Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
We're glad you've joined us for Pastor Jeff Ministries, the
Bible teaching ministry of Jeff Swarzentraw, Senior Pastor of Brave
Church in Denver, Colorado. Pastor Jeff Ministries exists to challenge
spirit filled warriors for courageous Kingdom advancement. Today, Pastor Jeff
(00:22):
concludes his message the Training of the Twelve from the
series The Kingdom Invasion and shows you four key ways
Jesus trained the disciples and how he's training you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Pastor Jeff will get started in just a moment, but
first we want to tell you that you can find
many more resources to help you grow in your walk
at Pastorjeff dot com. Visit Pastorjeff dot com today to
sign up for encouragement right near endbox. Now here's today's program.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Discipleship isn't just learning stuff so that you can spit
it back out and regurgitate it and prove that you
know it. Making is when you become more like Jesus,
or you become more like the one who's becoming more
like Jesus, who's helping you to grow more like Jesus.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
That's disciple mating.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
If all it was is Bible knowledge, then Jesus owes
the Pharisees in apology because they knew the Bible, but
they weren't like Jesus. They didn't repent of their sin,
they weren't becoming like Jesus. They never wanted Jesus. So
it's not Bible knowledge. Bible knowledge is important to the
extent that it helps us growing on Christ's likeness. Christ's
likeness is everything growing in the image of Christ. Is
(01:34):
everything becoming more like Christ? Is everything you say, how
do I know if I'm growing in Christ? Because when
a Christ's situation hits and you say to yourself, I
wouldn't have handled it that well. Two months ago, I
wouldn't have handled it that way, Three years ago, I
wouldn't have done that five years. I mean, I can
tell God's growing me because that's what he does. Christ's
likeness is what disciple making looks like. Are you becoming
(01:57):
more like Christ? Is Christ having more of his way
with you? Is Christ able to speak into your life
and you're able to respond with more immediate obedience to
what He's showing you.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
That's maturity in the faith.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So he tells them be publicly outspoken, and he's gonna
warn him not to be afraid. He said, if they
called the head of the household beiels above, which means
lord of the flies, how much more will they malign
the members of his household? He says, If I'm healing
people and I'm the son of God in flesh, I'm
God in flesh, and they're calling me the head of
(02:31):
all the devils, what do you think they're gonna call
you if you identify yourself with me? Therefore, do not
fear them. For there is nothing concealed that will not
be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Do you know this.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
There are no secrets for eternity. I mean, just think
about that for a second. There is nothing you're hiding
right now that won't be known by everybody at.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Some point in time. Yeah, I'm just going to take
it to the grave.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
That's pretty not smart, because when you take it to
the grave, everybody's gonna see it. The only option you
have for it not coming out is to repent of
it and let it be covered in the blood of
Jesus or everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Going to know. Right nothing hidden will be concealed.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
You can't take it to your grave, and they go, Okay,
you're not gonna appear before Jesus, and.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Like, don't tell anybody about that. Jesus. Let's that be
our secret for all eternity.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Not gonna happen because you're talking to the God of truth.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Don't conceal things. Don't worry about how people treat you.
God sees it all. If somebody's rude to you, betrays you,
is insensitive.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Towards you, ruthless towards you, who do you think is watching?
Who do you think is going to hold him to account?
Our God is That's why you don't need to fight back.
He's got this amen. But he says, here's what you
need to do. What I tell you in the darkness,
speaking of the light, and what you hear whispered in
your ear proclaimed upon the housetops.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
He's like, when I speak to you, you go public
with it. If you know it's of me, you go
share it.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Now, we live in a world that sometimes doesn't mind
that we share things like this in church. They just
don't want to hear it in the marketplace. Keep all
that stuff to yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Just said, no, no, no. If I'm telling you this, which
means it's in the word and you're hearing it proclaim
and God speaks.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
You go tell everybody about it. What I'm telling you
in private, you go make it public.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
There should be.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
No doubt when you're with your Christian or non Christian
friends that you're a Christian, that you're living it out
and who you serve, that you're not afraid to tell
your friends.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Jesus Christ is Lord. You're not afraid to tell your
co workers.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Jesus Christ is my God. That's who I am, That's
who I'm serving. It's not secret. There are no secret
service Christians in the Kingdom. You don't just stay underground
and one day come out. Everybody's going public with what
they say they believe. And then he says this, You say, well,
(04:48):
it'd be impossible. If I share like that at school,
I'll be kicked out of school. If I share like
that in work, I might get fired. Here's what Jesus says.
Do not fear those who kill the body but are
not unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him
who is able to just both soul and body and health.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
What's the worst thing.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That could possibly happen if you share the gospel. I
mean the absolute worst thing.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
They kill you. You could die, Christian, listen to me.
Is that a bad thing? I mean, how you die
might be a bad thing. We agree with that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
There can be some fear on that, but it's dying
in itself a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Let me tell you what.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Happens to a Christian the moment they breathe their last
they go into glory. They see the Lord in all
of his glory, who says, well done, good and faithful servant.
And they'rewith throngs of angels and beings and saints that
have gone before them, worshiping the Lord. And they're so
encaptured with everything going on, they're not having one thought
(05:46):
about what's here.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I know you love your spouse. I know you love
your kids. I do too. I know you're living with
great vision for the future. I am too.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
But I also know that the greatest day of my life,
in any Christian's life, will be the day that we.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Meet Jesus Christ face to face. Amen. That's why they
told Paul, well, we'll just persecute you.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Then He's like, well, these light and momentary afflictions are
nothing compared to the weight of the eternal glory that
is to come.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, then Paul will kill you. Well for me to
live as Christ and to die is gain.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I mean, when you have a life where you don't
live with self preservation and you don't care what people
do to you, you're just gonna.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Live for Jesus, You're a force to.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Be reckoned with, right, I mean for us, we think
there's so many things to get in the way in
our busyness and mission. Or what would they do to me?
