Tag: Christ

What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 3

July 3, 2022 (updated February 7, 2023) Published by

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Make

The creator of heaven and earth has given us the ability to be creative—to make something out of the resources given to us. As humans, we can take the things of this earth, twist them, contort them, and stretch them into amazing things. For example, musical instruments can play sweet lullabies to put our children to sleep and play orchestral masterpieces that can exhilarate some of us. Some can take oils and pigment and smear them on a stretched canvas; somehow, it becomes the most beautiful works of art you have ever seen. Others can take leather wrapped around a core, hit it with a wooden stick, and drive it out of a baseball field.

Then some believe they cannot create anything. They do not even try because they are convinced, they cannot be creative. I do not think that is true. If the creator of the universe created Adam in His image, then would not it make sense that as a human race, we too would have the markings of creativity given by a Father. I believe the enemy does not want you to be creative because it is an expression of God in us. We give God honor and glory through our creativity; Satan hates it.

And Make

If you begin to understand that you can be creative, then you may be creative enough to make something that resembles you. And if you resemble Jesus, then you make a disciple. Another human to follow Jesus. Now the counter to that is when we twist and contort creation to bend to our prideful ambitions. The problem is we are still making disciples, but disciples of what? We are charging and arming people to be anti-Christ. Anti-Bible. To be self-sufficient humanists working under our own power and trying to fill a God-sized hole within us that will never be satisfied. We may be unintentional about it, but how is an unintentional Christ-follower any different than an intention lost person?

I am struggling with this question. How many “Christ-followers” are in “The Church” and are completely ineffective? I was there not that long ago. I did my best. I lead groups. I strived to be significant in the kingdom of God, all the while spinning my wheels because I had secrets. I had areas of my life that others did not know about. And one person challenging me to share my story and expose my secrets caused me to evaluate my leadership as a father, stepfather, and disciple-maker. I had to speak and talk about something I was barely doing in my life. That catapulted me into digging into what it meant to lead others. From that moment on, I have been becoming a disciple-maker and will continue to become a disciple-maker until the day I stand before Jesus and long to hear “Well done!”

And Make More

What is getting in your way as an intentional disciple-maker in the Kingdom of God? Do you have secrets that are keeping you bound and ineffective? God has given us the ability and resources to be creative. Find ways to walk alongside other people and guide them into a relationship with Christ. And then for them to grow and flourish in their walk of faith. Finally, once we have walked together and a disciple launches, do it all over again. Find the next one, and then the next one. If we are to be conformed to the image of Christ and encourage the person next to us to conform as well, are we ever really done being a disciple or making disciples of Jesus?

Prayer

Father, help us be conformed to the image of Christ! Lead us to those who can disciple us and bring those who need discipling to us. Expose the things in our lives that stunt our creativity. Bring to light the secrets that separate us from Your presence. Give us the courage to walk away from those things and take up the banner of Hope. To be of the kingdom of God, not just in it! Amen

What does it mean to be discipled?
What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 2

June 26, 2022 (updated February 7, 2023) Published by

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Therefore

I have been told when you are reading scripture, and you come across a “therefore,” you ask what is it there for? In this passage of Matthew 28:19, we could rephrase the verse by taking some of the wording from last week and applying it here. So we could say; Because you are a follower of Jesus and as you go through life, live out your faith daily and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

By reading it this way, a few things come to mind. First, are you a believer? Do you believe Jesus came, died, and rose again for you? Second, what does your daily Christ-following look like? How do you approach life? Do you only guard your mouth on Sundays or every day of the week? Does your social media expose you as someone desperately seeking the will of God, or does it blend in with our culture? Third, are you concerned with more than yourself? Are you blinded by your sin, addictions, and self-serving that you don’t see how you are leading your family into the same patterns?

Only by His power

We all have something to do with our faith. Not that works save us, but what use is faith without works, according to James 2:14. So how are you working out your salvation? How are you leading others? Whether you are a well-seasoned Christ-follower, a brand-new believer, or somewhere in between. You need to be a group of two to three people digging in scriptures and working out what it means to live as Christ lived.

I was saved as a senior in high school, and I missed out on someone discipling me. It wasn’t until twenty-plus years later that I experienced what it meant to sit under this kind of leadership. Don’t miss out. You lead if you can’t find someone to sit and learn under. There are all kinds of resources out there. If you can find them, email me I will send you resources.

You’re probably thinking, “I can’t lead a group. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Faith is moving. Faith is action. The fruit will come, grace will be found, and Jesus will be you always.

Prayer

Father, stir Your church to be in a unified community heading toward Your Son Jesus. Teach us what it means to be discipled and how to disciple others. Draw us in closer to You, and let us encourage others along the way. Amen.

What does it mean to be discipled?
What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 1

June 19, 2022 (updated February 7, 2023) Published by

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Disciples Go

Poreuomai is the Greek translation for go. Strong’s Concordance poreuomai is “I travel, journey, go, die.” In the NASB, poreuomai is translated to some of the following: am on my way, following, go, go on their way, goes, going, indulge, pursued a course, sets, started, walking, and way. I have heard sermons where “go” means as you are going through life, you are to make disciples. Which I believe is true, but my question is, what kind of disciples are we making? Do we have a set course in mind? Which way are we walking? Are we indulging in the things of Christ, or are we indulging in the things of the world? I firmly believe that we shape those around us no matter what actions we take. We influence the lives of those around us.

Have you ever just been living in a manner that pleases God, and someone kind of close to you starts asking about your faith? They see something different about you and try to understand what it is. Are you a peculiar person? Does your faith even stand out?

What church do you go to?

At points in my life, I can say that my faith would shine better than others. And not even because I got older. I had a job several years ago where I worked under a guy who was rather crass, loud, and very lost. He asked me about a week or two into being on his crew. We were doing something on a construction site; it was hot. The team was getting at each other; tension was in the air. And out of the blue, he looks at me, “What church do you go to?”

Going on my way, I did enough things counter to the culture that a lost man could see that I didn’t fit in with the crowd. How are you going about life? Are you influencing those in your sphere to ignore the bible and God because you verbally claim to be a Christ-follower, but your actions don’t line up? What you do matters! You are being discipled. What are you being conformed to in your discipleship? You are discipling. What are you teaching others to be like?

Going doesn’t require being in another country, state, city, or town. It doesn’t even mean you have to leave your house. Do you have kids? What are you teaching them about faith? They will gain their knowledge of who God is through you. What are you teaching them?

Prayer

Father, remind us that others are observing everything we do. Help us follow you, and stay a peculiar person. Let our lives reflect Jesus and bring you honor and praise. Amen

Go therefore and make disciples!