Jesus calls us to be His disciples, not Christians. What is a disciple? I think the word "apprentice" makes more sense to us in our modern culture.
An electrician begins learning their trade by becoming an apprentice. An apprentice is a newbie, someone in training, a student. They find, or are assigned to, someone who already knows the trade, and that person is known as a "master" or "journeyman" electrician. They are an expert, and the apprentice will learn from them.
The disciples of Jesus were His apprentices. Jesus told them to follow Him, learn from Him and do the things He did. Jesus told them they would do greater things than He did. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead. What kind of things can be greater than that? I certainly want to know!
I am an apprentice of Jesus. I want to be like Jesus, and so I follow Him and do the things He did.
Do you want to be an apprentice of Jesus, too? If so, read on.....
The Apprentice's Tool-Bag
An apprentice needs a tool-bag. It is the first thing his Master will require him to obtain. He cannot do any work without a tool-bag.A tool-bag has critical parts. It cannot function properly without those parts. It needs a belt to keep the bag in the proper position at the apprentice's hip; it needs a buckle to keep the belt fastened; and it needs various pouches to hold the apprentice's tools.
The tool-bag of an apprentice of Jesus has four parts: repentance towards God, belief in Jesus, immersion (baptism) in water in the Name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and receiving the Holy Spirit.
Repentance
What is REPENTANCE? We may be sorry about our circumstances, but that is not repentance. We may have remorse for what we have done to others, but that is not repentance. Repentance is understanding who God is and who we are in comparison to Him, and realizing that we have sinned against a Holy and Righteous God. Repentance only happens when we respect and fear God, and it requires us to change our ways and to put things right that can be put right. Good Biblical examples of repentance are the stories of the sinful woman in Luke 7, Zaccaeus in Luke 19 and the jailer in Acts 16.How do we repent? According to David Pawson, in his message about "The Normal Christian Birth," true repentance has three parts:
1) Repentance in THOUGHT. It is conviction of sin. It is thinking again about ourselves. Most of us use wrong standards when we think about our own character. We usually compare ourselves to other people, but we need to compare ourselves to Jesus. Only then will we start to feel dirty and unclean, which is how we should see ourselves. We need a higher view of God, and a lower view of ourselves. It is that comparison that begins repentance. God hates sin, and true repentance begins to share that hatred. Some sins are obvious, but many are not. In his talk, David discusses a number of behaviors we don't often think of as sin: worry, laziness, debt. He said he counted 120 sins in the New Testament. Seeing things through God's eyes brings repentance.
2) Repentance in WORD. This is confession of sins (plural) to God -- naming specific sins. God will show us our sins if we ask Him, and they can seem quite small, but they are still sins and they are a big deal to God. David discusses some examples. Confessing our sins often is a healthy thing to do.
3) Repentance in DEED. This is the correction of sin -- putting right what has been wrong. This is where people find repentance difficult, but where it also becomes real. David discusses several examples, including an instance when someone stopped biting their fingernails. (If you do that, your nails don't look right before God, and He made them.)
We need to be serious about this. We must be afraid of God -- the Bible says fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
We need to be specific about our own situations. What sins do we want God to save us from? This is where repentance begins.
We need to be sensible. It is not about feelings. We can feel guilty for the wrong things, and not be aware of the things in our lives that are truly offensive to God. We need to be sensible about what can be put right -- nobody can put everything right that they have done wrong.
People need help with these things, and they need to talk about them with someone they trust.
Repentance will go on for the rest of our lives.
Belief in Jesus
What does it mean to BELIEVE IN JESUS? Many people have heard of Jesus, and some have become very familiar with him by reading the Bible. The Devil knows about Jesus, too. Believing in Jesus is trusting that Jesus is who He says He is, and relying on Him to do what He has promised. Mark 16 tells us that Jesus said people who believe will heal the sick and cast out demons. If we have never done those things, can we be certain we really believe? If we have never seen those things happen, how will we ever believe? The more we believe the more we will be able to do those things. Believing results in seeing supernatural things happen. If we have doubts, then we do not believe. Doubting is sin, and we can repent from it.How do we believe? Pawson says there are five aspects:
1) HISTORICAL: Believe in historical facts. In a court of law, the impartial jurors are not witnesses of the crime. They are presented with eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence. There were many eyewitnesses who saw Jesus crucified, buried and raised from the dead. Also, there are many, many examples of miraculous healings, deliverances, resurrections and miracles happening today, in our lives and in the lives of others. These things confirm what the Bible says is true. Jesus is alive, and these things confirm that fact.
