SYLLM - PLG5FM SUNDAY DISCIPLESHIP 2-18-2024 After the Cross

At the cross, we have a revelation of our need for Jesus and the sacrifice he made for our sins. After accepting Jesus into our lives, we have a responsibility to share the good news and lead others to salvation. The hymn "At the Cross" reminds us of the importance of this experience and the ongoing duty we have as Christians. Jesus' instructions to his disciples after the cross were to go and make disciples, sharing their personal stories and leading others to the light of the cross. Our purpose as Christians is to continue spreading the message of salvation and helping others find their way to Jesus. that looks the part, but something happened inside of their heart, inside of their mind. A decision was made and they acted upon the decision from the inside that reflects a difference on the outside. So a Christian is that person that by themselves, after hearing the gospel, after somebody telling them, after them hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, they decided themselves to give their hearts to Christ. So that is my definition, it's a simple term. You can't be a Christian if you're not saved, right? Christ lives in the Christian, the saved person. He comes and takes up residence in our heart. So the cross is important. I'm referring to these brothers and sisters who were saved by grace with evidence displayed in the outward way they live. We recognize that there are repercussions for people who are not saved. Christians recognize that the most important purpose that we have in life is to share the good news so that somebody else can get saved too, so they can come to know who Jesus Christ is, so that they can understand their condition, their sinful condition, and make the change and accept the free gifts of salvation through Jesus Christ. So the Christian is the one who has responsibilities after the cross and we'll talk more about that. So to help us to focus on this, I want to share a song that we used to sing in the Baptist church and it's still saying, for him to sing in the Baptist church. I won't say it to you, but I'll read it to you. So let's pray. I'm going to pray before we do that and we'll get into this lesson a little bit more. So Heavenly Father, your will be done, your kingdom come. Your will and your kingdom is established in heaven. Therefore, we understand that it is established in earth. Holy Spirit, we confess that we desire to know your great works, greater works. So please open our ears and open our hearts to understand and open our minds to receive your instruction. Grant us today to live in experiences that lead to God in wisdom and also that lead us to obedient service. We surrender our understanding as we ask you God, in Jesus name, to help us see your light concerning the cross and our duties, our responsibilities as Christians after the cross. Amen? So amen. So at the cross, brothers and sisters, at the cross, we love you, Jesus. We love you, Lord. Holy Spirit, we know you're here and we thank you for being in our environment. Thank you for every person on the line. Thank you for every heart, every mind, for every person, Father God, that is represented. Every church, every leader, every member of the body of Christ. We love you. We thank you. Amen. So the first point I want to bring up is at the cross, right? At the cross was where the light bulb first went off in our souls, right? We realized we needed the light, the life and the truth of Jesus Christ to shine richly in our souls. If we wanted to know the way for our lives after the cross, you can't know how to live in the kingdom of light without that at the cross experience, without the Jesus experience, without accepting, without hearing and understanding and accepting Jesus into your life. So at the cross, we should sing that song to open our hearts and to open our minds to this revelation. At the cross is a hymn that was written a long time ago, 1707, by a man named Isaac Watts, right? The words are still valid as we sit here today, as we go through this day. They're just as valid today as they were when he wrote them. So the lyrics of it, and I won't sing it, but my heart is, it says, It says, It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I'm happy all the day. Second verse, Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glory in, when Christ the mighty Savior died, maker died, for man the creature's sin. Thus might I hide my blushing face while his dear cross appears, dissolve in my heart in thankfulness and melt my eyes to tears. But drops of grief can never repay the debt of love I owe. Here, O Lord, I give myself away, it is all that I can do. At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I'm happy all the day. It was there by faith I received my sight. And this sight that the singer is talking about is not vision, it's not what you do with your eyes. But you begin to see the revelation that I'm a sinner, and the only way that I can be saved is by faith in Jesus Christ. And so I don't know how you came to know who Jesus is, and you came to hear the story about the cross and about Jesus. And you came to know how you are, how you were as a sinner, and the only way to back to God through Jesus and sacrifice. I don't know how you came to know that, but that was for you before you understood the cross. Before you came to be at the foot of the cross, and you came to give your life. But after the cross, brothers and sisters, we have such a responsibility to continue to share. In Matthew chapter 28, so at the cross, all of us started our Christian journey. At the cross, for you and for me, is the place where you gave your life, right? Well you decided in