Participants: Eric Garloff
Series Code: WWJ
Program Code: WWJ000007
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00:01 God's blessings come to us in many ways.
00:03 But to be truly blessed of God one must be found 00:07 walking with Jesus. 00:08 So please stay tuned for the next exciting edition of 00:12 Walking With Jesus. 00:24 Hello, I'm Eric Garloff, your host for Walking With Jesus. 00:27 Today's program is sure to be an interesting one for everyone 00:30 watching, and that's because of the topic. 00:33 We'll be talking about how to tell if you're a disciple 00:37 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:38 We'll look at what it means to be His disciple. 00:41 And if you're not one of the Lord's disciples now, 00:45 you'll learn how to become one. 00:46 We have a lot of ground to cover in this episode, 00:49 so I'd like to jump right in and get started. 00:52 The book Steps to Christ has a lot to say about being 00:55 a disciple of Jesus, and I'd like to share with you 00:59 what's written on page 38, which says, 01:56 If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, 01:59 the life will bear witness to the fact. 02:02 While we cannot do anything to change our hearts, 02:05 we're to bring ourselves into harmony with God. 02:08 While we must not trust at all to ourselves, or our good works, 02:13 our lives will reveal whether the grace of God 02:16 is dwelling within us. 02:37 End quote. 02:38 Well, this really gives us a lot to consider now, doesn't it? 02:42 So please allow me to briefly restate what we just read, 02:46 and that was this: we may not be able to see the Spirit 02:50 Himself working within our lives, but we will be able 02:53 to see the result of the Holy Spirit being in our life. 02:57 This result of the Holy Spirit being in our life produces 03:01 a change within our characters. 03:02 It's a change that we'll be able to see. 03:05 It's a change that others around us will be able to see also. 03:10 If God's grace is dwelling within us, by the power 03:13 of the Holy Spirit, our lives will reflect this 03:16 in the places we go, in the words we speak, 03:19 in the things which we choose to occupy our time with. 03:23 All these things will be signs to us proclaiming whether or not 03:27 we are indeed the disciples of Jesus Christ. 03:32 Now it's true that many people who don't have the renewing 03:34 power of the Holy Spirit in their lives often times 03:37 do good things for others. 03:38 The person may, however, may do good things for others out of a 03:42 desire to pursue self esteem, or out of one's self respect. 03:46 So since doing good can be done by those who follow Jesus, 03:50 as well as those who do not, how can a person tell 03:53 which side they're on? 03:54 How can a person know if the good things that he, or she, 03:58 is doing is done with the right motives? 04:02 After all, we are not saved by our works. 04:05 But the Bible also says in James 2:20 that faith without 04:09 works is dead. 04:10 So what's the key between faith and works? 04:12 Well, simply put, the Christian does not perform good works 04:17 in order to be saved. 04:18 He, or she, performs them because they already have a 04:22 saving relationship, and because they want to please Jesus. 04:26 The Christian performs good works out of a saving 04:29 relationship that he has already established with the Lord Jesus. 04:33 He, or she, wants to do good things because in doing them 04:36 the Christian reflects the character of Christ to others. 04:39 Page 39, in the book Steps to Christ, puts it this way 04:42 as it says: 05:16 Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, 05:20 goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. 05:23 Galatians 5:22, 23. 05:58 Christians will seek not the outward adorning, 06:01 but the hidden man of the heart; in that which is not 06:05 corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. 06:08 1 Peter 3:3,4. 06:27 Now, I have a story that I'd like to share with you 06:31 that just might illustrate discipleship in a very 06:34 real-life application. 06:37 There was a man who for many years mistreated his wife 06:40 and children. 06:41 This man, whom I'll call John, was at the point where he would 06:45 drink and gamble away much of the money that he should have 06:48 been using to support his family. 06:50 John was abusive in his language towards his wife, Mary, 06:56 and their children. 06:58 John expected them to wait on him "hand and foot". 07:01 One night, when getting drunk at the local bar, he started 07:06 bragging to the guy that was sitting on the bar stool 07:08 next to him. 07:09 He was telling him that he had the best wife in the world. 