F I R ST TIME

SPENDING TIME WITH GODS OME PRACT I CAL SU G G EST I O N S

1. Use A.C .T. S. fo r ma t .2. P r ay through (Ps. 34:1-10 & 18-23 L B), fou nd in pac ke t .3. Use sheet in pac ket “Pray i ng for No n - C h r is t ia ns ” .4. Read “Ma r ks of a Disc iple” and pray back to God any areas you have been co nvicted

ab out. (fou nd in pac ke t )5. Read “Purpose in Life” and evaluate befo re God areas of need or set new goals befo re

God that may he lp you reach God’s pu r p o se for you in life. (fou nd in pac ke t )6. P r ay for you r se l f. Ps. 62:87. P r a ise God. Ps. 103 pray throu g h .8. P r ay for family, gove r n ment, friends, enemies, etc.9. P r ay ab out deve l o p i ng ho l i ness in your life.10. P r ay ab out the “Wheel”, the bala nced Chris t ian life.11. P r ay back your ve r se s .12. P r ay for one ano t he r.13. Read Isa iah 43 as though God we re sp eak i ng to you perso nal ly.

www.discipleshipint.org

T h ree ma r ks of a disc iple me n t i o ned in Marks of a Disc i p l e a re :

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who would soon be on theNav i gator staff, had been in ahead-on co l l ision. Teed was killedi ns t a n tly and his fia ncee diedwithin the hou r. One of the fe l l owsw rote that while at V. P.I. Teed hadled 25-30 men t0 Christ. Amo ngt hem, five we re dedicated, traine d ,e f fe c t ive men of the Cross who,acco rd i ng to this person, would bew i l l i ng at a mo me n t ’s no t i ce to diefor the cau se of Chris t .

D r. Mc Koy – an old man, a dis-c iple to the end. Teed Radin – ayou ng man, a disc iple ea r ly in life.

In fact, the re ’s no better time tob e co me a disc iple than right now.But deep down in our hearts –t ha t ’s whe re real bu s i ness is donewith God – we must determinet hat by God’s grace and with thehe lp of the Ho ly Spirit, we will betrue fo l l owers of Je sus Chris t .

Le t ’s ask ou r se lves, Am I a trued isc ip l e? Am I willing to be open-ly identified with the person ofJe sus Chris t ?

Am I se e k i ng t0 be obedient tot he Wo rd of Christ in my eve r ydayl i fe?

Am I bea r i ng fruit in the wo r kof Christ by way of Chris tl i ke cha r-acter and by influ e nc i ng the live sof othe r s?

I want to be a disc ip l e. I want tohave the se ma r ks and cha r ac t e r is-tics in my life. The only thing I’dl i ke to do beyo nd that is to he lpmake disc iples and to get them tohe lp make others. Tha t ’s wha tJe sus wants done, “Go the re fo rea nd make disc iples of all na t i o ns .”

P l ease keep a sc hedule as to time spent in praye r. (As per Book 2)

P R AYING FOR NON-CHRIST I A N S

I ns t r u c t i o ns: Look up the Sc r ip t u re re fe re nce and pray back to God the thoughts and truths in the se ve r se s .As ind iv i d u al no n - C h r is t ia ns co me to mind pray sp e c i f i cal ly for the m .

MOT I VATION TO PRAY

1. WHY PRAY FOR NON-CHRIST I A N S ?a) They are sp i r i t u al ly blind (2 Co r. 4:3,4) b) They are co nd e m ned by sin (Rom 6:23) c) They are under Sa t a n ’s co n t rol (1 John 5:19)d) They have no hope in eternity (John 3:36)

2. RESU LTS OF PRAYING FOR NON-CHRIST I A N Sa) They co me to know the truth and are set free from sin in the pro cess (1 Tim 2:3, 4, John 8:30-36)b) Their lives beco me fruitful (Lu ke 13:6-9)c) The Lo rd opens their sp i r i t u al eyes to see (2 Co r. 4:3,4; Lu ke 4:18)

P R I N C I P L ES OF PRAY E R

1. PRAY AG A I N ST SATAN (He is the real ene my )a) 1 Peter 5:8,9 b) Rev. 12:10

2. CLAIM DELIVERANCE FROM SATA Na) Ja mes 4:7-1 0b) Psalm 102:19 - 2 1c) Psalm 79 : 1 1

3. ASK GOD FOR CO N V I CTION OF SIN IN THESE PROBLEM AREASa) Alco hol and sex (Ho sea 4:11, 14b; 5:4)b) Self sa t is f action and pride (Ho sea 5:5)c) Disho ne s ty (Jer 9:5- 6)d) The oppre s s i ng, crush i ng effects of sub m i t t i ng to peer pre s su re (Ho sea 5:11)

4. PROM I S ES TO CLAIMa) God will give fruit (Ezek 36:37, 38)b) God will open blind eyes (Psa 146:8)c) God will deliver from Sin (Isa iah 61:1)d) God will sp eak to no n - C h r is t ia ns (Job 33:14-1 8)

5. REMEMBERa) God is the Master of Break t h rough (Micah 2:13; 2 Sam 5:20)b) God is sove reign even over no n - C h r is t ia ns (Deu 32:39-43; Dan 4:35)c) All fruit co mes from God al o ne (Ho sea 14:8)d) Be patient. Fruit always takes time, but it will ce r t a i nly co me (Hab bakuk 2:3)

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him, so I said, ‘Now I wo n ’t fe e ll i ke I paid you unless I put it inyour ha nd .’ ‘No s s i r,’ he said, ‘put iton the post.’ So I said, ‘OK’. And Iput it on the post. When the milk-man reac hed out to take thec ha ng e, I just laid my ha nd on topof his. And he jerked it away.”