And what would they say to me? And what would
they say to my family? And what would that look
like for our reputation? What if I lose money? And
what if I lose a job? And what if I
lose friends? And what if I lose a career?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And I'm like, so.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You don't want to get to heaven and say, well,
I would have served you Jesus, but I was having
too much fun on the earth. We're talking about eternity here,
we're talking about life and death. See, here's what happens
to a non Christian the moment that they die. I mean,
it's one thing to go to a funeral. I've been
to many. I've officiated several when somebody that's in the
casket or the urn knows the Lord. You know, the
(07:08):
moment they died, they went to be with Gus. They're
not even thinking about you there and bless they're happy.
We still grieve, but we grieve as those that have hope.
I mean, it's okay to grieve. You're going to lose
somebody that you love on this side of heaven, but
they know the Lord. It's okay, and it doesn't matter
when somebody dies. I celebrated my nana's one hundredth birthday
this Wednesday. She's living at home by herself. Oh Lord,
(07:30):
give me those jeans, right. But at some point she's
gonna die and there won't come a moment where like, okay,
now's the time and it'll be totally no miss her.
But if you have a Christian nana, then she goes
to heaven and you'll see her again.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Still grieve, still grieve.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
The law, but you see them again. Go to a
non Christian funeral sometime it'll break your heart because there's
words that get shared and there's testimonies of people talking
about what a great person they were. We partied here
and we did this, and you know there's no talk
about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And you know the moment they died, they stood before
the Lord and he said, depart.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
From me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you,
and cast him into outer darkness. And no matter how
many soothing words somebody can say, like we all know
that he's in glory.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Now we all know she's in No, they're not. They're
in hell. And if they could come back, they would
tell you the only way to heaven is Jesus. And
you need to repent. So repent.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
That's why I preach the Gospel every week, because if
you die a brave church, I don't want it to
ever be said I didn't know. I want it to
be said you had the opportunity, you chose not to
because I would want every single person here to have
repented and trusted Jesus Christ, because I care about you
that much. This is what Jesus is saying. Don't let
anything get in the way of the mission. Don't let
(08:47):
trouble be publicly outspoken, don't fear them.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Why because I care for you, he says.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
He says in verse twenty nine or not two sparrows
sold for a cent, and yet not one of them
will fall to the ground. Apart from your father, he said,
every time a sparrow dies, I attend the funeral. Throughout
our country today, I'm sure there have been sparrows that
have fallen to the ground somewhere someplace where there are
no human beings anywhere. And guess what. God was there
and he watched. If he cares about the sparrow, how
(09:15):
much more does he care about you?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
This is Pastor Jeff Ministries with doctor Jeff swarzentraup Today.
Pastor Jeff is sharing his message the Training of the
Twelve from the series The Kingdom Invasion, showing you four
key ways Jesus trained the disciples and how he's training you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
We'll return to Pastor Jeff in just a moment, but
before we do, we want to help you live differently,
to think clearly, to pray powerfully, and to walk wisely
every single day with Pastor Jeff's battle tested wisdom. A
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(09:58):
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Pastor Jeff ministries. Again, that's Pastorjeff dot Com. Now let's
return to today's teaching.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Throughout our country today, I'm sure there have been sparrows
that have fallen to the ground somewhere someplace where there
are no human beings anywhere.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And guess what. God was there and he watched.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
If he cares about the sparrow, how much more does
he care about you? And then he gives this somewhat
comforting verse for some of us in verse thirty.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,
all right? What was he's saying?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I know everything about you, a caring every way for you,
so don't fear you're worth more than sparrow's. If the
sparrow falls and I go to their funeral, how much
more do I care about you?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I love you so much. I sent my son to
die for you. I love you so much, he wrote
from the dead. I love you so much. I've been
screaming in your ear to come to me. I love you.
That's God's heart for us. So he says this verse
thirty two.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Therefore, everyone who confesses me before men I will also
confess him before my father in heaven. But whoever denies
me before men I will also deny him before my father.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Who is in heaven. What's that mean?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Confess means to speak with your mouth. In the first century,
it was considered by the Romans that Caesar was lord.
If a Roman cohort came by and said, you know,
Hail Caesar, you had to say, Caesar is Lord, Hail Caesar.
But in Romans ten to nine says, but if you
confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
(11:34):
in your heart God raised him from the dead, you'll
be saved. What's the context there? The context is Caesar
is Lord, and Paul's like, no, no, no, I just want
to tell you something. If in the context where Caesar
is lord, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord, even if they cut off your head, but
you've confessed that Jesus is Lord and you believe in
your heart God raised him from the dead, even though
(11:54):
you die, you will be saved. It's a hostile world, right,
we live in a hostile world. I've been a Christian for
thirty four years. I've never seen a more hostile time
towards Christianity in my life. People dancing around like devils,
thinking that we're devils, right, and all we're trying to
do is love people, right, That's what's going on. So
he's telling them, be publicly outspoken for your faith. Don't
(12:17):
just hold it in. Some of you are good at
living your faith, you just don't speak your faith. Nobody
would know why you do the things you do. Some
of you are good at speaking your faith, but your
actions aren't living out your faith. That you say that
you have both and are really important. Speak it and
live it, declare it, demonstrate it. Both equally important in
the sight of God. And then Jesus says this, I'm
(12:40):
telling you, don't fear, but do not think I came
to bring peace on the earth.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I had not come to bring peace but a sword.
