If you open your Bibles tonight to the book of Acts and chapter 14, Acts chapter 14, we are studying the life of Paul and we're in his first missionary journey. And let me just review that journey with you tonight. I keep doing this because I want to impress the facts upon your mind, because again, the Holy Spirit uses the facts that we find in the Word of God then to teach us the truths of God's Word. We need the facts in our mind. The Spirit can then use those things to teach us the deeper truths that are embedded in those facts. But Paul left, Paul and Barnabas and John Mark left Syria and Antioch. They traveled about 16 miles southwest to Seleucia and boarded a ship and went 90 miles further southwest to Cyprus and landed at, was it Pamphylia, and preached the gospel there. Luke doesn't tell us what happened, but just that they preached the gospel there, then made their way across the island of Cyprus to, hmm, Paphos, Paphos, where we read about Sergius Paulus, who came to Christ, the Roman governor there, and a man named Eliamus, or Simon Bargesus, who opposed the gospel and tried to persuade Sergius Paulus not to believe on Christ. Paul pronounced a curse on him and he was blinded. Sergius Paulus believed on Christ. But then Paul and Barnabas and John Martin made their way north to the mainland. of Asia Minor and to the southern region of Galatia. And they landed at Perga, and that's where John Mark boarded another ship and went back home. He quit. But Paul and Barnabas pressed on. They traveled the road from Perga up 3,600 feet in elevation through a very, not only a mountainous area, but also a road that was known for robbers, and so it was a very dangerous journey. And Paul talks about having often been in perils of robbers as he made his way on his missionary journeys. But he went up to Pisidian Antioch, another Antioch, and there preached the gospel and some Jews believed. Many did not. Many Gentiles did. And long and short of it was that the unbelieving Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, the chief men of the city, and they raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the city. And so they shook off the dust of their feet and they went on and came to Iconium. And there, again, there were some Jews and Gentiles that believed, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the people they actually were intending. They stirred up a mob with the intent of stoning Paul and Barnabas, and they were made aware of it. And so they left Iconium and went to Lystra, and there preached the gospel. It was there that Paul healed a man who had been born crippled, And they then, the people of Lystra thought they were gods, Jupiter and Mercury that had come to dwell among them. They were gonna offer sacrifices to them and Paul and Barnabas stopped them. No, we're men, we've come to turn you away from this idolatry, this vanity of worshiping idols to worship the true and living God who has blessed us and given us all things to enjoy and calls us to turn from idols and turn to him. And so they didn't offer sacrifices, but the unbelieving Jews of Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra, stirred up the unbelieving Jews and others there, and this time they actually stone Paul, left him for dead. God worked a miracle, raised Paul up, went back into Lystra, and the next day he and Barnabas headed on to Derbe. And that's kind of where we are right now. Paul is going to be in Derby and turn around and retrace his steps all the way back to Antioch and Syria where he began. In verse 20 of Acts 14, again, Paul has been stoned. He's been left for dead. But it says that he rose up and came into the city that is Lystra. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel of that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed. And I'll stop our reading there this evening. But we noted the fact, last Wednesday night, we noted the fact that as they were going on their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas were fulfilling the Great Commission. Verse 21 tells us, particularly in Derby, though this would have been true everywhere they went, but the Holy Spirit specifically says this about their ministry in Derby, that they preached the gospel and they taught many. And that's the essence of the Great Commission. And we asked the question last Wednesday night at the outset, what does the Great Commission commission us to do? The Great Commission, as recorded in Matthew 28, 18 through 20, says that Jesus came and spake unto them saying, all power, that is all authority, is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And we noted last Wednesday night that fulfilling the Great Commission begins with making converts by preaching the gospel. Mark 16, 15, Jesus said, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That the Great Commission commissions us to make disciples, to make converts by preaching the gospel all over the world. The gospel, as Luke records, it calls men to repent and they will be forgiven. He says, Jesus said, Luke 24, 47, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, to turn to God from idols, to turn to God from a life of sin, to receive the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ, through his shed blood on the cross, to become a believer, to be saved by the grace of God. And so the Great Commission begins with making converts. And then Jesus said to baptize those converts in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. And it doesn't tell us specifically that Paul and Barnabas did that, but we know from other scriptures that indeed they did baptize their converts. But the Great Commission doesn't end with making converts. That's not where it stops. We noted last Wednesday night, by the way, that we're