I delivered this sermon to my church on Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Many Christians take their spiritual responsibilities lightly. They think God will forgive them for whatever they do wrong, and so he will not hold them accountable for their neglect. They are in for a rude awakening and a painful experience on Judgment Day. Do not let that happen to you. In this sermon based on Luke 12:41-48 Jesus teaches that people handle their responsibilities under God in four ways:
1. Wisdom and faithfulness.
2. Self-indulgent wickedness.
3. Informed disobedience.
4. Ignorant disobedience.
God deals with each person’s response in a different way. Click the message audio to learn more.
For several years prior to 2021 I was unintentionally losing weight. I mentioned it to the doctor at my annual checkups, but he did not find anything that concerned him. Finally in the fall of 2021 I decided I needed to take intentional action to maintain my current weight and then gain some pounds.
I made it the top priority in my prayers for wisdom, and researched the subject. Then on November 26, 2021, I wrote in my wisdom workbook this prayer concerning one particular nutritional question: “What kind of fat should I eat, and how much of it? Should I eat coconut oil? Should I eat bison meat?” That morning I fasted, not eating breakfast, and I had not eaten since dinner the night before. I spent several hours waiting on God in prayer to see if he would bring anything to mind, but no answers came.
On December 1st and 3rd, two things happened that I concluded might be partial answers to my questions, so I recorded them in my workbook. But I still did not feel I had definite wisdom, so on December 9th, while fasting since dinner the night before, I spent almost eight hours waiting on the Lord regarding this inquiry. I did not have any dramatic breakthroughs, but I came away with the settled impression that exercise was as important as what I was eating.
On December 30th, I found several helpful articles and videos on exercise, and I modified my regular workouts accordingly, with an emphasis on strength and resistance training. On January 1, 2022, I lowered the priority of this question.
Since then my weight has increased several pounds, and my overall strength and conditioning has improved significantly. With the wisdom gained from the research, I now know how to eat and gain weight when needed, and feel as though my current weight and food habits are healthy. I still pray now and then about specific foods and exercises, but I believe God has overall answered the prayer I made for wisdom begun in 2021.
We do not have to pray for eight hours or fast from food every time we need wisdom. Still, sometimes, when a question is extremely important to us and our previous prayers have not yet been answered, we may need to seek God more earnestly. Then, if God does not give us any specific guidance, we can be confident it is not yet his time for us to know what we are asking. He wants us to wait patiently on him for his perfect time.
The above story is from my new book, Know: A Workbook for Gaining Wisdom from God about Everything That Matters to You. Buy it on Amazon today and gain the wisdom you need for your most challenging situations.
I oversee the financial record keeping and reporting for our church. For years the most difficult part of that process for me was the bank reconciliation, which involves confirming that our financial books agree with our bank’s records. When everything went smoothly, the bank reconciliation would take about an hour. When I ran into problems, it could take three to six hours and even require calling tech support from the company who supports our financial software. Along the way I asked several technicians for a suggestion on how to simplify this process, but none of the suggestions helped.
The onset of all this difficulty was when we started receiving online and digital donations. Over a period of about two years this was a major burden to me. Each month, I would pray for wisdom to solve any problems that arose, but in addition I prayed for a wider solution, a new system that resolved the complexity of the reconciliations.
That wisdom finally came to me in November of 2023. As I lay in bed one night, I analyzed our financial process and finally was able to imagine how to create an Excel worksheet that would keep all the income streams in their proper categories. I created that worksheet right away. Eight months have passed since then, and the reconciliation process has been smooth ever since. That bit of wisdom has saved me dozens of hours of frustrating work and changed what was a major problem into a routine project.
What tech support could not solve, praying for wisdom did.
Whom do you know who needs to solve a stubborn problem in their finances, work, family, health, or relationships, and could benefit from Know? Buy them a copy today. It could change the rest of their lives.
I want to tell you the story of how my new book came about. It is titled Know, and last week it released on Amazon.
