Are You A Disciple Of Jesus?

 

According to https://www.gordonconwell.edu/, there are about 2.6 billion Christians in this world and now over 8 billion people on this planet, and that equates to 32.5% of the earths population! So if all these people are really Christian, shouldn't we be seeing evidence of great unity, love, peace, health and prosperity? 

That's what we read in scripture isn't it? The disciples were all together and had everything in common, giving to each one who had need, eating together, serving together, loving each other, and holding to the teachings of the apostles, who were taught by Jesus Himself.

Acts 2:40-47

"And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Why don't we see the signs and wonders being done by God amongst the people through His chosen vessels? Don't people still need healing and deliverance? Why don't we see the 2.6 billion believers together with ALL things in common? 

Let me tell you why! Because those believers are not being made disciples of Jesus and they are not being baptized with the Holy Spirit! If they were, then the whole world would be hearing about the great works of God every single day on CNN and every news network on the planet!

Anybody can say they are a Christian, but can you say I am a disciple of Jesus? I have been born from above by the Spirit of God and the Kingdom of God is within me? That's what Jesus said must and would happen to those who took up there cross and followed Him.

It's easy to say 'I'm a Christian', 'I believe in God', but it's extremely difficult to be a disciple of Jesus, to hate your life in this world, to deny yourself daily, and to come out of this world and be separate. That's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. 

Luke 9:23

"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

The word Disciple implies a devoted allegiance to the teachings of one chosen as a master. (Merriam Webster)

Disciple: lit., "a learner" (from manthano, "to learn," from a root math--, indicating thought accompanied by endeavor), in contrast to didaskalos, "a teacher;" hence it denotes "one who follows one's teaching," as the "disciples" of John, Mat 9:14; of the Pharisees, Mat 22:16; of Moses, Jhn 9:28; it is used of the "disciples" of Jesus (Vines Expository Dictionary)

John 8:31-32

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So you see, Jesus didn't make Christians, or those who follow Him, He called people and made them Disciples. Those who left everything behind and followed Him, those who changed their lifestyle, their old way of thinking about themselves, others, and the world. 

Christian: a word formed after the Roman style, signifying an adherent of Jesus, was first applied to such by the Gentiles and is found in Act 11:26; 26:28; 1Pe 4:16.

Though the word rendered "were called" in Act 11:26 (see under CALL) might be used of a name adopted by oneself or given by others, the "Christians" do not seem to have adopted it for themselves in the times of the Apostles. In 1Pe 4:16, the Apostle is speaking from the point of view of the persecutor; cp. "as a thief," "as a murderer." Nor is it likely that the appellation was given by Jews. As applied by Gentiles there was no doubt an implication of scorn, as in Agrippa's statement in Act 26:28. Tacitus, writing near the end of the first century, says, "The vulgar call them Christians. The author or origin of this denomination, Christus, had, in the reign of Tiberius, been executed by the Procurator, Pontius Pilate" (Annals xv. 44). From the second century onward the term was accepted by believers as a title of honor. (Vines Expository Dictionary)

The International Church Of Christ was founded by Kip Mckean around 1979 to 1980, he was mentored by a man named Chuck Lucas who led a campus ministry with a vision of making disciples. The ICOC was an offshoot of the Church of Christ and at one point had a membership of 125,000. I myself was a member of the ICOC for a number of years and was baptized in water confessing Jesus as my Lord, but one vital thing was lacking, I was never baptized in the Holy Spirit! 

And therein lies the problem with anything started by man, they tend to leave out the supernatural part of being a disciple of Jesus. In the case of the ICOC, Kip Mckean believes the baptism of the Holy Spirit was only for the first century believers and the apostles, which is a cessantionist belief. And when you do something by the flesh, ultimately it will fail, but if it be of God, it will not be overthrown or overcome unless it's God's express will or to fulfill His word.

I have learned that being a Disciple of Jesus is very different from being a Christian, they are essentially two different words with different meanings. Which one are you? A Disciple or a Christian?

I am a Disciple.

Abiding In His Word,

Tyrone

The Beast Unleashed! (Part 3)

 

Revelation 13:11-17

"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."