all to be involved in the matter of preaching the gospel. Hey, we are involved in making converts, not only by our own personal witness, which we stressed last Wednesday night, that we've all been called to be witnesses. We're all to be involved in sharing the gospel with those that God gives us an opportunity to share it with. We also were involved in making converts as we would pray for missionaries that are taking the gospel to the lost, as we would pray for people that we know that are lost, as we would give to enable those whom God has called to take the gospel to those who never heard, in all those ways. We are involved in making converts and fulfilling that aspect of the Great Commission, not just through our own personal witness, though that's a key part of it. And we stress that because that's probably the part that we struggle with the most. You know, we easily give and we can pray, but when it comes to actually being involved in personal witness, that's where we struggle. And we just need to pray that God will give us boldness and we need to walk with him. Jesus said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. If we will follow him, he will continue to stir our hearts until we will be obedient and give out the gospel. But the great commission is not fulfilled only by making converts. That's just the beginning. We need to go further and make disciples. It's about leading people to faith in Jesus Christ and then leading them to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, to follow Christ. Matter of fact, I think it's interesting that the name Christian, Christian is the name that we most often associate with believers today. We call ourselves Christians, and that's the name that is most commonly used to refer to those who have believed on Jesus Christ as their savior. And that's fine, but it's interesting that the name Christian isn't a name that the Holy Spirit uses to refer to believers. In the Bible, it is a name that was given to believers by the unbelievers in Antioch, in Pisidian Antioch. I'm sorry, in Syrian Antioch. In Acts 11 and verse 26, it tells us that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. It was a name that was given to them by the unbelievers around them, Christ ones, Christ followers. And it's okay that we use that today. And I'm not trying to diminish that or minimize that or denigrate that in any way. But at the same time, I do want to emphasize, though, that one of the terms and a primary term that is used for believers in the Word of God, and particularly in the Book of Acts, is the word disciple. In fact, the word is used 31 times in the Book of Acts to describe those who were converted to Christ, who had embraced the gospel message that was preached. And I want to take a moment to walk you through this, and I hope it won't be tedious for you, and I hope you have your Bible tonight, because I really do want you to see this, that even after chapter 11 and verse 26, where the disciples were called Christians at Antioch, even after that, the Holy Spirit continues to refer to them as disciples. And so in chapter one, in verse 15, after Christ has ascended into heaven and the disciples are back in the upper room, and it says in verse 15, in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, you know, we've got to pick somebody to replace Judas. Now, at this point, we might say, well, you know, throughout the Gospels, we know about the 12 who were called disciples of Christ. And by the way, the 12 weren't the only disciples. They are selected uniquely to be disciples of Christ, and they become the apostles of Christ. But Christ had many disciples. All those who believed on him and followed him were disciples. But we would understand here at the beginning of the Book of Acts that believers would be called disciples because of discontinuation of what we read in the Gospels. And we read in verse 13 that it's the same 12, 11 now that are there in that upper room. They're named specifically. And so the fact that Luke uses the term disciples, and let's also again note, Luke is the human author, but the Holy Spirit is the author. So the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the fact that these are disciples. And so then we jump over to chapter six, where after the gospel has been preached and numbers, thousands have come to Christ, it tells us in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied. There's this murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. This is the church. And then the 12 called the multitude of the disciples unto them, called the church together and said, we need to deal with this and we need to select some men that we can appoint over this ministry. And so they chose the seven. And then in verse seven of chapter six, it tells us the word of God increased in the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly. So there's even more that are added to the church as this conflict is as peacefully resolved. And then in chapter nine, We have the conversion of the Apostle Paul, and he's breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, against the church. But again, the Holy Spirit calls them disciples. And in verse 10, after Saul has encountered Christ on the Damascus road, there's a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And in verse 19, of chapter nine, when he had received meat, he was strengthened and saw certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus, the church at Damascus. In verse 25, we read, the disciples took him by night, led him down by the wall in a basket. Verse 26, you have the word disciples and the word disciple. In verse 36, there was Dorcas, or Tabitha, is raised from the dead. She's a disciple. The disciples at Lydda, I mean, sorry, at Joppa, sent