Matthew 28:18-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17 - And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Matthew 9:37 - "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

Matthew 10:16 - Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:19 - When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

Matthew 10:32-33, Matthew 10:40, Luke 10:16, Luke 12:8-12, John 13:20 - So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

Mark 9:38-41, Luke 9:50 – Do not stop him who does a work in my name.

Mark 16:15-18 - "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Luke 8:39 - "Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you."

Luke 9:57-60 - "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Acts 1:6-8 – You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Discussion Questions:

Are the commands of Jesus on evangelism optional for a Follower-of-Jesus?

Are you obeying the commands of Jesus regarding evangelism? and if not, what help do you need to start obeying these commands?

Matthew 4:17 – Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 1:15 – Repent and believe in the gospel.

Luke 7:50 – Your faith has saved you, go in peace.

Luke 13:5 – Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish

Luke 13:22-30 – Strive to enter through the narrow door. Many will seek but will not be able.

John 1:1-12 – But to all who received him and believed, he gave the right to be children of God.

John 3:1-21 – You must be born again.

John 4:1-15 – Whoever drinks of the water that I give will never thirst and have eternal life.

John 6:35-40 – Everyone who looks at the Son and believes shall have eternal life.

John 6:52-69 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

John 7:37-39 – Whoever believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

John 8:12 – Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but he will have the light of life.

John 11:25-27 – Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live, I am life.

John 12:44-45 – Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.

John 14:1 – Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God; believe also in me.

John 20:29 – Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean to repent and to believe?

What does it mean to receive Jesus?

What does it mean to be born again?

What does it mean to eat the flesh and to drink the blood of Jesus?

How can we die yet live in Christ?

Can you believe in faith? What does it mean to have faith? See Hebrew 11:1-40

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

An introductory episode to the Commands of Jesus

This is episode 9, and the last episode, of our first series. Last time examined the lives of several slaves of God. They did not obey God because they "felt" like it or because they had the "heart" for it. Instead they obeyed God simply because God commanded it. Indeed in most cases, if they had followed their hearts, they would not have acted at all.

Know whose slave you are and whose slave you are not. Submit to those in authority, but do not be their slaves.

Remember whose slave you are and whose slave you are not. As a believer you are called to be a Slave-of-Christ. You are not called to be “slave” of your husband, your wife, the pastor, or any other person of authority within the church or any other ministry. Jesus stated in Mark 10:42-45 that believers in positions of authority are not to “lord it over” others, explaining: whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

But the sad truth is that there are local churches in which pastors and elders do lord it over others in the congregation. There are spouses who lord it over the other spouse.

We see an example of this in 3 John. The Apostle John writes to the “beloved Gaius.” It seems that Gaius and the local church were struggling with a leader named, Diotrephes, “who likes to put himself first.” Diotrephes was a “control freak” (not sure there is a Greek term for this) who wanted to be in charge of everything and to tell everyone else what to do. Diotrepehes refused to recognize the authority of the Apostles and ex-communicated or threw people out of church if they did not obey him.

John dismisses the actions of Diotrephes as evil and urges Gaius not to imitate such evil ways. John gives us insight as to how to deal with such men, walk away from them if you can, and let the Lord deal with them. But even if you cannot walk away, know that you are not their slave.

Paul urges all the believers in Ephesus to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So we submit, in the sense of deferring, to leaders and others in authority. In contrast, in Ephesians 6:5, actual slaves are called to obey their earthly masters with fear and trembling. But nowhere are believers called to obey husbands, wives, pastors, and other ministry leaders with fear and trembling as if we were the slaves of such men (women).

Well, it’s time to go to work.

This is episode 8 of our first series. Last time we saw that Biblical worship is very different from contemporary 21st Century Church worship. Biblical worship involved offering your body as a living sacrifice, as a slave to God.

Today we are going to look as some Biblical examples of the Slaves of God. I have to warn you, it’s not pretty.

The slaves of God in Scripture did not act because they "felt" like it or because they had the "heart" for it. Instead they acted simply because God commanded it. Indeed in most cases, if they had followed their hearts, they would not have acted at all.

Slaves-of-God are not asked if they would like to “help” God out. Slaves-of-God are not offered choices. They are not always given ministry tasks that fit their spiritual gifts or their heart story. Slaves-of-God are simply told to do something, and they are not always told why. See:

Moses – Exodus 1:1-4:20

Philip – Acts 8:26-40

Ananias – Acts 9:10-19

Peter – Acts 10

Paul – Acts, 2 Corinthians 11:23-38

Being a Slave-of-Christ surely means being called to serve outside of our comfort zone, like Philip and Peter; being in vulnerable positions, even physical danger, like Ananias and Paul; being rewarded for obedience like Peter; being extremely difficult and frustrated as Moses leading the rebellious Hebrews though the desert for forty years; and in still other situations, we are called to act like Philip but not given a lot of information why. See also Philippians 2:5-11.

