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Jesus gives a revolutionary plan for killing
off all of your enemies by loving them. Let's
check it out: "But to you who are
listening I say: Love your enemies, do good
to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you. Do to
others as you would have them do to you. If
you love those who love you, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners love those who love
them. And if you do good to those who are
good to you, what credit is that to you? Even
sinners do that. And if you lend to those
from whom you expect repayment, what credit
is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners,
expecting to be repaid in full. But love your
enemies, do good to them, and lend to them
without expecting to get anything back."
(Luke 6) This is SECRET #65: The
follower of Jesus shares the message of the
Master by giving a blessing when
insulted.
The revolutionary principle is found in:
"Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you." It's the golden rule, quoted
by nearly all religions and recognized as the
most fundamental way of living ever. This is
at the foundation of what Jesus is saying
when He says to love your enemies. Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you.
The key to loving your enemies can only be
found in the dynamic of forgiveness. Jesus
says, "For if you forgive others for their
transgressions, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. But if you do not forgive
others, then your Father will not forgive
your transgressions." (Matthew 6:14-15)
I don't think there is a more penetrating
statement in all of scripture! If you don't
forgive others, God will not forgive you!
Your relationship with God is integrally part
of your relationship with others and vice versa.
We are all desperate for it, but we are also
confused with what true forgiveness really
is. First, it's important to understand what
forgiving is not: Forgiving doesn't mean you
must go back or reunite. Forgiving doesn't
mean we tolerate the wrong he did. Forgiving
doesn't mean we want to forget what happened.
Forgiving doesn't mean we excuse the person
who did it. Forgiving doesn't mean we take
the edge off the evil done. Forgiving doesn't
mean we surrender our right to justice.
Forgiving doesn't mean to invite someone to
hurt us again.
This brings us to what forgiveness actually
is. It's the ultimate form of love. It's
being willing to pay for the offense yourself
and not get even with the one who hurt you.
When you forgive, you take the pain yourself!
There are five steps in forgiving another
person: 1. Remind yourself that this person
is only human! 2. Relinquish your right to
get even! The truth of the matter is that it
is impossible to get (exactly) even. You will
either not get back at them enough or you
will overdo it. There is just no way to get
even! 3. Be ready to hurt in order to heal!
You must take the pain all by yourself! This
is the real secret to the dynamic of
forgiving someone. You must pay for and not
demand that they do! 4. Wish them well! This
could be the best real evidence that
forgiveness has taken place. Try praying for
them-for their success! 5. You may have to
repeat the process! Jesus was asked how many
times a person ought to forgive another. His
answer was 70 X 7 or 490! By the way, this
doesn't mean that at 491, you can go get even
with them!
This is all well and good, but what is the
primary motivation to forgive
anyone-especially your enemy? The answer is
FREEDOM! As long as you refuse to forgive,
you are in bondage to this person who hurt
you! In bondage! You are his/her slave for as
long as you don't forgive!
Years after her concentration camp
experiences in Nazi Germany, Corrie ten Boom
met face to face one of the most cruel and
heartless German guards that she had ever
contacted. He had humiliated and degraded her
and her sister. He had jeered and visually
raped them as they stood in the delousing
shower. Now he stood before her with his hand
outstretched and said, "Will you forgive me?"
She writes: "I stood there with coldness
clutching at my heart, but I know that the
will can function regardless of the
temperature of the heart. I prayed, Jesus,
help me! Woodenly, mechanically I thrust my
hand into the one stretched out to me and I
experienced an incredible thing. The current
started in my shoulder, raced down into my
arms and sprang into our clutched hands. Then
this warm reconciliation seemed to flood my
whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. 'I
forgive you, brother,' I cried with my whole
heart. For a long moment we grasped each
other's hands, the former guard and the
former prisoner. I have never known the love
of God so intensely as I did in that moment!"
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and
discover the prisoner was you! This is SECRET
#65: The follower of Jesus shares the
message of the Master by giving a blessing
when insulted.
