"We Gotta Make The Difference!!"
Part II
In my quest of forging disciples, the one characteristic that made it difficult for me to coach and produce a diligent disciple was this, the belief system of the person being educated in the art of being a disciple. And it has always been and always will be a factor because of the different levels of belief you come to deal with.
I had to factor in who I was dealing with, the questions being, were they a new converts who were not familiar with the true teachings of Christ, or were they recent believers, who were just beginning to get their feet wet? But even harder still was teaching that certain someone who has had the misfortune of finding themselves in the mist of false teachers being falsely lectured with the wrong message.
Take for instance the false teachings going around about the grace message. There are a multitude of false teachers preaching Gods message in a manner that is not supposed to be imparted as true gospel. Many are these teachings that declare that Jesus died for all our sins past, present and future. Yes He did, but they are teaching it in a way that deceives the listener that God through His grace He has forgiven us of all our sins in so much that we can live immoral lives, confident that we are forgiven no matter what wicked sins we commit knowingly from this day on.
This in itself compromises the Word of God in a way that goes against what was dictated by God in His Inspired Word. The instruction given to us must not be changed or misinterpreted by us. And from the beginning up to the present, there have been and are many false teachings not only with the grace teachings but with many other misconceptions of the Ways of the Kingdom of Heaven that are being imparted to the body of Christ in such an unworthy manner causing the multitudes to act disgracefully and dishonorably concerning the truth of the Gospel presented to us by the uncompromised Word of God.
I believe that as we become teachers and instructors of the Word we must not only heed those instructions that direct us to divide the Word rightly, but we must also heed the warnings given us in the scriptures so that we can be true to demonstrate those decrees in a manner worthy and respectful of Gods position.
The following Scriptures present us with an awesome exhibition of what I mean.
Romans 12:1-3 (AMPC)
1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Here is the clincher.
3 For by the grace (unmerited favor of God or privilege and authority) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.
If I remember correctly wasn't it the adversary who first thought of himself higher than God. One day as I mediated on these Scriptures, especially Romans 12:3, the following picture of satan began to emerge. Wasn't satan created as one of the host of angelic beings, an anointed cherub and the captain of the cherubic hosts. There came a time, somewhere prior to the creation of the natural order, were satan became vain about his beauty and position, and his heart became rebellious against God. Why did this take place.
PRIDE!!
It will place you in a position where you begin thinking that what you believe, is more important than what God wants you to believe. And that is exactly what happened with satan. He became his own idol to the point that he secured a following among the angels, and there were many that followed him in being expelled from Heaven.
Their becoming prideful, turned satan and the angels that also followed him into demonic outcasts. Outcasts that from that moment devoted themselves to opposing the work of God in every way possible in attempting to destroy all the good that God created in the natural order.
So how can you be obedient to verse 1 & 2 you allow pride to overwhelm your thinking? How can you dedicate your life to God as a living sacrifice when in pride you've become dead to the knowledge Who God is? And how can you not be conformed to this world if in acting prideful you are doing just what you are not suppose to do, and that is to conform to this world of indecent pride-fullness and contemptuousness.
It is a substantiated warning, a testament to how much we need to teach the truth. A truth that we have heard and lived by in devoting ourselves to the Word of God and imparting it to all who desire to pursue their calling in being thoroughly equipped for the work that God has set before them.
In order to make a difference, we must disciple our students to heed the warnings of the Scriptures.
Somethings need repeating and this is one them, so I repeat, how can you commit anything to God in your prideful thinking, how can you battle against conforming to this worlds values if your pridefulness moves you into the area of self-indulgence and gratifying your own flesh instead of being led by the decrees and commands from God. You will start to believe otherwise and lead others to do the same by teaching the false teachings that can come from putting your ideals before Gods truth.
In my jail ministry, the one question I ask the prisoners is What is the root of all evil? The main answer given to the question is money. Now where did they hear that from ? What was the source of this false teaching. Believe me the one problem that I have in jail ministry, is battling with the religion that comes from all the different denominations that have pridefully decided that their way is the truth. Whatever happened to all of use being of one accord?
Whatever happened to the body of Christ being in agreement with these next Scriptures?