T hen he said, “Later on, one ofG o d ’s se r vants by the na me ofB i l ly Su nday ca me to our tow na nd he told how Je sus Christ diedon the Cross to take away ma n ’ssin and his enmity of heart towa rdh is fe l l ow man. As I hea rd that, Ireal ized that I needed this, and Iwal ked the sawdust trail. And youk now, God took the hate out of myheart for the white man, He pu tl ove the re.”

Ap pa re n tly a few days la t e r,u nk nown to him, the milkma nwent to hear Billy Su nday. Hewent fo r wa rd in the me e t i ng,re ce ived Christ, and a couple dayslater pulled up in front of Ja me sE mory Bond ’s little place. Wi t ht ears strea m i ng down his face, heap o l o g Ized for the way he hadt reated him. And this dear oldb lack man said, “I have loved him,a nd he has loved me ever since.”

Now tha t ’s what disc ip l e sh ipmea ns. The re is a mark of a disc i-p l e. Bea r i ng fruit in the work ofC h r ist. “By this shall all men knowt hat ye are My disc iples, if ye havel ove one to ano t he r.” When webegin to see mo re disc iples sp r i n-kled arou nd Ame r i ca and arou ndt he world, what a diffe re nce it willmake! Real genuine disc iples whowill turn the world upside dow n .T he re are ma ny al ready and weought to be pray i ng for the m .

But not only is the re the fruit ofC h r is tl i ke cha r ac t e r, but also thefruit of the Spirit in the lives of

o t hers. Je sus said, “Ye have no tc ho sen Me, but I have cho sen you ,a nd orda i ned you, that ye shou l dgo and bring forth fruit, and tha tyour fruit should re main” (Jo h n1 5 : 1 6) .

Go and bring forth fruit. Pau lw rote to the Ro ma ns of his desire,“ T hat I might have so me fruita mo ng you also” (Ro ma ns 1:13). It h i nk he meant lives influ e nce dfor Chris t .

O nce while I was think i ngab out this, two events took placet hat drove the truth ho me to me.O ne was so me t h i ng I read ab ou tD r. Charles F. Mc Koy of Oys t e rB ay, Lo ng Isla nd. After 50 years offruitful ministry as a pastor andeva ng e l ist, this 71-yea r-old bac he-lor began looking arou nd for are t i re ment ho me. A bishop fro mI nd ia ca me to his church to pleadfor mis s i o nary he lp for Ind ia. Dr.Mc Koy prayed ea r ne s tly that Godmight lay it on the heart of so me-o ne in the co ng re gation tore sp o nd to this call to go to Ind ia .After the third me s sage the bish-op turned to Dr. Mc Koy and sa i d ,“I don’t think God is looking fo r

so me o ne in the co ng re gation. It h i nk he is looking for the man int he pu lp i t .”

D r. Mc Koy could ha rd lyb e l i eve his ears. He said, “Bisho p,a re you losing your mind? I’m 71,I ’ve never been ove r seas; I’venever been on the ocean. Thet hought of fly i ng terrifies me.” Bu tsoon a new mis s i o nary was on hisway to Ind ia, green and seas i c k ,but on his way – at age 71. Fi f t e e nyears later Dr. Mc Koy died.B e t ween the ages of 71 and 86 hehad gone arou nd the world nineor ten times winning people t0C h r ist in Ind ia and Ho ng Ko ng, int he opium dens and in the mo s td i f f i cult places. He was a real dis-c iple in old age also. And I thinko ne reason it struck me was that Iwas read i ng in Psalm 92: 14, “Theystill bring forth fruit in old ag e,t hey are ever full of sap andg re e n ,” Your life can be fruitful tot he very end .

T he sa me week, we re ce ive dwo rd from Vi rg i n ia that a you ngfe l l ow na med Teed Radin, 23years of ag e, a graduate ofVi rg i n ia Po lytechnic Ins t i t u t e,

P U R P OSE IN LIFE*

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While it is true that we ca me into the world withno t h i ng, it is not true that we leave with no t h i ng. We leave with the re co rd of our lives as we havewritten it.

He re ’s the best part. We can write a good sc r ipt tha twill please both the Lo rd and us now and fo reve r.

T he co m i ng year lies befo re us like a book yet to bewritten. The re are 12 chapters with 365 pages. Wewill write the sc r ipt by our ac t i o ns and reac t i o nst owa rd the events that will co me to pas s .

Hav i ng written two books, I know that one muste s t ab l ish a clear pu r p o se befo re writing or there sults will be disco n nected ramb l i ng that is use l e s s .

