[Sermon Notes]

Title: "Are You a Disciple of Jesus?" (3) (Discipleship)
Text: John 15:4-9

10 Expectation: waiting for God's transformative love to happen in surprising ways.
20 Focus: maintaining perfect equanimity and balance to be open to our neighbors and the world.
30 Transformation: transforming ourselves, our neighbors, and our surroundings with lives that reflect God's love.

Scripture Texts

(John 15:4-9) "4 "Remain in me," he said, "and I in you, and you in me. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains attached to the vine, so you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.「5」 I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for I remain in him. Apart from me you can do nothing.6 "If a man does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a useless branch and dries up. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, whatever you ask for, it will be done for you.7 "If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, it will be done for you.8 "If you bear much fruit and remain My disciples, My Father will be glorified by this.9 "As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love."

[Sermon manuscript]

0.[Greeting]

Good morning, everyone. How's your week been going?

- Yesterday there was a wedding at the church. First, I would like to congratulate the couple on their marriage and thank our church family for being there.

1. [Last week's review]

- People cannot change people because they do not look deeply into themselves or others and do not know them.

- Only God knows what is in a person's heart, and Jesus knows us and puts in us what we need.

- Therefore, God puts God's Word, love, and Holy Spirit into the believer.

- The disciple is to grow in community, believing that his or her life is rooted in the transformative love of God.

- The disciple lives in expectation and waiting for God's transforming love to happen in surprising ways.

20. [Focus] Maintain complete equanimity and balance to be open to neighbor and the world.

- A disciple is to have the characteristics of a birdwatcher: a birdwatcher is focused with equanimity and balance.

21. What is concentration?

"Focus is an attitude of expectancy plus active, transformative love, willingness to work so that new relationships (acts) arise that go beyond the limits of the fellowship."

- If a disciple has focus, there must be an expectation of the Lord, expecting Him to show His transformative love in their lives and in their neighbors.

22. [abide in me].

- The disciple must remain in the presence of the Lord. (John 15:4)

- There are times when the Holy Spirit in a believer will often work in their heart to give them "alone time".

- When this happens, I encourage you to practice going to the Lord and spending time with Him in a place where you can be alone, laying down everything that might interfere with that time.

- There is no other way to have the kind of focus that the Lord wants you to have without taking time each day to be alone with Him.

- You can't be a full-fledged disciple of the Lord without being a birdwatcher, watching for the Lord and waiting for the Lord. In other words, you can be good at church, but you can't be a disciple of the Lord.

23. [Let us take the trouble to assemble]

- Concentration should be based on continuing fellowship. We must gather consistently with expectation.

23-1.We have weekly House Church meetings. A mokjang is not just a small group or flock group. A mokjang is a house church. A mokjang is a church that meets weekly with a lay minister in charge.

- But in this day and age, many churches struggle to meet together.

- As we were preparing for this classic performance of True Worshipers 12, we reached out to pastors in the area about this ministry, but not many churches were willing to invite us.

- We ended up having TW12 perform at our mokjang and Nashua One Heart Church. Both our church and Nashua Oneness Church have house church ministries, so it wasn't difficult for them to meet on Fridays, especially since there are many mokjanges that have mokjang meetings on Fridays.

- (Heb 10:25) "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you see the Day approaching."

(Heb 10:25) "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

- Now that summer vacation begins in May, and many of our church members will be traveling, we are going to set aside a special period from May through the end of August to continue to meet together as a "mokjang." 24.

24. [The core of House Chiurch]

It is important for the mokjang to gather every week, and the core of the mokjang is "the presence of God." It is the place where our lives are transformed through gratitude, prayer, and the community of God's love.

24-1. [Miracles must happen].

- Focus is a commitment to "a new relationship or behavior that goes beyond limits".

- God is not a dead God, but a living God, and He loves us, but He is indeed wiser than we are.

And so, He allows our lives to reach "limits".

- Whenever we encounter limits, we are surprised and afraid. We may think that this is natural for us.

- However, God's Word, the Bible, does not say "do not be afraid" or "do not be dismayed". Instead, God's Word, the Bible, says, "Do not be afraid" and "do not be alarmed." [Thursday QT Message

24-2. [Thursday QT Word]

[Psalm] The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Psalm 110:1

These words were spoken by God the Father to his Son, our Lord Jesus. It is also spoken to me, who have become a child of God in Jesus. It is like saying, "Be still, and know that I am God, and I will be exalted among the nations and among the world" (46:10).

To the Israelites who were in dire straits, sandwiched between the 1,200-meter-deep Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh's mighty chariot army behind them, "Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid, but stand still and see the salvation that the LORD is doing for you this day; you shall never see the Egyptians whom you have seen today again, nor for ever; the LORD will fight for you; stand still!" (Exodus 14:13,14).

