I have been hearing alot of people stating why we are not doing this or doing that in regards to the kingdom of God. Why we are not out getting people saved or witnessing etc..

I have a problem with this.

Jesus said, go out and MAKE desciples. There is a great lack especially amongst evangelicals today that want to get the sinner saved by saying a prayer and they walk away from the service believing but there is no repentance.

When we look at the great outpouring of the holy Ghost during the days of the feast of Pentecost, and following after this there was a great forsaking of anything that every man or woman considered to be an idol before God and they brought those goods and laid them at the apostles feet.

There was true repentance in the midst of them, accept for two people that lied to the holy Ghost.

We have millions of Church going people that go to church and they believe but there is no repentance, therefore there is no making of desciples.

Isn't that our chief motive in bringing in souls to introduce them to the kingdom of God, that by entering into they can live an overcoming life, living above sin and living the abundant life that Christ promises to those that love Him? It should be.

In the story regarding Mary and Martha, Martha was worried about a great many things, getting things ready, preparing the table, getting a sermon ready, getting a team together to go out street preaching. She was full of anxiety, sweating in the presense of the LORD.

What she was doing was diffently needed and had to be done, but something was lacking in her life. She lacked the ability to wait on the LORD which our LORD says that is the best part which Mary hath chosen.

Listening to our LORD is far better than doing the "works" of God. Christ proves this by His life on the earth, He would spend all night in prayer before the Father. He departed in lonely places to get alone with the Father.

People have set such high standards for themselves that they "have" to go and win someone to christ. What do you do with that person you had won to the LORD, leave him be? Most likely he will climb right back into the cess pool that you just dragged him out of.

We have churches full of Christians who don't even know what it is like to be descipled.

In the early church setting up a church meant more than just what we do today. It meant that it need more than one of the fivefold ministry be present in that local body to bring it to perfection. In our churches today all we have is one of the fivefold ministry, the Pastor. And there is no such thing as an Assistant Pastor or Associate Pastor.

That is what we are lacking in our body today, we are lop sided and broken down. But I believe God is raising up "nobodies" in the church to fulfill this role.

In my city, the number one problem is caring for others in the church. When someone leaves the church, no one contacts them, they are just left to wander around. The reason why this is happening is the Pastor is like this, they appear to be indifferent, especially amongst legalistic circles.

Why don't we work with what we got and strengthen that which remains and then we can go out and get more stones for the building, "such as should be needed" for the contruction of His temple.

Isn't that more important?

Karl

[b]Disciple
DISCIPLE,[/b] n. [L., to learn.]

1. A learner; a scholar; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from another; as the disciples of Plato.

2. A follower; an adherent to the doctrines of another. Hence the constant attendants of Christ were called his disciples; and hence all Christians are called his disciples, as they profess to learn and receive his doctrines and precepts.

[b]DISCIPLE,[/b] v.t.

1. To teach; to train, or bring up.

2. To make disciples of; to convert to doctrines or principles.This authority he employed in sending missionaries to disciple all nations.

3. To punish; to discipline. [Not in use.]


[b]Discipline
DISCIPLINE,[/b] n. [L., to learn.]

1. Education; instruction; cultivation and improvement, comprehending instruction in arts, sciences, correct sentiments, morals and manners, and due subordination to authority.

2. Instruction and government, comprehending the
communication of knowledge and the regulation of
practice; as military discipline, which includes instruction in manual exercise, evolutions and subordination.

3. Rule of government; method of regulating principles and practice; as the discipline prescribed for the church.

4. Subjection to laws, rules, order, precepts or
regulations; as, the troops are under excellent discipline; the passions should be kept under strict discipline.

5. Correction; chastisement; punishment intended to correct crimes or errors; as the discipline of the strap.

6. In ecclesiastical affairs, the execution of the laws by which the church is governed, and infliction of the penalties enjoined against offenders, who profess the religion of Jesus Christ.

7. Chastisement or bodily punishment inflicted on a delinquent in the Romish Church; or that chastisement or external mortification which a religious person inflicts on himself.

DISCIPLINE, v.t.

1. To instruct or educate; to inform the mind; to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits; as, to discipline youth for a profession, or for future usefulness.

2. To instruct and govern; to teach rules and practice, and accustom to order and subordination; as, to discipline troops or an army.