Matthew 28:19-20 (AMPC)
19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually(Forever), uniformly(unchanging), and on every occasion(every moment of your life), to the [very] close and consummation(Perfection)of the age. Amen (so let it be).
Matthew 28:19-20 The Message (MSG)
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
Let’s break this down,
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you:
Jesus was immovable when it came to obeying the instruction that He received from the Father.
This not just something that Jesus got out of the blue, this was a directive straight from the throne room.
Go out and train
My brothers and sisters this directive just commissioned you to become teachers. Teachers to whom. He makes this clear.
everyone you meet,
So everyone that you come in contact with now becomes your student.
far and near,
It became clear to me that my first classroom should start within my own home as I became my first student as I began to tutor myself in the Scriptures, You cannot believe in anything, unless you first have a direct perception of it. There must not only be an awareness but also a direct consciousness and understanding of the Word of God in a disciples spirit. They must obtain an understanding so that there will come a comprehension that will be enable them to interpret and impart the uncompromised word of God. For in understanding, your students will gain an ability to learn, judge and make decisions with intelligence.. Leading to a comprehending or grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of what should be understood. This process makes it easier to explain and make clear by clarifying the explanation.
Sounds easy doesn’t it? It is if you rely on the Scriptures.
2 Timothy 2:15-17 The Passion Translation (TPT)
15 Always be eager to present yourself before God as a perfect and mature minister, without shame, as one who correctly explains the Word of Truth.
Consider it a serious matter and keep on considering it to be something serious as you present yourself before God as a teacher of His Word.
God believes it to be serious, serious enough to say that teachers would be judged more severely.
16 And avoid empty chatter and worthless words, for they simply add to the irreverence of those who converse in that manner.
To make it a little clearer to you, I believe this is what it translates to “avoid corrupt and useless speakers, referring not to the words themselves, but to those who teach the flock. Look at the next verse.
17 For the words of Hymenaeus and Philetus are like gangrene, they have already spread their poison to many.
False Teachings definition: The poisoning of Gods Word.
We as teachers must seriously present ourselves before God so that we can place ourselves in a position where we have definitely grown mature in the Word of God and we will certainly avoid any if not all false teachings presented to us! Such a person can make a difference. Thus the title of this teaching, “We Gotta Make The Difference.” We gotta make the difference in your home, but not just in your home, how about in your neighborhood, your city, your county, your state, your country and out to other areas of the world.
Back to Matthew 28
Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life,
Back in the days of Jesus and the apostles they called this movement the Way! The Way being understood as what Jesus taught and what He taught became the course of conduct and actions of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Way demonstrated the mannerisms and the methods of being, of living, and acting in Gods righteousness. Which gave to all those who listened and obeyed the directives of The Way, an opportunity to advance in the Kingdom of God by gaining a comprehensive knowledge, and an understanding of what was being proclaimed during Jesus life and Ministry. Another phase of following the Way came by marking disciples by baptism in water in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What was the importance of this tactic? Water baptism is not only significant to the person being baptized, but it also testifies to his or her community what happened when their life was changed by Jesus. It confirms and strengthens the new believer’s commitment to live a godly life. It also gives the believer the opportunity to openly testify to others of his experience of having been crucified with Christ, buried with Him and raised together with Him to walk in newness of life. Then the great commission ends with this Mandate.
Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.
What's my take on this is? That everything that I have learned to do in Jesus, teach them all to do the same. Do not change a word! In other words, do not add anything and do not take away anything. Leave the Bible as it was written for Jesus Himself told satan three times, "It is Written" and it was and is. As disciples you become duplicates of Jesus, so follow His example.
I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.
The end of the age (“end of the world” in the KJV) refers to the end of this present era and the commencement of the next dispensation.
The end of one age leads to another. Here I believe that, it is the period that precedes the second coming of the Son of Man as the Righteous Judge. The end of the age includes the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming, and the judgment of the nations, all of which help usher in the age to come. We have given the authority and given charge of dispensing the most powerful weapon against evil that there has ever been. The uncompromised Word of God is beyond nuclear. And to stay powerful it must remain the true Word of God. And there are many who have made it and still make it a practice of dishonoring the truth with false teachings. And it is up to us to put a stop to this unscrupulous work now and forever Amen!!
