Where to from Here?

We have come to the end of our understudy of Jesus and His disciples. We have looked over Jesus' shoulders and have eavesdropped on His instructions to and training of His diverse group of followers. We have seen His attitudes. We have listened to His words. We have felt the warmth of His personality. We have been touched by the charm of His smile and the radiance of His personality. We have walked the dusty roads of Galilee with Jesus. We have sailed across the lake with Him. We have sat on the mountainside and in homes with Him. We have been with Him in both the temple and synagogues. So what comes next? Where do we go from here?

Essentially, my question concerns our individual discipleship as contemporary followers of the Master. What have we learned during this quarter and what will we do with it? How has this study influenced your life, impacted your personality, and renewed your reaction to the study? Write out what you have learned and the decisions on which you have arrived. Perhaps, it would also be good to record what you plan to accomplish as a modern disciple for the Master, realizing that there is a mission to be fulfilled and His words, "Go ye into all the world..." include you.

Finally, as you await the kingdom, may God bless and prosper your discipleship! Walk good my friend and I will see you in the kingdom! All the very best.

Responsibility and Discipleship

During this quarter, we have looked at the issue of discipleship. We have defined it as the act of following Jesus—the Master Teacher. It was our plan to peek over His shoulders and eavesdrop on the training He gave the original disciples to see what we can learn for contemporary disciple-ship. We have seen that discipleship involves following the Master and learning from Him. It is my hope that we have learned that Jesus is not satisfied with discipleship that prides itself in membership and is unconcerned about the assigned tasks of discipleship. Matthew 28 shows that Jesus not only commissioned disciples to be disciples but also to make other disciples. That is the ultimate goal of discipleship.

It is a privilege to be a disciple but God’s call isn't for privilege; with privilege goes responsibility. Every follower of Jesus therefore has the responsibility of making disciples. That is not the task of the pastor or the elders only; it is the responsibility of every member. To the extent, then, that we have been able to move members from pride in membership to love for and practice of discipleship to that extent the lessons have been successful. Where do you stand on this issue, friends? This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world for the end to come. God has no one else to do it but us—his modern disciples. Will we disappoint Him or will we rise to the occasion and fulfill the mission? The choice is yours, my friend, but as for me, I will be about the mission God has assigned. So help me God!

Straining at the Oars of Life

The relationship of the original disciples with Jesus was one of ups and downs. Sometimes they were exceptionally brilliant and at other times they were awfully dull. They were slow learners. Jesus at times asked them, "Do you not yet understand?" He even charged them with being hardhearted. Yet, they were not unique in their “on again, off again” relationship with Jesus. That, too, was the experience of Ancient Israel. Sometimes they were on the mountaintop with God and a few days later they were in the depths of the valley; but God was still there for them.

It is thousands of years later in A.D. 2008; yet, things still have not changed. The slaves used to sing a Negro Spiritual saying, “Sometimes I’m up; sometimes, I down; sing glory alleluia.” And despite the many examples we have of the ineffectiveness of this kind of following/discipleship, we still persist in it today. Some of us even take pride in such a relationship taking our cue from what we think was Paul’s relationship as recorded in Romans 7:13-24. Yet, don’t overlook the fact that that kind of relationship ends in wretchedness as Paul shows in v. 24, ”O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?” The torrid relationship of Israel, the disciples, and the person depicted Rom 7:13ff is that of one with self in control—one living a self-directed life—and we must not forget that the essence of sin is self, i.e. living a self-directed life. Don’t overlook what the middle letter in the word sin is "I"—SIN. Real discipleship is the life depicted in Romans 8—the Spirit led life. It is the antidote for the up and down, on again, off agian, relationships Christians have with God.

Yet there is something else that is comforting in this week’s study. The disciples were out on the storm tossed lake. They were straining at the oars because the winds were contrary. Mark says Jesus saw them in this activity. This is what is comforting to me and can be helpful to you, too. Though physically absent from them, Jesus was aware of their circumstance. This means that when we strain at the oars of life with its difficulties; when we think we are alone and that no one cares, Jesus, though physically absent, does see and does care. And, just as he did for those disciples, he will come to us at the hour of our greatest need, as I point out in my book, Called to Discipleship, p. 103. Discipleship has ups and downs and the keys to success are persistence, perseverance, faith, and trust in the watchful care and concern of a loving, beneficent God. And, never forget that your discipleship attitude determines your discipleship altitude.

Can your discipleship withstand pressure?

All of us receive the call to discipleship but not all of us have answered the call or have gone on to embrace and practice it. Yet, all of us would claim that we are indeed disciples. The real challenge comes, however, when we face the pressures of discipleship.