Jesus is the prince of peace.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
He will bring peace to every single heart that receives
him as their lord in their life.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
He'll bring peace in your heart.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
But until Jesus gets back and writes every single wrong,
there won't be peace on earth. I mean, I've seen
enough Miss America pageants. I don't watch him anymore. But
you know everybody wants that peace on earth. It's gonna happen,
but it won't happen until Jesus gets here. The second time,
I didn't come to bring peace. I came to bring
a sword. A sword divides, for I came to set
(13:15):
a man against his father, and a daughter against their mother,
and a daughter in law against their mother in law.
And man's enemies will be the numbers of his household,
but be the members of his household. He who loves
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me. God created the family. Family
is important. We're called to love our spouses, We're called
to love our kids. It is the unit that God
(13:38):
uses to build. But here's what he says. Don't love
your family more than you love me. Love your family
because you love me, don't love them more. Some of
us don't get involved in the mission because well, here's
where my spouse is, or here's what my kids are.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Here's what I got. Don't love your family more than
you love Jesus.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Don't preference your family more than you preference Jesus, make Jesus.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Christ's first place for all of it.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
That's what he says, That's what he's talking about. That's
why he says there's going to be a divider for
those that don't trust him. And notice this, Jesus front
loads his disciples with all sorts of information that we
are afraid to frontload people with when they're making a
decision to follow Christ. See if any of you have
used these next two verses when you shared the gospel
with somebody coming to Christ and here does not take
(14:22):
up his cross and follow after me is not worthy
of me. Now, if you grew up at this time
in history, you would know what crucifixion was because you
would have seen it. Crucifixion was the death penalty reserved
for the worst kind of criminals, the ones who had
rebelled against Rome, who are now forced to carry across
all throughout the city to the place where they would
(14:42):
be placed on it. And as they were carrying their cross,
they were publicly demonstrating I was once antagonistic towards Rome.
Now I'm submitting to Rome all the way to my death,
and when they kill me, I totally deserve it. Jesus said,
if you don't pick up your cross and follow me,
meaning this, I one time rebelled against Jesus.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I was one time living for myself.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
But now, because of his death and resurrection, I've trusted him.
I'm completely under his authority, going wherever he wants.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
All the way to my death.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
If he chooses to take me home today or in
fifty years, it doesn't matter. I'm living for him and everybody.
I'm going public, making sure everybody knows that. Here's what
jas said. If you're not willing to do that, you're
not even worthy of being my follower. When's the last
time you heard that preach in church? Well, I'm not
ready for that kind of commitment yet. Well then you're
not ready for Jesus because you just never lowered the bar.
(15:32):
He always kept the bar here. There was a time
where he told his disciples in John chapter six, unless
you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have
no part of me. And from that time on, many
of his followers no longer followed him. And he looks
at the twelve and here's what he says.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
You don't want to leave too, do you? He doesn't
say wow, this is a hard teaching this. I need
to let this settle. I'll come back in a couple weeks.
Don't leave, guys, stick with me. He's like, you can
go too.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I am not lowering my standard of holiness. I am
not lowering my I call discipleship. I am not lowering
who I am. I am keeping it right here. And
if you don't want a part of that, that's fine.
But this is what I'm calling you to. I'm afraid
that in our culture we don't call people to that
type of commitment. I'm afraid in our culture, if you
come to church once or twice a month, we consider
you all in.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I'm afraid in.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Our culture it's just that we have good coffee and
you know, nice carpet and comfortable seats, which we don't
have here. I'm sorry, but that's.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
All we're gonna call you. Jesus is like, No, We're
calling you to a way higher level than that.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
We're calling you to serve for all Ettorney, We're calling
you to serve all the way to your death.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
That's what I'm looking for. And who did he pick?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
He picked this ragtag group of guys because in the
heart of God, he knew these guys will go all
the way with me. I don't need their talent, I
need their commitments, That's what he was saying. And they'll
go and be publicly outspoken, you know, so, he says
in verse thirty nine, he has found his life, will
lose it, and he has lost his life for my sake,
(16:59):
We'll find it. In a culture, we spend our entire
life trying to find our life. What's the good life?
What degree do I need? What college do I need
to go to? What people do I need to be
influenced by? What books do I need to read? What
major do I need to have? What job do I
need to take? What neighborhood do I need to live in?
What house do I need to buy? What car do
I need to drive? What does my bank account need
(17:19):
to look like? How can I experience life to the full?
How can I get the right job? How can I
get the right spouse? How can I have the right
number of kids? If I just get all that, then
everything will be fine. And once I get all that
and live my career and help a bunch of people,
and then I get old, and then I retire, And
then I played golf for ten or fifteen to twenty years,
and then I'm kind of tired of that. And then
I'm out eighty five to ninety years old, and now
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I got a little spare time. I'm willing to go
all in with you, Jesus. And the reason I know
that is because that's exactly the way I used to think.
I'll give God everything. I'm just not giving them everything today.
I'll give them everything tomorrow or the next day, or
when I get If you find.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Your life, you will lose your life. If this life
for you is it. I found my life. This is
the best ever. I got everything I ever want. Then
you've lost everything.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
But if you live on mission for Jesus, even if
you don't have anything else, you'll have everything. The devil
knows there's the greatest return on investment when you go
all in with Jesus. The devil knows all your heart's
desires will fulfilled when you go all in with Jesus.
What's holding you back? That's what he's selling his disciples.
If you're not willing to take up your cross and
follow me, you're not worthy of me. If you go
(18:26):
looking for your life, you'll lose it. But if you
lose your life for my sake and say, Jesus, I'm
all in with you. That's where you find your life.
He's saying, go public with it, be live out your identity.
