Who sits on the throne of your heart-Jesus or you? Whoever sits on that throne is lord of your life.
Jesus calls His Disciples:
Simon, Andrew, James and John-
Matt. 4: 18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee,
saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea: for they were fishers.
19. And he saith unto them, Follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20. And they straightway
left their nets, and followed him.
21. And going on from
thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he
called them.
22. And they
immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Mark 1: 16. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw
Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17. And Jesus said unto
them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18. And straightway
they forsook their nets, and followed him.
19. And when he had gone a
little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother,
who also were in the ship mending their nets.
20. And straightway he
called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired
servants, and went after him.
Luke 5: 1. And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed
upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret
2. And saw two ships
standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing
their nets.
3. And he entered into one
of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a
little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4. Now when he had left
speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets
for a draught.
5. And Simon answering said
unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6. And when they had this
done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7. And they beckoned unto
their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help
them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8. When Simon Peter saw it,
he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O
Lord.
9. For he was astonished,
and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10. And so was also James,
and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said
unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11. And when they had
brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
Jesus didn't ask to
join them, but that they join HIM
Levi-
Matt.9: 9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a
man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow
me. And he arose, And followed him.
Mark 2: 14. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of
Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And
he arose and followed him.
Luke 5: 27. And after these things he went forth, and saw a
publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow
me.
28. And he left all,
rose up, and followed him.
The Ordaining of the Twelve-
Mark 3: 13. And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth
unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14. And he ordained twelve, that
they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15. And to have power to
heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16. And Simon he surnamed
Peter;
17. And James the son of Zebedee, and John the
brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of
thunder:
18. And Andrew, and Philip,
and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and
Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19. And Judas Iscariot,
which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
See a pattern here?
Jesus sets the agenda, not the disciples.
Today's concept of salvation:
People teach today, just accept Jesus as your personal savior.
People think that they should invite Jesus to walk along side of them all the
days of their life. They think Jesus is wanting to tag along with them, to be
there for them, to be a blessing to them and answer their prayers. They teach
that Jesus is as merciful as a puppy, and that if you push Him away He will
instantly forgive, and lick your face like a puppy. Jesus is not like that at
all.
The issue is not will
you accept Jesus, but will Jesus
accept you? Is your sacrifice acceptable?
When Jesus called His
disciples, He didn't wait to be invited along, and He didn't invite them...He commanded
them to follow after Him. He didn't command them to allow Him to follow them.
They stopped what THEY were doing and began to do what HE was doing. HE called
the shots.
Luke 9: 57. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the
way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest.
58. And Jesus said unto him,
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head. (count the cost, words are
cheap- faith without works is dead.)
59. And he said unto
another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my
father. (...it can't be ME FIRST when we deal with
Jesus...)
60. Jesus said unto him, Let
the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God
61. And another also said, Lord,
I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at
home at my house. (...but let ME FIRST...)
62. And Jesus said unto him,
No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God
We don't have forever to learn REPENTANCE/death to self will.
Luke 13: 6. He spake also this parable; a certain man
had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon,
and found none.
7. Then said he unto the
dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this
fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8. And he answering said
unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and
dung it:
9. And if it bear fruit,
well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Luke 19: 27. But those mine enemies, which would not
that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Jesus says that those who would not have Him to reign OVER them are His
enemies!
Matt.7: 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide
is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there
be which go in thereat:
14. Because strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it.
21. Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22. Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matt.10: 24. The disciple is not above his master,
nor the servant above his lord.
25. It is enough for the
disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have
called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of
his household?
32. Whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven.
33. But whosoever shall deny
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34. Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35. For I am come to set a
man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and
the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36. And a man's foes shall
be they of his own household.
37. He that loveth father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me.
38. And he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39. He that findeth his
life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Those that teach to "accept Jesus" without teaching we must
deny our own life to claim His do not help the hearer. Teaching anything less
than total surrender to the will of God is to teach a lie.
What is His will for us?
Acts 1: 8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea, and in Samaria
2:42. And they continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.
Your first priority should
be to become the best witness you can for your LORD. Learn the Word of God.
Apply yourself to seeking His ways, His desire for you. Teach others about
Jesus. YOU have been ordained to serve Christ. You are no longer your
own, you have been bought with a price (1 Cor.6:20). You do not serve the
church, or a pastor or teacher, but Jesus. The ministry is a gift to you from
Jesus to help you learn how to better serve HIM. By submitting to the ministry
you are submitting to Jesus, as long as the ministry is pointing you to Him in
truth.
Some want their offerings
and tithes to buy their place in the body, but the Bible teaches us that we are
all baptized into one body by the same Spirit. We become joint heirs with
Christ by obeying the gospel...by following the New Testament plan of
salvation, Acts 2:38. The first step to the gospel is nothing less than total
surrender of our will to the Lordship of Jesus. Only then are we truly
repented, covered by the blood and acceptable to be baptized in water in the
name of Jesus. If we find ourselves to become alive to our own will again, we
must again crucify our own flesh, take up His cross, and follow Him. Paul said
he had to die daily! So must we.
Jesus ordained the twelve
that they should be with HIM, not that He should be with them.
We can't set our own agenda
and be submitted to Him, asking Him to join us in OUR plan, we must let Him set
our agenda and ask Him to let us take part in HIS work.
Interesting side note:
Mark 3: 13. And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth
unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14. And he ordained twelve, that
they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15. And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to
cast out devils:
POWER comes from relinquishing
our power completely. Matt.10:39 teaches us that if we seek to retain authority
over our own lives, we lose life. Relinquishing authority over our selves
brings life.
Luke 19:27 shows us that
refusing His total authority over us actually makes us his enemy.
Who is lord of your heart?
Do you deny Jesus access and authority to ALL YOR LIFE? Is there anything you
are holding back in reserve? Is there a portion of you that you still want to
control? That is what the LORD demands from you. Just as Abraham was commanded
to sacrifice his son, the most precious thing in his life, Jesus wants to know
that you are willing to sacrifice the most precious things in your life to Him.
Romans 12
1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3. For I say, through the
grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath
dealt to every man the measure of faith.
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