July 9 | Disciples Do the Work of Jesus

When disciples spend time with Jesus they get the honor of knowing Him and making Him known. Good works for the disciple are a privilege, not a burden. Our good works may not save us, but we are saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus loved us so much that He came in the flesh to die for our sins and make us co-laborers with Him in the Father’s Kingdom.

The Bible teaches us how Jesus saw lost humanity in Matthew 9:36 and we should see the world in the same way, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” No one understands and knows the condition of the human race better than Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). In Luke 15:1-32, He told the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the prodigal son to express how valuable each person is to Him. Jesus gave us a glimpse of the Father’s heart in Luke 15:10 in regards to just one soul being saved, He said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

There is no greater joy given to disciples than to share in God’s happiness of sinners being saved.

The disciples caught Jesus’ heart and passion for the lost and spread it everywhere they went. That is why, like on Pentecost and in others places in the book of Acts, they preached with passion. Their passion for the lost was fueled by Jesus’ compassion flowing through them.

John declared in 1 John 2:2, that Jesus didn’t die just to forgive the sins of Christians, but His death paid the debt for the sins of the entire world. Also, Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9 that the only reason Jesus hadn’t come back to judge the world yet was because the Father was patiently waiting for more people to repent. Therefore, if God is patient and loving with sinners, we as forgiven sinners have no excuse to be impatient and unloving with them. We should be loving and patient with people as we keep preaching and praying for them to be saved.

Today’s passage teaches us that Jesus sent out His closest companions to preach the gospel. The word “preach” means, “to proclaim and publicly make known the message of Jesus.” Preaching and proclaiming the message of Jesus isn’t just for pastors on Sundays, it’s a command for every disciple 24/7! Sadly, many Christians don’t preach the gospel, but they preach “self-help” and give “motivational speeches.” Leonard Ravenhill said, “If Jesus preached the same message minister’s preach today, He would have never been crucified.” As a disciple of Christ, be obedient to be with Jesus and share Jesus with the world by preaching what He preached!

1. Repent of any shyness or timidity you may have in proclaiming Jesus’ message to the world.
2. Pray for three people in your life that you can preach the gospel to this week.
3. Find a time and place to preach the gospel to strangers. For example in a park, in front of your church or door-to-door.

1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40, Acts 27:1-20, Psalm 7:1-17, & Proverbs 18:22. Click here to read online.