Jesus Disciples

 “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” It’s a kind of barometer of what a person values, likes, dislikes and what is important for him.

Jesus, just hours away from being arrested prayed to the Father His high priestly prayer (John 17). His prayer expressed what He values most. It can also be seen as his ‘report’ to the Father of what He had accomplished and His ‘recommendation’ so that the glory of God would be seen throughout all the earth.

In the middle of this prayer, Jesus prayed for his disciples. Jesus ‘reported’ to the Father how He had revealed the Father to them and how He kept them safe though one was lost. Jesus also ‘recommended’ that the Father would continue to protect them and that they’d be sanctified by the word of truth. He also prayed to all those who would believe through the testimony of His disciples, that they may be united.

Jesus did many things—the miracles, the healings, the signs, the wonders, the demon-casting, the feeding of thousands, the teaching of the crowds, the critic of the religious. He has a list of many out-of-this-world achievements but His ‘report’ and ‘recommendation’ gave attention to His disciples.

In Church, there are many things we can do, but at the end of the day, what is it really all about? Is it about excellent programming, heavenly music, world-class musicals, record-breaking attendance, mind-blowing budgets, state-of-the-art facility, heart-breaking charities or error-free systems? What Jesus commissioned us with is His Great Commission—to make disciples. He modeled it, prayed about it, mandated it and empowered us for it.

Jesus expects and will inspect that we make disciples. Where are yours?  

          “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

          “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

          “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”

John 17:6-20

Proverbs 29:18

"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;

but blessed is he who keeps the law."

Proverbs 29:18

Revelation from God is I think one of the greatest driving force for people who are believers. Each step of the way I need to know where God is leading me, what He is teaching, where He wants me to be, what He wants me to do. This might sound self-centered but I think God knows that we as human being responds to what should be and what could be.

God revealing Himself to us through Jesus Christ His Son and now through his Word through the powerful work of illumination by the Holy Spirit, allows us to be shaped and be redeemed to what God wanted us to be when he created us. If God really created us to have an intimate relationship with him and it captures a saved soul and really believed that the God who created the universe wants an intimate relationship with him or her, it changes him/her. If God has sent us on a mission to all nations because worship of Him does not exist in all nations, and if someone really believes that the God who orchestrated everything so that though a hell-bound sin-bearer could not only come clean but be infused with the righteousness of His Son who died for the payment, it rocks his or her world because it makes him see that this God deserves all the praises and glory of all nations and all peoples and every creature in this planet. 

That is why when revelation from God when it is not conveyed passionately, when it is not imparted intentionally, people back off and live lives that is as small as the god that they have created in their own image. It puts little value to the saving work and the worthiness of God because God is just a puny God, and his revelation for us is little of value so that many of us would just sit idly wait for His return--saved, seated, and satisfied--living without real passion for the God who has gone through lengths so that all would be given privilege once again to be what all He created us to be. They cast of restraint--restraint to the purposes of the God-sized God.

Keeping the law--abiding, meditating, being passionate and believing it to the core is what really blessed a man or a woman. It keeps us laser focused to the mind and the heart of God. It makes us abandon all comforts in life so that the purposes of the God of the universe will be on earth as it is in heaven.

So in writing these, God I pray that You would remind me of the foolishness of my everyday routine,  the mediocrity of my passionless servitude that I do in Your name and the carefree attitude approach to life. You have given us revelation--and it's You, Your purposes, Your glory, Your mission--it's all about You.

Lord, I want to live a life that counts for eternity, I also want that this revelation would transform me into a passionate, vision-centric leader that would pull people out of their comfort zones and lead them to God-sized lives You have created us to enjoy. 

Living the life with the revelation from God is tough, yes it is, it cuts to the core and stretches people to their limits, but living the comfortable restrained Christian life is scarier--it costed about 2 million people to wander in the desert for 40 years until their all dead--I do not want that to happen in my life nor do I want that to happen to any of the people I am accountable to.

Chosen

"...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, 

that we would be holy and blameless before Him..."

Ephesians 1:4

Hoes does it feel to be chosen? I think there could be two possible response in being chosen. For a guy like me, to be chosen by the girl I like can be one of the happiest moment that can happen. At the same time, being chosen can be scary. Being chosen can place us in a position of power and influence that if not properly tread could mean the demise of the person of the group of people who did the choosing and the person they chose. 

But being chosen, especially for an honorable position and by an honorable person puts a person in a place of privilege. The guy that a girl chose to be her significant other is in the place of a privilege. A person chosen by the people to lead them is in a position of privilege.

And that should be our response after reading Ephesians 1:4. Imagine the God of the universe, choosing you, even before time and all creation began. He has chosen you. Among the billions and billions of people who has lived and who will ever lived in this planet, He has chosen you. Before you even did that all the things that you've done, He has chose you. And even the things you don'y even know that you will do or will ever do, He has chosen you.

And the greatest thing about being chosen by God is because God has a purpose for us. He purposed that the chosen ones would be people who are set apart for Him,a people that God can call His own. You are someone that God would want to call His own. He wants you to be set apart for Him and to be like Him--holy and blameless--blemish free, clean and pure.

But God doesn't have to choose anyone of us. If we just let our lives be whatever we want, we will never be worthy for God. He is Holy. We are worldly. He is blameless. We are sinful. And for God to choose someone is an act of amazing grace.

