A Disciple’s Call
Matt. 9:37-38
How many of us really understand what it means for us to be disciples for Christ? Every person who has ever called on Jesus to be his or her Lord and Savior is a disciple of Christ. And since we are disciples each one of us has rolls and positions in the body of Christ. Not a single person who has Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been called not to serve Him. He has called no one to be pew warmers. He has called no one to be none workers in His kingdom. What makes anyone think that Jesus only stopped at us? Jesus wants us to get off our rear ends and go out and share what He has done and is doing for us. If we never try we can never succeed. Sylvester Stallone has worked hard his entire life to get things in balance.
As a child, Stallone was a loner and emotionally tormented. He changed schools numerous times. While at Drexel University, after a vocational test, he was told that his future calling was as an elevator repairman. His father frequently beat him up, telling him he was no good and suggesting that he develop his body because he didn’t have any brains--a line he later used in Rocky.
When he decided to make a career out of acting, his life was a mess in just about every possible area. He had financial and emotional problems, as well as others. When he first started acting, it was one failure after another. But he continued to work hard.
Years later, he was quoted in a magazine article. “If I’d succeeded right away as an actor, I would never have tried writing. Eventually writing became more important to me than acting. You see, success is usually the result of being able to control your failures. Through my many failures I found ways to reverse my problems and get into the Hollywood mainstream. If I’d made it right away, I would have stopped at a certain level and stayed there, probably as a character actor.”
Over a period of years, Stallone learned how to balance the emotional, physical, and mental aspects of his life. Then one night he watched Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Wepner and heard the thrill of the crowd as they watched the underdog go the distance. Deeply inspired, he wrote the script for Rocky in only three and a half days. He then told producers that the script was for sale only with him in the lead role. Most producers turned him down. The rest is history. Rocky grossed more than $200 million.
Mt 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
Mt 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.
The harvest is abundant but the workers are few. Those workers are me and you and every brother and sister in Christ that is alive at this moment. There are a lot of workers but not all of us are doing our part. Oh we have plenty of excuses as to why we can’t work for The Kingdom of God. Oh my job doesn’t allow men the time to do that. You mean that your life at work can’t be a silent witness for Jesus Christ and what he is doing for you? You can’t share Jesus Christ with your co-workers and business associates? If you company is completely hostile to Christ then it may be time to locate a new job. We are to live every moment of our life for Jesus and nothing else. The kids, work, keeping house and everything else that keeps us to busy to serve our Lord and Savior is just that excuses we have developed to justify our failure to serve Jesus Christ. We make the time in our busy schedules to go to the kid’s ball games, practice, meeting, and our favorite T.V. shows. What is important to us is what we make the time to do. That hurts but it is the simple truth. We can find the time to do everything else but when it comes to serving God we can’t seem to find the time to do that.
You see Jesus calls us to be disciples. We can make no excuses as to why we can’t serve. Jesus says the harvest is great now get out there and get to work. Most of us come an agricultural background and when it is time to harvest the crops everyone in the family had to go to the fields and bring in the crop. Our Holy Father is calling us out. He is saying okay Royal Family the crop is ripe and ready to harvest get out there and work. It is time for all of us to get out there and help bring in the harvest.
One weekend, three young fellows decided to take a bicycle trip into the countryside. Although inexperienced, they covered forty miles in three and half hours and congratulated themselves on their good time. The next morning, as they prepared to head back to their starting point, they were met by a good friend, who had just cycled the forty mile trip that morning and was ready to head back. He was an excellent cyclist, and with him pacing the young cyclists back to town, they made the return trip in just two and half hours.
In the same way, young Christians need the "pacing" of older believers as they take their first "rides" in Christ if they are to progress as far in the Christian life as they should and as quickly as they can.
A Disciple will face Persecution
Matt. 10:16-25
Satan and his demons are working overtime to persecute Christ’s disciples. In many nations Christians face death, beatings, job lose, and many other forms of persecution. Their own families turn against them. In Arabic nations fathers have killed their children because they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Children have turned on their parents when parents accepted the Gospel message.
In many nations including the U.S. Christians are being ridiculed by the liberal media and care told that their morals and values that the beliefs that they hold as antiquated, out dated, do not fit in with modern times and thinking. Christians are slowly and surely losing their ability to freely worship God. Many corporations are making it difficulty for them to practice their Christianity by rules and regulations they have. Often these corporations and government will look at other religions and philosophies with more favor that they do Christianity. In fact they begin to persecute a Christian because they refuse to follow the values and morals of the world. But Jesus says for us to stand firm and continue to walk opposite the flow, to be that bump in the road that wake people up.
Trust in God
Matt. 10:26-31
We face these persecutions by trusting in God and His promises. Jesus tells us not to fear our persecutors because everyone will one day be made known. Jesus tells us to boldly declare what He tells us to the world that nothing is to be hidden. We are to proclaim the Gospel to all, to shout it from the housetops.
But what about those who want to kill us. Jesus tells us in verse 25 not to fear then because they can only kill the body. We are to fear the one who can kill the body and soul. We are to remember that we are important to God. And nothing will happen to us that is not part of His plan for us to further the Kingdom of God.
Acknowledge Christ as Our Lord and Savior
Matt. 10:32-39
We are to openly acknowledge that we belong to Christ. We are to proclaim so that no one has any doubts what so ever about we belong to. Because in reality secret discipleship is a practical impossibility, Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity. The warning who so ever denies me refers not to a momentary denial such as Peter’s but an entire lifetime resistance to Christ. Therefore a singe act of denial does not make us unworthy of being disciples, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates someone from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.
If we have been truly saved but are now walking contrary or apart from God, then it is time for us to turn loose of whatever it is holding us back from being true disciples of Jesus Christ. We need to think in this way: There is no one on earth to who we owe total allegiance too. We owe total allegiance to Jesus Christ. We are only travelers here on earth our citizenship is in heaven. Jesus Christ is our Lord which means He is our government. His rules, His laws, His Morals, His values, and His standards are what we are to follow. We are to follow man’s laws only as long as man’s laws do not contradict God’s law. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He came to earth, He placed Himself on the cross, He was the willing sacrifice. He was the only one who could pay our sin debt, He died for us and He was raised again on the third day and is our hope of eternity. And Jesus is the judge. Someday soon Jesus shall return and He will be the righteous judge. That is why we are to serve Him. He is our Lord and Savior and Judge of the world and it is about time we began to live like He is all of these roles. It is time that we must quit making excuse about why we can’t be disciples and do nothing. It is time for us to start being the disciples that we are called to be. Lets quit making excuses as to why we can’t serve God and lets start serving God. Let us live everyday for our King, our Lord, our Savior. Today let each and every one of us dedicate our life to the service for Jesus. Jesus will help us He will equip us with everything we need to serve Him we just have to take that first step. Just like we had to take that first step of faith to come to salvation we must take the first step to serve. Today the Holy Spirit is calling for each of us to live our life completely for Jesus Christ. As the Holy Spirit is moving us don’t deny Him. Don’t turn Him down any longer. As He is calling come and dedicate you life to Him.