L i kew ise, we must pre - d e t e r m i ne our pu r p o se in lifea nd then tie all things into that pu r p o se in order toget desirable re sults.

May I encou r age you to make the eternal pu r p o se sof God your eve r yday pu r p o se. In other wo rds ,eve r yday decis i o ns would be made on the bas is ofhow God’s pu r p o ses would be affe c t e d .

I mag i ne what would happen to North Ame r i ca if them u l t iplied millions who say they are “born aga i n ”had a co m mon und e r s t a nd i ng and co m m i t ment tot he pu r p o ses of God. Needless to say, we would se et he greatest sp i r i t u al break t h rough of the ce n t u r y.

Well, we ca n not start with millions, but we can startwith you and me.

t he su p re me ev i d e nce that we arereal disc iples or Spirit-filled. Bu tt he real ev i d e nce is shown in ou rc ha r acter – love, joy, peace, long-su f fe r i ng, gentl e ness, goodne s s ,faith, me e k ness, temp e r a nce.We ’ re co ns i d e r i ng he re the cha r-acter of a disc ip l e.

I ’ve hea rd it said that theAp o s tle Paul befo re he was co n-verted, would pray so me t h i ng liket h is every day, “God, I tha nk Yout hat I am not a Gentile, that I amnot a slave and that I am not awo ma n .” But look at how Godc ha nged his attitude. In his firstletter he wro t e, “The re is ne i t he rJew nor Greek, the re is ne i t he rb o nd nor fre e, the re is ne i t he rmale nor fe male: for ye are all onein Christ Je sus” (G ala t ia ns 3:28) .He re is ev i d e nce of the fruit of theSpirit in the way of cha r ac t e r.

T h is is what it mea ns to be ad isc iple of Je sus Christ. Iti nc ludes one ’s whole al t i t u d e, ou t-look, cha r acter and re la t i o nsh ip too t he r s .

By this shall all men know tha tyou are My disc iples, if you ca nwork great mirac l e s? No. “By thisshall all men know that ye are Myd isc iples, if ye have love one toa no t he r” (John 13:35) .

W hen Je sus tal ked ab out Hism i n istry and what He ca me to do,He quoted from Isa iah 61:1,3, “TheSpirit of the Lo rd God is upon Me :b e cau se the Lo rd hath ano i n t e dMe to preach good tidings untot he meek: He hath sent Me t0b i nd up the bro ke nhearted, to p ro c laim lib e r ty to the cap t ive s ,a nd the opening of the prison tot hem that are bou nd…to give untot hem beau ty for ashes, the oil ofj oy for mou r n i ng, the ga r ment ofp r a ise for the spirit of heav i ne s s .”

Take this world in which wel ive with all of its glitter, its tinse la nd its e ne rgy. Strip all of thisaway, and how would you cha r ac-t e r ize the real world und e r nea t h?B ro ke n -hearted, cap t ive, bou nd ,a nx i ous, sad, depre s sed.

A disc iple is one who getsi nvo lved in that kind of wo r l d ,who is bea r i ng fruit in the work ofC h r ist. He shows the fruit of theSpirit in a Chris tl i ke cha r acter –l ove, joy, peace, longsu f fe r i ng,g e n tl e ness, goodness, faith,me e k ness, temp e r a nce, How weneed that in the world in which wel ive !

THE GREAT EST IS LOV EW hat did Je sus say was the

g reatest identifying mark of all ina disc ip l e? Love. “By this shall al lmen know that ye are My disc i-ples” If you do what? “If ye havel ove one to ano t he r.”

O ne of the greatest illu s t r a-t i o ns of this that I have seen wason the telev ision sp e c ial “Ja me sE mory Bond .” It was an entire onehour interview with a black ma nwho was an ex -truck drive r. Hewas in his seventies at the time oft he interview. Ap pa re n tly he live din Bal t i mo re. One night hewa t c hed a pa nel discussion withso me of the city leaders, mayo r,chief of police and others on tele-v ision. They discu s sed the racea nd juvenile delinq u e ncy pro b-l e ms in Bal t i mo re. As he wa t c he d ,h is heart was real ly move d .

T he next day he went dow n-t own to the telev ision station. Hewanted to talk to so me b o d yb e cau se he had been s0 moved byt heir discussion. He said he knewt he answe r, but he didn’t knowwhom to tell. At the station they

had the good se nse not only toi n t e r v i ew him, but also to video-t ape it. All you saw was this grey-ha i red gentl e man as he answe re dq u e s t i o ns co m i ng from off ca m-e r a .

He said, amo ng other things ,t hat when he was a you ng fe l l owg row i ng up on the edge ofB al t i mo re, the white boys wou l dt h row ro c ks at him as he was onh is way to sc hool. He began tohate white people. As a you ngman he started wo r k i ng as a truckd r ive r. One mo r n i ng when he sawt he milk truck go by, he thou g h tb oy… n i ce it would be if he cou l dhave a little milk befo re he went towork in the mo r n i ng.

He stopped the milkman, whowas a white man, one day andasked him if he would leave him aquart of milk. lie said. “No, I don’td e l iver milk to nigg e r s .”

