Mentoring Minutes

“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”  Romans 14:7-8

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.”  2 Corinthians 4:5

Isn’t it interesting that Christ has all authority and is in authority over all things but He will not demand or coerce us to make Him Lord of our lives…we must do this out of Love.  But make no mistake…it is what we are saved for!  The problem in today’s teachings is that we see people brought to salvation and then jump right to serving and loving others.  We need to help them grow in His Love and Lordship.

Here’s the BIG Question…Are you claiming Christ as Lord but not surrendering to His Lordship in your life?  Remember, we don’t MAKE Him Lord, He always has been and always will be…are you submitting to Him as Lord?

Whether intentional or just careless, often after grace and salvation are taught and “achieved,” we either assume or ignore what we are saved for and called to be…His disciples.  In order to be His disciples, we must submit to Him as Lord.

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.  1 Peter 3:15

As preachers, teachers and any/all followers of Christ who take seriously the Great Commission, we can’t just assume that mature disciples just happen upon receiving salvation and then send out babes in Christ to show others how much God loves them (and for that matter how much we love them) by simply serving them.  This requires humility and patience…neither of which we have much, or any of, outside of Christ and our maturing as His disciples. 

Don’t get me wrong, we need to be in and be His Church, we need to serve and give. But we first need to understand what it means to surrender to Christ as Lord: 

1. His Love is the Source – We love because He first loved us and only as a believer can we grow in His Love and Lordship and as we…
2. Learn to love Him above all else and with all we are
3. Are set apart for His purposes
4. Know and learn to love who we are in Christ so we can then
5. Love and serve others as we do ourselves, then we can…
6. Build loving relationships that
7. Glorify Him and draw others to His Love and Lordship!

Grace by Faith

If a person is not moving in faith in Christ then they are not being motivated by His Grace but by something else…emotion, pride, reward/gain, etc. 

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  2 Corinthians 4:5

Over the next few weeks we’ll explore some of God’s commands, principles and teachings for the sake of our maturing in Christ and The Holy Spirit.  Only when we take the time to do so can we begin to build loving relationships and make disciples.  Obedience is expected and we should be held accountable, and graciously hold others accountable, upon our decision to receive His gift of salvation.  However, maturity takes time and as mentioned earlier…humility and patience.

GOD’S GIFT AND OUR WORK

How are we doing with the following teachings and principles from God’s Word? How are we to help and expect young followers of Christ to be able to love, share, disciple and help grow others as disciples in Christ if we’re not teaching and training these principles from His Word?  Love (it’s commanded); seeking Him with all our heart and His Kingdom and righteousness as first priority; sanctification (big word that I’ll explain in time); study; discipleship; authority; relationship, including and especially, marriage and family and His Church.

How can we disciple others if we are not growing and maturing in the disciplines of His Word and in His will ourselves?  We will discuss spiritual disciplines as we continue with the L&L message but so we are not pushing folks out the door to serve who are totally unprepared to do so. 

We’ve flipped the script!  And when it’s God’s script that’s flipped, there’s trouble!  Let me ask a couple more questions…Why do we spend all our time trying to “save” people…a work that only God can do?  NOTE: We are certainly to share the Gospel message as the foundation for everything else we’re doing but salvation is ultimately His work and gift to us. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23…It is a gift and it is in Christ OUR LORD!

Why is it that we spend so little time and energy doing the very work that He has called us to do…maturing as disciples that make disciples?

HIS KINGDOM, HIS FRUIT

We cannot let programs, buildings, pride or “success” get in the way!  We need to move from a corporate success model to His Kingdom fruit model and in faith let Him be responsible for the fruit that we simply bear!  His Fruit is disciples growing together in genuine, loving relationships in Christ…the currency of His Kingdom!  Every relationship flows from our relationship with Him.

For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  Romans 14:7-8

If we think that showing up, signing up and serving is what makes Him Lord then we’re sorely missing out on what it means for Him to be Lord and for us to be His disciples.  It is good and worthwhile to show up, sign up and serve but it must be an overflow of who we are in Him.  Are you spending time to know and love Him above everything else?  When you do this it will make all the difference in all you do and especially in all other relationships.

 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Ephesians 5:21

It will require all of us who truly know Him as Savior and Lord but He is able!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – When you consider your relationship with Christ do your actions reveal Him only as your Savior or are you submitting to His Lordship?

