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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:00 Welcome to this year's conference, Exponential, Multiplying Authentic Disciples. This is considered a premier conference for discipleship. And this0:12 is our second annual online event. Last year due to COVID, we ran our first online conference. And I'm thankful to the Lord for the privilege of being able0:24 to share with you IDMC 101, Intentional Disciple Making Church 101 training, which includes how do we why do we need to develop an0:36 intentional disciple making church ministry? Why do we need an intentional disciple making church? But in this IDMC 2 0 1 conference exponential, we0:48 want to we want to understand what does it take to run an IDMC church? What needs to be in place? What are some of the key things that a senior pastor or the1:00 leadership team or the eldership or the pastoral staff and all the leaders of the church? Every leader, every member need to eyeball. There is a new normal in the1:11 world today. The new normal requires that we think about things in a different way. But even though there is a new normal and a new wine skin and a new wine that1:23 is needed for a new wine skin, I want you to understand this, that the new wine and the new wine skin has ancient roots. You and I should never forget the1:35 great commission that Jesus left us to do and the great commandment that he has given us to love him wholeheartedly. That is why in an intentional disciple1:47 making church, these things become our twin focus. Even in the new normal, Even when churches are relooking at how to run church in this new normal, this
1:59 twin focus of the church remains. It is to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and to raise and to reproduce disciples of a certain
2:11 kind. It is to follow him and to reproduce followers of Jesus. That's what it is. So you and I, we understand that we are called to play a
2:22 part in reaching the world, in making disciples and multiplying disciples. See, the call of this conference is this that the Lord is moving in the
2:34 world today. There is a mighty harvest that is before us. What do the church need to do? This is the time for us to rise up and to really reach the lost and to
2:46 make disciples of all nations as our core priority. This conference is to call churches back to their disciple making roots. This conference is to help you to
2:58 take your part in world evangelization before the coming of the Lord. And not only tap into the power of spiritual addition, but tap into the power of
3:09 spiritual multiplication. That's why in this conference, we're focusing on exponential. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this moment. I thank
3:21 you that you have given us the privilege to gather in various places to learn from your word. Give us the listening ears and a heart that is willing to obey. Holy Spirit be our teacher. We give you all the glory,
3:33 praise and honor in Jesus name. And people of God said, Amen and Amen. Story was told of a young preacher. He just graduated from seminary and
3:45 this was his first assignment to preach in his local church. As he got up there to preach, he gave his best. And at the end of the service, he stood near the door,
3:57 shaking the hands of the members. And many members greeted him and said, thank you so much for your word. It was very good. Thank you for the word. Now on his way back, he was
4:09 driving his grandma home and he wanted to hear from his grandma because his grandma always tells him the truth. So he asked earnestly, grandma, what did you think of my
4:20 sermon? And this is what the grandma said. The grandma said, I tell you your message was good and original. He was so elated. Then grandma
4:31 clarified and this is what she said. She said, what was good was not original and what was original was not that good. I want you to listen to me carefully. Jesus, the Bible
4:43 says, was a young preacher, but whatever he spoke was original and it was extremely good. His best sermons are recorded for us.
4:55 Indeed, it is given to us in the book of Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. And you and I call this 5, 6 and 7, the Sermon on the Mount. Now this is Jesus's
5:07 discipleship manifesto. In this he defines who is a disciple and what does discipleship mean to you and me. So as we look at this text, we
5:18 understand what discipleship is all about. Now, I want to give you the background of Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. The Bible records for us in
5:30 Matthew 4 and verse 25. This is how chapter 4 ends. And great crowds followed Jesus from Galilee, from Jerusalem, from Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
5:42 I want you to listen to me carefully. Great crowds followed Jesus. Now when great crowds followed Jesus, you and I would say a great revival has broken through. A
5:54 revival is taking place. Let's build a mega church here and let's bring all the crowds together. But that's not what Jesus did. When he saw the great crowds, the Bible says in chapter 5 and verse 1,
6:06 seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. Verse 2 says he opened his mouth and taught them. Now this
6:18 is how the Sermon on the Mount begins. When he saw the great crowds Jesus went up to the mountain. Now pause and ask yourself this question. When you see the great crowds,
6:30 you want to keep them, you want to build something with them. And this is many people would say, that's great revival. That's what it's all about. Why would Jesus climb up a mountain? Because if you
6:42 think about it, the aged ones, the ones who are sick and lame cannot climb up the mountains. The 1 who has infants and the young moms cannot climb up the mountains. A lot of people will be left
6:54 behind and only some of them could go up to the mountain. And then the Bible goes on to say, he sat down and then he opened his mouth and then he taught.