Who you identifying with. I'm identifying with Jesus. He's the
king of kings and he's the.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Lord of lords.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And when I was born again by believing in him
through repentance and faith, his Holy Spirit came to dwell
in me. What I didn't realize at the time that
I know now beyond measure, is that everything that's true
about Jesus is true about me because Jesus lives in
me through his Holy Spirit, which means I know that
I am chosen and I am loved, and I am
set up art and I'm holy and I'm righteous and
(19:02):
I am good, and not because of my behaviors and
not because of who I see in the mirror. It's
because of who I identify with and who owns me.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And his name is Jesus, Amen. And that's how we
live on mission. We live by our identity.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
We publicly are outspoken, and then he just gives a
clear word.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Don't fear.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You don't need to be afraid of anything. There's nothing
the world can do to you. They can't do a
thing to you. They can't touch you unless I give
him permission. And even if they kill you, why would
you even worry about that? That's the goal of your faith?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Not to meet the Lord face to face? And then
he gives this final one. He not only puts him on
mission and sends him into danger and then sends him
to be public publicly outspoken. He sends his disciples as
ambassadors with a clear understanding that they represent him. Ambassadors.
You know, an ambassador is Southern Corinthians five twenty says,
(19:56):
for we are his ambassadors, as though God is making
his appeal through us, urge you on Christ, behalf be
reconciled to God. An ambassador not only represents a nation
or a group of people who represents the leader himself.
An ambassador from the United States doesn't represent the United States.
It represents the president himself. An ambassador doesn't just represent
the Kingdom. The ambassador represents Jesus Christ himself. You've been
(20:18):
sent on mission by the King of kings and the
Lord of lords, and everywhere you go you represent Him.
And how people treat you is how people are actually
treating him. Look what he says. There's rewards for your service, says,
he who receives you receives me, and he who receives
me receives him who sent me. He here receives a
prophet in the name of a prophet, she'll receive a
(20:38):
prophet's reward, and he receives a righteous man in the
name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever in the name of a disciple gives one
of these little ones even a cup of cold water
to drink, truly, I say to you, he will not
lose his reward.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
He says.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
When you go into these cities, how people respond to
you is how they're responding to me. If you're a
prophet and I've sent you and you're being prophetic, if
they receive you, they're receiving me.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
He says this.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
If you're righteous and living righteous and they receive your righteousness,
they're receiving me.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
If they give you a cup of cold water.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Little ones is oftentimes referred to in Matthew's Gospel as disciples.
If they give a disciple one, they're not going to
lose their reward. They're receiving me. They're giving me water.
Isn't it interesting? When Saul was converted on the road
to Damascus, one of the first questions she has asked
him is this.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? He's like, who
are you? Lord? Not persecuting? You aren't even know who
you are. However you treat people in the churches, However
you're treating Jesus.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
When people persecute you and malign you and say all
sorts of false things about you, it's not you they're maligning.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
It's Jesus, provided that you're.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Growing in your character and you don't have something for
them to malign. But if you're living for Christ and
people are going after you, they're actually going after Jesus.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
He's telling them.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You go live as a prophet, you go live as
a righteous person, you go live as a disciple, And
how people treat you as how they're treating me. He
says the same thing in Luke chapter ten.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Verse sixteen.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I love this verse as a preacher, he says this,
the one who listens to you listens to me, And
the one who rejects you rejects me.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
And he who rejects me rejects. The one who sent
me says this, Jeff.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
If you're being faithful to the word and people reject
you for being faithful to the word, they're not rejecting you.
They're rejecting me, Jesus says, and my father who sent me.
So don't worry about that. Don't worry about the response
you're going to get from people. We worry way too
much about the response we're going to get from people,
don't we. Well, I'd share my faith, but I don't
think they're gonna like it. I'd share my faith, I preach,
but I don't think they're gonna Just go be on mission,
(22:36):
go into danger, be publicly outspoken, and be an ambassador.
Because you represent the King every single place you go.
Did you know that everywhere you go, who you are,
everywhere you go, what people see in you. You're representing
the King of kings and the Lord of lords. There's
no higher calling that you can have. There's no higher
calling that you can have. You're not just representing your workplace,
(22:58):
You're not just representing your family. You're representing the King.
And knows what Jesus does after he sends him on mission,
gives them all these instructions, which are pretty weighty.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Are they not know this?
Speaker 3 (23:07):
In the first verse of chapter eleven, when Jesus had
finished giving the instructions to the twelve, he departed from there.
Every time Jesus gives the disciples instructions, what's he do
he leaves, He's studying a president for what's going to
happen after he rises from the dead. What's he going
to do once he dies and rises and everybody, all
of his apostles know that he's the Lord.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Is he going to hang out with him? No, just
for a period of days, a few weeks, and then
he's going to send to heaven and what's going to happen?
They're on their own again. But they're not on their
own because.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Jess said, never will I leave you, and never will
I forsake you, and he sends the Holy Spirit to
will be with him forever.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Amen, Jesus is training us. Jesus training you.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Jesus is training me to do what to go out
in the world and make disciples. He's like, now you
know what to do. Now go, don't let anything hinder
the mission. Don't let anything get in the way of
the mission. Just continue to be on mission.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Everywhere you go. You represent me.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
You're my ambassador, you're my daughter, you're my son, and
you mean the world to me.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Thanks for listening to Pastor Jeff Ministries. That was Pastor
Jeff with his message the Training of the Twelve from
the series The Kingdom Invasion, showing you four key ways
Jesus trained the disciples and now he's training you now.