Love in Action –

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this post.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Ask The Lord to reveal areas in your life that you have not submitted to Him.
4. What needs to change, according to His Word, for you to walk with Christ as Lord? Journal and follow through in loving obedience.

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ!

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus Father in Heaven, thank You for Your gift of salvation by grace.  Please help us understand that it cannot be earned and is a free gift to us by the work of Christ on The Cross.  While we need to share this message with others, Your command or Great Commission, the work we are called to do, is to live as Christ’s disciples in such a way that others will see Him in and through us and desire to know Him as Savior and Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

Christ has all authority because He is The Author (Creator).  The Father has placed all authority in Him.  The heart of discipleship and making disciples in the original meaning is “as you go along the way” or…as we live our lives we do so in such a way to “disciple others” as much or more by our actions as we do our words!

So you’ve said yes to Jesus…the Only One Who can save you…and now you’re His disciple.  Remember He saved you not just so you could avoid Hell but for so much more, namely that you are now in a relationship with Him!  What does that look like? What’s next?

Well, let’s take it one step at a time and see what it looks like to live with Him as Lord as that’s what it means to be His disciple and in a relationship with Him.  The only way this relationship exists is with Him as Lord! 

What does all that mean?  In a nutshell, it means you are saved to live for Him, to bring Him Glory!  “Wait just one minute,” you say, “no one ever told me that.  I was just told I’d be saved from Hell and go to Heaven.  That sounded great and since it’s all by His grace I can just keep on doing what I want.  I’m saved. Right?” 

Well, not exactly.  As a matter of fact, according to His Word, that’s not it at all.  He not only saves us to be His disciples but calls us to tell others about Him and help them become His disciples as well…make disciples.

So what is a disciple?  What is discipleship?

Discipleship is studying the teaching of a master and then following that master’s example…in our case Jesus is that Master.  In short, a disciple is a student-servant – one who studies the principles of his/her Lord and then emulates the Model.

One of the greatest ploys of the enemy is to convince the church, either by implication or neglect, that the Bible teaches that the main emphasis of the Gospel is to save us from hell and the rest is optional.  God through Christ has already done the work of salvation.  The choice is yours.   Do you truly believe that or not?

The church has placed the emphasis in the wrong place. By making salvation (the work of Christ) the focus, the church diminishes Biblical teachings and standards, leaving people with the faulty thinking that all they need to do is just be saved and discipleship is a choice. Not according to Jesus.  Salvation is a gift that you choose by His prompting and discipleship is the product of that choice in your life.  If you truly believe He has saved you and placed you in a relationship with God then it must be evident in your life…His Lordship and your discipleship!

Most of the modern church emphasizes salvation with the evidence being much more about your relationship with and service to the church and it’s ministries and programs rather than teaching and helping you to become a disciple of Jesus.  We can do really well and feel really good about ourselves by becoming a “disciple of First Christian or Second Baptist or Main St. Methodist”…you get the picture.

We do a really good job of “making disciples” that attend church, give offerings and serve others that produces actions of our flesh in immature “believers” rather than maturing in the fruit of His Spirit from a surrendered heart.  These activities, while good and needed, consume our time, with little emphasis or accountability on the disciplines that actually make us Christ’s disciple, i.e., building our relationship with God.  It is only from a priority relationship with Him, received in salvation that we can learn and know how to love Him and then our love and service, individually as His disciple and collectively as His Church, flows to others. 

We spend very little time making true disciples and a lot of time, money and energy making converts and sending infants in Christ out to serve others and show them how much He (and we) loves them.  Yet we know very little about loving Him and others.  There are several spiritual disciplines in Scripture that we are called to develop if we are going to walk in the relationship we’re given in Christ and mature as His disciples as well as make disciples…help others know Him as Savior and Lord.

These disciplines are found in our personal lives, relationships, community in His Church and reaching the lost and hurting.  However, there is an order and priority in Scripture as to how this plays out.  That’s the message of Love and Lordship!

In Matthew 28:18-20 (Christ’s Authority and Great Commission) – Jesus didn’t just say,  ‘Go tell people.”  In the original language, “go and make disciples” means that we impact others as we “go along the way.”  Making disciples for Him is a product of our lives.  This requires much more of a relational investment than just telling them or even serving them.  We must first learn and grow in Him and then as we live our daily lives (”Go along the way”), our example of Christ’s truth, love, integrity, etc., in word and deed, guides and builds relationships that influence and impact others to become disciples as we share with and sacrificially serve others to learn and mature as His disciples.