7:05 Now, why use such language? You and I know that he he sat down but then the Bible says, he opened his mouth and he taught them. How else can you teach them? Why would the Holy Spirit take time to record
7:17 these things? Because there's something significant for us to capture. We must recapture the the what what does it take for world evangelization. Jesus shares the key here.
7:29 The key is not found in the masses. It's not found in the crowds. The key to world evangelization is disciples who will be willing to follow him even up the
7:41 mountain and people who are willing to align themselves. People who are willing to align themselves with him and his agenda. I want you to listen to me carefully. That is the
7:53 context in which he starts to share. He sat down and he spoke just like the tradition of the old rabbis in that time. He sat down and when he opened his
8:05 mouth and he speaks, there is something of great importance that he's going to share. What is he going to share? He's sharing about the keys to the kingdom of God. So
8:16 in this conference, we're going to explore what are some of the keys that he has given us and from this keys, what is it that we can glean? So I want to define for us what a
8:28 certain kind of disciple looks like. Now in the previous conference in IDMC 101, we shared with you that we are called to build a certain
8:40 kind of disciples, but we didn't define what the certain kind is. But in this conference from passage of scripture from Matthew 5, 6 and 7, we want to define what that certain kind looks like.
8:52 So what are the distinguishing marks of true biblical discipleship? That's the question from Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. But let's explore it first before I dig deeper into
9:04 it. Jesus gives them the keys to understanding the kingdom of God. See, I want you to catch this. The theology of discipleship is rooted in the theology of the kingdom
9:16 of God. You cannot have the kingdom of God. You can't understand the kingdom of God without understanding that there is a king who exercises
9:27 authority and rule and reign in the kingdom. In other words if you really want to understand it theologically and biblically what the kingdom of God is you have to understand there is a
9:38 king and he is the 1 who exercises rule and he invites you to align your life back to him and he calls you to allegiance to him and his
9:50 kingdom. So that's why 1 of the core things you will hear from us is the first call of a church is not to advance the kingdom. The first call of the of the church
10:02 is not even to advance the kingdom but to abide in the king. That's the first call for every member in the church. That's the first call for every Christian. That's the call of the
10:13 scriptures that we abide in the king. We align ourselves back to the king. We pledge allegiance to King Jesus and then we multiply the
10:25 influence of his kingdom. So Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. I want to give you the broad strokes here. This is what it says. Matthew 5, you can divide that into 3 portions. The radical nature of the
10:37 kingdom, the radical calling of the kingdom and the radical righteousness in the kingdom. The Bible says Jesus taught them by by teaching them the beatitudes. What's the beatitudes?
