EVERYONE HAS A DREAM, BUT VERY FEW HAVE EXECUTION
‘So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. But someone will say, “One person has faith, another has actions.” My answer is, “Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.” So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead.’ James 2:17-18,26 GNT
8 ATTRIBUTES OF A DISCIPLE
1. THEY ENGAGE IN THE BIBLE
2. THEY OBEY GOD AND DENY SELF
3. THEY SERVE GOD AND OTHERS
4. THEY SHARE JESUS WITH OTHERS
5. THEY HAVE A FAITH IN GOD
6. THEY SEEK AND WORSHIP GOD
7. THEY BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS
8. THEY ARE UNASHAMED ABOUT THEIR FAITH
THE KEY TO GROWTH IS THE POWER OF PROGRESSION
ACTIONS OF A DISCIPLE
CONFESSING SINS REGULARLY: REPENTANCE
‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ‘ Romans 3:23 NLT
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Philippians 3:12 NLT
ADDRESSING ONLY THE ACTION OF SIN IS LIKE TAKING IBUPROFEN TO HEAL A DISEASE. IT MAY TEMPORARILY RELIEVE THE SYMPTOMS, BUT IT NEVER FIXES THE ISSUES.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it… Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Romans 7:18-20;24 NLT
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:24-25 NLT
1. REPENTANCE CAUSES A DEEPER PURSUIT OF JESUS
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND WHAT YOU LOVE DETERMINES WHETHER YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ALLOW SOMETHING TO SEPARATE YOU FROM WHAT YOU LOVE.
If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15 NIV
COMPROMISE DOESN’T EXPOSE OUR WEAKNESS IN WILL POWER, BUT OUR WEAKNESS IN OUR RELATIONSHIP
2. REPENTANCE IS THE COMMITMENT TO LEAVE THE PAST IN THE PAST
I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead… Philippians 3:12-13 NLT
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. Luke 11:24-26 NLT
3. REPENTANCE DRIVES COMPASSION
We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 2 Corinthians 6:6 NLT
‘Our High Priest (Jesus) is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin.
Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.’ Hebrews 4:15-16 GNT
ALTAR