your own heart, without anybody telling you anything, without pushing from the back, from the side, without pulling from anybody in front. But you decided that you understood what Jesus did because somebody told you. Because some Christians share the story of Jesus, but not only the story of Jesus, but they share their testimony. Remember the conversation a few weeks ago we started? We overcome by the blood of the lamb and the testimony of the faith? Well the blood of the lamb occurred on the cross, right? The sacrifice of Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, the lamb of God, the blood was shed on the cross. And it was shed for your sin and for my sin. The blood, it was shed there. But the testimony, it says and, we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the testimony of the faith. Well I gave you a definition for what a Christian is. Well, when we use the word saint and Christian, they are interchangeable. You can't be a saint of Christ, a saint of God, outside of being saved, outside of having Jesus live in your life. You're made a Christian at the point of salvation, at the point where you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart at the same time. I can't confess and not believe, I can't believe but confess. It's a one-two punch. So when you got saved, when you got saved, that was your at the cross experience. And after the cross, though, Jesus, we're coming up on the Easter season. They call it the Easter season. We know it as the Passover, right, or Pascha. But this season that we're coming up on is a reminder that the work of Jesus Christ is done. It's already done, right? After the cross, Jesus walked on earth. He died on the cross, buried in the ground for three days. After the three days, he was resurrected to life, not supernatural life, but he was actually resurrected in bodily form, right? He was a physical man, but he was resurrected, right? For 40 days before he ascended into heaven, he walked on earth. People saw him. Not only him, but when he came up out of the ground, there were many saints who were awake, Christians who were awake, who had been dead a long time. Their graves opened, and they got up, and they were walking around telling their story. They were walking around witnessing their testimony. So we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the testimony of the saints. So it's necessary for us to tell the story of the cross because we got to get people saved. But understand that in this environment where we are, usually when leaders are together or when Christians are together, I don't have to teach you or tell you how to get saved. You are already saved. We don't have to instruct you in that. We don't have to instruct you in how to get to the cross because you've already gone there, and you've already received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. But then after the cross, what is your purpose after the cross? So I want to share Matthew chapter 28. After the cross. There is an after the cross experience. Let me just share this. So after the cross, Jesus rolled on the third day with all power in his hands. Some 40 days later, on the day when he ascended from the earth, the word of God reveals that before leaving, he gave instructions to his disciples. Some 40 days later, he gave instructions. We can find out those instructions. Can you talk to me for a second? Sure. I'll get a message saying that the phone is muffled a little bit. Okay. Amen. Is this better? One, two. I can hear you. Yes, sir. Yeah, my phone was on one side of the computer, and I was on the other. Amen. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. Well, this is a good time to pause for a moment and ask if there are any comments or any questions. Amen. So let's continue, and thank you for telling me that. Phone was a little muffled. Hopefully it's better now. So then, after the cross, as I said, on the third day, Jesus rolled with all power. About 40 days later, he ascended into heaven, but before ascending, he gave instructions to his disciples. The instructions that he gave in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 through 20, he says, Go ye, therefore. You know it. You probably can recite it by heart. Go ye, therefore, and make disciples. He told them where to go. He told them what to do when they went. And he reminded them or encouraged them by saying, So paraphrasing that, this is how I write it. So go and tell somebody what you know about me. This is Jesus talking to his disciples. Go and tell somebody what you learned of me. Go and tell somebody your personal story as a witness of our personal relationship. Go and tell them all about me. And when you do, the light bulb will go off for them just as it did for you. And they will find themselves at the foot of the cross where all my light shines. Because of your testimony, they will see the light. Accept me and become my disciples. So our purpose after the cross is to tell somebody. It's to go and do something. It's to go everywhere that we go. And none of us can go everywhere. But we can go somewhere. And when we go to that somewhere, we have a purpose. We have to tell them about our experience with the Lord. We have to tell them about what we know about the good news. We have to tell them our good news. Has Jesus done anything for you? What is your experience since giving your life? And I can promise you that all of your experiences haven't been good experiences. Salvation does not bring perfection on earth. Salvation brings protection and victory through all of your situations, all of our circumstances, and all of our conditions. What I can promise you though is that no matter what you've experienced