to Lydda for Peter to come, and he raised her from the dead. Verse 38, they're called disciples. In chapter 11, verse 26, the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. But even after that, again, verse 29, the disciples, we read that term there. In chapter 13, verse 52, again, we have the disciples. This is Paul's first missionary journey as they preach the gospel in Antioch. And the disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Ghost. They're converts on this first missionary journey, referred to as disciples. You get the idea? We could go on. There's 31 times it's used. But you have this recurring statement, they're disciples, they're disciples, they're disciples. And even after they're called Christians, the Holy Spirit refers to them as disciples. And it's just emphasizing that those who were converted became disciples of Jesus Christ. The early church did what it was called to do, and that is to make disciples of all the nations. Teach all nations, it says in Matthew 28, 19. It's the word for disciple. And so, what is a disciple? We're called to make converts and then to lead those converts to be disciples. What is a disciple? Now let me just note three or four characteristics tonight. There's a lot that could be said. We could preach messages on discipleship. That's not our intent tonight. I just wanna highlight just three or four thoughts about disciples. And as we do this, I wanna stress two things. Number one, I want us to understand this is what we are called to do. This is what the Great Commission commissions us to do. But number two, we need to examine our lives in light of these truths. Could we be characterized as a disciple? And I understand that, and I will note it at the outside too, that we grow in our discipleship. The person who is a disciple doesn't ever completely fulfill all the characteristics of a disciple. I mean, we grow in our discipleship. But these things are true and they're found when we are disciples. A disciple, first of all, follows Christ. In Matthew 16, 24, Jesus said to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And Luke uses the same statements in reference to discipleship. But that's what Jesus is talking about, denying ourself and taking up a cross and following him. That is what is the essence of discipleship, that the word to follow means to go in the same way, to be a companion. One writer said that discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ. And that's what Christ is calling us to do, to forsake everything, to follow him, to follow him, to go where he goes. Literally, when Christ was on earth, the disciples physically went where he went. The 12 left their work and they went with the Lord. They traveled with him from place to place. We read in Matthew chapter four that as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he called Peter and Andrew and they were fishermen. And he said, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him. And then he went a little further and there was James and John and they also were called to follow him. And immediately they left the ship and their father and they followed him and they went with him wherever he went, they were with him. following him. When the early church was selecting, you go back to Acts chapter 1, the early church is selecting that replacement for Judas. And as they they're trying to decide who it would be but they said in verse 21 of Acts chapter 1, wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us beginning from the baptism of John into the same day that he was taken up from us must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. We're going to pick somebody who's been a follower of Jesus Christ from the very beginning even though They weren't chosen by Christ to be one of the 12. Now Judas is gone, and so we need to pick somebody to take his place, and it needs to be somebody that was following Christ with him all the time, just like we were. Because we're to be witnesses of the things that we have seen and heard of Christ, and so we need somebody that was there. Now today, Christ is not physically on earth. So we're not following him around in that sense where he's up in Richmond and we go up there with him and we go down to Virginia Beach with him or up to Washington, D.C. or wherever. We're not following him physically from place to place. So today, the following of Christ is spiritual in nature. It would involve walking with the Lord daily. A disciple walks with the Lord and talks with the Lord daily. A disciple is going to be somebody who is spending that time daily in the word of God. Not just again, not just checking off. I read my chapters, but listening for the voice of God as he reads the word of God. A disciple is going to be somebody who gives himself to prayer, talking to God again, not just, you know, mindlessly or heartlessly going through a list of requests, but genuinely pouring out their heart to God. A disciple is going to be somebody who's filling his mind and heart with the Bible because that's the way that God speaks to us today. And so a disciple walks with the Lord every day in the way that we today walk with the Lord. But he also, in following the Lord, he goes wherever the Lord leads. A disciple is one who is walking in fellowship with the Lord and walking where the Lord leads. We'll come to this in Acts chapter 16, but Paul's on a second missionary journey and he is trying to go various places. He turns this way and that way and the other way and God keeps closing the door. And then finally he has this Macedonian vision, a man of Macedonia saying, come over and help us. And Luke tells us in Acts 16.10 that immediately, we endeavor to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Why did Paul go to