10:49 It's a grand kingdom reversal. In other words when he's teaching about the radical nature of the kingdom he says blessed are the poor in the spirit for theirs is the kingdom
11:01 of heaven. What is he saying? It's a radical shift in our orientation, in our value system. That is the radical nature of the kingdom of God. Secondly, the
11:12 radical calling of the kingdom in verse 13 to verse 16 in chapter 5, he says, you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. We're going to explore why Jesus said to them that you are the salt. You are
11:23 the light. What is the radical calling of the kingdom of God? Thirdly, it's the radical righteousness of the kingdom. The Bible says in verse 17 all the way to the last verse verse 48 in chapter 5
11:35 there are 5 illustrations concerning the law. You would hear this phrase repeated over and over again 5 times. This is the phrase you have heard that it was said but I say to
11:47 you what was Jesus dealing with? Jesus was dealing with not the mere letter of the law but he wanted to help them understand the spirit of the law. He wanted to move them from
11:59 the letter of the law to the spirit of the law. In other words understand true transformation. That's the radical righteousness in the kingdom. Then he goes on to Matthew chapter 6. In
12:11 Matthew chapter 6, there he gives you 3 illustrations of true spirituality. It's about almsgiving, prayer and fasting. But 1 thing he highlights here is what matters most to the
12:22 father is that not an outward ritual but an inward condition of the heart. Why do you do what you do? What is the motive behind your almsgiving, your prayer and your fasting and what you
12:34 do in secret? God will reward you in public. In other words, what is the motive? Your inner life, your heart condition matters before God. Then Matthew chapter 7, he deals with 3 things, the right
12:46 faith, the right fruit and the right foundation. What's the right faith and the right fruit and the right foundation? Now, all these things, this the grand summary of Matthew chapter 5, 6
12:58 and 7. It's the radical nature of the kingdom. It's the radical calling of the kingdom. It's the radical righteous ness in the kingdom resulting in the great faith, the great the right fruit and the right foundation.
13:10 Now this is how you summarize Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. But I want to give you this so that you would be able to understand what a disciple looks
13:21 like. So let's ask that question. What does a certain kind of disciple looks like from the Sermon on the Mount? There are 7 marks of radical discipleship. And this is what we're to do. 1, your
13:33 values must be changed. Matthew chapter 5 verse 1 to 12. Your values must be changed. If there is no value change there is no life change. If there is no life change
13:45 no transformation then there is no growth in discipleship. Story was told of a young boy who returned to return home from his
13:56 preschool. Now he has a dog named Patty. He loves this dog. So whenever he returns back from school, he will always play with
14:07 Patty. He will ask his mom, mom, where's Patty? And he'll play with it. 1 day, when the boy was in school, Patty ran across the street and it
14:19 was hit by a car and it died. The mother was scared. The mother didn't know how to present this fact to the boy. So when the boy returned home, the first thing he said is,
14:31 Mom, where is Patty? And the mom sat him down in the couch and the mom said to him, Son, Patty died today. And the boy said,
14:42 Okay. And then he started to run and he started to play in the backyard. The mom thought, wow, he took it well. Few minutes later, he ran back into the kitchen and said, mom, where is Patty? I
14:54 want to play with it. Now the mom was puzzled. She understood that he didn't understand. So she sat him down and said, Patty died today. This time he cried, he wailed, he wept, he
15:06 screamed. The mother was puzzled. She asked him, I said to you earlier that Patty died but you didn't react but this time you're crying. What happened? The boy
15:18 replied, At first I thought you said daddy died. I want you to listen to me carefully. Many people are still crying over the patties of this
15:30 world because the patties of this world has superseded their love for the daddy in heaven. Listen, the Bible says the call of discipleship is this do not
15:41 love the world nor the things in the world. Why? Because the things of the world the system of the world corrupts your soul. If the values of this world are corrupted if the
15:53 values in the soul are corrupted then you can't have true discipleship. So the first call is to deny the world. The first call is to not love the world not love the system of the world. Why. Because the
16:05 world system is gravitated towards the spectacular. The world system is gravitated towards the strong and the spectacular and the successful. But Jesus was saying there is a grand kingdom
16:17 reversal. And in chapter 5 in 1 verses 1 to 12 he highlights for us 3 things the blessedness of humility where your values must be changed.