2) PERSONAL: Believe IN Jesus. We trust a bank to keep our money secure; we believe IN the bank. We trust our spouse; we believe IN them. Jesus is alive, so we can believe IN Him. If we believe IN Jesus, then we will trust Him. We can trust Him with everything because He is God.
3) VERBAL: Talk to Jesus. Speak to Him aloud, treating Him as a real person. Also, talk to others about Him. These things will cement our faith and help us believe. Very importantly, we need to use our own words, not the words of others.
4) PRACTICAL: When we really believe, we do something about it. Paul and James are not in conflict. Paul says we are not saved by doing good deeds and following rules and rituals, and he is right. James says those who have faith will take action because of that faith, and he is right, too. It is hard to have faith today because we do not need it to survive. It is easy to get food, clothing and shelter, and there are many options for alleviating our discomforts and fears, such as medicines, therapies, weapons, insurance and communication tools. Relying on those things is not exercising faith in Jesus; it’s having faith in those things. God is a jealous god, and He does not share glory with idols.
5) CONTINUAL: Our faith is not “saving faith” unless it is ongoing faith. It is faithFULNESS that we need. Believing today and not believing tomorrow is no good. It’s the faith we finish with that saves us. The righteous will survive whatever happens by keeping faith.
Baptism
What is BAPTISM? John the Baptist "baptized" people by immersing them in water. Jesus was baptized by immersion. The Bible says nothing about sprinkling.The word "baptize" is the Greek word for "immersion in water." Religious institutions and Bible translators have chosen to not translate that word into English for some reason. I think that is unfortunate because I believe it misleads people. I believe the Darkness is behind this deception.
Our reason for being immersed is important. If we do it only to please men, it is worthless. If we do it to be obedient to Jesus and to follow Him, then according to the Bible, it is supernaturally effective. Once we are immersed in the Name of Jesus, our sins are paid for by Jesus (Acts 2:38). Immersion does other things, too, but an apprentice must have their complete tool-bag before they are ready for the Master to teach them about other things.
How do we get immersed? Find an apprentice of Jesus and ask them to do it for you. I was immersed in a church, and my life changed from that moment. I can see it as I look back and reflect on my experiences. We only need to do it once, provided we did it for the right reasons.
Receive the Holy Spirit
What is RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT? It is what happened to the first apprentices on Pentecost (Acts 2).There is always a sign when someone receives the Holy Spirit, typically speaking in a strange language -- the religious term is "tongue." The language is an actual language, but the speaker does not understand what they are saying. God is the one speaking, and others will understand what is being spoken, if they happen to understand that particular language. Go read Acts 2. Foreigners understood what was being said.
Many people presume they have the Holy Spirit because they have been told that they do, but they do not. Receiving the Holy Spirit is unmistakable to the person receiving Him. God makes sure of that. Shortly after my immersion, I asked God to give me whatever He thought I needed, and He gave me a wonderful experience. I asked a pastor what it was, and he was unable to help me, but I eventually learned it was the Holy Spirit. I did not speak in a language at the time because I did not know I was supposed to, nor did I know I had the ability to do so. The church I attended taught nothing about it. Apparently, it was God's plan that I not understand those things right away. Everybody's experience is different. God is so creative!
The Holy Spirit is a key part of the tool-bag, and we cannot be an apprentice without Him. He is a person, and He is fully God.
How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Ask, and He will be given to you! That's what I did. Another apprentice of Jesus can pray for you to receive Him, too. If you truly want to follow Jesus, God wants you to have the Holy Spirit.