Before you go, be sure you request Pastor Jeff's battle
tested Wisdom, a ten day prayer journey for real life
(24:35):
decisions when you give a gift in support of Pastor
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And while you're there, remember to sign up for email
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resources designed to equip you for courageous living. That's Pastorjeff
(24:56):
dot com. Thank you for joining us today,
We're glad you've joined us for Pastor Jeff Ministries, the
Bible teaching ministry of Jeff Swarzentraw, Senior Pastor of Brave
Church in Denver, Colorado. Pastor Jeff Ministries exists to challenge
spirit filled warriors for courageous Kingdom advancement. Today, Pastor Jeff
(00:22):
concludes his message the Training of the Twelve from the
series The Kingdom Invasion and shows you four key ways
Jesus trained the disciples and how he's training you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Pastor Jeff will get started in just a moment, but
first we want to tell you that you can find
many more resources to help you grow in your walk
at Pastorjeff dot com. Visit Pastorjeff dot com today to
sign up for encouragement right near endbox. Now here's today's program.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Discipleship isn't just learning stuff so that you can spit
it back out and regurgitate it and prove that you
know it. Making is when you become more like Jesus,
or you become more like the one who's becoming more
like Jesus, who's helping you to grow more like Jesus.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
That's disciple mating.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
If all it was is Bible knowledge, then Jesus owes
the Pharisees in apology because they knew the Bible, but
they weren't like Jesus. They didn't repent of their sin,
they weren't becoming like Jesus. They never wanted Jesus. So
it's not Bible knowledge. Bible knowledge is important to the
extent that it helps us growing on Christ's likeness. Christ's
likeness is everything growing in the image of Christ. Is
(01:34):
everything becoming more like Christ? Is everything you say, how
do I know if I'm growing in Christ? Because when
a Christ's situation hits and you say to yourself, I
wouldn't have handled it that well. Two months ago, I
wouldn't have handled it that way, Three years ago, I
wouldn't have done that five years. I mean, I can
tell God's growing me because that's what he does. Christ's
likeness is what disciple making looks like. Are you becoming
(01:57):
more like Christ? Is Christ having more of his way
with you? Is Christ able to speak into your life
and you're able to respond with more immediate obedience to
what He's showing you.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
That's maturity in the faith.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So he tells them be publicly outspoken, and he's gonna
warn him not to be afraid. He said, if they
called the head of the household beiels above, which means
lord of the flies, how much more will they malign
the members of his household? He says, If I'm healing
people and I'm the son of God in flesh, I'm
God in flesh, and they're calling me the head of
(02:31):
all the devils, what do you think they're gonna call
you if you identify yourself with me? Therefore, do not
fear them. For there is nothing concealed that will not
be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Do you know this.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
There are no secrets for eternity. I mean, just think
about that for a second. There is nothing you're hiding
right now that won't be known by everybody at.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Some point in time. Yeah, I'm just going to take
it to the grave.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
That's pretty not smart, because when you take it to
the grave, everybody's gonna see it. The only option you
have for it not coming out is to repent of
it and let it be covered in the blood of
Jesus or everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Going to know. Right nothing hidden will be concealed.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
You can't take it to your grave, and they go, Okay,
you're not gonna appear before Jesus, and.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Like, don't tell anybody about that. Jesus. Let's that be
our secret for all eternity.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Not gonna happen because you're talking to the God of truth.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Don't conceal things. Don't worry about how people treat you.
God sees it all. If somebody's rude to you, betrays you,
is insensitive.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Towards you, ruthless towards you, who do you think is watching?
Who do you think is going to hold him to account?
Our God is That's why you don't need to fight back.
He's got this amen. But he says, here's what you
need to do. What I tell you in the darkness,
speaking of the light, and what you hear whispered in
your ear proclaimed upon the housetops.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
He's like, when I speak to you, you go public
with it. If you know it's of me, you go
share it.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Now, we live in a world that sometimes doesn't mind
that we share things like this in church. They just
don't want to hear it in the marketplace. Keep all
that stuff to yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Just said, no, no, no. If I'm telling you this, which
means it's in the word and you're hearing it proclaim
and God speaks.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
You go tell everybody about it. What I'm telling you
in private, you go make it public.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
There should be.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
No doubt when you're with your Christian or non Christian
friends that you're a Christian, that you're living it out
and who you serve, that you're not afraid to tell
your friends.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Jesus Christ is Lord. You're not afraid to tell your
co workers.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Jesus Christ is my God. That's who I am, That's
who I'm serving. It's not secret. There are no secret
service Christians in the Kingdom. You don't just stay underground
and one day come out. Everybody's going public with what
they say they believe. And then he says this, You say, well,
(04:48):
it'd be impossible. If I share like that at school,
I'll be kicked out of school. If I share like
that in work, I might get fired. Here's what Jesus says.
Do not fear those who kill the body but are
not unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him
who is able to just both soul and body and health.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
What's the worst thing.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That could possibly happen if you share the gospel. I
mean the absolute worst thing.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
They kill you. You could die, Christian, listen to me.
Is that a bad thing? I mean, how you die
might be a bad thing. We agree with that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
There can be some fear on that, but it's dying
in itself a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Let me tell you what.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Happens to a Christian the moment they breathe their last
they go into glory. They see the Lord in all
of his glory, who says, well done, good and faithful servant.
And they'rewith throngs of angels and beings and saints that
have gone before them, worshiping the Lord. And they're so
encaptured with everything going on, they're not having one thought
(05:46):
about what's here.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I know you love your spouse. I know you love
your kids. I do too. I know you're living with
great vision for the future. I am too.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
But I also know that the greatest day of my life,
in any Christian's life, will be the day that we.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Meet Jesus Christ face to face. Amen. That's why they
told Paul, well, we'll just persecute you.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Then He's like, well, these light and momentary afflictions are
nothing compared to the weight of the eternal glory that
is to come.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, then Paul will kill you. Well for me to
live as Christ and to die is gain.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I mean, when you have a life where you don't
live with self preservation and you don't care what people
do to you, you're just gonna.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Live for Jesus, You're a force to.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Be reckoned with, right, I mean for us, we think
there's so many things to get in the way in
our busyness and mission. Or what would they do to me?