And yes, some like Peter and Paul are called to follow the example of Jesus, being martyred for their obedience to the faith. We are called to be Slaves-of-God, men and women such as these. But count the cost, it’s not pretty.

This is episode 7 of our first series. Last time we saw that the only way to show our love for Jesus was to obey his commands, and if we did not obey his commands, we were demonstrating that we did not love him.

Perhaps we are not always obeying the commands of Jesus, but what about worship? Do we not show our love for God through our worship? Some have said that God wants our worship more than our obedience. But is that true? Let’s start by asking what it means to “worship.”

The word worship occurs approximately 188 times in the King James Bible. In Old Testament the underlying Hebrew word for the English word worship is most frequently shachah, which means: “to make low, bow, prostrate, fall down, reverence, and worship.” As an example, in Psalm 95:6 the call is made: To come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

In the New Testament the underlying Greek word for the English word worship is almost always proskuneo, which means: “to kiss, fawn, crouch, prostrate, bow, reverence, and honor.” As an example, in Matthew 28:9, And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. The actual act of worship described in both the Old and New Testaments sounds an awful lot like what a slave or servant does before his master, all this bowing, prostrating, and making low.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2, gives us the definition of spiritual worship, he says: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Consistent with the teaching of Romans, the Old Testament concept of worship is clearly tied the concept of service. Moses warned the Hebrew people not to go after other gods by serving them and worshipping them. Deu 8:19, 11:16, 30:17.

The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, after the Temple was built, and warned him about serving other gods and worshipping them. 1 Kings 9:4-7; 2 Chron. 7:17-20.

King Amon is criticized for serving and worshipping the idols of his father, Manasseh. 2 King 21:21

This is episode 6 of our first series. Last time we talked about how important it is to obey the commands of Jesus.

Now you may say: “Well, I don’t always obey Jesus as well as I should, but I “love” Jesus.” But can we love Jesus if we do not obey his commands?

On that subject Jesus was very clear, If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15. Whoever has my commands an obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:21

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching: These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:23-24

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed the Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:9-10

The Apostle John, proclaiming what he had seen and what he had heard from Jesus, writes: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6. For this is love of God, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3

See also James 2:14-26

Disciplining programs often emphasize that the heart should follow the will, but that the will should never follow the heart in spiritual matters. Why is this so? The Prophet Jeremiah, said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Then he quotes God the Father, by saying: I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Jeremiah 17:9-10.

The only way to show that we love Jesus is to obey his commands.

This is episode 5 of our first series. Last time we saw how the Followers-of-Jesus have very specific commands that they must follow. That was certainly not a complete list, but it was a short list of what the Apostles who wrote the New Testament Epistles emphasized to the early Christian churches. Today we are going to look at Jesus teaching on who is a good and faithful slave and who is a lazy and wicked slave. Again I remind us, that we are all slaves, the question is simply whose slave are you.

Our Lord Jesus Christ used the illustration of a slave(s) (duolos) in order to teach important points in his parables and stories.

When asked about the signs of the End-of-the-Age, Jesus gave his disciples a long dissertation using several parables in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus gave an example of how his followers should prepare for his return in the Parable of the Faithful Servant, literally the faithful slave (duolos). The slave is faithful and wise if the slave keeps watch for his master, if the slave is careful with his master’s property in his absence, and if the slave properly treats all of the other slaves under his authority as they wait for the master’s return. Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-46.

Further in the dissertation on the End-of-the-Age, Jesus tells a Parable of the Talents. Three slaves are each given a sum of money by their master; one receives ten talents, another receives five talents, and the third receives one talent. The two slaves who wisely used and invested the money given to them by the master are called “good and faithful” slaves.

But The one slave who does not use and invest the money given to him by his master and instead buries the money for safekeeping is called a “wicked and lazy” slave, even though the slave returned the original money back to his master. Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27

The good and faithful slave keeps watch for his master and takes care of the assets entrusted to him by his master. In our case, the good and faithful slave actively uses the spiritual gifts and the material wealth given to us by God for God’s purposes.

In contrast, The wicked and lazy slave does not use the spiritual gifts and material wealth to honor God, but rather the wicked and lazy servant uses all of these assets for his own pleasure or does not use them at all.

Are you actively using the material assets and spiritual gifts given to you by God for his glory, or are you only using those assets and gifts for your own pleasure? In the first instance, you are good and faithful slave, in the second instance you a lazy and wicked slave. Perhaps it is time to become a good and faithful slave.