“Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and taken into custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God, and saying, “The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation]. As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon’s brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:14-17 (The Amplified Bible)
Let’s start with Peter. He was in training for three years doing Jesus’ earthly ministry. He was trained well. Close to the end of his three years of following Jesus, look at Peter come out of training, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, he revealed that he had enough training. Evidence? On the Day of Pentecost, Peter took his stand with the eleven disciples, raised his voice and preached. He closed his sermon with these words, “Therefore, Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.” Peter’s three years of training, and again, with the power of the Holy Spirit, resulted in the following, as described in The Book of Acts. “So then, those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” While he would still have a need for development in some areas, for example in regards to preaching to the Gentiles, Peter had got enough training. Side note: Disciples are continuously going through the development process in their lifetime.
Now let’s turn our attention to the woman of Samaria who had a short, but meaningful, powerful, and convincing training in a dialogue at the well with Jesus. Yes, her training was much shorter than Peter’s, abbreviated we could say, but the evidence shows that she got enough. Evidence? After talking with Jesus, the Bible says in John’s Gospel, “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” This woman went from being a prospect to and evangelist in a very short time. More evidence? The Bible says, “They went out of the city and were coming to Him.” It also says, “So when the Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all the things I have done.’” A much shorter training period than Peter’s, but she had got enough to be active and effective in bringing people to Christ.
We have looked at Peter. We have looked at the well-known, “Woman at the Well.” Now let us turn our attention to you. You have been a believer for years. Your time in the universal church and even your local church exceeds three years. And if not, I am sure you have had a little talk with Jesus on more than one setting, or you have heard the words of Jesus in some teaching or preaching forum. Therefore, I am not going to pose a question about your training. I’m just going to present a statement my you my friend and fellow disciple. Here it is: YOU HAVE GOT ENOUGH!
In case that one statement did not moved you to realize that you got enough training, let me remind you that you have the same power of the Holy Spirit aiding you , as with Peter. He lives in you! Consequently, we have no excuse for not doing the work we have been trained to do. If you only know John 3:16, the gospel in the nutshell, then you got enough! If you know the Romans Road or the ABC’s of evangelism, then you got enough! If you have advanced to the point that you can reference Acts 17:24-31, the passage called “Theology in a Nutshell,” then you got enough. Surely you have your own testimony about how Jesus came into your life and changed you! Well, then you got enough! Since you got enough, revisit the work that we have been trained and commissioned to do. It is described in the closing verse. Have a good day! Grow the kingdom! Help people come out of darkness into the marvelous light! Your training was not to just make you a good person. That’s not the purpose of your ongoing training. You are to do a good work and help other get into a good position, in Christ! Amen! Be blessed!
“However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].” (Romans 8:9 The Amplified Bible)
Still committed to this the climb,
Mark L. King