And what would they say to me? And what would
they say to my family? And what would that look
like for our reputation? What if I lose money? And
what if I lose a job? And what if I
lose friends? And what if I lose a career?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And I'm like, so.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You don't want to get to heaven and say, well,
I would have served you Jesus, but I was having
too much fun on the earth. We're talking about eternity here,
we're talking about life and death. See, here's what happens
to a non Christian the moment that they die. I mean,
it's one thing to go to a funeral. I've been
to many. I've officiated several when somebody that's in the
casket or the urn knows the Lord. You know, the
(07:08):
moment they died, they went to be with Gus. They're
not even thinking about you there and bless they're happy.
We still grieve, but we grieve as those that have hope.
I mean, it's okay to grieve. You're going to lose
somebody that you love on this side of heaven, but
they know the Lord. It's okay, and it doesn't matter
when somebody dies. I celebrated my nana's one hundredth birthday
this Wednesday. She's living at home by herself. Oh Lord,
(07:30):
give me those jeans, right. But at some point she's
gonna die and there won't come a moment where like, okay,
now's the time and it'll be totally no miss her.
But if you have a Christian nana, then she goes
to heaven and you'll see her again.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Still grieve, still grieve.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
The law, but you see them again. Go to a
non Christian funeral sometime it'll break your heart because there's
words that get shared and there's testimonies of people talking
about what a great person they were. We partied here
and we did this, and you know there's no talk
about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And you know the moment they died, they stood before
the Lord and he said, depart.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
From me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you,
and cast him into outer darkness. And no matter how
many soothing words somebody can say, like we all know
that he's in glory.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Now we all know she's in No, they're not. They're
in hell. And if they could come back, they would
tell you the only way to heaven is Jesus. And
you need to repent. So repent.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
That's why I preach the Gospel every week, because if
you die a brave church, I don't want it to
ever be said I didn't know. I want it to
be said you had the opportunity, you chose not to
because I would want every single person here to have
repented and trusted Jesus Christ, because I care about you
that much. This is what Jesus is saying. Don't let
anything get in the way of the mission. Don't let
(08:47):
trouble be publicly outspoken, don't fear them.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Why because I care for you, he says.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
He says in verse twenty nine or not two sparrows
sold for a cent, and yet not one of them
will fall to the ground. Apart from your father, he said,
every time a sparrow dies, I attend the funeral. Throughout
our country today, I'm sure there have been sparrows that
have fallen to the ground somewhere someplace where there are
no human beings anywhere. And guess what. God was there
and he watched. If he cares about the sparrow, how
(09:15):
much more does he care about you?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
This is Pastor Jeff Ministries with doctor Jeff swarzentraup Today.
Pastor Jeff is sharing his message the Training of the
Twelve from the series The Kingdom Invasion, showing you four
key ways Jesus trained the disciples and how he's training you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
We'll return to Pastor Jeff in just a moment, but
before we do, we want to help you live differently,
to think clearly, to pray powerfully, and to walk wisely
every single day with Pastor Jeff's battle tested wisdom. A
ten day prayer journal for real life decisions. This resource
is our thanks for your gift of support to help
reach more people through Pastor Jeff Ministries. To request your copy,
(09:58):
simply go to Pastorjeff dot com. Come and give a
gift to keep teachings like this one going strong through
Pastor Jeff ministries. Again, that's Pastorjeff dot Com. Now let's
return to today's teaching.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Throughout our country today, I'm sure there have been sparrows
that have fallen to the ground somewhere someplace where there
are no human beings anywhere.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And guess what. God was there and he watched.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
If he cares about the sparrow, how much more does
he care about you? And then he gives this somewhat
comforting verse for some of us in verse thirty.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,
all right? What was he's saying?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I know everything about you, a caring every way for you,
so don't fear you're worth more than sparrow's. If the
sparrow falls and I go to their funeral, how much
more do I care about you?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I love you so much. I sent my son to
die for you. I love you so much, he wrote
from the dead. I love you so much. I've been
screaming in your ear to come to me. I love you.
That's God's heart for us. So he says this verse
thirty two.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Therefore, everyone who confesses me before men I will also
confess him before my father in heaven. But whoever denies
me before men I will also deny him before my father.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Who is in heaven. What's that mean?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Confess means to speak with your mouth. In the first century,
it was considered by the Romans that Caesar was lord.
If a Roman cohort came by and said, you know,
Hail Caesar, you had to say, Caesar is Lord, Hail Caesar.
But in Romans ten to nine says, but if you
confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
(11:34):
in your heart God raised him from the dead, you'll
be saved. What's the context there? The context is Caesar
is Lord, and Paul's like, no, no, no, I just want
to tell you something. If in the context where Caesar
is lord, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord, even if they cut off your head, but
you've confessed that Jesus is Lord and you believe in
your heart God raised him from the dead, even though
(11:54):
you die, you will be saved. It's a hostile world, right,
we live in a hostile world. I've been a Christian for
thirty four years. I've never seen a more hostile time
towards Christianity in my life. People dancing around like devils,
thinking that we're devils, right, and all we're trying to
do is love people, right, That's what's going on. So
he's telling them, be publicly outspoken for your faith. Don't
(12:17):
just hold it in. Some of you are good at
living your faith, you just don't speak your faith. Nobody
would know why you do the things you do. Some
of you are good at speaking your faith, but your
actions aren't living out your faith. That you say that
you have both and are really important. Speak it and
live it, declare it, demonstrate it. Both equally important in
the sight of God. And then Jesus says this, I'm
(12:40):
telling you, don't fear, but do not think I came
to bring peace on the earth.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I had not come to bring peace but a sword.
