God makes rainy days and that's perfectly awesome.
Introduction to discipleship.
So what is the concept of discipleship?
Because we like the word disciple.
We know it's a Bible word.
Jesus wants us to be His disciples.
We looked up the term and we like to use our Strong's Concordance to come up with terminology and then we like to use context so that Scripture can define Scripture.
The word here is: mathetes.
I don't know how to pronounce it, but it basically means a learner, a pupil, a disciple.
A couple contextual uses of the word disciple, if I can spell.
First mention is Matthew 10:24 “The disciple is not above his master nor the servant above his lord.” So that means we strive to become like him, but we don't, we're not trying to be above Him. Next verse clarifies: “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master or the servant as his lord.”
Jesus called unto Him twelve disciples, right?
He says in Luke 14:27 “and whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Wow.
So there's a responsibility and there's a direction.
Discipleship, the general core concept, how we tangibly put it into effect here in our culture is we learn some things …
about Jesus and we learn from the Bible.
God wrote the Book on purpose.
Now, when a person first becomes a believer in Jesus, there is a hunger to want to learn some basics about who this Person is and how to grow as a Christian.
All of us have a spirit that should want to grow.
So there are what we call “core concepts” or basic fundamentals or kindergarten-level ideas associated in Scripture with who Jesus is and how Christianity functions.
Do you remember one of those books that you've been through?
One of the booklets of discipleship?
SPEAKER 2
What was it called?
I remember all of them.
SPEAKER 1
You remember all of them?
Can you give us one you've been through recently?
SPEAKER 2
The Mercy Seat of Christ or Judgment Seat
SPEAKER 1
Judgment Seat of Christ, yes.
And that taught you about what to expect when you meet God, which is super awesome.
And what's the book you're going to start on next?
Grace.
Grace is a key word in the Bible that is commonly twisted and stretched.
And the definition is made broader than the Bible because the devil is a master of redirection.
A Master of Deflection and Redefinition.
In fact, here we are passing the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall and one of the main things that the Jehovah Witnesses do is redefine key words in the Bible.
Does that sound very honest?
Not at all.
Not at all.
So when I say “born again”, they are going to have a significantly different definition of born again than appears in the Bible.
Do you think God is a deceptive God?
No.
He's the opposite.
He's extremely clear and simple and pure.
And yes, He's smart.
And some of His concepts take a little while to unpack.
But truth is not, by its nature, difficult.
Truth is actually simple.
Yup.
So, discipleship.
What is the purpose of discipleship?
Do you have an idea on that?
SPEAKER 2
Learning from a more mature Christian, helping a less mature person learn about Jesus Christ and scripture and how to be more Christ-like.
SPEAKER 1
You nailed it.
You nailed it.
That's it.
Discipleship is one person helping another person get to know Jesus better.
I love it.
That sounds great.
And the fun part is it takes time and words and there needs to be a plan.
When we say we're going to cover a topic, for example, “What is salvation?”
If we're going to address that topic, there needs to be a little booklet
that shows us in the Bible where to go to find the answer for what is God's definition of true salvation, right?
So we have 20 booklets in our little starter-course that helps people walk through a basic understanding of discipleship so that we can all be spiritually growing.
Another element we've learned about evil. The devil is the master of infant mortality.
He likes to kill right at the beginning.
He does not want a person who is newborn to grow into toddler stage or become a healthy child or become a teenager.
He wants to stop your spiritual advancement before you even get in a rhythm.
So we have to do what is right regardless of how we feel.
Like today is a rainy snowy day and many people don't feel like doing much.
I did not feel like coming to work today and Francisco was throwing up this morning and got hung up at the bank for 90 minutes.
So oftentimes, especially when we're trying to do good in life, we're going to meet with opposition.
But if I only go to the gym when I feel like going to the gym, am I going to be a physically fit person?
No.
No.
If I only do what is right when my feelings are activated, am I going to be the kind of disciple that takes up the cross and follows after Christ?
No.
It sounds like Jesus was saying, if you're going to do this, you've got to have the willpower to follow through.
It's a choice every day to follow Christ or not.
SPEAKER 2
It is a choice, yes.
SPEAKER 1
And this pick-up-the-cross thing does not sound like it's for candy boys.
No.
You know, picking up a cross might include splinters, right?
I mean, there might be some grains that get stuck in my back.
It might take some activation of my volition.
I might have to determine that it's worth it.
Do you think it's worth it to become a disciple following after Christ?
SPEAKER 2
It's definitely beneficial in every aspect.
SPEAKER 1
That is so crazy to the natural mind.
Imagine not having the Holy Spirit, not having God on the inside, and your friend, who you've known their pattern of life for decades, all of a sudden they're like, “Yeah, I think I'm going to have this passionate pursuit of Christ.
I've met this new Friend, and I'm going to go after learning who He is with all of my heart, soul, mind, strength, being, I'm going to become a disciple of Christ.”
What in the world would your friend think?
It's kind of different.
Like, why are you doing that?
Like, what is the benefit?
So, do you have a sentence you would say to somebody who would ask you, “Why are you putting all this energy into discipleship?”
SPEAKER 2
Well, if we have like a will, a choice or a decision to follow Christ, whether someone that's new, whether it's real or not, it would be pretty stupid to not follow after, you know, I don't know how to explain it.
SPEAKER 1
There you did it.
Yeah, the alternative is not intelligent.
I like that.
I think He's an interesting enough individual.
I think Jesus Christ is a magnetic personality.
We are drawn to Him.
We want to understand Him.
He's done so much for us.
Anyone that's willing to die for me, I should be willing to learn of Him.
He says, come unto Me, learn of Me, take my yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart.
And you shall find rest for your souls.
So one of the benefits of becoming a disciple is you get rest for your soul.
And I need that.
Anyway, the encouragement here is to:
Number one: be curious about what discipleship is.
Participate, learning in a structured format; systematic, basic, baby food theology about what the Bible teaches.
And then number three: become involved [after you've been through a basic program] to train others to likewise grow and experience the joy of Christian maturity.
How Does Discipleship Work?