The book is the product of praying for wisdom. Two or three years ago, I concluded that I would probably not be able to publish any more books through established publishing companies. I had been working for several years with an agent to find a publisher for another book I had written, but nothing fell into place, and the agent eventually stopped working with me. I did not want to waste months or years trying to find another agent and then more time finding a publisher.
So I wrote this prayer in my inquiring-of-God journal: “Lord, give me wisdom how to publish my books to bring you glory and advance your kingdom and truth in the maximum way possible.” I spoke that prayer numerous times over several years.
In the Fall of 2023, in the middle of one night, I was lying in bed awake and thinking. I had already written a series of blog posts on the subject of praying for wisdom, and as I laid in bed I was thinking about how I could repackage these and add value. That is when the idea came to self-publish this content as a book. I had never self-published a book before and never had any desire to do so.
But at this moment the idea germinated in me—with excitement. I was not worried about how many copies the book would sell or how I would spread the news about it. I wanted to pass on what has been so helpful to me. I figured if I could give a copy to each member of my family and leave copies to my heirs as a heritage, and if the members of my church and the readers of my blog read it, that would be worthwhile.
At the same time, the idea came to make this a workbook, a journal. I had already experienced the difference journaling had made in my successful prayers for wisdom. Moreover I had experienced the power of God’s Word to inspire faith as I had memorized many scriptures on this subject. I realized what would be most helpful to readers would be to combine and rework the material I had already written into a book with space for journaling. Every journaling page would feature a promise from God.
All this came together in about 20 minutes, and it came with excitement.
I wrote in my inquiring-for-wisdom journal: “Answer: Create a workbook for inquiring of the Lord.”
Almost a year later, I invite you to read the final product:
Share with us
I welcome your feedback on the book in the comments below.
Moreover, I would like to hear your stories about how you have prayed for wisdom and received God’s answers. Please share them in the comments.
The title of my book is “Know: A Workbook for Gaining Wisdom from God about Everything That Matters to You.” It releases on Amazon next Monday, September 14th, in hardback, for $14.
Below is an excerpt from my new book “Know,” releasing on Amazon on September 16, 2024
Stuck
Recently I was stumped by a technology problem. Our church does not have a building or office space, and so I work from the office in my apartment. Our church also relies on volunteers for bookkeeping, and I oversee the process of our monthly financial records. That means each month I transfer computer files back and forth to our volunteers.
For many years we have transferred files using the cloud (through the internet). Well, recently when I began training a new volunteer, I could not get that to work. It was evening, we were wasting time, and I was frustrated. I decided to end our training session and solve things the next day. Before going to bed, I prayed for wisdom.
The next day I prayed again for wisdom and then began to ponder how to solve the problem. Quickly the answer came to me. It was so simple I am embarrassed to say it. We needed to stop transferring files via the cloud and just use a flash drive, which we could hand back and forth when we transfer the bank statement and other financial documents. For a long time we had been using a system that was unnecessarily complicated. Mentally I had been accustomed to it, so I needed God to open my mind to other options. When I prayed for wisdom, that is what he did.
More Answers
Would I have found that solution without asking for wisdom? All I know is, I regularly get stuck and stay stuck and frustrated with problems large and small—until I pray for wisdom. Then, in God’s timing, the answer suddenly comes to me, in ways that seem normal and natural—rarely dramatic. Usually the answers seem so unsurprising that I wonder why I had not thought of them earlier. Everything works better for me when I ask God for wisdom.
Knowing God
Learning to pray for wisdom for everything that matters to you is an important way to know God practically, in daily experience, as someone you can rely on to help you. Knowing God and his ways is not just an intellectual experience; it is also a lived experience of prayer, trust, and dependence. If we know how to explain God doctrinally but do not know how to depend on him for what we need, we are missing something important and wonderful.
My new book on inquiring of God releases in two weeks!