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When you are a follower of Jesus, so much of
what you do is a matter of the heart. In
other words, you want to spend lots of energy
and focus on the invisible matters of the
heart. Although these invisible matters of
the heart are not overtly seen, they still
shine through in such a way so as to
communicate a most meaningful quality of life
and the distinctive characteristic of
wholeness. This is SECRET #64: The
follower of Jesus shares the message of the
Master by embracing His lifestyle.
This comes from the words of Jesus in the
well-known "sermon on the mount": "You are
the salt of the earth; but if the salt has
become tasteless, how can it be made salty
again? It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled under
foot by men. You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor
does anyone light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives
light to all who are in the house. Let your
light shine before men in such a way that
they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew
5:13-16)
When you are a follower of Jesus, you are
continually faced with a value system-a set
of principles that demonstrate Jesus and His
Kingdom. These are His teachings. I like to
think of these principles and teachings as
what the Kingdom of God is all about.
Practicing the principles and teachings of
Jesus is practicing the Kingdom of God in
your life.
The Kingdom of God is primarily invisible,
like the wind, but with some visible results.
The Kingdom principles will move you to
emphasize the internals over the externals.
You will practice such invisible things as
forgiving that person who has really hurt
you. You will learn to practice such
invisible Kingdom principles as dying in
order to live, as losing yourself to really
find yourself, as celebrating the act of
mourning over that which keeps you from God,
and as finding pure satisfaction from
hungering and thirsting after the right
things in Jesus.
The visible dimension of the Kingdom must be
seen. Because of the invisible flow of the
Kingdom principles, you will learn to
practice some visible dimensions of the
Kingdom-the dimension of light. Jesus said to
His disciples: "You are the light of the
world."
So, the Kingdom is demonstrated through your
lifestyle-inside out. It's learning to
embrace the preeminence of Jesus and the
presence of His Kingdom as a lifestyle. You
can live the Kingdom, revolutionary lifestyle
right now and it will go against the grain of
what the herd is doing and where the herd is
going. The Kingdom doesn't need to be proved;
it needs to be practiced!
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a
citizen of the Kingdom of God. Whatever you
do for a living, you are being paid to do a
certain work. However, you have a much
greater calling to pattern yourself after
Jesus and practice the Kingdom of God every
day, all while you are being paid.
So, what does the Kingdom look like and what
does the message sound like? It looks and
sounds like Jesus embraced by His followers.
SECRET #64 is: The follower of Jesus
shares the message of the Master by embracing
His lifestyle. You live your life
before a watching world. For some, your life
is the only picture they will ever see of
Jesus. So, let your light shine through.
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Secret #63 can best be summed up with the
words of Jesus: "For John came neither
eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a
demon!' The Son of Man came eating and
drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous
man and a drunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and sinners!'" (Matthew
11:18-19) This was his reputation. He was
known as a friend to the disenfranchised. And
those who became followers of Jesus were to
be just like their Master.
SECRET #63: The follower of Jesus
stands with the broken, abused, addicted and
the poor, imitating the Master.
Immediately after Jesus called Matthew, the
tax collector, to follow Him, Matthew threw a
party. Naturally, Matthew invited His family
and friends to this party and this was quite
a gathering of other tax collectors and
sinners or the non-religious. Matthew records
it in this way: When the Pharisees saw
this, they said to His disciples, "Why is
your Teacher eating with the tax collectors
and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He
said, "It is not those who are healthy who
need a physician, but those who are sick. But
go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE
COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners."
(Matthew 9:11-13)
In the synagogue, even today, there is a
weekly reading of the Scriptures. When Jesus
showed up at the synagogue in His home town
of Nazareth, He read the weekly reading that
was really about Him from the prophet Isaiah:
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power
of the Spirit, and news about Him spread
through all the surrounding district. And He
began teaching in their synagogues and was
praised by all. And He came to Nazareth,
where He had been brought up; and as was His
custom, He entered the synagogue on the
Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book
of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And
He opened the book and found the place where
it was written, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS
UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO
PREACH THE
GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO
PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND
RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE
THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE
FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." (Luke 4:14-19)
When John's disciples were sent to question
Jesus about His credentials, Jesus
articulated the same Messianic theme: At
that very time He cured many people of
diseases and afflictions and evil spirits;
and He gave sight to many who were blind. And
He answered and said to them, "Go and report
to John what you have seen and heard: the
BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL
PREACHED TO THEM. Blessed is he who does not
take offense at Me." (Luke 7:21-23)
Later, Jesus said to a person who had invited
Him to dinner, "When you give a luncheon
or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or rich
neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you
in return and that will be your repayment.
