Discipleship Now - Lesson 1 | PASTOR DAVID COOPER | MOUNT PARAN CHURCH

0:00 Welcome to Disciplehip Now. This exciting study helps us to grow deep roots of faith in Christ and to learn how to find our place of ministry in the kingdom of God. Get your workbook today at the Mount Parent store, on the Mount Perin app, or the Mount Parin website. And as we begin our study today, let's grow together in our faith and discover all that God has for us in Christ. [Music] our first lesson is on the Christian life as we study disciplehip. Now, did

0:46 you know that the word Christian appears only three times in the New Testament? In Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16. What does it mean to be a Christian? Now, some people define being a Christian in terms of religion. They think it means just certain beliefs and ways of worship and a code of conduct. Other people see the Christian life in terms of rituals. They go to services and partake of sacraments. They observe sacred days and religious symbols like the cross and other religious symbols. Third of all, some people look at the Christian life as regulations. They think of it as following rules and laws

1:31 and keeping traditions. Some think of it as the readjustment of the self, like self-improvement, a positive attitude, getting in touch with your spirituality. A person is not a Christian because of his or her family history or cultural identity or national origin. The Christian life means much more than joining a church, reciting a creed of beliefs, or keeping sacred holidays. A person becomes a Christian when he or she believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Bible says in Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household." So, it is your personal belief in Jesus, that act of faith is

2:19 what makes you a Christian. So a Christian is a person who puts his or her total faith in Jesus as savior and confesses Jesus is Lord. Right where you are, why don't you make that declaration with me? Jesus is Lord. The Christian life is a personal relationship with Jesus. Now let's explore what our relationship with Jesus really means. It's a personal relationship. Every Christian is a person who's made a personal confession of faith in Jesus. Our parents don't make it for us. Our friends don't make it for us. Our youth group doesn't make it for us. We make our own personal confession that we believe in Jesus as our savior. It is very personal and sacred for everyone who knows Christ to have their own

3:04 personal decision to follow Christ. There are several aspects of our relationship to Jesus as seen in the following verses of scripture. Being a Christian involves faith in Jesus. Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:15 says it also is a relationship of loyalty. When we know Christ, we are loyal to him. The Bible tells us when Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12. So following Jesus means to be loyal to him, going where he goes and going the direction, submitting to his will. The Christian life is also a relationship, a personal relationship.

3:49 Think about all the relationships in your life today. Your marriage perhaps, your relationship with your kids, your friendships, how important relationships are. So, we're not just joining a religion. As a Christian, we have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12. And then our relationship with Jesus is the relationship of a disciple. This is the key word, a disciple of Jesus. The Bible tells us, "Then Christ said to them all, if anyone would come after me, he or she must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9 and

4:35 23. And finally, Jesus calls us friends. He said to the disciples the night he went to the cross, "I no longer call you servants because a servant doesn't know what his master's business is. Instead, I have called you friends. For everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you." John 15:15. And then that makes us accountable to the Lord Jesus and accountable in our spiritual life. Jesus said, "Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48. And then our relationship with Jesus means that we obey him. In John 14 and 15, he told the disciples, "If you love me, you will obey what I

5:20 commanded." When we love the Lord, obedience is a natural response of our love for him. So those words describe the nature of our relationship to Jesus. We have faith in him. We're loyal to him. We obey him. We're accountable to what he's entrusted to us. We step into friendship in the sense that we are fully informed by Jesus of the will of God for our lives. Now, grace is one of the most important words in the New Testament to describe our relationship with God. In fact, it's a very important word in the Old Testament as well. How do grace and works go together in the Christian life? The Christian experience of eternal salvation is based on God's gracious work in our hearts. It's not what we do. We can't make ourselves born again. We

6:05 can't save ourselves. It's the work of God in the human soul. And several words describe the Christian experience in our lives. Now, here's what happens when we receive Christ. First of all, the Bible says we're born again. What an incredible analogy of new life. We're born again. Jesus said unless a man or woman is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God in John 3:3. To be born again or more technically born from above is to experience a spiritual change in our lives. So the Holy Spirit enters our hearts into our souls. We experience a new birth, a new beginning. When you accept Christ, you have a brand

6:52 new beginning in life. What a hopeful promise, a new life. Second of all, the Bible says we're saved. Now, salvation means to be to be rescued from death, forgiven of our sins, and to be made whole, well, and at peace with God so that we can live a full life today and experience heaven in eternity. In John 11:25 and 26, he said, "I'm the resurrection and the life." We're delivered and set free from the guilt and control of sin. Romans 1:16 says, "The gospel of Christ is the power of salvation for everyone who believes." In Luke 19:10, Jesus said, "I've come to seek and to save that which was lost." In Ephesians 2:8, Paul, the apostle says, "You're saved by grace through faith." If you