Deliverance
Demons are real, and are very common, although many churches rarely discuss them. Some churches do talk about them, but do not cast them out and get rid of them. Demons want people to doubt their existence, but they can be the cause of many issues for people. Jesus dealt with them a LOT.
I had a number of demons driven from me AFTER I had my tool-bag. I did not know they were there, but I knew some things were not right. Since then, I have learned a lot, and have written about some of it. If you would like to read about my story, I suggest you start with my post Free! I think you may also find The Car helpful.
Since I wrote those things, I have found I have the ability to drive unclean spirits (demons) from myself, and fend them off when I realize I am under attack. I have always had this ability, since I have had the Holy Spirit, and even before. The Name of Jesus is powerful, but believing and wanting to be right with God seems to be just as effective. Before I was immersed, my childhood belief in the Theory of Evolution was blocking my faith, and I wanted it gone. One day it just left, and I laughed at how silly the concept had been -- see Evolution Revolution. Well after I was delivered on Neptune Beach, I realized my "high school crush" was still lurking deep inside me. I wanted it gone and commanded it to leave -- and it went.
Jesus can help us with anything. He can help us by using other apprentices and he can help us to do things ourselves. We just need Him. He is really all we need!
So, WHAT GOES INTO THE TOOL-BAG? The Master reveals things to an apprentice once they have their tool-bag.
NOTES:
1. Most churches only teach some of these things. If you do not have all parts of your tool-bag, get them! You need them! If your church will not help you, ask Jesus what to do. If your church discourages you from obtaining the complete tool-bag, walk away. A message that is 99% true is still a lie.
2. Read Mark, Luke and Acts, especially Acts. The rest of the New Testament is true, but not pertinent to obtaining the tool-bag. Anything before Acts is before the Holy Spirit was given, and everything after Acts was written to those who already had their tool-bags. A person cannot fully understand what is written in the Bible without their complete tool-bag.
3. Jesus is alive. Anyone can talk to Him. He is King of the Jews, the King of Israel.
4. "Gentiles" are grafted INTO Israel. Identification with Israel is critical! This is a discussion for those who have a tool-bag!
All glory to God!
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UPDATE, August 7, 2022...
Obtaining our tool-bag is just the start. We must follow Jesus.
Jesus said seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and he will take care of all our needs. What does it mean to seek the kingdom?
I wrote a post back in 2016 called Keys to the Kingdom. It is an analysis of what Jesus taught his guys in the middle of the book of Matthew. It is rather long, but I think it is crucial for all apprentices of Jesus to understand. I encourage you to read through it at least once.
The first key is the most important one, in my opinion: "Follow Jesus and die." Here is a quote from the post...
Jesus told his disciples he would be persecuted and killed, and then rise again. He then told them they must experience the same thing. This is the first "key." As his disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. We must lose our lives in this fallen world in order to gain true life. We must give up what we want, and do what he wants. That is a tough message, but one we must heed if we want to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 16:21-28). Many people will turn away from this, but we must stick with Jesus because he is our only option for eternal life (John 6:68).
It is not our project and it is not our cause. We must let Jesus run His Project, and we must pursue His Cause. Jesus did not walk among us and die an agonizing and gruesome death in order to help us do what we want to do. We work for Him! If we are still pursuing things we were doing before we surrendered to Jesus, we are not following Him.
I was working as an engineer and I was pretty successful, but I committed my life to Jesus by being baptized in water and he followed that up by baptizing me in the Holy Spirit. Soon afterward, I learned I had signed up for something absolutely amazing and I began to learn about my job. You can read about it in other posts.
Eventually, he tested me to see if I would follow him. It was really, really hard, but I left my engineering job. He did not tell me why; I knew he would show me, like he did Abram.
There was silence for the first few weeks. It didn't take me long to start pursuing something I wanted to do: film-making. I began reading about it and taking steps to gain practical experience. I had the time so I spent it on my dreams.
Then the Father showed me what He wants me doing. Burned Toast. I will leave it to you to explore what that is about.