Never take for granted your position in Christ. You are chosen by God as an act of amazing grace. Praise be to the God who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with all kinds of spiritual blessings.

Read a Psalm: Psalm 91

New International Version 1984

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Psalm 91

1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^a

2I will say^b of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

4He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

9If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the Lord, who is my refuge—

10then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

12they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

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Footnotes:
a 1 Hebrew Shaddai
b 2 Or He says

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Stanza/Outline:

    1 - 4   The Lord is my shelter and place of refuge

  5 - 10   Fear us eradicated with God's Father

11 - 13   There is God's supernatural protection

14 - 16   Those who love the Lord experience His Salvation

Main Point: God's protection is given to those who love Him

Read a Psalm: Psalm 90

New International Version 1984

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Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

2Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3You turn men back to dust,

saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”

4For a thousand years in your sight

are like a day that has just gone by,

or like a watch in the night.

5You sweep men away in the sleep of death;

they are like the new grass of the morning—

6though in the morning it springs up new,

by evening it is dry and withered.

7We are consumed by your anger

and terrified by your indignation.

8You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9All our days pass away under your wrath;

we finish our years with a moan.

10The length of our days is seventy years—

or eighty, if we have the strength;

yet their span^a is but trouble and sorrow,

for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11Who knows the power of your anger?

For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

12Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13Relent, O Lord! How long will it be?

Have compassion on your servants.

14Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16May your deeds be shown to your servants,

your splendor to their children.

17May the favor^b of the Lord our God rest upon us;

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.

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Footnotes:
a 10 Or yet the best of them
b 17 Or beauty

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Outline/Stanza
1 - 2     God has always been present & the hiding place of His people
3 - 6     God has been powerful for the like of his people
7 - 12   God's anger endangers the life of His people
13-17   God's favor is essential in life

Main Point: God knows and holds the life of people
Response: Strive for God's favor instead of God's anger.

Read a Psalm: Psalm 89

New International Version 1984

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Psalm 89

A maskil^a of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

2I will declare that your love stands firm forever,

that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

3You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

I have sworn to David my servant,

4‘I will establish your line forever

and make your throne firm through all generations.’”       Selah

5The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,

your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.

6For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?

7In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;

he is more awesome than all who surround him.

8O Lord God Almighty, who is like you?

You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

9You rule over the surging sea;

when its waves mount up, you still them.

10You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

11The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;

you founded the world and all that is in it.

12You created the north and the south;

Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

13Your arm is endued with power;

your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

love and faithfulness go before you.

15Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.

16They rejoice in your name all day long;

they exult in your righteousness.

17For you are their glory and strength,

and by your favor you exalt our horn.^b

18Indeed, our shield^c belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19Once you spoke in a vision,

to your faithful people you said:

“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;

I have exalted a young man from among the people.

20I have found David my servant;

with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

21My hand will sustain him;

surely my arm will strengthen him.

22No enemy will subject him to tribute;

no wicked man will oppress him.

23I will crush his foes before him

and strike down his adversaries.

24My faithful love will be with him,

and through my name his horn^d will be exalted.

25I will set his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers.

26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, the Rock my Savior.’

27I will also appoint him my firstborn,

the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

28I will maintain my love to him forever,

and my covenant with him will never fail.

29I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30“If his sons forsake my law

and do not follow my statutes,

31if they violate my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

32I will punish their sin with the rod,

their iniquity with flogging;

33but I will not take my love from him,

nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

34I will not violate my covenant

or alter what my lips have uttered.

35Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—

and I will not lie to David—

36that his line will continue forever

and his throne endure before me like the sun;

37it will be established forever like the moon,

the faithful witness in the sky.”       Selah

38But you have rejected, you have spurned,

you have been very angry with your anointed one.

39You have renounced the covenant with your servant

and have defiled his crown in the dust.

40You have broken through all his walls

and reduced his strongholds to ruins.

41All who pass by have plundered him;

he has become the scorn of his neighbors.

42You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

you have made all his enemies rejoice.

43You have turned back the edge of his sword

and have not supported him in battle.

44You have put an end to his splendor

and cast his throne to the ground.

45You have cut short the days of his youth;

you have covered him with a mantle of shame.       Selah

46How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?

How long will your wrath burn like fire?

47Remember how fleeting is my life.

For what futility you have created all men!

48What man can live and not see death,

or save himself from the power of the grave^e?       Selah

49O Lord, where is your former great love,

which in your faithfulness you swore to David?

50Remember, Lord, how your servant has^f been mocked,

how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,

51the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O Lord,

with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.

52Praise be to the Lord forever!

Amen and Amen.

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Footnotes:
a 1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
b 17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
c 18 Or sovereign
d 24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
e 48 Hebrew Sheol
f 50 Or your servants have

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Outline/Stanza
1 - 4      God is worthy for He is faithful
5 - 10    God is all powerful
11-18    God Almighty is the joy of His people
19-29    God chose and established David
30-37    God disciplines but not to forsake the lineage of David
38-45    God has afflicted His anointed
46-48    Cry for God to rise and turn from anger
29-51    The line of David is mocked
52         Blessed be the Lord

Main Point: God disciplines and afflicts his chosen ones but is still the salvation for them.