7:38 fell overboard in the ocean and you're drowning and somebody threw your life preserve it, you'd be saved. It rescue you. Well, that's what it means to be saved. God saved us from the drowning waters of sin and judgment. We've been rescued. Third of all, when we accept Jesus, we are forgiven. Now forgiveness means to pardon guilt and cancel the debt. And forgiveness and cleansing go together when we confess or repent of our sins. First John 1 and nine says, "If we confess our sins, he God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you owed a lot of money and max out your credit card and a family member called and said, "Give me

8:25 the balance of your card. I'm going to pay it all for you. They would forgive your debt. They would pay off your debt. That's what it means to be forgiven. If you were found guilty in a court of law and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but then the governor of the state issued you a pardon, you would be saved from the penalty of your crime. That's what it means to be saved. Pardon from guilt. Doesn't mean you and I aren't guilty as sinners, but it means that Christ has pardoned us. He took our judgment. He pardoned us. It means to cancel the debt so that you're completely free from any debt, spiritual debt of

9:11 guilt. Repentance means to change your mind and change the direction you're going. Acts 2:38 and39 the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost told the crowd when they said 'What must we do to be saved? He said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So when we confess and admit our sins and we turn from our sins and say, "Lord, save me." He pardons all guilt. He cancels all spiritual debt and we are truly saved and forgiven. Fourth of all, the Bible says when we become followers of Jesus, we're justified. And this is the legal term, justification. It's one of the most important words in the New

9:57 Testament. It's a legal term meaning to pardon from guilt and to declare a person righteous. As incredible as it seems, God placed our sins on Christ at Calvary and freely gives us the righteousness of Christ. This is the great exchange. Jesus took our sin at Calvary and he offers us his righteousness as a gift. That's his justification to give us the gift of righteousness to make us righteous in the eyes of God. Romans chapter 5:1 says, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." So the moment you put your faith in Jesus, you're justified. God pardons you of all of your guilt and he declares you righteous. 2 Corinthians 5:21 describes the cross this

10:45 way. God made him Jesus who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Fifth of all, we're now made holy. Now, I don't know about you, but holiness is not a word I'm very comfortable with. Holiness is a word that applies to God. And yet, when we become Christians and we're born again, we become children of God, God declares us holy, to be holy means to be sanctified or to be set apart, cleansed, and made holy and dedicated to God for his sacred service. The word saint comes from the word sanctified. A saint is really person who's been made holy by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Set apart from

11:31 sin. Set apart from selfishness. Set apart to do God's purpose. Growing up, my mother had china. And this china was belonged to my grandparents. I never knew any of my grandparents when I grew up because they were all deceased. And she had this china. It only came out once or twice a year. It was a very fancy meal when she brought that china out. It was not the everyday dishes, what we call the silverware. This was called china and it was very special and it was very beautiful. And when I was a little boy, I used to enjoy when she let me help her get the china. It had a china cabinet. It stayed in its own cabinet and you didn't go anywhere near it during the year. You see that set of

12:17 utensils, the china was set apart for special days. Well, when you're born again, you become a saint. You become holy. You're you're set apart now for God's sacred purpose in your life. You're made for greater things. You're made for better things. You're made for higher things. You're made for the purpose of God. So, we're saints of God in that sense. We've been made holy by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all through the scripture, we're called God's sacred people or God's chosen people or God's saints. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul the Apostle writes to the saints of God in Corinth. And if you read about the church at Corinth, you think these people don't act like saints. Well, they weren't saints because they were perfect. They were saints because they had been saved and declared holy, made holy by

13:04 God. Hebrews 13:12 says that Jesus suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem that he might make his people holy by his own blood. We are made holy because the blood of Jesus has cleansed us and made us holy in God's sight. Six of all, we're reconciled to God. This means we have peace with God. We are restored to full fellowship with God. Now that the barrier of sin, which previously separated us from God, has been removed. We have a a relationship with God. That sin broke that relationship. So now we can just approach God as our father with freedom and confidence. The Bible tells us we can come boldly to the throne of grace because we're children of God. We've been reconciled to God. We're like the prodigal son. He broke the relationship in Jesus store and he went off to the far far country and he wasted all of his