“So,” Bond said, “I called up themilk co mpa ny, and I asked theman I tal ked with if this was true,t hat they didn’t give milk to blac kp e o p l e. He said, ‘No, tha t ’s no tright. We do deliver milk to blac kp e o p l e, and we’ll see that he deliv-ers the milk.’

“So,” he said, “t he milk ca me, aquart each mo r n i ng. Seve r alwe e ks went by and I real ized tha the was n ’t leav i ng me a bill, and Iwanted to pay for it. So I stoppedhim one mo r n i ng and said, ‘I wa n tyou to give me a bill so I an payfor this .’ And the milkman said, ‘Id o n ’t take mo ney from nigg e r s .’So I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to pay you ,you ’ve just got to let me pay you .’

‘ We l l ,’ the milkman said, ‘t e l lyou what you do. You put themo ney on the fe nce post.’

Ja mes Emory Bond said, “It hought I’d have a little fun with

*

* Doug Ha r t ma n / D oug Su t he r la nd

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“A nd Je sus ca me and spake untot hem, say i ng, All power is give nunto Me in heaven and in ea r t h .Go ye the re fo re, and teach al lna t i o ns, bap t iz i ng them in thena me of the Fa t he r, and of the So na nd of the Ho ly Ghost: Teac h i ngt hem to obse r ve all things wha t-so ever I have co m ma nded you :a nd, lo, I am with you always, eve nunto the end of the wo r l d .”( Ma t t hew 28:18-20) .

“Go ye the re fo re and teach al lna t i o ns ,” or as ano t her transla t i o nputs it, “Go the re fo re and maked isc iples of all na t i o ns .”

Je sus ca me to this earth to bean exa mp l e. He ca me he re toshow us the Fa t he r, He ca me he reto take our sins in His own bodyon the cross and He ca me tod e s t roy the wo r ks of the dev i l .A nd while He went ab out Hism i n is t r y, al o ng the way He alsoga t he red up people to fo l l ow Him– called disc ip l e s .

Je sus was popu la r. “A nd the rewent great multitudes with Him”( Lu ke 14:25). Yet He told them, “Ifa ny man co me to Me, and ha t enot his father and mo t her andw i fe, and children, and bre t h re n ,a nd sisters, yea, and his own lifealso, he ca n not be My disc ip l e ”( Lu ke 14:26,27). He also said, “Sol i kew ise, who so ever he be of yout hat fo r saketh not all that he ha t h ,he ca n not be My disc iple” (Lu ke1 4 : 3 3) .

He turned to the crowds tha twe re fo l l ow i ng Him and thre et i mes He said to them, “…ca n no tbe My disc ip l e,” “…ca n not be My

d isc ip l e,” “…ca n not be My disc i-p l e.” It’s as if He said, “I am no tl o o k i ng for crowds; I’m lookingfor disc ip l e s .”

Co lu m n ist Walter Lip p ma n no nce said, “The re are only twok i nds of people in the world tha treal ly count today, and they are

t he dedicated Chris t ia ns and thed e d i cated co m m u n is t s .” AndTi m e magaz i ne reported that t he Fre nch co m m u n ist Ro g e rG a r audy fe e ls that the re are o nly two major fo rces in the world today – co m m u n ism andC h r is t ia n i ty.

Ma r ks of a Disc iple Lo r ne C. Sa n ny

A nd I’d say, “Right whe re youl ive, Your ne i g hb o r hood. Whe reyou go to sc ho o l .” I find that Godu su al ly leads you to the next stepafter you take this one. Tha t ’swhe re you start.

I’m not sp eak i ng of going tot he mission field becau se you ’ reso sick and tired of the office youca n ’t stand it, or becau se the bosshas bu gged you for two years anda ny cha nge would be an imp rove-ment. I’m sp eak i ng of obedienceto the Wo rd of Christ, whe rever itmay lead and when the going ist ough. Tha t ’s a mark of a disc ip l e.

After Mo ses died, Jo shua hadt he job of tak i ng three millionpeople into the Pro m ised Land .T hat inc luded wo men, childre na nd livestock. God gave himso me ins t r u c t i o ns. You ’d think theLo rd would say, “Now, look, he re ’show you ’d ha ndle this pro b l e m ,he re ’s how you do this, he re ’s howyou do tha t .” But, no. He sa i d ,“Jo shua, one thing ab ove all elseis going to take a lot of cou r age –a nd it’s not lead i ng all the se peo-ple and fac i ng all the ene m i e st hat are in the la nd. That is n ’twha t ’s going to take cou r ag e.” Bu t ,“O nly be thou stro ng and ve r ycou r ag e ous, that thou maye s to b se r ve to do acco rd i ng to all thelaw” (Jo shua 1:7) .

You may think it doesn’t takecou r age to be obedient to theWo rd of God. But I wo nder howobedient we real ly are to theWo rd. We live in a Chris t - re j e c t-i ng world, and anyo ne who isg o i ng to live in obedience to thisBook is going to co me into co n-flict with it. Tha t ’s how you re co g-n ize a disc ip l e. He does mo re tha nhear the Wo rd. He puts into prac-t i ce what he ’s hea rd .