Jesus is the prince of peace.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
He will bring peace to every single heart that receives
him as their lord in their life.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
He'll bring peace in your heart.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
But until Jesus gets back and writes every single wrong,
there won't be peace on earth. I mean, I've seen
enough Miss America pageants. I don't watch him anymore. But
you know everybody wants that peace on earth. It's gonna happen,
but it won't happen until Jesus gets here. The second time,
I didn't come to bring peace. I came to bring
a sword. A sword divides, for I came to set
(13:15):
a man against his father, and a daughter against their mother,
and a daughter in law against their mother in law.
And man's enemies will be the numbers of his household,
but be the members of his household. He who loves
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me. God created the family. Family
is important. We're called to love our spouses, We're called
to love our kids. It is the unit that God
(13:38):
uses to build. But here's what he says. Don't love
your family more than you love me. Love your family
because you love me, don't love them more. Some of
us don't get involved in the mission because well, here's
where my spouse is, or here's what my kids are.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Here's what I got. Don't love your family more than
you love Jesus.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Don't preference your family more than you preference Jesus, make Jesus.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Christ's first place for all of it.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
That's what he says, That's what he's talking about. That's
why he says there's going to be a divider for
those that don't trust him. And notice this, Jesus front
loads his disciples with all sorts of information that we
are afraid to frontload people with when they're making a
decision to follow Christ. See if any of you have
used these next two verses when you shared the gospel
with somebody coming to Christ and here does not take
(14:22):
up his cross and follow after me is not worthy
of me. Now, if you grew up at this time
in history, you would know what crucifixion was because you
would have seen it. Crucifixion was the death penalty reserved
for the worst kind of criminals, the ones who had
rebelled against Rome, who are now forced to carry across
all throughout the city to the place where they would
(14:42):
be placed on it. And as they were carrying their cross,
they were publicly demonstrating I was once antagonistic towards Rome.
Now I'm submitting to Rome all the way to my death,
and when they kill me, I totally deserve it. Jesus said,
if you don't pick up your cross and follow me,
meaning this, I one time rebelled against Jesus.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I was one time living for myself.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
But now, because of his death and resurrection, I've trusted him.
I'm completely under his authority, going wherever he wants.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
All the way to my death.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
If he chooses to take me home today or in
fifty years, it doesn't matter. I'm living for him and everybody.
I'm going public, making sure everybody knows that. Here's what
jas said. If you're not willing to do that, you're
not even worthy of being my follower. When's the last
time you heard that preach in church? Well, I'm not
ready for that kind of commitment yet. Well then you're
not ready for Jesus because you just never lowered the bar.
(15:32):
He always kept the bar here. There was a time
where he told his disciples in John chapter six, unless
you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have
no part of me. And from that time on, many
of his followers no longer followed him. And he looks
at the twelve and here's what he says.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
You don't want to leave too, do you? He doesn't
say wow, this is a hard teaching this. I need
to let this settle. I'll come back in a couple weeks.
Don't leave, guys, stick with me. He's like, you can
go too.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I am not lowering my standard of holiness. I am
not lowering my I call discipleship. I am not lowering
who I am. I am keeping it right here. And
if you don't want a part of that, that's fine.
But this is what I'm calling you to. I'm afraid
that in our culture we don't call people to that
type of commitment. I'm afraid in our culture, if you
come to church once or twice a month, we consider
you all in.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I'm afraid in.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Our culture it's just that we have good coffee and
you know, nice carpet and comfortable seats, which we don't
have here. I'm sorry, but that's.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
All we're gonna call you. Jesus is like, No, We're
calling you to a way higher level than that.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
We're calling you to serve for all Ettorney, We're calling
you to serve all the way to your death.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
That's what I'm looking for. And who did he pick?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
He picked this ragtag group of guys because in the
heart of God, he knew these guys will go all
the way with me. I don't need their talent, I
need their commitments, That's what he was saying. And they'll
go and be publicly outspoken, you know, so, he says
in verse thirty nine, he has found his life, will
lose it, and he has lost his life for my sake,
(16:59):
We'll find it. In a culture, we spend our entire
life trying to find our life. What's the good life?
What degree do I need? What college do I need
to go to? What people do I need to be
influenced by? What books do I need to read? What
major do I need to have? What job do I
need to take? What neighborhood do I need to live in?
What house do I need to buy? What car do
I need to drive? What does my bank account need
(17:19):
to look like? How can I experience life to the full?
How can I get the right job? How can I
get the right spouse? How can I have the right
number of kids? If I just get all that, then
everything will be fine. And once I get all that
and live my career and help a bunch of people,
and then I get old, and then I retire, And
then I played golf for ten or fifteen to twenty years,
and then I'm kind of tired of that. And then
I'm out eighty five to ninety years old, and now
(17:40):
I got a little spare time. I'm willing to go
all in with you, Jesus. And the reason I know
that is because that's exactly the way I used to think.
I'll give God everything. I'm just not giving them everything today.
I'll give them everything tomorrow or the next day, or
when I get If you find.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Your life, you will lose your life. If this life
for you is it. I found my life. This is
the best ever. I got everything I ever want. Then
you've lost everything.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
But if you live on mission for Jesus, even if
you don't have anything else, you'll have everything. The devil
knows there's the greatest return on investment when you go
all in with Jesus. The devil knows all your heart's
desires will fulfilled when you go all in with Jesus.
What's holding you back? That's what he's selling his disciples.
If you're not willing to take up your cross and
follow me, you're not worthy of me. If you go
(18:26):
looking for your life, you'll lose it. But if you
lose your life for my sake and say, Jesus, I'm
all in with you. That's where you find your life.
He's saying, go public with it, be live out your identity.