But when you give a reception, invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed, since they do not have
the means to repay you; for you will be
repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous." (Luke 14:12-14) Jesus was all
about working with and hanging out with the
broken, abused, addicted and poor-the
disenfranchised of society-and wants His
followers to do the same.
One more observation here is Jesus chose as
His key followers a group of men from the
non-religious world. He chose men who were
just ordinary and uneducated men, teenagers,
in fact, to lead the most revolutionary
movement ever. As the most popular spiritual
leader during that time, Jesus didn't stand
with other spiritual or religious leaders in
the community. In fact, He put them down and
embarrassed them time and time again. He
seemed to be bent on humbling them, because
they loved being in such exalted positions.
Believe me, they didn't have much to do with
the non-religious. They stood far away from
them. On the other hand, Jesus not only stood
with them and hung out with them; He also
touched them. And when Jesus touched someone,
they were encouraged, healed, and empowered!
SECRET #63: The follower of Jesus
stands with the broken, abused, addicted and
the poor, imitating the Master.
FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.
"Make disciples of all nations" is the
command we just discussed that Jesus gave to
His disciples. It's important, however, to
examine just what is the making of a
disciple. You see, there is no way you or I
or anyone has the capability to make a
disciple. Remember, I said disciple making is
caught and not taught. There is something
more to it than that. This brings us to
SECRET #62: The follower of Jesus knows
disciples aren't made, but summoned.
The only way a person becomes a disciple is
to be summoned. You see, a disciple is
literally a follower, therefore a follower
must be called into action to start
following. The one who calls you to follow is
the teacher-the leader-the Master. What I'm
learning is that the only one I've ever
encountered who is worthy of being a Master,
my Master, is Jesus.
When you examine Jesus, you will frequently
hear the two most revolutionary words ever
spoken-two words that have actually turned
the world upside down. These two words are
"FOLLOW ME!"
One of the earliest times Jesus delivered
this challenge was with a group of
fishermen-Peter, Andrew, James and John. Take
a look into this scene: Now as Jesus was
walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two
brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and
Andrew his brother, casting a net into the
sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to
them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers
of men." Immediately they left their nets and
followed Him. Going on from there He saw two
other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets; and He
called them. Immediately they left the boat
and their father, and followed Him.
(Matthew 4:18-22)
Then there was the special encounter Jesus
had with a tax collector by the name of
Matthew. As Jesus went on from there, He
saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax
collector's booth; and He said to him,
"Follow Me!" And he got up and followed
Him. (Matthew 9:9)
A disciple or follower must be summoned or
invited to follow. Once invited, you start
following as soon as possible. Why? It's
because this invitation is from the Master,
Himself.
Jesus gives us some insight into how this
summoning process occurs in the 6th chapter
of John's Gospel. He says, "For this
reason I have said to you, that no one can
come to Me unless it has been granted him
from the Father." (John 6:65) So, it's
God, the Father, who is behind it all.
Earlier in this same scene Jesus says, "No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent
Me draws him."
So, here's how it seems to work. Jesus does
what His Father moves Him to do and say. And,
in the case of inviting people to follow Him,
the Father is the one doing the drawing in of
the potential followers. A full-court press
is needed to make disciples of all nations.
There are three players in the making of
disciples. FIRST-The Father through the
Spirit is drawing all people to Jesus.
SECOND-Jesus is the irresistible one people
are drawn to. THIRD-Those who are already
followers of Jesus are diligently introducing
people to Jesus-advancing the conversation of
Jesus whenever possible.
As you can see Jesus is central to the entire
process. The Father draws people to Jesus and
His followers get to know Him personally and
make Him known in every way possible. Jesus
is the Master worthy of an answer to His call
to follow.
