abandoning. A true disciple will never justify themselves. A call to discipleship is a radical transformation. If there is no change in you, you haven’t truly tasted the goodness of God. You have salvation but have not lived that type of life.
Luke 16:15 - “Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.”
In Christ, you have a new vocation, life, and purpose. It’s about becoming more and more like Christ, and participating in His mission.
2 Corinthians 3:18 - “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
Matthew 28:19-20 - “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
We have to be willing to give up our desires and plans to submit to God’s will.
John 12:24 - “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.”
Colossians 3:3 - “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
John 3:30 - “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”
Disciple - mathētēs means a learner who follows a master teacher, His precepts and instructions. imitating the teacher’s life, inculcating His values, following, abiding in Him, and reproducing His teachings. Christian discipleship is relational and holistic. All of Jesus! All for Jesus, with all your life!
State of Abandonment
Abandon our old ways, our old lives, and our old selves to fully embrace Christ’s new life. This is not just a call to physical abandonment but also a spiritual and emotional one.
Colossians 3:8 - “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.”
Colossians 3:3 - “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Galatians 5:16 - “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
2. State of Transformation
Let the Spirit renew the thoughts and attitudes. You cannot keep receiving information only and think that you are being transformed. Make a conscious decision to be changed by God’s power. The ‘Old Man’ is ever-deepening corruption. The ‘New Man’ is ever increasing renewal. Be involved in the eternal business of saving souls in the Open Seas of Life.
Romans 12:2 - “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 - “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Ephesians 4:22-24 - “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
3. State of Intimacy
We are entering into a personal relationship with the living God. Experience the fullness of life in the presence of God. This intimate relationship with God begins at this moment.
John 3:16 - ““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Imitating Jesus’s life, inculcating His values, following, absent in Him, and reproducing His teachings. Let us live our lives as Christ would have lived this day - true disciples of Christ!
Ephesians 4:20-24 - “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Amen.
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