This week we have looked at how some of the first disciples responded under pressure. The greed, power, and flight models are most interesting. Some disciples still run from the pressures and/or from the Master. Some rob the treasury and are selfish and still others call down fire to consume those who disagree with them. Are these the best ways to respond to those who disagree with us? Yet, before you blame them, how do you yourself respond as a disciple when someone cuts you off on the highway? What happens when you are on the bus or train and hear the name and/or cause of God being maligned? Do you speak up or do you remain silent? Do you defend it or do you walk away?

One of the greatest challenges to discipleship may come in terms of a thorn in the flesh. The apostle Paul had to live with his thorn which some believe had to do with his sight. The famous composer Ludwig Beethoven had some difficulty living with his thorn in the flesh which was deafness. David Hume says Beethoven wrote a sad will in which he admitted that at times he felt like taking his life. How will you respond to your thorn in the flesh and how will it affect your discipleship? Discipleship is a brilliant concept and a great practice but it is not easily lived. It requires commitment, faith, boldness, understanding, resilience, and guts. People learn more from what they see than from what they hear. What will they see when your discipleship comes under fire?Can your discipleship withstand pressure?

The Command to Hate Relatives

Christianity has been viewed as a religion of peace, the crusades notwithstanding. Its founder was named the Prince of Peace and angels announced His birth as a peace bringing event. How, then, can we reconcile the fact that Matthew 10:34-37 and Luke 12:49-53 not only say Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword, but also that Christians must hate their close relatives to be His disciples? He even says there that He would set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother. How must we understand such statements?

Commenting on Matthew 10:34-37 William Barclay says, “Nowhere is the sheer honesty of Jesus more vividly displayed than it is [displayed] here. Here he sets the Christian demand at its most demanding and at its most uncompromising [level].” Here Jesus tells disciples exactly what demands of discipleship are, if they accept His call to follow. He prepares them for a wide variety of responses to the gospel, and their espousal of it, from family members and friends. Family members would turn against each other. Was Jesus speaking the truth? Haven’t we seen that kind of reaction? Thus, contemporary disciples must also be alert to ensure their priorities are straight. This will doubtlessly involve a reevaluation of friendships and family relationships.

In Luke 14:26, Jesus intensifies the dilemma saying, “If anyone comes to me and hate not father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” “Hate” is a very strong word. What did Jesus mean? Must we literally hate family members and friends who believe differently from us to fulfill our discipleship mission? To hate means to love less. Jesus here invites disciples to love human relationships less than they love Him. As the “pearl of great price,” all relationships and possessions pale in value when compared to Him. Consequently, disciples are to ensure that nothing interferes with or transcends their relationship with Christ. The veracity of this notion is confirmed by the very words of Christ Himself. In Matthew 10:37 He says those who love father or mother, son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me. The point is that we must love these relation-ships less and Jesus more. Nothing must stand between us and the Savior.

What is your position, my friend? Can you make that kind of commitment? Is there anything in this world that is more valuable to you than the One who sacrificed Himself on a tree for your salvation and so ensure that you might have everlasting life? Think on these things!

Prayer and Fasting

In some of our churches today, not much is heard about the Biblical injunction and the Christian discipline of Prayer and Fasting. Yet, it was a source of spiritual strength to others earlier. From Jesus’ own example and the disciple’s experience we see the power of prayer. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer prior to major events. The disciples emulated Him and spent much time in prayer and soul searching prior to Pentecost—the Early Rain. Shouldn’t we be following them as we prepare for the Latter Rain? Let’s not forget, either, what Jesus said at the foot of the mount that day—some problems can only be solved through prayer and fasting.

Perhaps, this is an inconvenient exercise in our modern sophisticated, fast paced, space age generation but could this also be included in our denying ourselves to follow? The last days are approaching and only those who are fit will survive. This is an integral part of discipleship. Are revival and reformation needed?

Disciples and Apostles

It is surprising how widespread is the belief that Jesus had only twelve disciples. Yet from scripture we hear not only of twelve disciples but 70, 72, 120 and even 500. Perhaps, the problem has to do with the fact that while the ancients did not seem to have placed much emphasis on such numbers, the Gospels sometimes referred to those around Jesus as the twelve disciples. Careful examination reveals, however, that the Gospel writers did not expect us to limit the disciples to twelve.

Mark 3:13ff implies that much. It says that one day Jesus called to Him those whom He would. It is evident that they must have been called from a larger group. From the group He called, He chose twelve. this therefore reveals to us at least three groups of disciples. What is of essence here, however, is what He did with the twelve. He ordained them to be apostles. What is the difference between the two groups?

Apostles were first disciples before they were appointed and ordained as apostles. While disciples are followers of Jesus, apostles are this and more. The Greek word implies that they were ones who were sent out or away from the Master to be His ambassadors, messengers or representatives to proclaim or share His message. This means that while all of us are disciples, only some are appointed as apostles. Both groups were called and received training but apostles received more specialized training. The important thing, however, is to accept our assigned task by the Master and to fulfill our duties and/or obligations to the very best of our abilities. Will you? By God's grace I will!