T he Nav i gators are kind ofr abid on this subject. Year afteryear you’ll hear us beat ce r t a i nd r u ms all the time. One is that weneed to co me to know the Bib l ea nd ap p ly it. Tha t ’s why we pub-l ish Bible study cou r ses andSc r ip t u re me mory pro g r a ms. Weneed to make up our minds tha t

God he lp i ng us with the power oft he Ho ly Spirit, we are going to beobedient to the Wo rd of Chris t .T ha t ’s a mark of a disc ip l e, Hese e ks to fo l l ow the Bible and dowhat it says .

F R U I T FUL FOR CHRISTSo a disc iple is one who is

o p e nly identified with the perso nof Christ. Se co nd, he is obedientto the Wo rd of Christ. And third ,he is bea r i ng fruit in the work ofC h r ist. “By this My father is glori-fied, that you bear much fruit, andso prove to be My disc ip l e s ”(John 15:8) .

Now it se e ms to me that the rea re two kinds of fruit he re. Fi r s t ,t he fruit of cha r ac t e r, the fruit oft he Spirit – love, joy, peace, long-su f fe r i ng, gentl e ness, goodne s s ,faith, me e k ness, temp e r a nce(G ala t ia ns 5:22,23). And se co nd ,t he re ’s fruit by way of influ e nc i ng

t he lives of others for Christ. “Yehave not cho sen Me, but I havec ho sen you, and orda i ned you ,t hat ye should go and bring fo r t hfruit, and that your fruit shou l dre main” (John 15:16) .

I real ly threw a cu r ve ball to mySu nday Sc hool class one Su ndaymo r n i ng. I intended to. We we re

t al k i ng ab ou tJe sus se nd i ngout the 12 two byt wo. He gavet hem au t ho r i tyover unc l ea nspirits. Theywent out andp reac hed tha tmen shou l drepent. They cas tout demo ns anda nointed with oilma ny that we re

sick and healed them. Then Iasked, “Do you think Ju das didt h is? Do you think Ju das went ou ta nd preac hed to people to re p e n t ?Do you think Ju das cast ou td e mo ns and healed the sick?”

So me feel they can prove tha tJu das was never saved. Le t ’sas su me they’ re right. Did Ju dast hen preach that people shou l drepent? Did he cast out demo ns?Did he heal the sick? Could hehave?

Look at Je sus’ wo rds: “On tha tday ma ny will say to Me, ‘Lo rd ,Lo rd, did we not pro p he sy in You rna me, and cast out demo ns inYour na me and do ma ny mightywo r ks in Your na me?’ And the nwill decla re to them, ‘I never knewyou; depart from Me, you ev i l d o-ers!’’’ (Ma t t hew 7: 2 2 , 23) .

My point was that we get socarried away with the sp e c t acu la rt hat we think the sp e c t acu lar is

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A nd I know that amo ng theC h r is t ia ns, the ones who real lycount are the disc iples. As af r i e nd of mine, a Chris t ian lead e r,said, “Lo r ne, you don’t find ma nyd isc iples. But when you find one,t he re ’s al most no limit to wha tGod can do through him.”

How do you re co g n ize a disc i-p l e? What does he look like?W hat are his cha r ac t e r is t i c s? Areyou a disc ip l e? Am I a disc ip l e?

I have studied seven or eightpas sages in the Sc r ip t u re hav i ngto do with the cha r ac t e r istics of ad isc ip l e. They can co nve n i e n tlybe boiled down to three ma r ks ofd isc ip l e sh ip. When you see the set h re e, you have a disc ip l e.

IDENTIFIED WITH CHRISTT he first mark of a disc iple is

t hat he is so me o ne who is identi-fied with the person of Je su sC h r ist – so me o ne who will openlyadmit that he belongs to Chris t .Now wha t ever else you may thinkab out bap t ism, it is a public iden-t i f i cation with Je sus Christ. Whe nyou are bap t ized, you are say i ng It ake my stand with, I am on theside of, I belong to Je sus Chris t .

A friend of mine told me of aJew ish man he led to Christ inDal las. A few we e ks later myf r i e nd told ano t her Jew ish man, ano n - C h r is t ian, ab out the first one.I m me d ia t e ly the se co nd ma nasked, “Has he been bap t ize dyet?” When my friend said, “No,he has n ’t ,” he replied, “Well, he ’ l lnever las t .” It was la t e r, when thefirst Jew was bap t ized that hisf a m i ly cut him off. He had mad eopen identification with Je su sC h r is t .

“If thou shalt co n fess with thymouth the Lo rd Je sus, and shal l

b e l i eve in thine heart that Godhath raised Him from the dead ,t hou shalt be saved, For with theheart man believeth unto right-e ou s ness; and with the mou t hco n fession is made unto salva-tion” (Ro ma ns 10:9,10). An openi d e n t i f i cation with Je sus Chris t ,Je sus pro m ised, “Who so eve rt he re fo re shall co n fess Me befo remen, him will I co n fess alsob e fo re My Fa t her which is in heaven” (Ma t t hew 10:32) .

