The crowd and the disciples
Claudina Brinn(Audio: Spanish)
SUMMARY:
The speaker discusses the difference between being a disciple of Jesus and simply following him from afar. She shares her own experience of making the decision to follow Jesus and the changes it brought to her life. She encourages listeners to seek God and make active decisions to live as disciples, rather than just enjoying the blessings of salvation from a distance. She also emphasizes the importance of making time for God and not letting the busyness of life distract from spiritual growth. She cites John 6:1-14 as an example of the difference between the crowd following Jesus out of curiosity and the disciples who were willing to actively follow and serve him.
In John 6:1-14, Jesus feeds a large crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The crowd is characterized by being indecisive, seeking to satisfy their needs, following signs without changing, being forgetful listeners, fleeing before commitment, and returning for more provision rather than for God. In contrast, a disciple serves and picks up the pieces, remains faithful even after the party is over, and has a special part with the teacher. To have intimacy with God, one must be a disciple and not a part of the crowd.
To be intimate with God, we must be disciples, not just part of the crowd. Disciples know the Lord and have an intimacy with the Holy Spirit. They are transformed in character and broken by God. They give account for their actions and carry the presence of the Lord. Following the Master comes at a price, and it is death to ourselves. We must make decisions and choose God over the world, no matter the cost. We make a pact with God to be disciples and give Him the areas of our lives that need to change.
The speaker talks about how important it is to be honest with God and make changes in our lives. They encourage people to surrender everything that is preventing them from moving forward and to follow God's call to be disciples. They make a pact with God to renounce their past lifestyle and commit to living a holy and pure life. They thank God for his help and strength to continue on this path.This morning I want to share something for a moment too - I never speak something that has not been ministered to in my life first because it is necessary for God to break us in steps for the word to make sense, right? and the word reaches the heart.
And we all like it when we convert, when we know the Lord, he comes into our lives as a stability and that stability of knowing that we are something, that God has already rescued us from that hell, right? from that depth where we lived, from that darkness of darkness and God brings us into his light.