16:29 And secondly the blessedness of holiness. Thirdly, he says the blessedness of harmony, blessedness of humility. Blessed are the meek
16:41 for they shall inherit the earth. The Bible says blessedness of holiness. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied. Thirdly blessedness of
16:52 harmony. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God. What do we get from here? You cannot define success like the world defines success. You can't define who
17:04 is strong and what spectacular based on the value system of the world because in the kingdom of God there is a grand reversal. That's why in the church world today we cannot define what is a great church, what is a
17:16 good church, what is a healthy church, you can't define it like the world. The world defines a church as successful when it sees the bodies the bucks and the buildings. In other words based on how many people do you
17:28 get on a Sunday. What is your budgets like? What is how much do you how much is the income of the church? Thirdly what is the buildings look like? How many people can you seat? This is how the world
17:40 defines success. But in the Kingdom of God, it is not based on bodies, bucks and buildings. It is based on the approval of God. That is why the key question to ask is this.
17:52 The essential question in discipleship is not how many people are attending your church. The fundamental question is what kind of people are attending your church.
18:05 This is the key things that we got to examine. What are they becoming? Are they growing to be true disciples of Christ? If size is the measure of success then go to Africa, go to Asia, some
18:17 parts of Asia where the church is in the millions. They can gather millions of people, hundreds of thousands in a church service, hundreds of thousands in a conference if size
18:28 is success. But can I humbly say this? What Jesus wants us to explore is to dig below the surface and to ask how have the values changed? Because if
18:40 the values have not changed, then all we have is a thousands and thousands of immature babies who have not grown in true discipleship.
18:53 Second thing that Jesus calls us to do is this your mission must be clear. Your mission must be clear from Matthew chapter 5 verses 13 to 16. The Bible says in this passage
19:04 that Jesus was talking about the calling of the church And he gives us 2 things. He says, you are the salt of the earth in verse 13. And then in verse 14, you are
19:16 the light of the world. Why does he use the word you are the salt of the earth? And then he goes on to say, are the light of the world. See, you and I, we need to
19:28 understand the mission that he has given to us. See, the mission of firefighters is not to put out fires. The mission of firefighters
19:40 is to save lives through firefighting. The same thing you and I we need to understand the mission of the church is not disciple making. Disciple making is the
19:51 means. What is the mission of the church? The mission of the church is to grow the people of God in their identity and to give them the grace to rise up and become spiritually mature so they can
20:03 walk and influence the world and become spiritually multiply. Listen carefully. That's why Jesus said you are the salt of the earth. You are the
20:15 light of the world. Let's ask this question. Why would he say you are the salt of the earth? If he wants to share that they are precious, he should say you are the gold of the earth. You are the diamond of the
20:27 earth or you are the platinum of the earth. But rather he said you are the salt of the earth. Salt sodium chloride is a very stable
20:38 chemical compound. In other words, if you leave salt in a jar, if you come back even 50 years later, it will still be salty. That in other words, will still
20:50 be salt. That's why you and I, we need to understand it is a stable compound. It is a unique combination. It's a unique compound. In other words you can use salt to add to
21:02 different dishes. You can have salted egg. You can have salted fish. You can have salted anything but you can't salt salt. In other words it's unique. I want you to listen to me carefully
21:14 that this is what Jesus was highlighting. Many times when we look at this passage we always talk about the usefulness of salt that salt is used to add flavor it preserves but this Jesus not talking about the
21:26 usefulness of salt he's talking about the uniqueness of salt it is the distinctiveness of salt in the same manner there is nothing in the world like the bride of Christ the church of
21:38 Jesus Christ, the people who are redeemed community. There is nothing like that in the world today. That's why you and I we need to understand that we are the salt of the earth. In other words there is
21:50 an identity to us that we belong to Him. We are his and there is a uniqueness that is a distinctiveness and the Bible word for that distinctiveness is holiness.
22:02 You are set apart from the rest of the world. You're called to live for his glory and for the good of his kingdom. That's the mission. That's the
22:13 identity of a believer. That's the identity of a disciple. Your ambitions in life, your aspirations in life. Your anxieties in life are different to the ones of the world.
