Are You A Born-Again Disciple Of Jesus?

If you are really BORN AGAIN in Christ Jesus and filled of God's heavenly NATURE, then the passion for spending INTIMATE TIME with GOD by meditating on his Word and praying in his Spirit daily; and the passion for being the LIGHT and a faithful WITNESS of Jesus by preaching the Gospel to the lost at every opportunity, will be a REALITY in your LIFE!! (Read John 3:1-21.)

What JESUS said about it?

““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall LOVE the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall LOVE your NEIGHBOUR as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:36-40)

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will WORSHIP the FATHER in Spirit and Truth; for the Father is seeking such to WORSHIP Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.”” (John 4:23-24)

 "You are the LIGHT of the WORLD. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let YOUR LIGHT so shine before men, that they may see YOUR GOOD WORKS [of the Kingdom] and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

“But you shall receive POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT has come upon you; and you shall be my WITNESSES in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

What the apostle PAUL said about it?

"For by GRACE you have been SAVED through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works [of your own], lest anyone should boast. For we are His WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus to DO GOOD WORKS [of worshipping God and preaching the Gospel], which God prepared beforehand that we SHOULD WALK in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the SACRIFICE of PRAISE to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to DO GOOD and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15-16)

“For the LOVE of CHRIST COMPELS us, because we judge thus: that if Jesus died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that THOSE who live SHOULD LIVE no longer for themselves, but FOR JESUS who died for them and rose again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Now all things are of God, who has RECONCILED us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the MINISTRY of RECONCILIATION, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the MESSAGE of RECONCILIATION. 

Now then, we are AMBASSADORS of CHRIST, as though God were pleading the world through us: 'We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God!'" (2Corinthians 5:14-15,17-20)

"How then shall they CALL on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they BELIEVE in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they HEAR without anyone PREACHING to them? And how shall they PREACH unless they are SENT? As it is written: “How beautiful are the FEET of those who PREACH the GOSPEL of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”” (Romans 10:14-15)

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Get Out Of The Comfort & Preach The Gospel To The Lost!

 

The famous, Bible-fundamentalist preacher Charles Spurgeon once said to lukewarm, passive Christians, who don't faithfully share the gospel with others and don't have real passion to win souls for Jesus Christ:

"Have you NO WISH for others to BE SAVED? Then you're NOT SAVED [BORN AGAIN] yourself, be sure of that!"  

There is a big problem in the Christian church of today; and the problem is that the teachings are focused mostly on one's prosperity and comfort, instead of focusing on dying to one's reputation and wellbeing, and becoming KINGDOM MINDED. 

To be kingdom minded means that every believer and disciple should have a strong, compelling desire to SPREAD the Good News of salvation in Christ to every lost soul. This strong desire comes from a thankful heart for being redeemed, and from a compassionate heart to help the lost to find redemption too. In fact, many, many people today DIE DAILY without knowing Jesus' free gift of SALVATION, and are bound to be condemned to suffer eternal punishment after God's Judgement Day! (Read Revelation 20:11-15.)

The problem is that many believers today have come and been baptised in Christ without really knowing and understanding the HIGH COST of it, because of the prevalent easy-going, light gospel preached and lived in mainstream Christianity today.

Jesus said that we should count the COST of FORSAKING ALL, before we give our life to him: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his OWN LIFE also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple...So likewise, whoever of you does not FORSAKE ALL that he has [anything that blocks him from fulfilling the great commission] cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26-33)

God's Word clearly says that if we say that we ABIDE in Christ, we then must WALK as JESUS WALKED on Earth! Otherwise, we are not really followers of Jesus and we live in deception. (Read 1John 2:3-6). 

This is what Jesus was DOING every single day: “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, TEACHING in their synagogues, PREACHING the gospel of the Kingdom everywhere, and HEALING every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matthew 9:35)

And this is what Jesus asked his DISCIPLES, after seeing the BIG HARVEST of souls in front of him: "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with COMPASSION for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The HARVEST truly is plentiful, but the LABOURERS are so few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to SEND OUT many LABOURERS into His HARVEST.”” (Matthew 9:36-38)

In another occasion, Jesus said to his followers: “He who BELIEVES in Me, the WORKS [of preaching God's Kingdom and healing the sick] that I DO he WILL DO also; and greater WORKS [in number] than these he WILL DO, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

JESUS said that we don't need to worry about our DAILY LIVING or needs, but just have the faith of a child to believe God's promises for our daily supply, providing that we PUT GOD's KINGDOM and his Righteousness FIRST every day! (Read Matthew 6:24-34 and Luke 12:13-34.)

The first disciples didn't receive the HOLY SPIRIT just to speak in tongues or prophesy, or to keep it for themselves. The main reason Jesus sent his Holy Spirit from heaven to his 120 faithful followers the day of Pentecost, is so that they would receive GOD'S POWER upon them, in order to have boldness and love and conviction to be a WITNESS and PREACH the GOSPEL everywhere around! (Read Acts 1:8; chapter 2; 4:23-31; 6:7-8; 8:1-8.)

So God's main purpose to send us his HOLY SPIRIT is so that we may also be a WITNESS and PREACH THE GOSPEL with real boldness and power to the LOST SOULS, everywhere and at every opportunity! 

Jesus warned us that "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘LORD, LORD,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

Jesus also made it very clear what is the PRICE for becoming a real follower/disciple of him, saying that: “Whoever desires to come after Me [be a disciple], let him deny himself [forsake his own reputation and will], and take up his cross [suffer shame and hardship and persecution], and follow Me [study my Word and obey my great commission of being a faithful witness]. For whoever desires to save his life will LOSE it, but whoever loses his life for FOLLOWING Me and PREACHING the gospel, will SAVE it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

So let's go on our knees and EXAMINE our heart, and our lifestyle and faith in Jesus, to see if it's deep and real and based on obedience to God's Word; or just shallow and apparent and based on just following traditions of the current lukewarm church--like going to church on Sundays to worship a bit and hear irrelevant sermons that just tickle people's ears and rarely transform lives.

The apostle Paul said: "EXAMINE yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified?" (2Corinthians 13:5)

"For the time will come when they will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to FABLES.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

We as believers must have it very clear that the GREAT COMMISSION was given to EVERY born-again child of God and disciple of Jesus, and not only to the ministerial body of the church. (Read Ephesians 4:11-16.)

So GET OUT of the comfort and be a faithful WITNESS and PREACH the Gospel to the LOST! You can start meeting lost souls in your own town, by going to the streets, or to McDonald's, or to a park, or to a shopping centre, or from house to house, or to any other place God shows you! 

And if you are a very busy person, then take every opportunity to be a WITNESS when shopping, or on the bus that takes you to work, or at your workplace, or when you take your kids to the playground. Where there is a WILL, there is always a WAY! (Read Matthew 5:10-16; 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:46-49.)

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