Discipleship

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Key:

Is to KNOW JESUS as your PERSONAL LORD & SAVIOUR. { John 17 : 3 } { Romans 10: 8 - 13 }

To then get committed into a local church/body of believers. { Hebrews 10: 23 - 25 } { 1 Cor 12 : 12 - 27 }

Become a Disciple of Jesus. { Matt 28 : 18 - 20 }

Take up your cross & follow Him. { Matt 16 : 24 }

 

Basics :

Repentance : Of all your sins { Acts 2: 38 } Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse you of all your sins with His precious blood { 1John 1: 5 - 7 } { Eph 5 : 1 - 16 }

Baptism in Water: { Act 2: 38 - 41 }  { Acts 10: 44 - 48 } { Acts 16 : 30 - 33 } { Acts 19 : 1 - 5 }

Baptism in the Holy Spirit:  { Acts : 4 - 8 } { Act 2 : 1 - 4 } { Acts 2: 38 - 39 } { Acts 10 : 40 - 46 }{ Acts: 19 : 6 } { 1 Cor 14 : 1 - 5 }

Love: God with all your heart & your neighbour as yourself { Mark 12: 29 - 31 }

Daily Read the Bible : Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God { Matt 4: 4 }

Worship God: { Eph 5 : 18 - 21 } { Phil 3 : 3 } { Rev 4 : 10 }

Communion : { Acts 2 : 46 - 47 } { 1 Cor 11: 20 - 34 }

Prayer: { Eph 6: 18 - 19 } { Col 4: 2 } { Luke 6: 12 }

Tithing: { Deut 14: 22 } { Mal 3: 8 - 11 } { Mark 12 : 43 }

Fellowship: { Acts 2 : 46 - 47 } { 1 John 1: 7 }

Fasting: { Luke 2: 37 } { Acts 14: 23 }

Spiritual Warfare : { Eph 6: 10 - 18 } { 2 Cor 10: 3 - 6 } { 1 John 4 : 1 - 6 } { Heb : 2 : 14 - 15 }

 

Repentance :

In the teachings of Jesus he said { in John 3 : 3 } that unless you are born again you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Which means we have a rebirth in our spirit & that our heart opens up to Jesus and we ask Him to be Lord of our lives. { Rev 1 : 20 } { 1 John 5 : 10 – 13 }. Peter also taught { in 1 Peter 1 : 3 – 4 } that we are born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul taught { in Romans 10 : 8 – 13 } that if we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives we shall be saved from all our sins. John taught { in 1 John 1 : 5 – 10 } that God is light and if we are to have fellowship with God we must be cleansed of darkness in our lives. And that if we confess our sins to Jesus his son God will forgive us of all our sins and the Blood of Jesus will cleanse us of all sin & unrighteousness.

Many people believe that if I am a good person and follow the 10 commandments then God will let me into heaven because I am a good person and have done nothing wrong. But the bible teaches that there is none righteous, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God { Romans 3 : 10, 19 – 23 }, and that none have fulfilled the Law of Moses { the 10 commandments } – only Jesus has. And so we can only get to heaven by the new covenant in Jesus' sacrifice { Romans 5 : 8 – 10 }. For Jesus is the forfillment of the Law of Moses for all those who believe by faith { Romans 10: 1 – 13 }.

And Jesus taught that "no-one can come to the Father except through me" { John 14:6 }. To become a Christian you have to come to Jesus. It's a simple surrender. You acknowledge that you have done things your own way and not God's way, that you have hidden from God, not sought after Him. You have let yourself be "seated on the throne" of your life, taking God's rightful place. And you ask Jesus to forgive you and to establish a relationship with the Father - adopting you as a son or daughter. Jesus earned the right to forgive you your sins when he died on the cross. He died for you - personally!

Jesus died for our sins and when we ask Him to forgive us He will forgive us all our sins and the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins { 1 John 1: 7 - 10 }

Jesus said that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God { Romans 3:23 } . And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ { Romans 6 : 23 }. God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Jesus Christ died for our sins. { Romans 5 : 8 - 10 }.

God said the word is in our mouths and in our heart ... that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and Saviour and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead , we shall be saved. And whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved { Romans 10: 8 - 14 }.