22:25 You are distinct. You're holy. You're set apart for his glory and for his purpose and for his kingdom call. That's why you and I need to be clear on the mission. The
22:37 mission is that we are called to teach people to walk in their identity, to walk in their distinctiveness. Hallelujah as people of God. Secondly he said you
22:49 are the light of the world. What is the light? The light is that you are there to influence the world. In other words he's speaking about the destiny. He says if you light your light and you don't hide it you
23:01 put it on the shelf for people to see. Not only that when you are shining brighter in the marketplace shining brighter in your neighborhood shining brighter in your career shining brighter in your
23:13 marriage It will draw people to God. I want you to listen to me you are not only not only speaks about your identity it speaks about your influence as a believer. It not only
23:25 speaks about your distinctiveness it speaks about your destiny that you are the light of the world. That's why you and I we need to understand the mission. So as a pastor
23:37 1 of the things that I that I take very seriously is this that the church is not a cruise ship. We're not here to run programs to entertain people, to give them what they want and they
23:49 come here and then they are entertained and they continue to rate everything and say, that was a great experience. I'll go bring my friend. This is how it is. It's not. See church is not a cruise ship.
24:01 Church is a battleship. You and I we need to come into a mission that we get ready. We get aligned. We recognize the identity that we carry. We recognize the influence we carry. We carry the
24:12 distinctiveness as a body of Christ And we walk into the destiny that he has for us. My heart for the next generation is that they will rise up and
24:24 be people who are radical. They are ready to fight the fight. They're ready to run the race because there is a fight to be fought and there is a race to be run. That they are ready and
24:35 but as well as they are rooted and they are ready for the mission that God has for us. The third thing is your standard must be right. Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 to
24:47 48. Jesus was talking about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. Your standard must be right. In other words in this passage Jesus
24:59 says it is not just about the outward behavior transformation but Jesus is talking about an inner condition of the heart that is transformed. So it's not the
25:11 outward behavior transformation modification but an inner life transformation. In other words you and I we need to understand that in this 5 illustrations in this passage Jesus was
25:23 saying don't just follow the letter of the law move towards the spirit of the law. In other words the spirit of the law is to transform our heart to
25:34 transform our life. Jesus said it has been said to you do not commit adultery but I say to you if you just look at a woman who is not your spouse in a
25:46 lustful manner you've already committed adultery. In other words what Jesus was saying is it is not just a letter of the law and outward behavior transformation but a condition of the heart that needs to be
25:57 transformed. But how do we transform the inner heart? The only way you can transform is that you learn discipleship from the inside out not from the
26:08 outside in. Not focusing on just changing the behavior but transforming the condition of the heart. So to live out the discipleship from the inside out a person must learn to
26:20 disciple himself upside down. In other words you've got to live upside down. You've got to live with kingdom values. You've got to live with the heavenly mindset. The Bible says and when you are aligned to the holy
26:32 scriptures which comes from about the wisdom that comes from about when you're aligned to it you're able to disciple yourself. You're able to disciple and follow Jesus. The most important thing is that
26:44 God wants to see that there is a change in our heart. 1 of the core things that you and I we need to understand is this When we are discipling people, people always
26:56 ask what materials should we use. But over the years, I've realized this. That's a journey with my own leaders in the church, or as I journey with my mentors who
27:08 oversee my life. 1 of the ways that I've been ministered to deeply is by their life. It is not the materials. See, we always say in this church, materials
27:19 make immaterial Christians. We have gone through a material. We have gained more knowledge, but nothing has been changed. How do you move from the head knowledge to a heart transformation? It is by
27:31 modeling. That is why Jesus was calling us here not just to have the outward ritual but an inward relationship with him, with his word that transforms us.