If we take an honest look at how Biblical principles (Truths of God’s Word) are impacting lives, relationship and culture; Marriage and marriages, families, sexuality and gender issues, education, media, government, essentially every area, we see that compromise and license are far more evident than the influence of holiness and righteousness entrusted to His disciples…His Church!  That’s on us. 

God’s Word gives us a different way to live as His disciples, reach others and make disciples.  Over the next few weeks we’re going to focus on several key tenets of Scripture and what it means to be a disciple, to make disciples and to live in Christ’s Love and with Him as Lord…much of it is downplayed and even ignored beyond tacit teachings that do little for obedience, accountability and life and relationship transformation… the product and fruit of faith in Christ!

We can’t continue to be satisfied with growing numbers and shallow disciples!  We are called, commissioned…actually commanded…to make disciples for Christ!  Every choice, action and relationship should reflect that we are His disciples and He is our Lord!  This begins in our hearts and homes, multiplies through The Church and then impacts our culture and world “as we go along the way!”

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – “As you go along the way” does your life demonstrate what it means to be Christ’s disciple…obedience, accountability, life/relationship transformation…or are you just “playing church?”

Love in Action –

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this post.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. As The Spirit reveals things to you, consider whether you’re a disciple of Christ or a church “convert?”
4. What needs to continue in your life as a disciple? What needs to change from just being a convert?

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for making me your son/daughter through Christ’s sacrifice.  Thanks also for calling me to be Christ’s disciple and make disciples by the life I live and encourage others to live as well in the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Teach me every day what it means to be your disciple and make disciples by the life I live so You will be glorified.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46

Christ’s sacrifice of grace(His free gift to all who believe) in salvation calls for our sacrificial response to die to self in every part of our life and make Him Lord! Modern day teachings center on Christ’s work of salvation with little on the accountability and obedience we are called to as His disciples. Where are you with regard to Christ as Savior and Lord?

Grace…It’s Free! Got It?

We were made for relationship and the one relationship that makes all others work and worthwhile is relationship with our Creator God. 

However, because of our own rebellion we are separated from God and that negatively affects every other relationship…whether we know or understand it or not.  God knew that we could never be satisfied or fulfilled apart from Him and because of our own sin we can not stand before or be in a relationship with Him.

All have sinned and the cost is death…can’t stand before a Holy God – (Romans 3:23)

So, God sent Himself in the form of His Son to pay the price that had to be paid and that no matter what we offered it would never be enough.  We deserve punishment, we deserve death, we deserve hell and nothing we could do to change that…BUT 

Jesus came, in the form of a baby (Christmas), lived a human life just as we do with all the bumps, bruises, trials and temptations and never sinned.  That made Him the only One Who could pay the perfect sacrifice for us.  He became sin and sacrifice all in One and received the punishment (death on the Cross – Good Friday) we deserved so that we could receive the gift of salvation.  He didn’t stop there!  He rose from the dead (Easter)!  He conquered sin, death and hell because we couldn’t and offers us the greatest gift ever – a relationship with God The Father, Son and Holy Spirit…that’s Grace!  And with it we have Eternal Life!  (Romans 6:23)

We can move no further than our own sin unless and until we are aware of this.   It is only in His forgiving our sin(s) and us receiving Him as Lord that we move forward, come to know and share what that relationship looks like in His Love and Lordship!

Salvation – Jesus Alone Saves

1. Jesus is The Only Way/Name – John 14:6; Acts 4:12
2. It’s an invitation…not a demand –Revelation 3:19-21
3. Saved by Grace Through Faith (for good works not by them) – Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13

What is Grace?

The story is told of a rebellious young pre-teen boy who constantly landed in the principal’s office for his bad behavior, disrespect for teachers and his bad treatment of other students.  On his latest “visit” to the principal’s office, he puffed his chest out, leaned his head back and said, “Go ahead, give it to me” referring to the coming punishment. 

            As the principal talked about all his previous trips to the office and related punishments, trying to get the boy to see the error of his ways, he asked, “How many times have you been here?”

The child sneered rebelliously, “Apparently not enough.”