13:51 money and he lived in poverty and finally he went home to his father and his father welcomed him embraced him put the family robe of royalty on him gave him the family signant ring a sign of authority had a festival for him and their relationship had been broken because of the young man's rebellion and sin against God but he came home well that's a picture of you and me Sin makes us rebellious to God. We go our own way. But when we repent of our sins and come home to God through faith in Jesus, our relationship is restored. Seventh of all, the Bible says, when we accept Christ, we are redeemed. Now, the word redeeming is to buy something back that has been lost or forfeited. It's almost like selling it at a pawn shop and you have an

14:36 opportunity to go and buy it back. You have a chance to redeem it. Well, the Bible uses that kind of an analogy to say that Jesus came to the world to buy us back, to redeem us from the slavery of sin and to give us freedom. But to have redemption, somebody needs to pay the redemption price, the full price has got to be paid for someone to be redeemed in the Old Testament. For property to be redeemed, somebody had to have the money and the willingness to redeem back something that had been lost in forfeite or bankruptcy. Jesus is our redeemer and the price he paid for us was his life on the cross. The Bible says we're redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. 1 Peter chapter 1

15:21 18-20. The next time you feel like you're not worth very much, you just remember that statement. You are worth the price of Jesus atonement on the cross for you. Eighth of all, the Bible says we now as Christians have a new citizenship. As Americans, we are grateful for our citizenship to live in a free country. Perhaps you're sharing this study. You're in another country. You have a citizenship. But you know, as Christians, we have a new citizenship. We're citizens of heaven. That's what we all share in common. It's greater than our earthly citizenship. God delivers us from the dominion of darkness and brings us into the kingdom of Christ. Paul the Apostle describes our citizenship in Colossians 1:13. He says, "For he, God,

16:08 has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves." And Paul says clearly in Philippians 3:20, "Our citizenship is in heaven." Our citizenship is in heaven. Think about the impact of that statement. As a pastor, I've had families that have come to the church and we had a time of celebration when they gained their citizenship in America. It's amazing to celebrate with them and all that they went through to to gain that citizenship. But, you know, as Christians, we don't have to work for our citizenship. Once we accept Christ, God gives us citizenship in heaven. And Christians live under the righteous rule of God and of Christ our Lord, not

16:54 under the dominion of darkness. We're no longer governed by the forces of evil. And that's what Paul means by the kingdom of darkness. Our citizenship is in heaven. We live under the righteous rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ninth of all, as Christians, we have eternal life. The greatest promise of God to us is the promise of eternal life. Jesus said that in the great statement we all know. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. First John 2:25 John writes this is what he promised us even eternal life. Did you know that Jesus is the only world religious figure in history who promised to give people eternal life? You don't

17:40 have to work for it. You don't have to try to earn it. It's a gift from God. When you repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus and receive him as your savior, the Bible says your soul is completely restored, redeemed. You have eternal life. But eternal life in Jesus teachings also means abundant life today. It's more than just heaven. It's an eternal life now. It's a blessed life now. And Jesus said in John 10:10, "I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." And at the end of his life, he said, "In my father's house, there are many rooms, elaborate rooms or mansions." The King James says, think of that, an elaborate, beautiful place to live. And Jesus said, "In my

18:25 father's house, there are these many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go and prepare a place for you." At the end of this life, Jesus has prepared a place for our eternal soul. Now, what is the gospel of Christ? The Christian life begins with us hearing the gospel and believing in Jesus. And when we're accepting Jesus and we're born again, we're justified, we're made holy, we're made righteous in God's sight, we're reconciled to God, we have eternal life, our citizenship is in heaven. And all of this comes to us because someone told us about Jesus, preach the gospel to us. The whole commission of the church is to go into all the world and preach the gospel. In Mark chap 16:E1 15. Well, what is the

19:13 gospel? What does it mean to believe the gospel of Christ, the word gospel means good news? The Greek word is the word evangel from which we get the word evangelism. That means to just go tell people the good news. And what is the good news? Well, it was announced at the birth of Jesus in the Christmas story when the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field and he said, "I bring you good news of great joy." A savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10. Now we only hear that verse used at Christmas. But that statement by the angel which means messenger of God is the gospel. And you and I go into the world and tell the world we have good news of great joy. A savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. That is the