On Monday, September 16, 2024, my new book titled Know: A Workbook for Gaining Wisdom from God about Everything That Matters to You releases on Amazon, in hardback, for $14.
I believe it can build your faith to pray for wisdom and thereby change your life. Most importantly, as I wrote above, it will help you know and walk better with God.
When you work out your salvation, you will have these 15 marks of a true disciple of Jesus.
Not everyone who thinks he or she is a Christian actually is a Christian. Jesus taught that (Matthew 7:21–23). The apostle Paul taught that (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). The apostle John taught that (1 John 2:3–6). The apostle James taught that (James 2:14–26). Therefore it is essential we do what the word of God says in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”
That implies we can know. We can find the answer to the question.
How do you test yourself? What is the standard you must meet?
In this series of articles I have taught that the standard for a true Christian is that he or she is a true disciple of Jesus Christ. None of us will be a perfect disciple of Jesus Christ; each of us is at a different stage in our maturation as a disciple—some are spiritual newborns and others spiritual elders; but every true Christian is a true disciple of Jesus who has begun a lifelong process of learning from him, as evidenced by his or her works. Like the apostle Peter, we will have our failures, but we will repent and resume following Jesus.
Does every true, mature Christian have in some measure all 15 marks, even if only in a small way in some marks? That is a question only God can answer, for as we have seen in this series Jesus speaks in black-and-white terms, not in shades of gray. We must follow his black-and-white standards of discipleship as he spoke them; he framed them as he did for a reason. Our approach should never be to do the bare minimum to be saved; rather, we should always earnestly give our utmost to walking closely with the Lord and keep growing to the end (2 Peter 1:2–11). When we do that, we can have deep assurance in our faith. Believers who do what they think is the minimum required are certainly in a precarious position and can have little assurance of what the verdict will be for them on Judgment Day. Again, Jesus spoke his parables and stated what he expects from believers for a reason.
In this series I have taught there are 15 marks of a true disciple of Jesus. I could sum up all fifteen marks with one mark: true, living faith in Jesus. We are saved through genuine faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–10), who graciously gives us the gift of righteousness apart from any good works of our own. What then is the point of the other 14 marks? The point is, they specify what true, living faith means.
This is necessary because many so-called believers have a sort of faith that falls short of being a saving faith. They are self-deceived. They may acknowledge intellectually that Jesus is Lord and that he rose from the dead, but by the way they live they deny those confessions. Titus 1:16 says, “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.” When we are true disciples with all 15 marks on display in our lives, we show that our faith is real. The 15 marks are the fruit of true faith in Jesus.
The criteria for the 15 marks
I did not choose these marks arbitrarily. I selected them based on three criteria.
1. Jesus explicitly names the mark as a characteristic of true disciples. For example, see John 8:31.
2. Jesus teaches that anyone who lacks the mark will be excluded from the kingdom of God or rejected by him. For example, see Matthew 25:1–13.
3. Jesus teaches the mark as a fundamental command. For example, see Luke 22:19–20.
Saved by Grace
It is crucial for me to emphasize that these 15 marks are not 15 ways we must work our way into heaven or earn God’s favor. You cannot earn God’s favor through these 15 marks. Even true faith does not earn God’s favor. True faith is simply the way we receive God’s gift of salvation and righteousness through Jesus Christ. Salvation is always by God’s grace, always because of the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, always because Jesus takes our sins upon himself at the cross and graciously gives us his perfect righteousness. We are righteous because Jesus’ righteousness is imputed or credited to us as a free gift, if we truly believe in Jesus. Faith is not merit in God’s sight; it is simply the way sinners stretch out their hands and receive the gift of salvation.
But God’s grace is not cheap, nor is genuine faith superficial. The gift of God’s saving grace cost him his son, whom he sent to the earth to redeem us by suffering and dying on the cross and taking the penalty we deserved. In turn, true faith will always pivot from the love of the world and of sin to the love of God. That’s because true faith trusts in who God is and what God says. And if we believe what God says we will do what God commands. We will never do it perfectly, but we will do it inevitably.