A friend told me that when hewent with Billy Graham, who wasto sp eak to 500 men at the Jew ishRotary Club of New York City, hewo nd e red what in the world M r. Graham would sp eak on to aJew ish club. When the time ca me,B i l ly stood up and sp o ke on“C h r ist, the Fu l f i l l ment of the Ol dTe s t a ment Pro p he c i e s .” At thec l o se they gave him a stand i ngovation. He had identified himse l fu nasha me d ly with Je sus Chris t .

On one occasion Je sus aske dt he disc iples, “Who do you sayt hat I am?” Peter answe red, “Youa re the Christ” (Mark 8:29). Itse e ms eve r yt h i ng in His minis t r yled up to this .

But the thing that strikes me ist hat t h e n “ He began to teach the mt hat the Son of man must su f fe rma ny things, and be rejected oft he elders, and of the chief priests,a nd sc r ibes, and be killed, andafter three days rise again” (Ma r k8:31). A little la t e r, He called themultitude and His disc iples toHim and said, “Who so ever willco me after Me, let him deny h i mse l f, and take up his cross, andfo l l ow Me…W ho so ever the re fo reshall be asha med of Me and of My wo rds in this ad u l t e rous andsinful generation, of him also

shall the Son of man be asha me d ,when He co meth in the glory ofH is Fa t her with the ho ly ang e ls ”( Mark 8:34,38) .

So me years ago when I waswith the Billy Graham team in ac r u sad e, a bu s i ne s s man ca me fo r-wa rd one night and re ce ive dC h r ist. The fo l l ow i ng Su ndaynight he went to a church that heso me t i mes attended. After these r v i ce he wal ked up to one of thel ead i ng elders in this church andtold him, “I was at the BillyG r aham me e t i ng last week out att he ball park. I went fo r wa rd andre ce ived Chris t .”

“I hea rd ab out it and I amd e l i g h t e d ,” the elder re p l i e d .

T hen the bu s i ne s s man aske dt he elder, “How long have you andI been as so c iated in bu s i ne s s? ”

“Ab out 23 years, I think .”“ Have you known Christ as

your Sav i our all tho se yea r s?” theman asked the elder.

“ Yes, I have,” he answe re d .“ Well, I don’t re me mber you r

ever sp eak i ng to me ab out Chris td u r i ng tho se yea r s ,” the man sa i d .T he elder hung his head, and theman continued, “I have thou g h th i g h ly of you. In fact, I thought soh i g h ly of you that I felt if anyo necould be as fine a man as you andN OT be a Chris t ian, then I didn’thave to be a Chris t ian eithe r.”

T h is elder had lived a good lifeb e fo re his friend, but he had no tt aken the added step of openlyi d e n t i f y i ng with the One whoe nabled him to live that kind ofl i fe. He re was a fine man, but hedid not have this first mark of ad isc iple of Je sus Chris t .

W hen Je sus asks you to denyyou r se l f, take up your cross da i lya nd fo l l ow Him.

(John 14:21). What does tha tmea n? It mea ns Je sus will makeH i mself real to him. To who m? Tot he one who has His Wo rd andkeeps it.

So a disc iple does mo re tha na t t e nd me e t i ngs. He does mo ret han take notes. (He does tha t ,i nc i d e n t al ly, in my opinion,t hough I don’t have any Sc r ip t u reto prove that.) But he finds ou twhat the Bible says and does it.Su p p o se he ’s going throu g hP roverbs in his mo r n i ng quiett i me, and he co mes to Prove r b s3:9,10, “Ho nour the Lo rd with thysub s t a nce, and with the first fruitsof all thine inc rease: So shall thyba r ns be filled with plenty, andt hy pre s ses that burst out withnew wine.”

E a r ly in my ma r r iag e, aC h r is t ian doctor in Sea t tle sa i d ,“ Now let me make a su gg e s t i o nab out ha nd l i ng your familyf i na nces. Ho nor the Lo rd withyour sub s t a nce, and with the firstfruits of all your inc rease. Se taside mo ney for the Lo rd befo reyou pay the rent. Befo re you bu yt he food. Even when you thinkyou don’t have enough mo ney leftto pay the rent and to buy thefood. You watch. God will see to itt hat you have mo ney for the re n ta nd for the fo o d .”

Now will He or wo n ’t He? We l l ,t he Wo rd pro m ised that Hewould, and He did.

A friend of mine was lookingover the family bills and theyl o o ked pre t ty big. He and his wifep r ayed and decided that the firstt h i ng they ought t0 do to get ou tof debt was to inc rease their giv-i ng. And they are out of debt.T hey proved that God can fulfillH is Wo rd .

A no t her illustration of thetruth that a disc iple must be obe-dient to the Wo rd of Christ is int he se wo rds of Je sus, “The re fo re ift hou bring thy gift to the al t a r,a nd the re re me mb e rest that thyb ro t her hath ought aga i nst the e ;l eave the re thy gift befo re theal t a r, and go thy way; first be re c-o nciled to thy bro t he r, and the nco me and offer thy gift” (Ma t t hew5 : 23 , 2 4 ) .

