7/22/2022 • Desk of Dennis Piller
Is Discipleship working today? IF not WHY not?
Sorry, the voice has been out for a couple of days. Shoot me a note I will send you the ones you are missing.
Personally, I am intricately involved in our men’s ministry and its success falls squarely on the foundation of discipleship/fellowship. We have made amazing strides by the power of the Holy Spirit, especially this last semester in helping the men establish real relationships. I would to like dive into how God’s people/Christians are growing in God and how they are not.
First, the ultimate mark of a disciple is found in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 9:23-24: "In everything, therefore, TREAT PEOPLE THE SAME WAY YOU WANT THEM TO TREAT YOU, for this is the Law and the Prophets. If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must DENY HIMSELF, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever LOSES HIS LIFE for My sake, he is the one who will save it". We'll come back to these two texts.
Many Christian teachers teach that the way to cure lukewarmness is to make God’s people feel guilty and condemned. So guilt is a tool that’s used as the “driver” for spiritual fervor and zeal.
Yes, you can guilt people into following Jesus and being a "good Christian." For awhile. Then it wears off. Not to mention that Jesus set us free from guilt, condemnation, and shame. Roman 8:1
What? Isn’t the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit enough?
We are often told that in order to be a good disciple of Jesus, you must do these seven things: Pray. Read your Bible. Go to church. Tithe. Witness. Do your best to do what Jesus said to do. Disciple others by teaching them to do these same things.
In general, Christians want to discover how they can become more like Jesus.
But is that what the New Testament envisions for the life of a disciple? Can we find this formula in the apostles and the early Christians? Yes…and No. Let’s take each point one by one:
Pray – yes, the early Christians prayed, but not like most believers do. They understood that the highest form of prayer is fellowship, which is a two-way communication. They also knew how to follow their spiritual instincts.
Read the Bible – the early disciples didn’t have Bibles. The Old Testament was virtually inaccessible, and the New Testament hadn’t been written yet. (When Paul’s letters and the Gospels were written, they were circulated. But there were no printing presses in those days, so they were scarce. And most of the early Christians couldn’t read or write.) The Jewish Christians certainly heard the Scriptures in the synagogue from childhood. And when the apostles came, the Christians heard the preaching of the Word. But their encounters with the Word of God were much more than learning the written Scriptures, which they learned orally. There was something else involved. They knew how to encounter God in the Scriptures and feed upon His living Word.
Tithe – the early Christians didn’t tithe until well after the death of the apostles. They certainly gave to others, but they didn’t follow Israel’s income tax system (which was actually more than 10%). They gave according to their abundance.
Go to church – the early Christians didn’t “go to church.” They WERE the church and they gathered regularly. They had meetings, but they were a shared-life community first and foremost.
Witness – the early Christians witnessed to the life of Christ by their deeds. And the apostles and evangelists proclaimed the gospel in different parts of the world. But there was no evangelistic program that the early believers obsessed over. They certainly shared their faith by the leading of the Spirit, but
“their lives were epistles” written by God’s Spirit.
Do your best to do what Jesus said – the early believers didn’t take the words of Jesus like they took the Old Testament Law, in a legal way, trying to fulfill His words in their own power and strength. There was something else at work.
There is a MISSING INGREDIENT in discipleship today that answers the question of how to become like Jesus. The way to be like Christ, as it's commonly taught, is by imitating Jesus. I believe this emphasis is correct. But it’s not complete.
Some 480 years later, Charles M. Sheldon’s book – In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? was published. Ever since then, Christians have been trying to “do what Jesus did.” WWJD But this “gospel” hasn’t worked. The reason? It’s an instance of asking the wrong question. The question is not “What would Jesus do?” I believe it’s “What is Jesus Christ doing through me … and through us?”
Jesus made clear that we cannot live the Christian life. Instead, He must live it through us.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Shockingly, Jesus, Himself could not live the Christian life without His Father: Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” (John 5:19) By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)
The question is not “What would Jesus do?”
I believe it’s “What is Jesus Christ doing through me … and through us?”
When we are nothing…
When we die to ourselves…We leave complete room for God the Holy Spirit to live through us. Commune with us. Jesus did nothing unless he heard from the Father first. He emptied himself.
Isn't that the humility we have been speaking of?
Is that the disciple you are?
https://www.facebook.com/castingcrowns/videos/805840673439892/
Casting Crown Scars in Heaven
Excerpts are taken from Frank Viola blog Discipleship in Crisis