I give God the Glory, the Honor and the Praise!!
Dr. Pancho
I had to factor in who I was dealing with, the questions being, were they a new converts who were not familiar with the true teachings of Christ, or were they recent believers, who were just beginning to get their feet wet? But even harder still was teaching that certain someone who has had the misfortune of finding themselves in the mist of false teachers being falsely lectured with the wrong message.
Take for instance the false teachings going around about the grace message. There are a multitude of false teachers preaching Gods message in a manner that is not supposed to be imparted as true gospel. Many are these teachings that declare that Jesus died for all our sins past, present and future. Yes He did, but they are teaching it in a way that deceives the listener that God through His grace He has forgiven us of all our sins in so much that we can live immoral lives, confident that we are forgiven no matter what wicked sins we commit knowingly from this day on.
This in itself compromises the Word of God in a way that goes against what was dictated by God in His Inspired Word. The instruction given to us must not be changed or misinterpreted by us. And from the beginning up to the present, there have been and are many false teachings not only with the grace teachings but with many other misconceptions of the Ways of the Kingdom of Heaven that are being imparted to the body of Christ in such an unworthy manner causing the multitudes to act disgracefully and dishonorably concerning the truth of the Gospel presented to us by the uncompromised Word of God.
I believe that as we become teachers and instructors of the Word we must not only heed those instructions that direct us to divide the Word rightly, but we must also heed the warnings given us in the scriptures so that we can be true to demonstrate those decrees in a manner worthy and respectful of Gods position.
The following Scriptures present us with an awesome exhibition of what I mean.
Romans 12:1-3 (AMPC)
1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Here is the clincher.
3 For by the grace (unmerited favor of God or privilege and authority) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.
If I remember correctly wasn't it the adversary who first thought of himself higher than God. One day as I mediated on these Scriptures, especially Romans 12:3, the following picture of satan began to emerge. Wasn't satan created as one of the host of angelic beings, an anointed cherub and the captain of the cherubic hosts. There came a time, somewhere prior to the creation of the natural order, were satan became vain about his beauty and position, and his heart became rebellious against God. Why did this take place.
PRIDE!!
It will place you in a position where you begin thinking that what you believe, is more important than what God wants you to believe. And that is exactly what happened with satan. He became his own idol to the point that he secured a following among the angels, and there were many that followed him in being expelled from Heaven.
Their becoming prideful, turned satan and the angels that also followed him into demonic outcasts. Outcasts that from that moment devoted themselves to opposing the work of God in every way possible in attempting to destroy all the good that God created in the natural order.
So how can you be obedient to verse 1 & 2 you allow pride to overwhelm your thinking? How can you dedicate your life to God as a living sacrifice when in pride you've become dead to the knowledge Who God is? And how can you not be conformed to this world if in acting prideful you are doing just what you are not suppose to do, and that is to conform to this world of indecent pride-fullness and contemptuousness.
It is a substantiated warning, a testament to how much we need to teach the truth. A truth that we have heard and lived by in devoting ourselves to the Word of God and imparting it to all who desire to pursue their calling in being thoroughly equipped for the work that God has set before them.
In order to make a difference, we must disciple our students to heed the warnings of the Scriptures.
Somethings need repeating and this is one them, so I repeat, how can you commit anything to God in your prideful thinking, how can you battle against conforming to this worlds values if your pridefulness moves you into the area of self-indulgence and gratifying your own flesh instead of being led by the decrees and commands from God. You will start to believe otherwise and lead others to do the same by teaching the false teachings that can come from putting your ideals before Gods truth.
In my jail ministry, the one question I ask the prisoners is What is the root of all evil? The main answer given to the question is money. Now where did they hear that from ? What was the source of this false teaching. Believe me the one problem that I have in jail ministry, is battling with the religion that comes from all the different denominations that have pridefully decided that their way is the truth. Whatever happened to all of use being of one accord?
Whatever happened to the body of Christ being in agreement with these next Scriptures?
Matthew 28:19-20 (AMPC)
19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually(Forever), uniformly(unchanging), and on every occasion(every moment of your life), to the [very] close and consummation(Perfection)of the age. Amen (so let it be).
