The Demand Of Discipleship Series

Romans 8:29 “God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Romans 13:14 “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ…and make not provision for the flesh”

2 Cor. 3:18 “ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Col. 1:14-15 “In whom…..we have the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, Jesus Christ.

The seed produces both the root and the fruit. The seed is the Word of God. When I am preaching the gospel, I am simply sowing seed. Someone may say, I am looking for a church that suits me. Well you better look for a church that suits God.

B. We must hear the Word of God (Mt. 7: 24; Lk 6: 48)

Jesus said, that we must hear the Word of God. You may have a copy of the Word of God on your lap or a copy in your home, but have you really heard the Word of God?

In order to hear the Word of God, you must dig deep into the truths of God.

In Luke 6: 48, Jesus said: “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.”

What is Jesus saying? He is saying that in order to lay the foundation correctly we must dig deep. Many Christians are simply content to come on Sunday morning a get a little of the Word of God. But they are not digging deep and getting ready for the storm.

Why did the man built the house upon the sand? It is easier. It is cheaper. If you are looking for an easy way, a lazy way to serve God, I pity you. The man who built his house upon the rock dug deep.

Jesus is saying that we must make up our mind to hear what Jesus is saying. He is not simply saying let the sound waves of the Word to enter your ears. Have you ever said to your child, Did you hear me? You know that your child heard you, but did he/she really hear you?

Rom. 10:17 – “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of GOD.

C. We must heed the Word of God (Mt. 7: 24)

Jesus said that we must hear and act upon the Word of God. When we act on what we have heard we are laying the proper foundation. If we hear the Word of God and do not heed it, then we deceive ourselves (Js. 1:22). If you do not heed the Word then you are self-deceived.

What good is a body of truth without the life of the Spirit? Every so often, we should perform an autopsy on our faith and see if it is real faith.

Illustration: The Story of Lawyer and a Doctor

Recently, in the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer’s Journal there were various list of questions that lawyers have been known to ask in court. Here is such series of questions:

Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

Answer: No.

Question: Did you check for blood pressure?

Answer: No.

Question: Did you check for breathing?

Answer: No

Question: Then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

Answer: No

Question: How can you be sure doctor?