"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Disciples SEE the lost, the lame, and the lukewarm, not to judge but to show the mercy of God by sharing the LIGHT. Disciples multiply purposefully because they have taken to heart to TWO GREATEST COMMANDS.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Deut 6:5
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Before taking action we should ask ourselves, "Does this action reflect my love of God?
Deut 11:13
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—
Are my actions sacrificial in nature?
Deut 11:22
22 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him—
Am I holding fast to God, cleaving to Him step by step?
Deut 13:3
The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Have I allowed God to change my heart, to remove fleshly desires from my heart?
Deut 30:6
6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Deut 30:16, 20 Commandment with promise
16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Take Heed! Pay Attention!
Jashua 22:5; 23:11
5 But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
Second Commandment with Promise
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
WHO is my neighbor?
James 2:1-13
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Your neighbor is anyone in need, especially those in need of mercy. Our judgments must look with the eyes of our glorious Lord.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Treatment of the lost, the lame, and the unlovely, the poor, the distressed, and the destitute becomes the criteria for our eternal destination.
Touching the untouchable, loving the unlovable, sharing eyeball to eyeball, hand to heart, skin to skin is the true religion of Romans 12:1-2 and James 1:27.
Sharing the Gospel
Discipleship 101
(1) Sin Problem: Romans 3:23
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9: "when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
(2) God's amazing love and cure! John 3:16
(3) Christ's unparalleled sacrifice I Corinthians 15:3-5
(4) My Acceptance and Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ 2 Corinthinas 13:5
(5) My Response Acts 2:37-38
- Understanding my lost condition separated from God
- Believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God
- Committing to redirecting (repenting) my life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15)
- Overwhelming joy at God's love, mercy and grace in providing a way of salvation
(6) My Submission (Obeying the Gospel)- Asking God to renew me while submitting to a death of the old self in baptism, being raised up to walk in a new life in Christ believing that God has transferred me out of the Kingdom of darkness into the Light- Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-11, Gal 3:26-27; Col 1:13; Col 2:12
(7) My Continual Submission to the Holy Spirit's Process of Metamorphosis, being Transformed daily into the image of Christ - Romans 12:2; 2 Cor 4:16; Eph 4:23; Col 3:10; Titus 3:5
(8) Taking on the new Mission of sharing the Gospel among my neighbors, friends, relatives, and to the far reaches of the earth while always acknowledging the power of God to pave the way and to give me the strength to accomplish His Will step by step and moment by moment. 2 Corinthinas 5:18
- Displaying Contagious Joy
- Overflowing with the love for the lost, the lame, and the lukewarm
- Preferring mercy over judgment. It is my calling to love and not to judge. It is my privilege to serve and not to be served.
- Going to where the needs are instead of requiring them to "attend" something
- Being able to forgive and overlook differences and to extend the call of the Kingdom to everyone, anywhere, anytime-- Col 1:28-29
(9) Learning to praise Him and to rejoice in all things -- Phil 1:11; Phil 4:4
APPLICATION: Who is my neighbor?
Name 5 people that live around you, their dreams, their desires, their needs, their concerns, and their spiritual condition.
If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will be able to complete this task.
If you cannot, then you should make this your goal: to find out about each one of your neighbors so that you might begin to LOVE them.
Pray for strength and courage, wisdom and love to share the Good News with those who are your neighbors.