Matthew 28:19-20 The Message (MSG)
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
Let’s break this down,
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you:
Jesus was immovable when it came to obeying the instruction that He received from the Father.
This not just something that Jesus got out of the blue, this was a directive straight from the throne room.
Go out and train
My brothers and sisters this directive just commissioned you to become teachers. Teachers to whom. He makes this clear.
everyone you meet,
So everyone that you come in contact with now becomes your student.
far and near,
It became clear to me that my first classroom should start within my own home as I became my first student as I began to tutor myself in the Scriptures, You cannot believe in anything, unless you first have a direct perception of it. There must not only be an awareness but also a direct consciousness and understanding of the Word of God in a disciples spirit. They must obtain an understanding so that there will come a comprehension that will be enable them to interpret and impart the uncompromised word of God. For in understanding, your students will gain an ability to learn, judge and make decisions with intelligence.. Leading to a comprehending or grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of what should be understood. This process makes it easier to explain and make clear by clarifying the explanation.
Sounds easy doesn’t it? It is if you rely on the Scriptures.
2 Timothy 2:15-17 The Passion Translation (TPT)
15 Always be eager to present yourself before God as a perfect and mature minister, without shame, as one who correctly explains the Word of Truth.
Consider it a serious matter and keep on considering it to be something serious as you present yourself before God as a teacher of His Word.
God believes it to be serious, serious enough to say that teachers would be judged more severely.
16 And avoid empty chatter and worthless words, for they simply add to the irreverence of those who converse in that manner.
To make it a little clearer to you, I believe this is what it translates to “avoid corrupt and useless speakers, referring not to the words themselves, but to those who teach the flock. Look at the next verse.
17 For the words of Hymenaeus and Philetus are like gangrene, they have already spread their poison to many.
False Teachings definition: The poisoning of Gods Word.
We as teachers must seriously present ourselves before God so that we can place ourselves in a position where we have definitely grown mature in the Word of God and we will certainly avoid any if not all false teachings presented to us! Such a person can make a difference. Thus the title of this teaching, “We Gotta Make The Difference.” We gotta make the difference in your home, but not just in your home, how about in your neighborhood, your city, your county, your state, your country and out to other areas of the world.
Back to Matthew 28
Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life,
Back in the days of Jesus and the apostles they called this movement the Way! The Way being understood as what Jesus taught and what He taught became the course of conduct and actions of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Way demonstrated the mannerisms and the methods of being, of living, and acting in Gods righteousness. Which gave to all those who listened and obeyed the directives of The Way, an opportunity to advance in the Kingdom of God by gaining a comprehensive knowledge, and an understanding of what was being proclaimed during Jesus life and Ministry. Another phase of following the Way came by marking disciples by baptism in water in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What was the importance of this tactic? Water baptism is not only significant to the person being baptized, but it also testifies to his or her community what happened when their life was changed by Jesus. It confirms and strengthens the new believer’s commitment to live a godly life. It also gives the believer the opportunity to openly testify to others of his experience of having been crucified with Christ, buried with Him and raised together with Him to walk in newness of life. Then the great commission ends with this Mandate.
Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.
What's my take on this is? That everything that I have learned to do in Jesus, teach them all to do the same. Do not change a word! In other words, do not add anything and do not take away anything. Leave the Bible as it was written for Jesus Himself told satan three times, "It is Written" and it was and is. As disciples you become duplicates of Jesus, so follow His example.
I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.
The end of the age (“end of the world” in the KJV) refers to the end of this present era and the commencement of the next dispensation.
The end of one age leads to another. Here I believe that, it is the period that precedes the second coming of the Son of Man as the Righteous Judge. The end of the age includes the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming, and the judgment of the nations, all of which help usher in the age to come. We have given the authority and given charge of dispensing the most powerful weapon against evil that there has ever been. The uncompromised Word of God is beyond nuclear. And to stay powerful it must remain the true Word of God. And there are many who have made it and still make it a practice of dishonoring the truth with false teachings. And it is up to us to put a stop to this unscrupulous work now and forever Amen!!
I give God the Glory, the Honor and the Praise!!
Dr. Pancho