I still continued my pursuit of film-making for quite a while after that, and I certainly learned a lot of things that are useful in my walk, but I eventually realized God does not want me to be a film maker. The world uses film makers to control the masses. God wants me to be a disciple maker, and he does not use the world's methods.
Follow me. I am following Jesus. He has so many amazing things to show us.
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| Salvadora persica |
UPDATE, August 8, 2022...
Once we are following Jesus there will be further tests. Difficult ones, particularly for those who have strong feelings for loved ones.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me..." (Matthew 10:34-37 ESV)
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:29-31 ESV)
"...Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53 ESV)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple..." (Luke 14:26 ESV)
Our love for Jesus must be greater than our love for family members and friends. This does not mean we do not love them. On the contrary, ...by following Jesus we can ultimately influence those we love to follow him. We must trust him and have faith he will eventually make it happen. (The word translated as "hate" in Luke 14:26 is a relative term in the Greek, not an absolute.)
Jesus' own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5), but his brother James eventually did (Galatians 1:19), as did his other brothers and sisters (Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:5). The sons of Zebedee, James and John, left their father with the fishing nets (Matthew 4:21-22), but there is evidence they maintained contact with the family because their mother eventually made an impertinent request on their behalf (Matthew 20:21), so she had been listening to Jesus. By changing our behavior and following Jesus, those we love will see we are serious and perhaps ultimately be influenced to follow along, too.
The great news is we will find other people who will understand us and listen to us...
While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50 NIV)
These are our spiritual brothers and sisters, and they are part of the mustard tree that Jesus will grow.
UPDATE, August 21, 2022...
So, where is Jesus going? Where are we going when we follow him? The answers are in the Bible, of course.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ..." (Matthew 10:5-7 ESV)
... Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. (Matthew 15:23-25 ESV)
Jesus taught his guys for forty days after his resurrection, and he told them they would soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Then...
[His guys] asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8 ESV)
Notice Jesus did not correct them about the focus on Israel. He had just spent forty days teaching them, and he had not changed the message. It was still about finding the lost sheep of Israel and restoring the kingdom to Israel.
The Canaanite woman was one of the lost sheep of Israel. When Jesus went into the district of Tyre and Sidon all he did there was interact with her and then he immediately went home. The Centurion and Cornelius were lost sheep of the house of Israel, too. I covered this in great detail in the Paul's Mystery posts.
Jesus is looking for true Israelites so he can make them into his apprentices and use them to build his Kingdom. That is the task, and that is what we are supposed to do. Anything else is off-topic and unauthorized. We need to get with the Program and stay with it without getting distracted.
We will encounter many people who will not understand us and will reject our message. Learning to "shake the dust off our feet as a testimony against them" will serve two purposes:
- It will provide closure for us so we can move on.
- It will leave a visual memory in their minds that God might eventually use to bring them to repentance.
The methods Jesus teaches in the Bible are the best ways to do things, and this is one of them we need to learn to apply.
UPDATE, August 27, 2022...
1 Apparently the identity of the "mustard tree" in the parable is uncertain. I added the picture of Salvadora persica to show the kind of tree Jesus might have been referring to.
UPDATE, August 28, 2022...
Who Do You Work For?
Jesus said...
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven..." (Matthew 10:32-33 NIV)
He also said...
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money..." (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13 NIV)
The question is, "Who do we work for?"
I have this at the top of my Facebook profile...
I put it there because I take Jesus seriously and want to acknowledge Him before men. Was it easy to do that? No. Do I get spiritual flack for it from the Darkness because of it? Sometimes, but it's part of the job.
We need to decide who we work for, and then let the world know it. Otherwise, we are just another actor on the stage. (The Greek word for "actor" is hypocrite.)
UPDATE, September 1, 2022...
One of the first things I did was show the team a picture of rowers. If rowers do not work together they are going to lose. It took some time, but we eventually figured out what had gone wrong and fixed the problem. Had the team been working together to begin with, I think they could have solved the problem themselves, and perhaps may have been able to avoid the mistake altogether.