since you were saved, God has brought you all the way through it. And I can say that because you're here now. I can say that because you're listening now. All of those things, the terrible things, the bad things, the good things, all of the things that you've experienced since salvation, when you look back over that, you'll find where your experience has caused you to be one of the victorious in the earth. You probably can look back over your experience and see where people you've told about your experience who didn't accept it, who did not accept it. Some of them probably told you things like, you know, you've changed so much. I don't even want to hear all of that Jesus stuff. I don't want to hear it. And they've rejected you. And it made you feel bad. You've probably seen some people that you tried to share the good news with die in their sin and know the pain and anguish of a friend or someone in our circle of influence who left the earth without receiving Christ's understanding. We understanding what their end will be. So the goal of the purpose of the Christian after the cross is to help get somebody saved, is to help get somebody to Christ. And then after that, to be in places like this, to be able to disciple those who are, to disciple, to train, to teach, to encourage, to sharpen those who are Christians to do more, to do more with their relationship with Christ than just go to church and sit in the pew or go to church and sing. But to go ye therefore into all the world, into all of your environment and teach and make disciples. Teach them whatsoever Christ has taught you in your personal relationship. And know that he's walking with you always, even until the end of the earth. Amen. Even to the end of the earth. So after the cross, there is purpose. After the cross, there is living. After the cross, there is life. After the cross, there is work. We all, right, are recipients of the after the cross work of the disciples. And I know that because the Lord is no longer here. He's not here anymore. And he wasn't here when I was born or you were born. But the word of truth, the word of light, the word of faith has come to us all the way down through to this time because somebody shared their testimony. Because somebody lived a life that was attractive to us. And when they were attractive to us, we pointed them to Christ. You pointed them to Christ. And that is our purpose, to point them to Christ. On the cross, before Jesus hung his head, he said the phrase, it is finished. It is finished. What did he mean? Before the cross, there was a sacrificial system, right? Every year the priest had to sacrifice an unblemished lamb. And that blood was sprinkled on the altar for the substitute, right? Every year they had to do it to atone for the sins of the nation. But when Jesus, the lamb of God, the perfect lamb of God died on the cross, all sins were forgiven for all time. Yesterday, today, forever. For everybody that was living then and those who were waiting on him that had died before. Abraham died waiting on the Lord. David died waiting on the Lord. Ruth died waiting on the Lord. They died waiting, waiting on the Lord. But they didn't live in his time. Yet when the Lord died on the cross, all sins for all times were forgiven. All sins for everyone who believed. Isn't that something? Even us who hadn't even been born yet. He said it is finished. His work is finished. But our work just began. So brothers and sisters, I'm going to close with this. The work of the Lord is finished. And he's given us, our marching orders, to go and do greater work. To tell more people. To share the gospel with everybody in our circles of influence with confidence. Because we know that he is with us. His work is finished. It is done. Every person who confesses, who believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth, the Lord Jesus shall be saved. It is so. But how can they go? And how can they know? And how can they receive him if they don't know about him? So, beautiful are the feet of they who preach or proclaim the gospel to other people. That means you and me. That means Christians who are saved. That means us. So we have a responsibility after the cross that will continue until he comes again. Amen. So our after the cross purpose is to tell somebody what it means to know the Lord and how to be saved. And brothers and sisters, you don't have to have special words for leading them to the Lord. Just tell your story and invite them to Christ. Amen. That's all I have. God, we thank you so much for this time in your word. We bless you. We praise you and give you glory and honor. And thank you for the hearts, the minds, the comments, and every person that's listening. It is in you that we live, breathe, and have our being. It's in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen. I turn it over to you, Apostle. Glory to God. I bless the Lord again just for being able to come. And one of the things that is so important is that we understand that we all have a part to play. And knowing our purpose is so vital. And I get this all the time. I was on a—I was teaching on tip. And one of the things that one of the members sent me, they said they are very active, very seasoned, but still did not know what their individual purpose was. And one of the things—and I must have you expound a little bit on this, Pastor Grouch. But one of the things the Lord had me to share with her was a good place to start is in those gifted areas. You know, the areas that come easy for you is definitely an avenue to start to find out what your purpose is. Give us just a little bit of insight for those that are listening. How do we find our purpose? Amen. Amen. You know, thank you