True faith changes everything. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Faith transforms the soul: desires, disposition, affections, spirit, mind, and will.
15 ways to test yourself
Therefore these 15 marks are the way you test yourself to see if your faith is superficial or genuine. Is your faith like a parachute riddled with holes, useless on the day you need it? Or is your faith alive and robust, sure to bring you entrance into the eternal kingdom of heaven? Here is a summary of the marks. I recommend you click the links and reread the articles daily for the next two weeks.
Do not be casual or careless about these things. Rather, be earnest, because the welfare and happiness of your soul depends on it both now and forever.
Jesus was always serious about these matters.
He said, “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:18).
He said, “Watch out” (Mark 8:15).
He said, “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14).
He said, “Be careful lest the light in you be darkness” (Luke 11:35).
He said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)
He said, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35).
He said, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23).
What to do if we are missing the mark
A missing mark reveals a failure of faith, repentance, and love for God. If we see a shortfall in our life, we first need to renew our foundational act of surrender to the Lord and of repentance of known sin. We need to focus on the scriptures related to our area of failure and believe what the Lord says about it. And then we need to trust him to help us believe and obey him wholeheartedly. In other words, we don’t need most of all to try harder in an area of failure but rather to get right with God at the deepest level.
And then we should focus attention on the mark we are missing and see what it is we are failing to believe or obey. We need to repent and ask God to give us grace to grow in this area. We need to earnestly pursue obedience. As the apostle Paul wrote, we need to work out our salvation. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). The marks of a true disciple of Jesus are the evidence that someone is working out his salvation. If marks are missing, he is failing to work out his salvation sufficiently.
Working out or working for
As we consider the marks of a true disciple of Jesus, it is crucial that we understand the gospel correctly. We cannot workfor our salvation; but we must workout our salvation. We cannot work for our salvation, because salvation is a gracious gift from God received by faith. If we think we are working for our salvation, then we do not regard ourselves as already saved; we are trying to be saved in the future as a result of our work. Working for your salvation is an attempt to earn it. Someone could mistakenly see the marks of a true disciple as a way of working for salvation.
But if we regard ourselves as working out our salvation, then we know that we have already been saved by faith in Christ; we have already been justified by faith; we are already God’s son or daughter; we are already forgiven; and now we are working out the repentance, holiness, love, obedience, and righteousness that living faith and spiritual regeneration produces.
We are born again in a moment. We work out our salvation for the rest of our lives. The marks of a true disciple are likewise worked out for the rest of our lives.
Inheriting eternal life
So then, we have come to the end of an important series of articles about testing our lives by the standards given by Jesus to see whether we are genuine Christians who can have a confident assurance that God will joyfully welcome us into his Kingdom on Judgment Day. If you are wise, being ready for that day is your highest priority. There is nothing more important to you than being sure you pass the test of being a true disciple of Jesus. I pray that you do.
True disciples of Jesus participate in the local church
Is it possible to be a true disciple of Jesus and keep the church at arm’s length, or to be a genuine Christian and be indifferent to the church?
No, the Bible does not present church participation as optional. Jesus regards church involvement to be of primary importance.
Let’s trace this through the Bible.
1. The Bible specifically says it is God’s will that Christians attend church meetings.
Hebrews 10:24–25 says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Failing to meet with the church of Jesus Christ is spiritual neglect. It is the omission of what is required by the Lord. It is a sin of omission.
2. The first Christians met together as the church constantly.
Acts 2:42–46 says that immediately after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which brought about the conversion of thousands of souls, the new Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers [this implies they were eating and praying together]. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes [again, this implies eating together], they received their food with glad and generous hearts.”
If this were the only part of the New Testament you had, you would assume that participating deeply in the life of the church and its meetings was the norm for true Christians—and you would be right.