3. To correct; to chastise; to punish.

4. To execute the laws of the church on offenders, with a view to bring them to repentance and reformation of life.

5. To advance and prepare by instruction.

~From Ye Old Websters 1828 Dictionary~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strongs;

G3101
μαθητής
mathētēs
math-ay-tes'
From G3129; a learner, that is, pupil: - disciple.

"In those days, as the number of the disciples was growing larger and larger, a complaint was made by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. So the twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we will put them in charge of this work. Then we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men who belonged to the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), as well as some Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and began to debate with Stephen. But they couldn't resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he kept speaking. So they secretly got some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at him, grabbed him, and brought him before the Council. They had false witnesses stand up and say, "This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us." Then all who were seated in the Council glared at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel." Act 6:1-15

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Mike Balog

Mike wrote from the bible:

Jesus said that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter into the the kingdom, but he that doeth the will of the Father.
Do you know what His will is for your life? If not, how on earth will you ever "enter in"? :-o

Am at a low ebb sitting in this purging furnace once again, a glorious miserable conundrum, anything but 'enjoyable', but necessary. Proving once again that the Lord is Sovereign over all and His will, His thoughts are not our thoughts and our wills can be opposed directly to His.

Hardly feel compelled to even open my mouth these days, but for what it's worth the lessons or the impression bearing down on me is from within these words:

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, [b]what is that to you? You follow me![/b]"
Joh 21:21,22

His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Joh 2:5

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ; from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
Eph 4:10-16

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Joh 3:8

[b]Joh 3:8 - The wind bloweth[/b] - According to its own nature, not thy will, and thou hearest the sound thereof - Thou art sure it doth blow, but canst not explain the particular manner of its acting. So is every one that is born of the Spirit - The fact is plain, the manner of his operations inexplicable.
~John Wesley

As most fish story's tend to be, overblown and exagerated...There are fisherman and anglers, and all variety's of fish species. Minnows, piranhas, goldfish, steelhead, barracudas and the wonderfully named bottom feeders, carp or 'sucker fish'. Using this silly little illustration in comparison to the church, to evangelism and to us as individuals all are present. Some are on ice and frozen. Some are fresh 'catch'. Some are just dead and piling up and beginning to stink. Some are beginning to bloat on a stringer, left in the water to long. Some are minnows being eaten up by the barracudas.

If you have ever been fishing with the inexperienced or are just teaching your kid how to fish it can be as dangerous as it is comical. Tangled lines, hooks flailing around, 'snags' above and below the water line (depending on your casting ability's).

One of the more unpleasant parts of fishing (until you get used to it) is in 'cleaning' them.
Will spare the gory details, but it is often the part that gets left to 'someone else' to deal with.

Being a fisherman is not always the glamorous, exciting 'thrill of the catch' that it may seem to be. It can be long hours of boredom, braving the elements, wet, cold, frustrating. Depending on where you are located everything from sea sickness to resentment that someone else is creeping into your spot where after long hours of searching, finally you are getting some bites. (not that this is very noble, it's just fisherman fact:) )

In some ways this whole silly analogy is just in that some of us just ain't good fisherman and we have an awful lot of them crowding up the banks when they could be doing something more productive like cleaning fish, cleaning up the dead fish that are still laying around or snatching the minnows out from before the jaws of the barracudas.

The essence is in Ephesians:
[b][i]He gave some to be ...[/i][/b]
Hard not to notice [i]Who[/i] is doing the giving, even harder is that somehow an impression has crept in that one has become more noble than the other and that mere men are the discerner's of 'what we ought to be doing', rather than accepting the Lord's place, where He would have us. Who wants to clean fish?

[i]"What are we laying down our lives for? Why do so many Christians go a-slumming? why do so many go to the foreign field? why do so many seek for the salvation of souls? Let us haul ourselves up short and measure ourselves by the standard of Jesus Christ. He said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The mainspring of His love for human souls was His love to the Father; then if I go a-slumming for the same reason, I can never do too much of it; but if my desire for the salvation of souls is the evangelical commercial craze, may God blast it out of me by the fire of the Holy Ghost. There is such a thing as commercialism in souls as there is in business. When we testify and speak, why do we?: is it out of the accident of a poor little paltry experience that we have had, or is it because the whole life is blazing with an amazing desire, planted there by the Holy Ghost, for God to glorify Himself?

Arrived here, all the powers keep silence and rest; this also is the highest work that the powers can perform, when they are inactive and let God only work."[/i]

Oswald Chambers

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Mike Balog