for that comment and for teaching, Apostle. And that comes up a lot. And so I made a comment that once a person gets saved, our conversation is not to teach them how to be saved again. You're already saved, right? But it's to disciple them to know more about who they are as saints. And so that—so to understand what your purpose is. In Matthew chapter 20, your purpose, my purpose, all of our purpose. I know that in our day and age, the gifts, the skills, the talents, the abilities are kind of highlighted more because they can be seen. But the instruction that everybody has, the starting point for all of us who are saved is to go. Right? Go ye therefore. So if—because the gifts, the skills, the talents, the abilities, all of those things that we can do. Your gift as apostle, my gift as teacher. All of the—the psalmist, the administrator, the intercessor, the giver. All of the spiritual gifts and all of the fruit of the spirit were already ours. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse, I think, 3, it says all spiritual—all the blessings in the heavenly realm have been given to us. Well, every gift, every talent, every skill, every ability, all of that is a gift that's already here. And that was given before you even were fashioned in your mama's womb. So you don't have to focus on that because it's already here. But as we go, those things manifest as we go. As we—as you tell somebody what your point is, your purpose. But your purpose is to share your story with everybody in your circle of influence who will listen. Right? You don't have to be a big guy or a little you. You just have to tell your story. And your story is the greatest story on earth because the only person that can tell it is you. So that individual or me, you, whoever, we have to be confident in telling our experience, our relationship, telling about our relationship and how we got saved. That's all it is. You don't have to preach to them. Just tell them your story and what is necessary, the skills and all the rest of the stuff that he's given us that's necessary to touch. That one person that you're trying to—everybody don't need to see signs and wonders and miracles to believe, right? But there are those who need that sign or need a special explanation, a simplistic explanation that only you can give. You might have—that person may have a story that the other individual can relate to that they haven't told anybody that they're experiencing. So when I tell my story and my story and your story, their story links up. Then they're able to receive the gospel, the good news from me without all of the—without me laying hands, without the miracles. The miracles, signs, and wonders are for people who don't believe. But many times the people who are asking you about Christ, us about Christ, they already believe. They have already heard the gospel, and now they just need—they're trying to confirm, what else? What else do I need to do? And all you have to do is tell them about your story so they can establish, create, or begin their story with Christ, their relationship with Christ. So your purpose—stop looking for purpose. I would say, stop looking for what my purpose is beyond the first step. And the first step that Jesus—the first instruction that he gave is found in Matthew 28, 18 through 20. And that was given to the first disciples, but he said, make disciples. So the instruction was for the disciples that he spoke directly to and to the disciples that were made. Our responsibility is to tell them the same thing. Go ye therefore and know that he's with us always. Teach whatever he taught and know he's with us. So the first thing, you want to know what your purpose is? Start doing that. Start going. Start making disciples. Start there. Amen. Amen. Does anybody else want to ask a question or chime in at this point? Because I've been reading as we were explaining this. Like I always say, you did so well. I think maybe we are getting purpose mixed up with assignment. That's what I was hearing there. Because a lot of times, we minimize the goal, and we look at that like, oh, I'm still not doing enough. So I like the way you broke that down, because I know the Lord had pressed that upon my heart, and I've been praying it often. Give us the spirit of the evangelist so that we will have that goal as a priority. Glory to God. So that's maybe where I think we're getting that confused with individual assignments. You know, am I called? You know, purpose versus call. Maybe we'll add a little bit of that next Sunday, because I think that's what people are seeking more, is the call and not the purpose. Oh, my God, I've got to preach right there. So anyway, does anybody else have a comment? We're not going to prolong the hour. I know a couple people did chime in late, which is fine. If you have a question, if there's anything that you need clarity, this is discipleship training. This is where no question is a dumb question. So at this point, the line is open for questions, and then if we don't have any, then we'll close. Does anybody have a question? Amen. Praise God, I don't have a question, but I do have a comment. Amen. And my comment has to do with teaching about at the cross and after the cross. And, you know, I'd say when we started the teaching, we talked about our testimonies. You know, we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and it was our testimony. Amen. And I just thought that, you know, you get to sing that little song after the cross, after the cross. When I first saw the light, you know, when we first saw, you know, that, hey, listen, there is a heaven and a hell. And we're going to go somewhere. You know, our spirits are going to go remain somewhere. You