And when God forgives us our sins we must forgive others who have sinned against us { Matt 6: 14 - 15 }. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven that is given among men , by which we must be saved , apart from the name of Jesus Christ. { Acts 4 : 10 - 12 }

So if you are ready to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, you could use the following prayer 

" Lord Jesus please forgive me of all my sins , I believe you died on the cross for my sins , and by your sacrifice and shed blood I have forgiveness of all my sins. As you forgive me I choose to forgive all those who have sinned against me and surrender my will and life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. His will be done , not mine. I receive Jesus into my heart by faith and confess with my mouth that He is my personal Lord and Saviour. I choose to follow Him all the days of my life and today I take up His cross as a disciple of Jesus Christ and I will honour him all the days of my life.

I pray this in Jesus precious name. And I invite the Holy Spirit to fill me to over-flowing with the tangible presence of Jesus so I can live a Holy and Pure life serving my Lord and Master. { 1 John 5 : 10 - 14 }

 

Baptism in Water:

After you have repended Jesus tells us to be Baptised in Water. We are saved by grace { Eph 2 : 5 }  & it is the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins { 1 John 1 : 7  } . Baptism in Water does not save you but by being baptised it is signifying you are dying to sin & being resurrected with Jesus into New Life { Roms 6 : 3 - 4 } .

{ Matt 3 : 5 - 6 } Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;  and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

{ Matt 3 : 13 - 15 }  Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.
 
{ Matt 3 : 16 - 17 } After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
 
{ Mark 1: 5 }  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins
 
{ Mark 1 : 7 - 8 } And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
 
{ Mark 16 : 15 - 17 } And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
 
{ John 3 : 22 - 24 } After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.  John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
 
{ John 4 : 1 - 2 } Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John  (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)

 { Acts 1 : 4 - 5 } Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

{ Acts 2: 38 } Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 
{ Acts 2 : 40 - 42 } And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
 

{ Acts 8: 12 } But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized ,  men and women alike.

{ Acts 8:35-39 }  Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water

{ Acts 16:14-16 }  A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

{ Acts 18: 8 } Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

{ Acts 19:4-6  } Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

{ Roms 6: 3 - 4 } Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

{ 1 Cor 10: 1 - 3 } For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;  and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food;

{ 1 Cor 12 : 13 } For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

{ Galatians 3:27 } For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Summary : 

In order to be baptised you need to be born again, repent, believe in Jesus Christ, turn from your sins, washed by the blood of the Lamb before you can be water baptised. The water does not save you - we are saved by grace. You must be saved / born again before you are baptised.

Jesus Diciples / John & Baptist / Paul the Apostle did not baptise infants but repentant people who recieved the word spoken to them. Children came to Jesus & He blessed them He didn't baptise them. Although we see that in a number of cases the family got saved & all the house hold were baptised { Acts 16: 30 - 33 }  . We have no record of the ages of the family ? Jesus said come unto me for the Kingdom of God belongs the such as these { Mark 10 : 13 - 15 } And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” In our church we dedicate the children to the Lord but do not baptise them until they are born again. Jesus was dedicated to the Lord in the temple.

Baptism was by immersion : full under the water { Matt 3 : 16 } Jesus came out of the water { Acts 8 : 39 } went into the water . { John 3 : 23 } much water there for baptism. They weren't sprinkled with water but were immersed into the water. The greek word " Baptizo " means to immerse / wash / submerging .

There is only need to be baptised once after you have repented { Eph 4 : 5 } one Lord, one faith, one baptism

And you are to be baptised in the name of the Father / Son & Holy Spirit { Matt 28 : 18 - 20 } And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you[b]always, even to the end of the age.”

Some groups try and get you to be baptised only in the name of Jesus { Acts 19 : 2 - 6 } When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. I believe you are to baptise people in the name of the Father / Son & Holy Spirit as you have the name of Jesus. You must be careful not to build a doctrine in one scripture.

Footnote : Some groups believe in baptism of the dead based on { 1 Cor 15 : 29 } Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

The bible teaches you must be Born Again to see the Kingdom of God { John 3: 3 } and that { Heb 9 : 27 } And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. Therefore after some one is dead they are judged & can't repent & be saved so it is unscriptural to try and baptise dead people .. even by proxy.

 

Baptism in the Holy Spirit:

Jesus was baptised in the Holy Spirit immediately after His Water Baptism { Matt 3 : 16 - 17 } After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Jesus Baptises in the Holy Spirit & Fire .. man baptises with water { Matt 3 : 11 } “As for me, I baptize you [with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jesus told the disciples to wait in the Upper room for the Holy Spirit to come to them { Acts 1 : 4 - 5 } Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus told them they would recieve power when the Holy Spirit came upon them to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. { Acts 1 : 7 - 8 } He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Holy Spirit comes on the 120 disciples & they are filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit, tongues of fire & they begin to speak with other tongues { Acts 2 : 1 - 4 }   When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

 

 


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