27:43 Here the Bible says that through your life, through your life. That's why anytime I have journeyed with my mentors, I have learned not from their sermons or from their books or from the
27:55 time of mentoring, mentoring that they have deposited into me the principles and paradigms and practices. But the most important thing they have modeled for me is their life. Their life, their
28:06 pilgrimage, their conviction, their surrender, their obedience to God. These are the things that inspires us in our journey of life. Fourthly, Jesus says your motive must be
28:18 pure. Matthew chapter 6 and verses 1 to 18. Jesus speaks about the true spirituality. He says, Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be
28:30 noticed by them. See you and I, we need to understand human nature. We are wired that way to boast. We are wired that way to brag. Indeed, these day
28:42 with the with the advent of social media platforms, with the increase of social media platforms, people are boasting about where they eat, what they do, where they live, how they are enjoying
28:54 their free time, and what kind of luxuries they surround themselves with. Listen, we are prone to boasting. And this is the key. Jesus wants you to
29:06 live for the audience of 1. You know, there was a young boy who wanted to show his mom how he rides his bicycle. He was just learning how to ride.
29:18 He wanted to show his mom. So he called his mom and said, Mom, look, no feet. And he was just riding the bike. And then after a while he said, mom, look,
29:30 no hands. And then again, as he was riding a little bit further, he said, mom, look, no hands, no feet. And that's when he crashed. And then he got up and he said, Mom,
29:42 look, no teeth. This is what happens. We want to boast about what we do, what we have. But what Jesus is saying is it is not about what others
29:54 can notice that matters. It is what no 1 notice that matters. Listen, true spirituality is that you live a life for the audience of 1 who we are when no 1
30:05 sees matters to God, who we are and what we do when no 1 is watching matters to God. In other words, you and I, we need to recognize that the Lord's
30:17 presence is with you. The Holy Spirit is indwelt in you. That means he's with you all the time that you're living your life not before men, but before God. And the Bible says, if you live
30:29 like that, what you do in secret, God is able to see it and he will reward you. See, you and I are called to live and he examines the motive of
30:41 our heart. Listen to me. Who what you see? I want you to hear this. What you see is determined by who you are. Many
30:53 times, it's what you see is determined by who you are. What do you notice? When I went to Korea for the first time, I was so amazed at
31:04 how many churches I can see in that place. But my I have a friend who is a Korean and he said, Oh, is that all you noticed? Do you know
31:16 that in Korea, the cosmetic surgery, cosmetic cleanings, they are everywhere? So when he said that, the next time I was in Korea, this time I can
31:27 see cosmetic centers and cosmetic clinics everywhere. Why what happened? I want you to listen to me. What I am I'm able to see. In other words the first time when I went there I saw churches
31:39 because I'm a pastor. I look for churches and I looked around and it was so many churches but the next time someone told me this is what you need to look for and now I'm looking around and all I can see is
31:52 cosmetic clinics. Listen, this is what happens. What you see is determined by who you are. But not only that, what you see is
32:03 determined by where you live, where you live. That's why 1 of the core things that you and I we need to determine is are you living in the kingdom of God? Are you living in the kingdom of
32:15 this world? You and I can be influenced by the kingdom of this world and that would distract us from seeing what is true spirituality in the eyes of God. But when you are living in the kingdom of
32:27 God, where God is your king and he dictates the terms upon which you live your life, you will be tutored and trained to see. Hallelujah. I want you to see this, that our heart
32:39 is not just gravitating towards the things of this world, the spectacular, the successful, the strong, but rather in the kingdom of God, our heart is tutored to go into that place where the Lord who sees what you
32:51 do in private, he will reward you in public. Listen to me. The fifth 1 is your allegiance must be true. Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 34. It speaks
33:03 about one's allegiance, what our loyalty should be in Matthew, chapter 6 and verse 33. The Bible says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these
33:14 things shall be added to you. Praise God. Now, Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 34 is my favorite passage in the whole of the Bible because this passage of scripture
33:26 speaks about the singleness of heart and the simplicity of life. Listen to me carefully. Chapter 6 verses 19 to 25. There are 3 things Jesus
33:38 highlights the single treasure. There are 2 places where you can store your treasure. But he says choose wisely choose 1. Then he says there are 2 things your eyes can be seeing. Your eyes can see too many things