know, I would get to think about, you know, at the cross and say, well, I gave my life to Christ and say, you know, hey, forgive me for my sin. And, you know, but after the cross, he touched down again. He said, now go, go. And he would make it next, and, you know, where people really didn't want to receive you after you start. He said, you know, speaking about Christ, you know, go on here with that Jesus. Go on here. Go on here. You know, and I was just reminded, you know, for myself, after the cross, you know, I was going and I was telling people of the love that Jesus had for us. You know, how he died for our sins, and he loved us so much. And I was sharing it. And I remember a time I was in Korea, and, man, it was, oh, Jesus, this, Jesus, that, Jesus, that. And God was like, man, go on ahead, man. Stop talking to me about that. And, you know, and I spoke underneath my breath like, well, man, that's all I know now. You know, this is what I know. So to go and tell the goodness, man, I just want you to understand or to share the love that's been given to me. So after the cross, we have to go. We have to go and share the good news, share the love, and the discipleship is going to come to say, well, man, you know, this is what's happening. This is what I'm doing. This is how God's speaking to me. And we could share in one another's burdens and struggles, if you will, to share and say, hey, man, uplift them, to say, hey, man, you did this for me, and I'm an overcomer. I've overcame this, but that's all I have this morning. Praise God. Thank you, Pastor Brown. Thank you. Amen, sir. Thank you for that testimony. I can remember hearing you give that career experience before, and I can tell you, a lot of times the most fervent evangelist is a new saint. You know, once you learn who Christ is and you're experiencing the love of God, you're so full. You know, you want to tell everybody, run and tell everybody about what he's done for me. But after the no's, after the get out of my face, and after all of those, sometimes we begin to wonder if our testimony is actually getting through. But the scripture teaches us that one person plants in another water, but God gives the increase. So we have to keep telling. We have to keep talking. But it also tells us, the scripture also teaches us that when you go and tell somebody, if they reject you, shake the dust off of your feet, right? Or in other words, you don't have to stay in that mess, right? And it is a mess. I think it's 1 Corinthians 16.33, I believe. Hold on. Let me just get back, because I want you to read it. It says that, first, it tells us that bad company corrupts, right? Bad company. Yeah, it's 15. 1 Corinthians 15.33. It teaches us that bad company corrupts a good character. So you don't have to keep going and keep going and keep going to people who keep rejecting you, because you told your story. But if you stay there, their mindset, their ideas, their badness will change you. And you won't change them. There's no place in the scripture that says that you, a good company, will correct bad character. But it does repeat it to remind us that bad company. So we can't stay there. I told you, and I'll tell you again when I see you and get the opportunity, but I won't stay in your face. So sometimes when we stay in a person's face and keep trying, because that person right there really needs to be saved. So you keep trying and keep trying and keep trying. It becomes a discouragement for you, because that person is not, the increase is not coming through your activity or your conversation. So I encourage you to tell your story, tell your testimony, but keep it moving. Keep going. If they don't accept it, shake the dust off and keep going. Somebody will listen. Amen. Apostle, give me your hand. Amen. We want to thank God for those that joined in. Again, we will continue to come every Sunday, 930. Invite somebody, because we are learning. We are learning. We are growing, because it is the truth that we know will make us free. We all understand how ignorance has healed us, but knowledge is power. And I thank God for dynamic teachers that do not mind taking time out of their schedule to teach and train. So we don't want to take it for granted, because as Pastor Brown's schedule begins to fill up and he's traveling all over the place, we may not get this up-close opportunity. So I want to encourage you guys. Take notes. Go back. Even when he gave, he gave examples of real simple prayers. And this is what we're doing. We are giving tangible examples, you know, so that you're able to fight the enemy. And it's the Word that defeats the enemy. So we give God glory. So at this time, Pastor Brown, go on and close us out with a word of prayer. Amen to God. Thank you. Amen. God, we love you so much. And we thank you for this day. Thank you for the opportunity to be in your presence. We know we're never out of your presence, but sometimes our minds, we don't feel as though you're here. So thank you for keeping us. Holy Spirit, for being with us and fulfilling us. And thank you for sending us out into the living field, not the killing field, but the living field, to share the good news today. So wherever we are, little guy, wherever we have an opportunity to say or to pray or to tell somebody about you, Jesus, give us the words to say. Holy Spirit, give us the courage to say and to go and to do your will. We bless you, Father. We praise you. Thank you for this call. Thank you for everybody that's on it. Father, we ask that you would cover us, knowing us fresh and anew, to do your will. We bless you now in Jesus' name. Amen. Y'all have a wonderful day. God bless you all. Join us next Sunday at 930. God bless you.