I'M NOT SURE WHAT A DISCIPLE IS.....WHERE DO I START ?

3/11/2019

DISCIPLESHIP FOR A LOT OF CHRISTIANS SEEMS TO BE A MYSTERY. WE KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT IT MIGHT BE, BUT WHERE DO WE START. WHAT DO WE DO TO GET GOING ? IS IT REALLY THAT IMPORTANT? MOST OF THE YEARS THAT I HAVE SPENT IN WHAT I LIKE TO CALL “THE FOUR WALL CHURCH”, VERY LITTLE WAS TAUGHT OR MESSAGES SHARED REGARDING DISCIPLESHIP. IT WAS ONLY IN THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING A DISCIPLE OF JESUS IS, AND HOW TO GROW INTO THAT PART OF MY LIFE IN AND WITH HIM.

A DISCIPLE IS A FOLLOWER OR STUDENT OF A TEACHER, LEADER, OR PHILOSOPHER IN THE SECULAR WORLD. IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, A DISCIPLE IS A PERSONAL FOLLOWER OF JESUS, AND OUR GREATEST EXAMPLES WERE THE TWELVE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED, LIVED WITH, AND RECOGNIZED JESUS IN HIS FULLNESS AS THE SON OF GOD. JESUS WANTED THEM TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND HIM INTIMATELY AND TO SHARE HIM AND HIS MESSAGE TO ALL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THE GREAT COMMISSION THAT JESUS GAVE TO THE ELEVEN DISCIPLES WAS MEANT NOT ONLY FOR THEM, BUT FOR ALL OF US WHO FOLLOW JESUS.

THEREFORE GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND TEACHING THEM EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE. Matthew 28:19

BECOMING A DISCIPLE OF JESUS IS TO BE LIKE HIM ! TO BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS. THAT MEANS SPENDING TIME IN HIS WORD TO HEAR THE THINGS HE TAUGHT AND SAID, AND TO LOOK AT HIS ACTIONS AND HIS ATTITUDES TOWARD LIFE AND PEOPLE. IT MEANS TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM IN PRAYER AND CONVERSATION. THE MORE YOU BECOME LIKE HIM, AN AMAZING THING STARTS TO HAPPEN. PEOPLE START TO NOTICE A CHANGE IN YOU, AND YOU BEGIN TO SHARE WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE. THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU ARE INFLUENCING THEIR LIVES AND YOU START TO EQUIP THEM ON HOW TO BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS TOO ! AND THEN, THEY START TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE TOO !

AND WE ALL, WHO WITH UNVEILED FACES CONTEMPLATE THE LORD’S GLORY, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO HIS IMAGE WITH EVER INCREASING GLORY, WHICH COMES FROM THE LORD, WHO IS THE SPIRIT. 2 Corinthians 3:18

IN MY KBLM GROUP, WE HAVE GAINED SOME INCREDIBLE INSIGHT FROM DEREK ON HOW TO APPROACH DISCIPLESHIP. IT IS A PROCESS THAT MOVES THROUGH AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY INTO A TRUSTED RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS WHERE YOU GROW AND MATURE IN HIM.

MOVING, FROM WHERE AM I NOW, TO WHERE AM I GOING, TO WHO IS ON THE JOURNEY WITH ME, AND FINALLY, WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS ? GET A PIECE OF PAPER, AND WRITE OUT YOUR THOUGHTS. THIS IS A HUGE STARTING POINT. ESPECIALLY WHO IS ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU. THERE ARE TIMOTHY’S (YOUNG, LEARNING NEW THINGS), THERE ARE BARNABAS’S (BROTHERS LIKE YOU), AND THEIR ARE PAUL’S (MENTORS, FATHERS). AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU CAN BE ALL THREE ! I’M TIMOTHY WHEN I AM IN MY MEN’S GROUPS….LEARNING…..I’M BARNABAS WHEN IM TALKING WITH A FRIEND ABOUT MY CHALLENGES, DREAMS, INSIGHTS, AND I’M PAUL WHEN I’M HELPING A YOUNGER MAN OR WOMAN GROW IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, OR KNOW HOW TO PRIORITIZE HOLINESS VS. CULTURE.

STEP ONE: ESTABLISH BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS. SIMPLY PUT, BEGIN TO READ THE BIBLE. READ IT OFTEN, AND REALLY LOOK WITH YOUR MIND AND HEART FOR WHAT IT IS SAYING TO YOU. MAKE YOUR TIME IN SCRIPTURE A PRIORITY. DON’T LET THINGS DISTRACT YOU AND TAKE AWAY THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TIME SPENT. YOUR GOAL IS TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE.

STEP TWO: EQUIP YOURSELF TO MINISTER. SPEND SOME TIME LEARNING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES ON HOW TO SHARE JESUS, AND WHAT THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO SHARE, AND WHY. ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS, AND TALK A LOT WITH GOD. THIS MEANS GETTING DEEPER THAN JUST KNOWLEDGE. YOUR GOAL IS TO MOVE INTO A PLACE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR KNOWLEDGE HAS SHOWN YOU, AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT.

STEP THREE: EMPOWER YOURSELF TO MAKE DISCIPLES. YOU NEED TO GAIN SPIRITUAL POWER. THE POWER TO TRULY SHOW OTHERS THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS YOU A SURENESS OF WHO YOU ARE, GUIDES YOU IN ALL YOU DO, AND BRINGS THE GIFTS YOU HAVE INTO THE LIGHT, THAT YOU MAY USE THEM FOR GOD’S GLORY. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, OR WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR WALK, SPEND TIME IN PRAYER AND CONVERSATION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. YOUR GOAL IS TO GAIN WISDOM IN WHO YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU DO AS A FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

STEP FOUR: ENGAGE CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. TIME TO STEP INTO THE WORLD AND START MAKING A DIFFERENCE. TAKE WHO YOU ARE AND ALL YOU ARE IN CHRIST AND SHOW IT TO EVERYONE. IN YOUR HOME, IN YOUR WORKPLACE, IN YOUR ACTIVITIES, WITH YOUR FRIENDS, AND IN YOUR CHURCH. SHINE THE LIGHT OF GOD INTO THE DARKNESS. BE BOLD, AND SHARE HIS GRACE AND LOVE. SPEAK REAL TRUTH AND FREEDOM. YOUR GOAL IS TO GAIN MEDITATION IN ALL THAT YOU ARE IN HIM. YOUR COMPLETENESS AND PURPOSE.

THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR MY BLOG IS TO BE A DISCIPLE FOR JESUS. ALL ELSE IN MY LIFE HAS BECOME WAY LESS OF A FOCUS. THE JOY IT HAS BROUGHT ME TO BE WHERE I AM IN JESUS CAN’T BE CONTAINED. I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL THE FREEDOM, TRUTH, AND JOY I FEEL EVERY DAY. AND HIS GREATEST PURPOSE FOR ME ??? HA ! “JUST SHARE ME JIM”,…..AND SO I AM :)