W hen was the last time youwent and made so me t h i ng right

with so me o ne else? When did youadmit to your wife or your chil-d ren that that fit of temper wass i n? It’s amaz i ng to me when cou-ples say that ne i t her one has eve rasked fo rg ive ness of the othe r. Ifyou don’t find so me times whe nyou ’ve got to make so me thingsright, you ’ re ab out ready for heav-en right now. A disc iple has a co n-sc i e nce void of offe nse towa rdGod and man Le t ’s go back to;“Go the re fo re and make disc ip l e sof all na t i o ns .” I don’t know why itis that so me people think the day

of mis s i o ns is ove r. In one re ce n tyea r, ind e p e ndent mis s i o ns inA me r i ca, not the deno m i na t i o nal ,just ind e p e ndent mis s i o ns, ne e d-ed 4,000 mis s i o nary ca nd i da t e st hat they didn’t get. Have you eve rco ns i d e red the possib i l i ty tha to b e d i e nce to the Wo rd of Chris tmight mean leav i ng your bu s i-ne s s?

Bob Potter ow ned a su p e r ma r-ket down in Ok laho ma City. If hea nd his wife had n ’t sold it andg o ne into the Lo rd ’s work, may b e

God would have used so me o nee lse. But ma ny people have beenb l e s sed by the ministry of BobPotter through The Nav i ga t o r s .

T he Nav i gators could use dou-ble our number of re p re se n t a t ive sright now But don’t ap p ly. Wed o n ’t take ap p l i ca t i o ns. Ma nyt i mes as I’ve gone arou nd with theB i l ly Graham Cr u sades, you ngfe l l ows have co me up and sa i d ,“ M r. Sa n ny, do you know of anyo p e n i ngs in Chris t ian wo r k ? ”

“ Ye p, I do.”T hey’d ask, “Whe re? ”

OBEDIENT TO THE WO R DA disc iple is not only a believ-

er who is vis ib ly identified witht he person of Christ, he is alsoobedient to the Wo rd of Christ –to the Sc r ip t u res. “Go the re fo rea nd make disc iples of al lna t i o ns … t eac h i ng them too b se r ve all that I have co m ma nd-ed you .”

“ Teac h i ng them to obse r ve al lt hat I have co m ma nded you .”Je sus said, “If ye continue in MyWo rd, then are ye My disc ip l e si ndeed” (John 8:31). If youo b se r ve it and ap p ly it to your life,t hen you are My disc ip l e.

Lu ke re co rds what hap p e ne do ne day when a crowd of peoplel is t e ned to the Lo rd Je sus preac h .One woman in the crowd wasp ro bab ly middle-aged or a littl eb eyo nd (I’m interpre t i ng he re). Asshe lis t e ned to Je sus, so me t h i ngwelled up within he r. Pe r haps shehad a son who was way wa rd, andas she looked at the Lo rd Je su s ,she wished her son we re like Him.Or maybe she had never had ason and had always wanted tohave one. Any way she sp o ke up –she sort of burst out – and sa i d ,“ Hap py is the wo man who wasYour mo t he r” (Lu ke 11:27) .

Je sus’ answer to her was sig-n i f i cant. He said, “Yea rathe r,b l e s sed are they [or hap py aret hey] that hear the Wo rd of God,a nd keep it” (Lu ke 11:28). Tha t ’sreal hap p i ne s s .

T ha t ’s real blesse d ness – tohear what God has to say and todo it.

I enj oyed read i ng a book by the late Sam Sho e make r,E x t ra o rdinary Living for Ord i n a r yM e n. In it he says that Chris t ia nswho are hal f - committed are hal f -

hap py. But t0 be real ly hap py youneed to go all the way in co m m i t-ment. And this mea ns to be obedi-ent to the Wo rd of Chris t .

Ob e d i e nce is ne ce s sary alsofor stab i l i ty. The greatest se r mo never preac hed was the Se r mon ont he Mount. And no t i ce how Je su sco nc luded it. He said, “The re fo rewho so ever hea reth the se say i ngsof Mine, and doeth them, I willl i ken him unto a wise man, wh i c hbuilt his hou se upon a rock: andt he rain desce nded, and the floodsca me, and the winds blew, andb eat upon that hou se; and it fe l lnot: for it was fou nded upon arock. And eve r yo ne that hea re t ht he se say i ngs of Mine, and doetht hem not, shall be like ned unto afo o l ish man, which built his hou seupon the sa nd: And the raind e sce nded, and the floods ca me,a nd the winds blew, and bea tupon that hou se; and it fell: andg reat was the fall of it” (Ma t t hew7: 2 4- 2 7) .

W hat made the diffe re nceb e t ween the wise man and thefo o l ish ma n? It was n ’t knowl e d g e,

b e cau se they both hea rd the sa mese r mon. They went to the sa meco n fe re nce; they had the sa mek nowl e d g e. They both hea rd theWo rd. Not only that, they had thesa me circu ms t a nces. It says tha tt he rain desce nded, the floodsca me, the winds blew and bea tupon the hou se of the wise ma n .T he rain desce nded, the floodsca me, the winds blew and bea tupon the hou se of the fo o l ishman. The circu ms t a nces we re thesa me. One cou l d n ’t say, “Well, youd o n ’t know how tough it is whe reI co me from” “Well, you don’tk now what kind of a family lifeI ’ve got.” “You don’t know how Isu f fer down at wo r k .” It was n ’tt heir circu ms t a nces that made thed i f fe re nce. One thing made thed i f fe re nce between wisdom andfo o l ish ness. One obeyed theWo rd; the other one did no t .