Jesus reveals this before and
after His command to "make disciples of all
nations" when He said, "All authority has
been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go
therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
SECRET #62 is: The follower of Jesus
knows disciples aren't made, but
summoned. Have you felt the drawing
of the Father or the calling of Jesus to
follow? Then, do whatever you have to do to
follow Him as closely as you can.
FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.
In the 3 ½ years of Jesus' teaching of His
disciples there's no doubt about several
recurring themes throughout. One of the most
dynamic, recurring themes is Jesus' answer to
the question, "What is the greatest of the
commandments?" His answer was "You
must love God with all your heart and your
neighbor as yourself."
Another very familiar theme of Jesus'
teachings is found in some of His final words
to His disciples. It was one of Jesus' final
commands. He commanded: "Make disciples of
all nations (cultures)!" This is where I
get SECRET #61: The follower of Jesus
is diligent to make disciples of the Master
wherever he goes.
Matthew recorded Jesus' words in this way:
"All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age."
(Matthew 28:18-20)
There is only one command in these verses and
it's not "Go!" The only command is "Make
disciple of all nations!" Then, there are
three participles that offer how to do
this-by going, by baptizing and by teaching.
I don't want to get bogged down with the
participles other than to give my quick
opinion on them. "Going" has to do with
taking the initiative in "making disciples".
"Baptizing" may not have anything to do with
water. Remember John's words: "I baptize with
water, but He who is coming after me is
mightier than I and will baptize you with the
Spirit." "Teaching" doesn't have to do with
imparting more doctrines, but it is teaching
in such a way that people will embrace these
things Jesus taught by embracing them as a
lifestyle-by being like Jesus. We can discuss
these matters on a later podcast.
Historically, we have spent so much time
cussing and discussing what Jesus meant by
going, baptizing and teaching that we miss
the primary command to make disciples. This
is because it's much easier to go on a
mission trip, sprinkle or dunk others in
water, and teach, teach and teach more and
more of our particular belief systems to our
followers.
Making disciples is more difficult. There are
two basic difficulties. FIRST-the command is
to make disciples of Jesus, not make
disciples of our particular spiritual flavor
or bent. Now if you are going to commit
yourself to make disciples of Jesus, you must
be a disciple or follower of Jesus yourself.
I've often said that following Jesus is the
toughest thing I've ever tried to do. Before
I became a stubborn follower of Jesus, I
practiced "making disciples" by assembling
people into a classroom. I thought it was all
about teaching them to become a disciple of
Jesus. Now, I get it. "Making disciples"
cannot happen in a classroom. "Making
disciples" must be caught and not taught!
It's something that must be caught from you
as a genuine follower of Jesus!
SECOND-Jesus said, "Make disciples of all
nations!" This is the second difficulty
in making disciples. We are to make disciples
of all nations. Nations is actually the word
that means cultures. Jesus commands His
followers to make disciples of all cultures.
The real difficulty here is the natural
tendency is to change other cultures to be
like our culture. Instead of making disciples
of Jesus of all nations, where every culture
freely responds to the good news of Jesus in
their own way, we tend to make cultural
disciples of all nations-to make them look
and sound like us. So, other cultures are
taught to sing our songs, speak our lingo and
practice our culture as their own. This isn't
making disciples of all cultures.
"Making disciples" of Jesus in every culture
of the world is the mission of those who
follow Jesus. Most of my life I only made
disciples by accident. Since I have become
passionate about being a follower of Jesus, I
now see every person I meet as a potential
follower of Jesus. You see, when you own it,
you can't help but spill all over those you
touch.
There are three steps I want to suggest:
FIRST-Be a serious disciple or follower of
Jesus yourself. SECOND-Make it your habit to
insert Jesus into the conversation whenever
you can. THIRD-When you see another person
acting, talking, thinking or loving like
Jesus, point this out to them and affirm them
for it. SECRET #61: The follower of
Jesus is diligent to make disciples of the
Master wherever he goes. Remember,
discipleship can't be taught-only caught!
