The Benefits Of Being A Modern Day Disciple Series

GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

As you keep in step with His spirit, He will produce these good fruit in your life, and as a result guess what happens? People notice. People who are watching you and wondering if what you have found is real…. They will begin so see love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… and when they see that in you, they are going to know, something has changed, because you didn’t have those things before.

One of the greatest benefits of living for God is how He transforms us from what we were to what He wants for us… it’s not overnight this happens, but it is dramatic in how fast God can change our lives. Are you allowing God to produce this Fruit in your life? It can only happen through a daily discipline of prayer and getting into His word.

The Second awesome Benefit of being a Disciple is Knowing that you are a Difference Maker.

With the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, I know as a Christian that God can do miracles in my life, and not only in my life, but in the lives of the people that I am witnessing too.

I want to know that my life counts for something, Don’t You?

A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.

Martin Luther

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

-- William Shedd

We were created for a purpose and with a plan, how can a person not want to know what that plan is for them? How could a person know that God has a plan for their lives but not want to find that plan and carry it out? That doesn’t register with me.

One of the great benefits of being a disciple of Christ is knowing that He wants to use my life to make a difference in the lives of others. God want’s to use you to make a difference in the lives of the people that your around everyday…. Do you think He can do it? I know He can. The question is will you allow Him to use you for that purpose?

This morning, the 3rd Benefit of being a Modern Day Disciple is Knowing that you are on the Winning Team.

Winning Teams don’t just show up… They train, they discipline themselves, they follow the proven plan…. God calls us to follow His plan… and we can know that no matter what we go through in this life…. We win.

Rob Frazier, a contemporary Christian artist wrote a song titled, "He doesn’t want you better, He wants you deader"

Dead people don’t mind the pain, Don’t get offended so they never complain

They’re not concerned about personal gain, Does that sound like me or you?

The truth is rising from the mist And the word is this;

That when Jesus calls a man He calls him to come and die!

He doesn’t want you better, He wants you deader.

I was reminded this week about the life of Jeremiah, a man who after he accepted the call from God to be His prophet, things didn’t seem to go all that well for him. For 40 years Jeremiah called for repentance, for 40 years he tried to get his people to come back to God. When the world looks at a man like Jeremiah they might think he was unsuccessful because he didn’t get so called results. But Jeremiah was a great success, do you know why? Because he was Faithful and he did what God asked him to do. We leave the results to God.