Jesus is assembling his Team. He has equipped people with various abilities and he expects us to work together. There are different kinds of abilities.
Physical Abilities -- We all have physical bodies. Some are big, and some are small. Some are men, and some are women. Some have big hands and long arms, like me, and some are short-wasted, like my wife was. Some are athletic, and some cannot walk. Some are left-handed, but more are right-handed. Some are blessed with wealth, and some are unburdened by it.
Personality Abilities -- I recently learned about personality types, and in accordance with my particular personality type, have been learning to use this tool. There are four different aspects to personality:
How people interact with the world: Extroversion and Introversion.
How people comprehend the world: Intuition and Sensing.
How people deal with the world: Thinking and Feeling.
How people operate in the world: Perceiving and Judging.
This results in sixteen (16) distinct personality types (24 = 16), with variation in each, depending upon how extreme some of the functions are. There is no right or wrong personality; it's just the way people are. The LORD gives us each our own individual personalities, and Jesus can use them all for his purposes.
Spiritual Abilities -- The Bible talks about spiritual gifts that come from the Holy Spirit. Some churches talk about these things and encourage people to learn what their spiritual gifts are, but if people do not actually have the Holy Spirit living inside them they do not have anything from Him.
Some people may have spiritual gifts from other spirits. I recently had a conversation with a witch and she said she experienced some spiritual capabilities that seemed to fascinate her. I told her I believed her, but was not interested in what she was selling.
I have observed people who have strong intuitions seem to be more in-tune with the spiritual aspects of Creation, whereas those who are strong at sensing do not seem to notice or understand those things as well. Perhaps this is one reason Jesus taught us to heal the sick and cast out demons. Those who are strong at sensing will see the person has been physically healed, and those who have strong intuitions may need to have some garbage removed, which was true for me. In this way, all can learn the Truth and believe.
Experience -- We are each at different points in our walk, and the LORD uses our experiences to teach us and train us. Some have been at it longer than others, and that is the main reason the Bible encourages us to respect our elders and older people. If we listen to them talk about their mistakes and what they have learned, perhaps we can avoid making mistakes of our own and can begin operating at a higher level sooner than we might if we try to do things by ourselves.
Authority -- The LORD has established certain authorities. The little guy who sits in the stern of the boat calls out and tells the rowers when to pull on their oars to keep them in cadence. He also steers the boat to keep it heading in the right direction. He is small because it minimizes unnecessary weight, whereas the rowers are hulking beasts and are strong. God's ways are best and we must do things his way because he is the boss, ... and he is always right.
UPDATE, September 4, 2022...
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| Matthew 12:30 NIV (1984) |
UPDATE, December 25, 2022...
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21 NIV)
Paul wrote one letter to "the Ephesians." He visited Ephesus twice. The first time was just a brief visit (Acts 18), but the second time was for much longer and his influence resulted in a riot (Acts 19). He wrote to the Ephesians while he was a prisoner in Rome.
To whom was Paul writing when he wrote to "the Ephesians?"
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-2 NIV)
He wrote to those he had been with while he was in Ephesus, to those who were his fellow, spiritual Israelites, who believed in Yeshua.
...be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-21 ESV)
Then he got more specific:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22 ESV)
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... (v 25)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. (v 6:1)
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ... (v 6:5)
Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. (v 6:9)
Earlier in his letter, Paul told them how to work together:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. (Ephesians 4:1-7 ESV)
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds [pastors] and teachers, ... (v 11)
And he told them why:
... to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (vs 12-16)
Together, we are Jesus. Together. Us. We spiritual Israelites. Not "the neighbors;" not "the world." Us. We must learn to discern the difference, and submit to each other.
Paul was an apostle. I am not Paul, and I am not an apostle.
I am not an evangelist either, nor a pastor (shepherd). Those are not my things.
Whether I am a teacher, or not, is for others to decide.
What people should take note of, I believe, are my experiences -- those amazing things I talked about elsewhere in this blog. I believe those things point to what my role is.
Please listen to me and learn from me, ... as I try to listen to you and learn from you. We are Jesus in this present Age.