Macedonia? Because he was following the Lord, and that's where the Lord told him to go. A disciple is one who is walking with Christ, and following Christ, and going wherever Christ calls him to go, and doing whatever Christ calls him to do. Again, one writer said, discipleship is an utter, uncompromising abandonment of ourselves to Christ, of walking with Christ and following Christ, listening to his voice and following his leadership. And so coupled with that would be the second thought that a disciple learns from Christ. If you want to alliterate the outline, a disciple lives with Christ, a disciple learns from Christ. Because the word disciple literally means to be a learner. Jerry's teaching in his Sunday school class right now in the Sermon on the Mount. But it tells us in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 1 that the Lord called his disciples unto him and taught them. In that case, the teaching was, there was a multitude. It wasn't just the disciples, there was a multitude there that Jesus taught or that heard the message. But the message, the Sermon on the Mount was given primarily to his disciples. He was teaching them, this is the way you live in the kingdom. This is what God wants of you. Your righteousness needs to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It's a heart righteousness that God is seeking, a heart for God. as opposed to just an outward form. In Matthew 13 and verse 36 we read that some of the teaching that Jesus gave to the disciples occurred when they were alone. many of the parables he explained to them when they were alone with Christ. And that just goes back to what we said in the first point, following Christ, spending time with him, we need to sit at the feet of Christ and we need to learn from him as we come to Sunday school or we come to church where the word of God is preached or you might listen to a message. on a podcast or online somewhere. But, you know, there needs to be those times when you are alone. It's just you and the Lord, because there are many things that the Lord wants to teach you that he will only teach you as you spend time alone with him. There were those times, again, when Jesus took his disciples aside from the crowds and taught them things that they needed to know, they needed to hear. Because, you know, in a sense, discipleship is a very personal thing. Because there are things that you need to learn right now in your life that somebody else, another Christian doesn't need to learn. They're not there right now, but you are. And so the Lord is teaching you this, and he's teaching them that. And so the message from the pulpit might be a broad message, but God has something specific for you in your own personal walk with him, in your own personal fellowship with him. God can do that through a message that's preached to a general group of people as well, but there are times when God wants to teach us just one-on-one, when we get alone with him or he calls us to be alone with him. There may be times when God will put you in situations where you are alone with him, not necessarily by your choice, but by the circumstances that he has orchestrated. You end up alone with him. It's you and God because there's things that he's got to teach you that he's got to pull you aside from everything else and get you to focus on him because there's things he's got to teach you right then. Sometimes when they got alone with Christ, they asked questions and he answered them. Have you ever asked the question of the Lord, expecting an answer? Usually it pertained to the things he was teaching. Again, the parables. Lord, you taught that parable. What does that mean? Have you ever been reading the Bible and said, Lord, I don't understand. I'm reading this and I don't understand that. Lord, would you explain this to me? And expecting that actually God will answer that prayer because He wants you to understand his word. And, you know, it may be that sometimes you ask that question and right now you're not ready to receive it. When he left the disciples, he said, you know, I've got a lot of things I want to teach you, but you're not ready to receive them yet, but I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit and he will teach you along the way as you're ready. But God wants us to know. And we ought to be asking that question, Lord, help me to understand. Lord, help me to understand how this relates to my life. But a disciple learns from Christ. There is an intentionality, a purpose in learning. It's not just that he learns facts, but that learning leads to living. In fact, Jesus said in John 7 verse 17, if any man will do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. He said, if you want to know, if you want to understand the things I'm teaching, then there has to be a will on your part to do them, because God sometimes reveals his will to those only to those who are willing to actually obey where the heart is. Lord, you show me what you want me to do and I will do it. And then he reveals his will. Then he gives an understanding of truth. Because he's not just opening his word to us for our intellectual stimulation, but for our obedient living. Matter of fact, in John 8, verses 31 and 32, Jesus said to Jews which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If you continue in my word, that's genuine discipleship. Not just hearing, but living the truth. Jesus said, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? We're on this thought, let's realize too, that obedient living will often involve suffering. As we do what God is calling us to do, as we follow Him where He leads us to go, and we obey what He teaches us to do, it will sometimes involve suffering. Paul is on these missionary journeys. We've already read he has been