Luke 7:44-47

Not All Baptized Become True Disciples of the Lord Matthew 13:18-23 Fall away & give up outward appearance of serving Christ Never rise above level of being “nominal” Christians Fall repeatedly into temptation & Struggle year after year Frustrated with failure to progress

Causes of Unfaithfulness & Unfruitfulness Why do so many fall away from Christ? Why do so many fail to reach maturity as Christians? What is involved in true conversion & consecration to the Lord? What are the elements that produced real disciples: people deeply devoted to Christ?

Humility and Penitence Humility – first principle of spiritual progress Matthew 5:5 James 4:10 - “He will lift you up” Matthew 5:3 “poor in spirit” Penitence – humility produces penitence in our hearts Matthew 3:7,8; 7:7; 5:3-6 Hebrews 11:6

Acceptance of God’s Forgiveness Hear and Believe – John 8:24 Repent – Acts 17:30 Confess Faith – Romans 10:9,10 Baptized – Acts 2:38 Christian who sins: Repent- 2 Corinthians 7:10 Confess – 1 John 1:9 Pray for Forgiveness- Acts 8:22

Must Truly See Ourselves as Forgiven Looking to the Past – wonder if God can really forgive us Secret doubts about quality of our own repentance – not see God’s grace/mercy as reality Looking to the Future – not sure of eventual salvation in heaven Must Accept God’s Forgiveness emotionally as well as intellectually

Must Truly See Ourselves as Forgiven IF the reality of God’s forgiveness is not fully accepted, there is no way we can have the gratitude & love that should flow from this acceptance Romans 5:1,2; 8:1

Gratitude and Love Gratitude Luke 18:9-14 Acts 9:1-9 1 Timothy 1:12-17 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 Do we take for granted the fact that God loves us?

Service and Steadfastness Matthew 22:36,37 John 14:15 1 Corinthians 15:9,10 1 Corinthians 15:58 Matthew 28:20 Philippians 3:7-11 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Service and Steadfastness 2 Timothy 1:12 James 1:12 John 8:10,11 Acts 20:24 2 Peter 1:9-11 1 John 5:3

Service and Steadfastness Luke 7:41-43 Do we Really Love the Lord at a Deep, life-changing level? Are we taking for granted the fact that the Lord Loves us? Have we really & truly accepted the Lord’s forgiveness?

What About the Depth of our Penitence? Do we really see the magnitude of what the Lord has Forgiven us? What about the sins he has to continue to forgive us of daily? Humility > Penitence > Gratitude> Love> -- Somewhere along here the reason why our devotion to God is not as Deep as it should be.

Until We: Honestly face our emptiness & brokenness Genuinely accept God’s forgiveness Learn to appreciate God’s grace at a deeper level We will never rise above the level of being “nominal” Christians Always vulnerable to Temptation, Discouragement and Defeat

Steps to Real Conversion & Consecration to Jesus Christ Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” These are the things that produce Real Disciples of the Lord These are the Keys to being Faithful Christians