KCF May Conference 2006

Evening Session #1

Commitment (first level of discipleship):
Requirement to Understand God’s Grace

[Acts 2:41-47]

[Matthew 4:17-22]

- Why can’t the truth be implemented into our lives?

o We have to look to Christ to train us to be disciples

- Part 1: Commitment

- If we are sincere about knowing the will of God, must be dedicated to discipleship

- Jesus is calling us to be disciples

- Your mentor can be books

- Discipleship beings with commitment but this takes time, WHY? Because it takes calculation

- repent à turn back

- Gospels à you need to calculate. CALCULATEEEEE.

- V.21-22 à immediately, because they’ve thought it through

- Not only committed but committed to membership.

- You have to learn how to be a member of a church (you have to be accountable)

- Do not retreat from the body of Christ when you’re going through hard times.

o You are not the only one

- Christian community is not a strong community because its members are strong

- Commitment is not enough for discipleship

- Mat 16:21-23

o Commitment will never give you humility, also we don’t realize our weaknesses

- commitment breeds legalism and elitism; it’s not enough.

 

Morning Session

Humility:
Growing in God’s Grace

[Matthew 26:69-27:10]

Romans 12:3-8

- commitment alone, you will absolutely fail.

- V.69 à Peter sees he is a failure

- God puts you in a place where you are most absolutely uncomfortable; lets us fail absolutely, to know who we are

- Failure is a part of discipleship

- V.75 à character of humility

- Gain God’s perspective

- If you want to grow as a follower of Jesus Christ, you need to have perspective.

- Pray, you see God’s grace

- You begin to have hope, less trust in our own physical self

- Absence of pride and self-assertion (websters) à humility

- No more highly of himself than he ought to think à (Christian edition)

- Capacity to see God’s grace in the midst of our failures à humility

- 1 Corinthians 15:9-11

- means of which to understand God’s grace

o read the Bible, learn how to pray, have regular devotional life, learn how to give, etc.

-

- 3 things change our lives

o worst life circumstances

o ppl

o spiritual discipline

- Luke 22:31-32

- “After you fail, come back”

- you need to accept grace to dispense grace

- not just by understanding God’s grace do we develop humility

- it is also through interpersonal relationships.

- Matthew 7:12

- We need to begin to relate to people in the way they need to be loved.

- “Inside and Out” by Larry Crabb

o i) by being committed to fellowship

- Hebrews 10:24-25

- All reason missionaries come back from missions (to other 나라들) is because they don’t get along.

o Ii) practice boundaries, proverbs 4:3

- We have the capacity to guard our own hearts

- Help others but Bible says to guard your heart

- Don’t feed pearls to pigs

- If people are using you and not sincerely looking for help, guard your heart

- Set our right boundaries

o Iii) need to encourage à nonverbal and verbal, encouragement to help become better Christians

- use wholesome words

- how do we encourage?

- C.S. Lewis’ 4 Loves

- Receive ‘gift-love’ from God and give it away

- Humility is cultivated in corporate relationships

- Everyone has capacity to impact community

o Need to learn our gifts to serve

- submission, letting go what you want so you can meet the needs of one/group you’re submitting to

- only failure in Christianity is to quit

- if you’re serious about discipleship, get over yourself; you’re going to fail.

 

Evening Session #2

Restoration & Empowerment:

Secret of Extending God’s Grace

[Luke 24:36-49]

[Acts 1:1-11]

[Acts 2:1-4]

- the value of an individual in the eyes of God

- if you cannot give up your life for Jean Embry, then your life is not worthy of me.

- A man bought by grace alone.

- He knows all, hidden, the depth, the beginning of your sins

- Discipline of solitude; it’s okay to be alone

- Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves

- It is not enough to do things in a Christian way, we must do things God’s way

- Restored disciples understand who they are.

- When Jesus comes back, gives them empirical evidence. “I am here, even though you abandoned and failed me”

- Jesus’ commitment to our lives

- Jesus’ commitment to fulfill God’s will

- “okay, let’s go to work!”

- he will use us, despite us

- if we are not transformed by the power of Jesus Christ, the world will never believe us

- Restored disciples understand they need training for their lives

- Unless I am trained to help others, I cannot help others

- Christians are not willing to learn and use the resources that are available to them

- When I stoep learning, I stop teaching

- Once you being to read, you will know your limitations

- Only empowered people can fulfill God’s mission on earth

- We have the responsibility to come to the Lord and seek his leading

- Here I stand, until you move me on

- We don’t go till God tells us to go

- Attempt to change human at its core