stoned and left for dead. Why? Because he's following Christ. He is a disciple of Christ. He is following the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the process of following Him, he paid a price. In his second letter to the Corinthian church, he outlines all the suffering that he endured for preaching the gospel. Jesus said, whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. If you're not willing to pay the price, you can't really be a disciple. As Paul is on this journey, we read in verse 22 of Acts 14, as he has preached in Derbe, and now he's going back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, and he's confirming the souls of the disciples. He's encouraging them and exhorting them to continue in the faith. Don't turn away from Christ. And he says to them, we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Don't be surprised if you have to suffer now as a disciple of Christ. That that is what we are called to do. Jesus said, if the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world would love his own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. We shouldn't be surprised when we are opposed or we are look down upon because we are trying to follow Christ and live in obedience to Christ or even be a witness for Christ. Because that's what the Lord told us we would have to face if we were going to be his followers. And then a disciple prioritizes Christ. He puts Christ first. He puts Christ first over himself. Again, Jesus said, if a man will come after me, let him deny himself. Paul would write, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live yet. Not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life I live, which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I am crucified with Christ. I died with Christ. And now it's just Christ living his life through me. Not what I want. But Lord, what do you want? You know, I was thinking sometimes we ask children, you know, what do you want to do when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grow up? And that's normal. But you know, the question that we ought to be asking them is, you know, what does God want you to do when you grow up? Because that needs to be the question that needs to be asked. What does God want for you? You know, and we ought to tell our children, you know, we will be happy with whatever you do, Just do what God wants you to do. That's all we ask. I mean, if God calls you to be a missionary, God calls you to be a pastor, God calls you to be a Christian school teacher, whatever, that's great. If God calls you to be a trash collector, if that's what God wants you to do, great. Just do God's will. That's all that matters. Die to self and live for God. To deny ourself is to literally just say, you know, my life doesn't exist. I, it's no longer my will. I mean, the same word is used to Peter denying the Lord. I don't even, I never even knew him. I don't know who you're talking about. I thought, Jesus, I don't know who you're talking about. When it comes to my life, I, that guy died. Now the only question is what does God want? That was one of the first questions that Paul asked of the Lord on, after his conversion on the Damascus road is, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And that ought to be the question in every area of our life. Lord, what would you have me to do? What would you have me to do with my life? What would you have me to do with my time? What would you have me to do with my money? Lord, what would you have me to do today? Lord, what is your will? I'm following you, and I'm putting you first. And Lord, what do you want me to do? But it also means putting him first over family. Jesus said, if any man come to me in hate, not as father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, in his own life also he cannot be my disciple. When James and John followed Christ, it tells us that they left their father with the fishing boats and the nets and they followed Christ. They left the family fishing business to follow Christ. And I'm sure there's a lot of people that said, James and John, what are you doing? Your daddy's counting on you. He needs you. You need to stay there and help your father. He's getting up in years and he's not going to be able to do this business much longer. He's dependent upon this for his livelihood. You guys need to stay here and carry on the family business. And they said, no, Jesus has called us. We've got to follow him. The Lord will take care of daddy. But we've got to follow Christ because He's called us and we have to do what He would have us to do. When we follow Christ and are disciples of Christ, it means that we put Him first. Even over family. I know that the Old Testament the idea of disciple, or the word disciple is not used, and it's a different time, I understand that, but I was reminded of King Asa, which had been David's, what, great-great-grandson, Rehoboam's son, I think he was. But the Bible says that he removed his mother from being queen because she had made an idol in a grove, and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the Kidron. Asa put the Lord ahead of his mother. Mom, you can't be queen anymore. You're an idolater. Can you imagine what she must have, the fit she must have pitched when he said, mom, you can't be queen anymore. And not only that, but I'm going to burn up your idol. And he did it, but that's, he did it because that's what God wanted him to do. You know, it's amazing. We can be guilty of this. We stand for righteousness and truth and man, you know, until our family gets involved in unrighteousness. And all of a sudden, well, you know, it's not so bad. Church discipline, yeah. Wait a minute, it's my daughter. It's my son. It's my mom, my dad. Well, that's a whole