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Lesson 1 of the Discipleship Making process, where today, you and I will begin to learn the answers to the Why? and What is the Purpose? of my life questions.
I left you last time with the question of “What picture comes to mind when you hear the words “Follow Me?”
Becoming a disciple of Jesus is essentially the same process that a child goes through in learning to follow his parents. The first three words that a child usually learns are: mommy, daddy and no. The words mommy and daddy identify the people to whom the child has bonded. The use of the word “no” by the parents establishes their authority and issues a command to the child that requires his obedience. It is by the use of this word that a child’s training commences. The first lesson he must learn is obedience.
In similar manner, after a person is “born again” the first two words they learn are usually, Church and God. They assist them in identifying those with whom they have bonded. The next words they should be taught are “Follow Me”. Jesus issues this command to His disciples at the start of their training. Those words establish His authority and issue a command that requires their obedience. And like a child it is also provides the first opportunity for a disciple to use the word “no”!
Read: John 1:35-51, Luke 5:1-11, 27-28, Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9, Mark 1:16-20, 2:14
The lesson of obedience is a difficult one to learn. It requires that a person recognize authority over them and then submit their will to that authority. This isn’t always easy, especially when the authority is telling you to do something you don’t want to do. Jesus wants your obedience. Without it, you cannot be His disciple.
The first disciples learned to obey Jesus. When He had finished teaching them, Jesus told them to go and make more disciples by teaching them what He had commanded them to do. They were to lead by example, by actually doing what He had told them to do. The results were astounding! The book of Acts clearly shows that miracles followed the obedience of these disciples and the growth of the Church exploded.
Jesus still holds these expectations for the Church today and His method has not changed. The Apostle Paul said, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God, and observe it”. And God, Himself, spoke from heaven to the disciples declaring, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him”.
The point of this lesson is to hear and obey what Jesus, The Word of God says.
With that, allow me to leave you with this question to consider, along with a little homework assignment until my next posting:
“What do you see?”
. . . and the homework assignment . . .
Ask the Lord to give you a personal command to be obeyed, follow it and then write down the results.
Read: John 10:27
. . . in addition . . .
- There are three major components of a command:
- Giving the command.
- Hearing the command.
- Obeying the command.
- Four elements are required in hearing a command, before it can be obeyed.
- You must physically hear it.
- You must know what it means.
- You must know that it is directed toward you.
- You must know that it is from your leader.
- Three elements are required in actually obeying a command (ex. Luke 5:1-11).
- You must be willing to obey.
- You must stop what you are presently doing.
- You must actually do it.
- Reasons why Christians stumble in their walk of following Jesus Christ.
- Ignorance -- Not knowing what the Scriptures say.
- Apathy -- Not applying what the Scriptures say.
- Confusion -- More concerned about current events in their lives.
- False information -- Listening to others instead of their Lord.
Until next time . . . Godspeed!
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