3. Jesus calls the church his and declares his unstoppable purpose is to build it.
After the apostle Peter confessed his faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
The church matters infinitely to Jesus. This is his project!
What’s more, the unmistakable implication of Jesus’ determination to build his church is that we should participate. Anyone who is truly following him is on his construction team! He said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Luke 11:23).
Therefore whoever is not helping Jesus build his church is hindering the Lord’s building of his church. Whoever is not helping to gather the harvest of souls into the church is scattering the harvest of souls. According to Jesus, you cannot be neutral about the church.
4. Jesus specifically authorizes the church to do his work.
Immediately after the words above where Jesus says to Peter “I will build my church,” he goes on to tell Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
The church is the Lord’s strategy. Since Jesus has given his authority to the church, then he will exercise his authority through the church. We are not given the freedom to strategize human ways of doing Christ’s work. To be outside of the church is to be outside of his authority.
5. The church is the fullness of Jesus on earth.
Ephesians 1:22–23 says, “[God] put all things under [Jesus’] feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
If we love Jesus, we want to be as near to him and his presence as possible. We want to experience his fullness. According to this verse, we experience that fullness in the church.
I say that with one important qualification. The church we are in must be a truly biblical, Holy-Spirit filled church. We are not going to feel the presence of the Lord in a gathering of people who do not believe or follow the Bible as they should, and do not love others as Christ commands, and who walk in the flesh rather than in the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:16–25). In that case we need to find another church where believers humbly follow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also” (John 12:26). Where is Jesus in this era? He is in his church.
6. The church is where God manifests his glory.
Ephesians 3:20–21 says, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
That is a striking statement! According to this verse, there are two places where God especially wants to manifest his glory. One is in Christ Jesus, and he certainly did that. And the other is in the church, and he is in the process of doing that.
To God be the glory in the church! That is why true disciples participate deeply in the life of the church—in order that God may be glorified in it, which is where he states he wants to be glorified.
7. The universal church comprises organized, local churches.
Many people today say they do not want anything to do with the organized church. Instead they want to have individual spirituality.
But an unorganized, disconnected scattering of individual, independent Christians across the globe is not the church described in the New Testament (in particular, see Ephesians 4:11–16; 1 Corinthians 12–14; Romans 12:3–13; 1 Timothy 3:1–15; 4:6–16; 5:1–25; 2 Timothy 4:1–5; Titus 1:5–10).
The word of God calls Christians to become part of a group of believers who have approved, appointed leaders. These leaders must be tested to ensure they believe and teach correct doctrine and live godly lives. These approved leaders are called to teach the word of God and correct doctrine.
The local church not only teaches the Scriptures faithfully but also baptizes new believers in accordance with God’s will and regularly serves Communion in the way commanded and approved by Christ so that no one suffers judgment through it (see 1 Corinthians 11:17–34).
The local church also helps wayward Christians by admonishing them and if necessary eventually disciplining them when they are living in a way that will lead to their own destruction. See 1 Corinthians 5, Matthew 18:15–18.
8. The local organized church is how Jesus—the Good Shepherd—cares for his sheep.
In one of Christ’s appearances to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus ate a breakfast of fish with them, and “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’” (John 21:15–17 ESV)
Jesus cares about each one of us, and the way he shepherds our souls is through the shepherds/pastors he has given to his churches and through his churches as communities. Believers who separate themselves from the local church separate themselves also in some measure from the protection of the Good Shepherd.
9. Church is the bride of Christ.
Ephesians 5:31–32 says, “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
No one who loves Jesus should disdain his bride, for that would insult the bride he loves.
Summary
I could marshal many other scriptures and reasons for why every believer in Jesus should participate fully in the life of a local church that faithfully follows the word of God and the Holy Spirit. The entire New Testament assumes and teaches the importance of the local church to those who call Jesus Lord. Therefore let us love one another as Jesus commands and do so within the local community of believers organized to bring him glory in the earth. That is how to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