There will be two persons fulfilling these prophecies of Revelation. The first, the beast from the sea, is the man of sin, the son of perdition, commonly called the anti-christ. The second is the beast from the earth who will work with the anti-christ performing great signs while in his presence to deceive the people, commonly called the false prophet.

The beasts who come up from the sea and earth are evil spirits that are loosed as part of God's end times judgments on this earth. These two evil spirits have already entered their host body and are waiting to be unleashed upon humanity. Again, this sounds just like a script from a Hollywood movie, and many will likely say that, but it will be a reality in the very near future, I believe.

Both of these persons will have supernatural abilities to deceive the whole world, and the beast from the earth will tell the people to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. This image will be supernaturally brought to life and be able to speak and will force all who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And this man-made image of the beast that is brought to life will also force everyone (accept those who are true Christians!) to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.

Hard to imagine the reality of this happening right? But with technology increasing so fast, with A.I. robots walking and talking, credit cards with chips, tapping, and swiping, and with barcodes being scanned on everything in this world, this prophecy doesn't seem so far fetched now! You can't get used to one form of technology before another one is released!

I found another very interesting article on this subject!

"Another viable method of producing a permanent mark of digital data on a person uses optical patterns made directly on the skin. Since the advent of barcode technology during the 1970s for retail product marking, it has become a strong possibility that humans could be marked with a tattoo that is very similar in design to the Universal Product Code (UPC). The UPC is a form of product or item identification that is a particular subset of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), and it can be found on every item sold at retail. The UPC has enough digital capacity that it can theoretically mark up to 1 trillion items with a unique code. A similar barcode system, the European Article Number (EAN) is actually a superset of the UPC and it can mark up to 10 trillion items. Therefore, a barcode similar to the UPC or EAN potentially could be used to mark, in addition to every product sold, every human being with their own unique digital number for identification.

Such a system could indelibly ink the barcode directly into the skin of a person using standard tattooing procedures; however, in this case the process would be automated and validated by the state to provide an official number to each citizen, just as similar barcodes provide unique numbers associated with every commercial product. This process of barcoding people might even be done at automobile license facilities using a device that could be placed on the hand or forehead and the pattern quickly tattooed into the skin. To make the procedure sanitary, the tattooing device could incorporate sterile, disposable heads that could be changed after each tattooing process is finished. The procedure could even use invisible or minimally visible dyes that could be read in the near-IR region of the spectrum, thus making the marks cosmetically acceptable even on the forehead.

This type of mark would have elements of the predicted Mark of the Beast as well as the Number of the Beast, because it would be required on the hand or on the forehead. In fact, it would actually be written on and within the hand or forehead as specifically required by the prophecy in Revelation. What is fascinating is that this type of barcode Mark would also incorporate within it the hidden ‘666’ control patterns at the beginning, middle, and end of each UPC or EAN barcode, thus manifesting the Mark of the Beast and the Number of the Beast combined together into one system (see the sections on 666). This is certainly intriguing from a Biblical perspective, but it remains to be seen whether this will become the final Mark as predicted in Revelation.

Not surprisingly, some researchers, governments, and corporations have actually been advocating the marking of people with barcode IDs for quite some time. Elizabeth Moon, a science fiction author, was quoted in the New York Daily News in 2012 as saying,

“I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached – a barcode if you will – an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals.”

In addition, the first of a series of books for young readers entitled the Bar Code Tattoo, life is described in a society where every individual is forced to receive a barcode on their body by law. The rationale used in the story is that the government wants to simplify everyone’s life by eliminating cards and official identification papers, so no one could lose them or have them stolen. Of course, in the book people who resist the government and don’t get the barcode are ostracized and prohibited from participating in society. Although the Bar Code Tattoo series of books is not about Biblical prophecy, it definitely mirrors what will happen to people who refuse to get the final Mark of the Beast during the reign of the Antichrist. However, it will be much worse for Christians at the end than the main characters in the book, since ultimately many people who don’t accept the Mark will be persecuted and put to death for daring to defy the Empire."

Original article link:    The Final Mark - End Times Truth 

It will truly be a very hard time for Christians during this time, but the Lord will provide for His people! I would rather be waving palm branches in Paradise with the Lord than take the mark and be tormented forever without rest day or night in the lake of fire! Every soul will have a choice to make that will determine their eternal destination!

In Christ,

Tyrone