The principal gave the boy a strange look. “And you have been punished each time have you not?” ‘Do you ever stop to think about the punishment before you decide to break the rules?”

“Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Ain’t nothin’ you people gonna do to stop me either.”

The principal asked the teacher sitting beside him, “What was it this time?”

“He shoved little Tommy’s face into the sandbox.”

The principal looked at the boy, “Why? What did Tommy do to you?”

“Nothin, didn’t like the way he looked at me, just like I don’t like the way your lookin’ at me! And if I thought I could, I’d shove your face into something.”

The teacher, clearly uncomfortable, started to rise but the principal stopped him. He contemplated a moment and then quietly said, “Today young man, is the day you learn about grace.“

“Grace? Isn’t that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don’t need none of your stinkin’ grace.”

The principal studied the young man’s face and whispered. “Oh yes, you really do…”

The boy continued to glare as the principal continued, “Grace, in its short definition is undeserved favor. You can’t earn it, it is a gift and is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you so richly deserve.”

The boy looked puzzled. “So no whuppin? You just gonna let me walk?”

The principal looked at the unyielding child. “Yes, I am going to let you walk.”

The boy studied the face of the principal, “No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox?”

“Oh, there has to be punishment. What you did was wrong and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong.“

“I knew it,” Sneered the boy as he held out his hands. “Lets get on with it.”

The principal looked at the teacher. “Bring me the belt.” The teacher handed it to him. He slowly folded it and then gave it back to the teacher. Looking at the child, he said. “You count the blows.”

He got up from behind his desk and walked over to stand directly in front of the child. He gently reached out and folded the child’s outstretched, expectant hands and placed them back in his own lap.  He then turned to the teacher and extended his own hands and in a whisper said, “Begin.”

The teacher cracked the belt across the principal’s outstretched hands. Snap! The startled boy jumped back away from the principal.

His face had turned from defiance to shock, “One” he whispered. Snap! “Two.” His voice rose. Whack! “Three…” In disbelief. Whack! “Four.” Tears began to form in the eyes and the rebel spirit began to soften.

“OK stop! That’s enough. Stop!” Crack! Another blow on the worn, reddened hands of the principal. Crack! The child tensed with each blow and now the tears were flowing freely down his face.

Schmack! Schmack! “No more, please”, the former rebel pleaded, “Stop, I did it, I deserve this. Stop! Please. No more…”

Still, Crack! Crack! One right after another. 10 blows! Finally it was over.

The principal stood with sweat shimmering all over his face and beads trickling down his cheeks.

Slowly he knelt and looked into the tear filled eyes of the once defiant boy.  He extended his arms and puffy swollen hands to gently grasp his bowed head.

“That’s Grace…”

Grace never comes as a command or a demand from me or anyone and certainly not from Jesus…I just want you to know The Truth of who He Is, what He’s done for you and me and what it looks like if you choose Him as Savior and Lord of your life! 

Jesus is a Gentleman…He sacrificed all and made it completely available to you and me!  That’s Grace.  It’s your choice by faith?  But know this…everything else you do in your life will be affected by whether you choose Him as Savior and Lord or not?

We’re going to explore these Truths in Him so we can understand what it means to walk In His Love and Lordship in every part of our lives and relationships so that not only do we have His Peace and wholeness but we can let others know who He is so they can have the opportunity to truly know Him as well!

It is absolutely essential that you be in a relationship with God The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The only way is by faith through His Grace in Christ’s sacrificial death and then you can walk victoriously in His resurrection!

Food for Thought – The only way to know His Love and live in His Lordship is to receive this free gift!  There’s no other way! You cannot be in a relationship with Christ where He is not Lord.

That’s our desire for you and it begins with believing, submitting and yielding to Him!  It cost Him everything…It’s free to you and the only way you can know Him!  It will cost you everything not worth having…and it will be worth it! 

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Journal about what grace looks like to you. Then compare that to what God’s Word says about His grace. Are you walking in His Grace or in your own concept of grace?
4. Where are you when it comes to your relationship with Christ? Honestly assess and write out how He is your Savior…or you are growing in your walk with Him as Lord?
5. How are you extending that grace to others?

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ (John 3:30)!

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus Heavenly Father, teach me of Your true grace.  May I desire to understand the free gift you’ve given, what it looks like in my life and my responses to You so that I will not abuse Your grace but grow in it to be more like Christ.  In His name I pray, Amen.