07:13 Well, John's new friend, also being drunk, began arguing 07:18 with him, and said that, No, it was He that 07:21 had the better wife. 07:22 So John replied to him and said, You come with me and I'll prove 07:25 to you that my wife is better than yours. 07:28 The two men staggered out of the bar and made their way 07:32 to John's house. 07:33 Upon arriving he started banging on the front door as he shouted 07:37 to wake up Mary. 07:38 He shouted, Woman, wake up and let me in the house. 07:42 Wake up and cook some breakfast for me and my friend. 07:44 In a few moments the light turned on upstairs, 07:49 and a minute later Mary opened up the front door. 07:51 She said, Hello, dear. 07:53 Please come in and bring your friend in with you. 07:55 Then she went into the kitchen and began preparing 08:00 breakfast for them. 08:01 It wasn't long before the smell of the food, 08:04 which was cooking on the stove, made its way into the 08:07 living room where the two men were sitting. 08:09 John's friend turned to him and said, I can't take 08:13 it anymore. 08:14 You win! 08:15 Your wife is the best wife. 08:17 My wife would never do this for me. 08:20 He grabbed his coat and staggered out of the house. 08:23 When the food was ready John's wife came into the living room. 08:27 She saw that the other man was no longer there 08:30 so she asked, Honey, where's your friend? 08:33 Your breakfast is ready. 08:34 John stood up and said to his wife, Why do you treat me 08:39 this way? 08:40 I'm mean and nasty to you, but you still treat me 08:45 with love and respect. 08:46 Why do you do this? 08:48 Mary said to him, Honey, a number of years ago, 08:52 when I gave my life to Jesus, I made a promise to Him. 08:55 I promised Jesus that I'd make this life for you here on earth 09:00 the best that it could possibly be. 09:02 I did this because I realized without Jesus 09:05 you would not go to heaven. 09:07 This life would be the only life that you would know. 09:11 Therefore I decided to make this life for you the best 09:14 that it could possibly be. 09:16 John began to cry and said, If that's what it means 09:19 to be a Christian, then I want to be one, too. 09:22 John knelt down with his wife, prayed, and gave his heart 09:27 to Jesus. 09:29 Now this story demonstrates the dedication and the power 09:32 of a true disciple. 09:33 This lady made a choice to impact the life of her husband 09:36 in such a way that every time that he would look at her 09:39 he would see the reflection of the character of Jesus. 09:42 Her actions towards her husband were guided by the Holy Spirit 09:46 as a direct result of committing her life to being a 09:50 disciple of Jesus. 09:51 Steps to Christ, page 39, 40 word it so eloquently 09:55 when it says: 11:11 How beautifully it's written! 11:12 Are you beginning to understand what it means to be a disciple? 11:16 Take an inventory of your life. 11:18 What have you done this past week? 11:21 What are you thinking about as the day goes by? 11:24 Who has your thoughts and your affections? 11:26 Are your thoughts heavenward, or are they earthbound? 11:30 Are you reading the Bible and other books, 11:33 perhaps like the book, Steps to Christ, or are you 11:37 spending all of your time in front of the TV 11:39 watching anything, watching everything that has absolutely 11:43 nothing to do with anything spiritual. 11:45 Are you praying and asking for the Holy Spirit to guide you 11:50 throughout the day, or do you only pray when some obstacle 11:54 arises that you can't figure out yourself? 11:58 You know, friends, our lives would be much better if we 12:02 made God our steering wheel instead of our spare tire. 12:06 You see friends, as the driver, we use the steering wheel 12:10 the entire time we're in the car, but the spare tire is only 12:14 used when we get into trouble. 12:15 It would be much better if we kept our hands on the steering 12:20 wheel of the Holy Spirit and allowed Him to guide us through 12:23 life; avoiding the potholes and the dangers along the way. 12:28 Wouldn't you agree with this? 12:29 As we begin to close, I'd like to quote one more passage 12:34 from page 44 of the book, Steps to Christ. 12:37 It says: 13:31 In closing, I'd like to ask you to remember all that we have 13:35 spoken about here today, and may God's grace be with you 13:40 in full measure preparing you for a life of service for Him 13:44 and His kingdom. 13:48 We grow in our walk with Jesus each time that we read the Bible 13:52 and practice what we learn. 13:54 By doing this you will see it makes all the difference 13:58 in the world. 13:59 We pray you enjoyed this program. 14:01 Our next episode will focus on Christian maturity. |
Revised 2014-12-17