Who you identifying with. I'm identifying with Jesus. He's the
king of kings and he's the.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Lord of lords.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And when I was born again by believing in him
through repentance and faith, his Holy Spirit came to dwell
in me. What I didn't realize at the time that
I know now beyond measure, is that everything that's true
about Jesus is true about me because Jesus lives in
me through his Holy Spirit, which means I know that
I am chosen and I am loved, and I am
set up art and I'm holy and I'm righteous and
(19:02):
I am good, and not because of my behaviors and
not because of who I see in the mirror. It's
because of who I identify with and who owns me.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And his name is Jesus, Amen. And that's how we
live on mission. We live by our identity.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
We publicly are outspoken, and then he just gives a
clear word.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Don't fear.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You don't need to be afraid of anything. There's nothing
the world can do to you. They can't do a
thing to you. They can't touch you unless I give
him permission. And even if they kill you, why would
you even worry about that? That's the goal of your faith?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Not to meet the Lord face to face? And then
he gives this final one. He not only puts him on
mission and sends him into danger and then sends him
to be public publicly outspoken. He sends his disciples as
ambassadors with a clear understanding that they represent him. Ambassadors.
You know, an ambassador is Southern Corinthians five twenty says,
(19:56):
for we are his ambassadors, as though God is making
his appeal through us, urge you on Christ, behalf be
reconciled to God. An ambassador not only represents a nation
or a group of people who represents the leader himself.
An ambassador from the United States doesn't represent the United States.
It represents the president himself. An ambassador doesn't just represent
the Kingdom. The ambassador represents Jesus Christ himself. You've been
(20:18):
sent on mission by the King of kings and the
Lord of lords, and everywhere you go you represent Him.
And how people treat you is how people are actually
treating him. Look what he says. There's rewards for your service, says,
he who receives you receives me, and he who receives
me receives him who sent me. He here receives a
prophet in the name of a prophet, she'll receive a
(20:38):
prophet's reward, and he receives a righteous man in the
name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever in the name of a disciple gives one
of these little ones even a cup of cold water
to drink, truly, I say to you, he will not
lose his reward.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
He says.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
When you go into these cities, how people respond to
you is how they're responding to me. If you're a
prophet and I've sent you and you're being prophetic, if
they receive you, they're receiving me.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
He says this.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
If you're righteous and living righteous and they receive your righteousness,
they're receiving me.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
If they give you a cup of cold water.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Little ones is oftentimes referred to in Matthew's Gospel as disciples.
If they give a disciple one, they're not going to
lose their reward. They're receiving me. They're giving me water.
Isn't it interesting? When Saul was converted on the road
to Damascus, one of the first questions she has asked
him is this.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? He's like, who
are you? Lord? Not persecuting? You aren't even know who
you are. However you treat people in the churches, However
you're treating Jesus.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
When people persecute you and malign you and say all
sorts of false things about you, it's not you they're maligning.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
It's Jesus, provided that you're.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Growing in your character and you don't have something for
them to malign. But if you're living for Christ and
people are going after you, they're actually going after Jesus.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
He's telling them.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You go live as a prophet, you go live as
a righteous person, you go live as a disciple, And
how people treat you as how they're treating me. He
says the same thing in Luke chapter ten.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Verse sixteen.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I love this verse as a preacher, he says this,
the one who listens to you listens to me, And
the one who rejects you rejects me.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
And he who rejects me rejects. The one who sent
me says this, Jeff.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
If you're being faithful to the word and people reject
you for being faithful to the word, they're not rejecting you.
They're rejecting me, Jesus says, and my father who sent me.
So don't worry about that. Don't worry about the response
you're going to get from people. We worry way too
much about the response we're going to get from people,
don't we. Well, I'd share my faith, but I don't
think they're gonna like it. I'd share my faith, I preach,
but I don't think they're gonna Just go be on mission,
(22:36):
go into danger, be publicly outspoken, and be an ambassador.
Because you represent the King every single place you go.
Did you know that everywhere you go, who you are,
everywhere you go, what people see in you. You're representing
the King of kings and the Lord of lords. There's
no higher calling that you can have. There's no higher
calling that you can have. You're not just representing your workplace,
(22:58):
You're not just representing your family. You're representing the King.
And knows what Jesus does after he sends him on mission,
gives them all these instructions, which are pretty weighty.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Are they not know this?
Speaker 3 (23:07):
In the first verse of chapter eleven, when Jesus had
finished giving the instructions to the twelve, he departed from there.
Every time Jesus gives the disciples instructions, what's he do
he leaves, He's studying a president for what's going to
happen after he rises from the dead. What's he going
to do once he dies and rises and everybody, all
of his apostles know that he's the Lord.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Is he going to hang out with him? No, just
for a period of days, a few weeks, and then
he's going to send to heaven and what's going to happen?
They're on their own again. But they're not on their
own because.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Jess said, never will I leave you, and never will
I forsake you, and he sends the Holy Spirit to
will be with him forever.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Amen, Jesus is training us. Jesus training you.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Jesus is training me to do what to go out
in the world and make disciples. He's like, now you
know what to do. Now go, don't let anything hinder
the mission. Don't let anything get in the way of
the mission. Just continue to be on mission.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Everywhere you go. You represent me.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
You're my ambassador, you're my daughter, you're my son, and
you mean the world to me.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Thanks for listening to Pastor Jeff Ministries. That was Pastor
Jeff with his message the Training of the Twelve from
the series The Kingdom Invasion, showing you four key ways
Jesus trained the disciples and now he's training you now.
Before you go, be sure you request Pastor Jeff's battle
tested Wisdom, a ten day prayer journey for real life
(24:35):
decisions when you give a gift in support of Pastor
Jeff Ministries. To request your copy, go to Pastorjeff dot
com and give to help reach more people through these teachings.
And while you're there, remember to sign up for email
updates from Pastor Jeff Ministries so you never miss new
resources designed to equip you for courageous living. That's Pastorjeff
(24:56):
dot com. Thank you for joining us today,
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