different matter now. Now we're gonna get mad at the church because you're carrying out church discipline on my family member. Well, wait a minute. Who's first in our life, God or our family? You see, being a disciple means we put Christ first over everything, even over family, even over wealth. Jesus said in Luke 14.33, likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Matthew left his tax collecting business to follow the Lord. And we read in the book of Luke that Jesus and the disciples were dependent upon the generosity of others. for their everyday livelihood. Luke tells us that one day Jesus was walking along and a man came to him and said, Lord, I'll follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. If you're going to follow me, you're going to have to be willing to sleep wherever you can, to eat whatever you're fed, and there's no guarantees you're going to have any of that. You have to be willing to set all that aside and take whatever comes. There's no guarantees. except that God will take care of you. And a disciple is willing to pay the price and even to be willing to live in poverty, to turn his back on a good paying job. You know, God calls him into ministry and he walks away from a job with good benefits and a good retirement package and he walks away from it because God has called him. Because it's not about money, it's about following Christ. A family does without something so mom can stay home and raise the kids and maybe homeschool them because we're following Jesus Christ and it's not about the stuff of this world. That's not what's most important. Those kids are precious to us and they're precious to God and we want to spare them from the influence, the ungodly influences of society out there in the public school system. And that's what we have to do so that we can have that godly influence. And yeah, maybe it means we don't have as nice a house or we drive secondhand cars that have lots of miles on them. It doesn't matter. Because we're following Christ. And that's what he's called us to do. Man. Or a woman turns down overtime so they can be faithful in church or serve the Lord in some capacity because it's not about the things of this world, it's about following Christ. And a disciple is willing to do that. A family gives generously to the Lord's work from their disposable income instead of buying that new car or that boat or that RV or that vacation home. There's nothing wrong with any of those things if you can do that. What I'm saying is those aren't the most important things to a disciple. And a disciple is gonna give generously to the Lord's work, and if it means that he can't have those things, that's okay. Because he's more interested in promoting the work of Christ This is what we are called to be, and this is what we are called to lead people to be, not only to be converted, not only just to be saved from hell, but delivered from sin daily, and to be walking with Christ, and following Christ, and sacrificing for Christ, and being a witness for Christ, and putting Christ first. That's what we're called to do. I would submit to you there's very little discipleship in the church in America today. There's a lot of people who claim to be converted, and I'm not disputing that. That's between them and the Lord. And I don't believe in Lordship salvation, but I do think the Lord calls us who have accepted him as Savior to follow him as disciples. I think it's an exological step. And I think the fact that we're willing to do that is an indication of the genuineness of our conversion. But how many people today are more concerned with the things of the world than following Christ? How many people who profess to be saved are more concerned with enjoying, in America, are more concerned with enjoying the good life and living for self instead of living for the Lord Jesus Christ? So, let me say in closing tonight, first of all, have you been converted? I know it's Wednesday night. I think probably everybody here would say yes to that, but it could be even here on a Wednesday night that somebody has never truly been born again. But if you have, Could you be characterized as a disciple? And again, we grow in these things. I mean, we begin to follow Christ. We don't do it perfectly. We put Christ first. Does it mean that there are not times when we make a bad decision and put something else ahead of Christ? And we have to realize that and turn from that and put Christ first. We grow in all of these areas, but are you even on the road of discipleship? Do these things characterize your life at all? And are you growing then? in those things. Would you be characterized as a disciple or just a convert? We've been called to make disciples. That's what Paul and Barnabas were doing. That's what we're to do as we're involved in the Great Commission. And that's what we are to be as believers in Jesus Christ. We're to be disciples of Christ. Let's stand together for prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word and the instruction that it gives us. And we thank you, Father, for the ministry of Paul and Barnabas and the record the Holy Spirit gives us of that ministry. And Lord, even this challenge these last two Wednesday nights to think about how they fulfilled the Great Commission in their work and what that involves and what it means for us today. Lord, make us fishers of men. Help us to follow you to the point where we just naturally become fishers of men. Help us, Lord, to live out what it means to be a disciple each day of our life. And Lord, may we grow in our commitment as disciples to follow you, to fellowship with you, and to forsake all for you. Lord, help us to give you that rightful place that you deserve in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.