Je sus said, “He that hath Myco m ma nd ments, and ke e p e t ht hem, he it is that loveth Me: andhe that loveth Me shall be loved ofMy Fa t he r, and I will love him, andwill ma n i fest Myself unto him”

W hat do you think it mea ns?W ha t ever else it mea ns, I think itmea ns to be identified withC h r ist, not only when it’s popu la rbut when it’s unp o pu la r. Not onlywhen it’s the thing to do but whe nit se e ms as if it’s not the thing tod o. I like the way the New Eng l ishB ible puts Reve lation 1:9. Jo h nwrites, “I was on the isla nd cal l e dPa t mos becau se I had preac he dG o d ’s Wo rd and borne my testi-mo ny to Je su s .”

I once tal ked to the Chief ofPo l i ce of Stockholm, who was aC h r is t ian and discove red he hadbeen a delegate to Pa n m u nj o mback when the Ko rean truce wasfirst signed. He had interviewe dso me of the Chine se soldiers as towhe t her or not they wanted to bere pa t r iated. He told me ab out asoldier who ca me through oneday and gave his testimo-ny to the interro ga t o r sco nce r n i ng his faith inJe sus Christ. The re in theRed Chine se army was ad isc ip l e.

A friend of mine trave l-i ng by train from Fi nla ndt0 Mo scow tried to smug-gle in three su i t case full ofB ibles. But the Russia nco l o nel at the border tookr a t her unk i nd ly to thisi d ea. In fact, he was a little upse t .My friend Jack asked him, “We l l ,what arc you so worried ab ou t ?W hy do you get so upset ab ou tso me o ne bring i ng a Bible intoyour cou n t r y ? ”

“ I t ’s a fairy story, no t h i ng bu tfairy tal e s ,” the co l o nel re p l i e d .

“ D o n ’t you have fairy storyb o o ks in Russia?” Jack aske d .

“Oh, ye s .”“ WelL wha t ’s the matter with

a no t her one? ”“Ay,” said the co l o nel, “if they

b e l i eve that Bib l e, then they wo n ’tb e l i eve in co m m u n is m .”

So after wa r n i ng him not top reach and sca r i ng him a little bit,Jack says they let him go on hisway.

A few hours later a couple ofco nductors ca me by and began toe ngage Jack and his friends inco nve r sation and to sell them ont he merits of co m m u n ism. It was-n ’t long befo re Jack wou l d n ’ts t a nd it any long e r. He began top reach back to them. After he ’dp reac hed to them for a little wh i l e,o ne of the co nductors pointed toa no t her co nductor at the othe re nd of the car and said, “Now, he ’so ne of yours. That co nd u c t o r, he ’so ne of your kind .”

Later Jack tal ked to this co n-

d u c t o r. Su re enough, he was ab o r n - again Chris t ian. They aske dhim if he had a Bib l e. He re p l i e d ,“ No, the last Bible in our town wasow ned by my grand mo t he r. Shet o re it up into se g ments and dis-t r ibuted it to Chris t ia ns arou ndt he town so it cou l d n ’t be co n f is-cated all at once.”

T hey asked if he ’d like a Bib l e.( T he co l o nel had co n f iscated onlyt wo of the su i t cases of Bibles they

had with them.) When they ha nd-ed him a Bib l e, he wept and kis se dit. Then he wrapped it in newspa-per to take it off the train so itwou l d n ’t be taken away from him.

I believe the striking thingab out this story is that not onlywas the re a Chris t ian co nd u c t o ron that train, but the other co n-ductors knew he was a Chris t ia n .T he re was a disc ip l e, identifyingh i mself with the person of Je su sC h r is t .

Do you take an opportunity toadmit that you are a fo l l ower ofJe sus Christ? Why not determinet hat at the first opportunity thisweek you will quietly, grac i ou sly,but openly identify you r self withJe sus Christ? I believe this is amark of a disc ip l e.

O ne mo r n i ng I sp o ke to theSWAP (Sal e s men With A

P u r p o se) Club inCo l o r ado Sp r i ngs. Theycall in va r i ous sp eake r sto tell how se l l i ng ap p l i e sto their bu s i ness. I sp o keon how it applies to theG o spel. In the pro cess, Iex p la i ned the Gosp e l .After I had sp o ken, theyi n t ro d u ced the gu e s t s .O ne of them was a friendof mine, Will Pe r k i ns, aP ly mouth deal e r. It was

h is first time the re. When he wasi n t ro d u ced he stood and sa i d .“G e n tl e men, two years ago Ihea rd a pre sentation similar tot he one you hea rd this noon. Ib ought it, and it has cha nged myl i fe.” Then he sat down. I thou g h tto myse l f, how ma ny Chris t ia nswould have taken that littl eo p p o r t u n i ty to identify the m-se lves with the person of Je su sC h r is t ?

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