These conferences help the man or woman of God understand who they really are in Christ Jesus. They help the saint understand what it means to be in the presence of the Lord. It is in the presence of the Lord that the transformation takes place. Are you tired of struggling to receive the transformation? Then perhaps you need to discover the Sabbath Rest and begin to relax and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Recover your first love; experience the transformative power of Need, Rest & Reasonable Service
If you would like more information on how your group could participate in a conference email for more information. Send your inquiry to jmachuta2@gmail.com
Conference Outline
This conference is designed to help the saints of God discover their true identity in the Lord Jesus Christ and to be set on a path of discipleship.
A disciple is a student. In the New Testament the Greek word that is translated as disciple is (mathetes) and it simply means student. A disciple of Jesus is a student of Jesus
This conference will focus on becoming a disciple/student of Jesus from the view point of the apostle’s doctrine
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(Act 2:42)
Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
(2Th 2:15)
This conference will look at the apostle’s doctrine as found in the pages of the New Testament and will contrast it with the early church father’s doctrine. Doctrine ... didach didache means teaching so, the apostle’s doctrine is the apostle’s teaching... Just what a student/disciple should know!
Recover your first love!
Discover your need and the need of all people
Uncover the Sabbath Rest for the People of God
Discover how to fulfill your reasonable service
Uncover the roadmap to Discipleship
Recover your joy and peace!
The Problem:
Ephesians 4:22-24 states this; to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, (23) and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, (24) and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Also; Paul states in Romans 12:1-2; I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. I believe that one of the mysteries that has been withheld from the Gentiles over the last two thousand years is the operation of this transformation. In other words, most have been taught to simply transform the flesh themselves. I call it being NIKE slogan Christians. They are told to just do it.
The fact is that this can never be done in the flesh and so it merely puts the would-be-saint into bondage and fear. The remnant that has really matured in Christ has done so by the operation of believing the gospel in spite of this. One of the things, that happens to most babes in Christ first, is, once they are saved, the Church starts a timer ticking. This timer is keeping track of their transformation and the progress they are making in changing their behavior. This puts the new believer under a law and Paul has explained that the letter kills but the spirit gives life. The end result is a stillbirth. The timer puts a limit on the time necessary to transform. The reality is however, that only the gospel and the indwelling Lord through his Spirit, can transform a life for real.
Further, there is some great misunderstanding as to what the transformation will be, that is, what the fruit of transformation will be. If God is love, and we find that He is in 1 John 4:8, then, if we are to be transformed into the image of Jesus, who is God, then it stands to reason, that we will be transformed into a loving person and the fruit of the transformed life, will be the fruit of the Spirit, which springs from, and is in all aspects, part of, agape love.
This study is devoted to explaining the catalyst or the moving force of the process of transformation. Yes, transformation is a process, and yes, the Lord wants to see us put on the new man created in true righteousness and holiness.
Discipleship Formula
Need – Rest – Reasonable Service
Pattern for this is found in the Epistle to the Romans
- Mankinds universal sinfulness the NEED (Romans 1:18 – 3:20)
- Gentile sinfulness (1:18-32)
- Jewish Sinfulness (2:1- 3:8)
- Universal sinfulness (3:9-20)
- Resting in the sovereign decrees of redemption and the righteousness of God(3:21 – 8:39)
Reasonable Service Instructions (12:1 – 16:27)
Renewing Your First Love
Think back to the time when you were first saved.
- Think of the peace you experienced
- Think of the joy you experienced knowing that your sins were forgiven and that you had a new beginning
- Think of the way in which all of the guilt had left
What are the things that contribute to loosing your first love?
- Could it be that it was slowly choked out by sin and failure in your life?
- Has it been dulled by your inablility to live holy at all times?
- Has it come from the pressures and judgments that others have put on you?
- Is it difficult to stay real and genuine before the Lord and other believers?
Contributing factors
- Struggles of spiritual warfare and the weakness of the flesh
- The lies of Satan and his demon angels
- Dishonesty of brothers and sisters in Christ that are too often pretending to live holy
So, how does one regain that first love? Well, the answer is resting in Jesus by faith! This resting then, is what is necessary to stay in the place of divine forgiveness and blessedness twenty-four hours per day seven days per week. So, resting in the finished work of Christ on Calvary is the only way to keep your first love. The first principle of discipleship then, is, finding rest in Jesus. One can only rest in Jesus when the need for him is recognized. One cannot become a disciple of Christ without seeing a complete and utter need for him.
Need – Without Excuse
Rom 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
When you think about it, there is nothing that man has that God could possibly want except man’s love. God created man and thus had a purpose in creation. The Bible teaches us that God’s motivation in the creation of mankind was to be praised and loved. God does not want love from a being that has no choice. God wants to be loved by a person who really truly loves Him. John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. This is exactly why God decreed that He would permit mankind to fall. The grand purpose of God in allowing the fall of humanity was to bring about a plan of redemption. It is the plan of redemption, which is the impetus for real praise and worship and thus, genuine love for God
Jer 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (10) "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
Sabbath Rest
Heb 4:9-11 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, (10) for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (11) Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
What exactly is the Sabbath Rest? Well, the writer of Hebrews states that man should rest from his works just as God rested from His works. The Sabbath Rest, simply put, IS resting in the works of Jesus.
This is why the sovereign decrees of redemption are so important to the proper operation of the gospel and the proper obedience. Obedience should and must be from the heart and not from the flesh. This is the biggest struggle of the church. Is your obedience from the heart or from the flesh?
The Sabbath Rest produces obedience from the heart!
Resting In God’s Decrees of Redemption
The New Testament letters are divided into two distinct types of messages. Actually it is one message with two distinct perspectives. One is God’s perspective outside of linear time. This perspective has been called God’s decrees. The other perspective is also God’s perspective, but it is written to describe man’s proper response. In these two concepts, we find the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of humanity. These two messages seem to contradict one another and appear to be mutually exclusive. For example, if God is sovereign, how can man be responsible and have a choice? In fact, the two main views of systematic theology, i.e., Calvinism and Arminianism, emphasize one or the other of these two concepts. They do this chiefly, in their description and definition of salvation. The truth, it seems, is that there is a paradox of sorts. First, God is absolutely sovereign, but then, man is also completely responsible. If one is to ever resolve these issues, it is necessary to view these two types of messages, i.e. sovereign decrees and reasonable service instructions in the way that the apostles and writers of the New Testament used them.
The decrees must have precedence!
The Mercies of God
Rom 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Rom 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (2) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The Mercy of God Leads to Repentance!
True Righteousness and Holiness
Eph 4:22-24 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, (23) and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, (24) and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
True righteousness and holiness begins with resting in Jesus, and in the sovereign decrees of redemption. It comes from a truly cleansed conscience.
Heb 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God
Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Recap
Proper Discipleship Requires:
- One must RECOVER their first love
- One must recognize there complete and utter NEED for Jesus and His righteousness
- One must REST in the sovereign decrees of redemption.
- One must allow their LOVE for God to urge them on to reasonable service
- One must let their LIGHT SHINE by bringing about social justice in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and giving shelter to the homeless