19:59 good news of great joy. That you could be saved from your sins, have eternal life, and live a life of meaning and purpose today. Jesus the Messiah and Lord came to save us from the penalty and power of sin that we might have eternal life. Jesus defined the gospel in one powerful statement. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That's the gospel that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. You know the verse. Everybody seems to know that statement. But that statement is Jesus definition of the gospel. You say, "What does it mean to preach the gospel?" It means they're going to tell people God loves them so much he sent his son to save them. If they'll believe in Jesus, they'll have eternal life. That's the good news. Paul the Apostle speaks of the

20:45 spiritual power of the gospel. When someone hears the good news and believes it writes, "For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes." Romans 1:16. He writes to the city of Rome. Think about that. Which was the seat of power at the time. Rome that dominated the world. Rome, the seat of such power and authority. And he writes, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel." He was on trial for the gospel. He said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God." Rome had all the power in the world, the military power, the political power, the economic power. But Paul said, "There's a power greater than yours." Where's Rome today? It's gone. Perished with time. But the power

21:34 of the gospel continues to change human hearts. The global preaching of the gospel is a sign of Jesus soon return. When he gave the signs of the times and said that he was coming again, he made this statement. The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for witness to all nations and then the end shall come. Matthew 24:14. Today we see through technology. Even through our own media ministry, we are able to tell the world about Jesus. Think of that. How many people are hearing the gospel today? It's a sign of Jesus soon return. Jesus said this gospel is going to be preached in the whole world and then the end will come. The end doesn't mean there the end of the world like the world's going to be destroyed. The word end there is in the Greek means to reach the

22:20 goal to complete the work of God. This gospel that's being preached around the world today is pushing the world toward the day that Jesus returns. And God completes his plan for the world. Jesus is the greatest preacher of the gospel. The Bible tells us after John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. The time has come. He said, "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." Mark 1:14 and 15. We also need to defend the gospel that Jesus committed to us. So that the message of Christ is proclaimed to the world in every generation until he returns. It's our responsibility to defend the gospel of Christ. Others might try to change it or weaken it or

23:07 alter it, make it a political message or an economic message or a self-help message. People take the gospel of Christ and twist it and misuse it. And it's our responsibility to keep the gospel pure, to defend it, to declare the true gospel of Christ. Let's look at how the gospel is described in the Bible. It's called the gospel of God because it originates in the heart of God rather than the mind of man. Romans 1 vers1. It's called the gospel of Christ because it sets forth the person and work of Jesus Christ as we see in Romans 1:16. It's called the gospel of his or God's son representing Jesus divinity, his deity as God's son. Romans 1 vers9.

23:53 It's called the gospel of peace which reconciles God and mankind in Ephesians 6:15. Paul calls it my gospel in Romans 6:15 and calls it our gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:3 because it's a personal faith in Jesus and it's a gospel that you and I share as believers. It's called the eternal gospel because it offers us eternal life in Revelation 14 and6. It's called the gospel of grace because salvation is the free gift of God's unmmerited favor according to Acts 20 24. It's called the gospel of your salvation because it saves us from sin and guilt in Ephesians 1 verse13. So salvation comes from hearing

24:38 the gospel and believing the gospel. So we can summarize the gospel, the good news of Jesus in four life-changing words. by grace through faith. And Paul reminds us of this great truth in Ephesians chapter 2 8 and 9. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. We are saved by grace. That's God's part. Grace means God's undeserved love, his unmmerited favor, his unconditional love for us. It means a gift. God gives us forgiveness of sins. He gives us salvation. He gives us the new birth. It's all a gift of God. Faith is our part that we put our trust in Jesus Christ to save us from our

25:26 sins. We receive the grace of God by putting our faith in Jesus. As we close this lesson, I want to take you back to a letter written in the 2 century AD. It really helps us to see how Christians live in the real world. It's called the letter to dogus and it's example of how Christians could live out their faith and defend the faith even against critics of their time. Notice how he describes the Christian experience in this letter. Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs. You see, they do not live in cities of their own or speak some strange dialect. They live in both Greek and foreign cities wherever chance may put them. They

26:13 follow local customs and clothing, food, and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the unusual form of their own citizenship. They live in their own native lands, but as aliens. Every foreign country is to them as their native country and every native land is as a foreign country. They marry and have children just like everyone else. But they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the law in their own lives. They love everyone but are persecuted by all. They are put to death and gain

27:00 life. They are poor yet make many rich. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and they bless others in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if being given new life. So, we've learned together in this first lesson, what is a Christian? A person who has put his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, who follows Christ as an example to the world. [Music]

27:45 I trust that you have been blessed by our study of the word of God today and found ways that you can grow in Christ and become the person that the Lord has called you to be. I'm looking forward to our next lesson together.