And to Jehoshaphat, who was surrounded on all sides by the enemy's allied armies and in crisis, God said, "Do not be afraid or dismayed by this great multitude. For this battle does not belong to you, but to God: for there is nothing in this battle for you to fight: stand in your ranks, and see that the LORD who is with you delivers" (2 Chron. 20:15,17).

God says the same thing to his people who rely on him throughout the ages: "Stand still and see the salvation of God."

We must learn to rest in all circumstances and to remain calm in the midst of storms. It is given only when we live by faith.

24-3 [Saturday QT message].

* It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man; and to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in counselors. The nations have surrounded me; I will cut them off in the name of the LORD. Psalm 118:8-10

We naturally turn to those in power, those in authority, to get things done. But people are not to be relied on, but served. That way, there will be fewer hurts and fewer disappointments. It is wisdom to rely on God. I must entrust my path to God. In God alone is my security. Fleeing to God is the safest thing you can do. Stay in your comfort zone.

David the shepherd boldly shouted at Goliath the Philistine.

"You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts. For the battle belongs to the LORD, and he will deliver you into our hand" (1 Sam. 17:45-47).

The secret of victory is not in human power or superior weapons. Warfare belongs to God. If I fight, I do it in my own strength and power, but if I rely on God, He fights for me, so I don't have to be afraid of any threat at every moment. Because I recognize that God is with me, and I rely on Him. David ran toward Goliath, trusting in the name of God, and threw the sling in his hand at his forehead, as he usually did with lions and bears.

You must be bold and not afraid. We must trust that God is with us. With courage, faith, and prayer, God will work. My God gives such a person 'always' the victory (2 Corinthians 14:9).

25. [Counsel: Be mature enough to maintain full composure and balance].

- (Prov. 4:22-27) "[22] These words (wisdom) are life to the one who finds them, and they give health to his whole body.

"23] Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the very source of life.

"24" Put away perverse words from your mouth, and keep deceitful speech from your lips.

"25" Let your eyes look straight ahead, your gaze straight ahead.

"26" Watch where you tread. All your paths will be safe.

"27 "Do not turn aside to the left or to the right, but cut off your steps from evil.""

26. [Counsel: Be open to others and to the world].

- Dear Believer, it is never easy to live as a Christian and enter into "the life of someone other than yourself," but there is no other way to live as a disciple.

- I still don't know all that this means.

- But one thing I am learning these days is about "perspective."

26-1. [My perspective broadens]

- This is a sentence from Being Disciples.

"When he entered into the life of someone other than himself, his perspective broadened and deepened. He saw others differently than he had before, and he saw himself differently. Finally, he became truly human. He felt greater compassion and saw the world with greater wisdom. This is the effect of the act of looking deeply at another person."

27. [Be someone you want to talk to].

- May you be a person who lifts up others through your words, service, and time together, in the name of the Lord.

27-1. [Diminisher vs. Illuminator / Diminisher vs Illunimator]

- Be the person who says, "I want to be a better person."

As we build relationships, we learn that there are two kinds of lives.

-- Diminisher vs. Illuminate / Diminisher vs Illunimator

- A person who believes in their own abilities and tries to solve every problem on their own is a Diminisher, and they make others feel insignificant. In other words, a Diminisher sees others as objects to be used, not as people to befriend.

- Illuminators, on the other hand, are constantly interested in other people. These are people who have been trained or have developed the skill of understanding others. They know what to look for in others and how and when to ask them questions.

- They shine the light of their attention on others, making them feel bigger, deeper, and more respected than they are.

27-2. [Have you ever had that experience?]

- A quote from "To Know Is to Be Known"

- "The author of a biography of the novelist E. M. Forster wrote, "To talk to Mr. Forster was to be captivated by an 'inverse charisma,' an inverted charisma. I felt like I was the most honest, sharpest, best version of myself because he was so focused on my words."

-- Imagine how great it would be if someone was listening to you.

- "Jennie Jerome before she gave birth to Winston Churchill The story of Jennie Jerome is also famous. As a young woman, Jennie was at dinner with British politician William Gladstone and thought he was the smartest man in England.

But after having dinner with Gladstone's rival, Benjamin Disraeli, she realized that she was the smartest person in England. It's good to be like Gladstone, but it's even better to be like Disraeli."

27-3 [Welcoming and welcoming]

- Be welcomed first, and then be the one who welcomes others.

- Be blessed first, and then be a blessing to others.

- Abide in the Lord first, and then abide in the Lord together in community with others.

- Be the kind of person you want to talk to.

- To do this, practice talking (praying) with God first and then with people.

- First, listen for good questions, and then practice asking good questions.

- The Bible continually asks us good questions. Spend time in God's Word each day.

- So that you can ask good questions of your neighbors and the world, creating deep connection, healing, and growth.

- May we be a WorshipFrontier community that looks deeply into others, one person at a time.