33:50 or your eyes can be trained to see only 1 thing single eye. Single treasure, single eye. And then verse 24, he goes on to say single master. In other
34:01 words, there should be a singleness of eye, singleness of purpose, single mindedness about your life. There should be 1 thing that your life is defined by. It is either the
34:13 kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world. And he says choose 1 because you can't have both. In the same manner he says choose 1 master who you'll be loyal to devoted to. Then from verse 25
34:25 all the way to verse 34 he talks about do not be anxious. Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Do not be anxious about what you will eat and what you will wear and what where you will live. All these things the world cares
34:36 about But your heavenly father already knows what you would need. Listen to me carefully. What is he talking about? Your discipleship is seen not only in your aspirations of
34:48 life. Your discipleship is seen in the anxieties of your heart. See listen what grips your heart? What keeps you awake at night? What makes what troubles you? What worries
35:00 you? These things show where your discipleship is. And here the Bible says in from chapter 6 verses 19 to 34 the whole thing he brings it back and he says
35:12 as a disciple of Christ you should not be focused on what the world focuses on you should be focused on 1 thing and where your heart is single-minded in its allegiance to Jesus. And
35:24 therefore your heart can be addressed. You don't need to have the anxieties of life. You can be addressed. And the rest you can have is this, that
35:36 he knows my needs, he will take care of it. And in this allegiance, he says in verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all
35:47 these things that the Gentiles seek after shall be added to you. Hallelujah. I love that phrase seek first. When you are aligned
35:59 to the purposes of God. When you are aligned and your heart is in allegiance to the King, what would happen is you will have seek first in your life. What does seek first means?
36:11 Seek first is not a priority statement. See it is not talking about the sequence of priorities like this is number 1. This is number 2. That's not what Jesus is talking about.
36:23 He's talking about a purpose statement. In other words, he's talking about not a sequence of priorities but he's talking about the preoccupation of your heart. What is your heart longing for. What is your heart yearning
36:34 for. What is your heart allegiance to. What is your heart aligned to. This is the key. Jesus says you and I should be preoccupied. Our heart should be filled with
36:45 aspirations about the kingdom of God. And the moment you have the kingdom of God and his righteousness in your heart as you have given yourself to it, this is what will happen. It becomes the defining
36:57 center of gravity in your life. As a result, he says, the Lord will add all the things that the Gentiles seek after the food, the clothing, the places
37:09 to live and all the other provisions. The father says, I'm able to take care of it. In other words, what he's talking to us is about come back to that place where your heart is of 1 allegiance to the
37:21 king, 1 heart, 1 allegiance to the king, and then you experience your life in the kingdom of God. Hallelujah. Number 6, your relationships must be sound. Matthew
37:33 chapter 7 verses 1 to 12. The tests of true spirituality and discipleship is seen in the realm of human relationships. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 12 he says therefore however you want
37:45 people to treat you so treat them. What is Jesus saying? Discipleship is seen in your relationships. In other words how do you build compassion into your life? How do you build kindness into your
37:57 life? How do you build love into your relationship? These are discipleship factors. When you are touched by the love of God you cannot but love people. When you have received
38:08 grace you will release grace. When you have been shown mercy you will show mercy. Can I humbly say this don't take offense easily? Be magnanimous in your
38:19 spirit. You know many times I find this plaguing the Asian church. The Asians are very quick to get offended. They get easily offended. And not only that when they
38:31 get offended they want to let the whole world know that they offended that this person offended them. So what they will do they will write an email BCC everybody or they put it as a public post or something like that. As
38:42 a result that our vicarious anger that happens in the life of the church. Listen to me carefully. If you have an offense against somebody go and deal with it directly and privately before the
38:54 Lord but can I humbly say this the next step of discipleship for you is to die to yourself die to your reputation die to your face value die to your face? In other words come before
39:06 God and say Lord my flesh is still reactive. You can spit on a dead person he will not react. You can kick a dead person he will not react. You can speak ill of a dead person he will not react but the aliveShow more
Paul Jeyachandran
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