Embracing a Discipleship Lifestyle.

 It is vital that we make up our minds that Jesus’ claims are reliable, that he is to be trusted. If he were a politician we would want to be convinced that his policies make for a fulfilled personal life and a better society. However as a Christian Church we need to do more than canvass for votes for Jesus. Being a Christian is not just about ticking a box which says I choose Jesus as opposed to Communism, Islam or Secularism. Becoming a Christian is entering into a new relationship with Jesus, which touches every aspect of life.
AW Tozer “There is nothing in the Bible to suggest that we can decide to enjoy the forgiveness of Christ and then have nothing more to do with him. Salvation apart from obedience is not possible.”
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
The word that sums up what we are really after is the word disciple which literally means “one who learns”. In the ancient world it was used of a follower or a student. However we must not think of disciples simply as people who turned up for lectures so many hours a week in order to get a certificate.
For the first disciples, following Jesus meant coming with him, living in his presence, going wherever he went, allowing him to direct their lives, obeying him. It involved a commitment to him as a person, not just as a teacher. In a practical sense being Jesus’ disciples means not just adding Jesus to your life but Jesus becomes your life.
Definition of a disciple
“A disciple is someone who decides to be with another person in order to become capable of doing what that person is capable of doing or even becoming what that person is”

1. Being with another person
When Jesus called his disciples it says in Mark 3:14 that he did so that "they might be with Him."
He called them to intimate communion and fellowship with himself. His desire was to impart his life to them, to reproduce himself in the disciples. The only way life can be imparted is to spend time sharing that life.
Many people want an automated faith where they make a deposit and then someone else takes care of the rest. Many Christians rely only upon the spiritual food provided for them by professional preachers and teachers but left on their own they are unable to feed themselves.
The first priority we have is fellowship with Jesus. If we would make real progress in our own Christian lives, we must partake of the life of Jesus by being with Him. Apart from spending personal time with Jesus in fellowship through his word, prayer, and listening to the Holy Spirit we simply will not grow. Jesus calls us to communion with him to share His life.

2. Becoming capable of doing the things he was capable of doing.
What did Jesus do? The gospels show us that he preached the Kingdom; he healed the sick, exercised his authority and laid down his life for the world.
They also show us that Jesus expected his disciples to do those things.
Mark 3:14 “He appointed twelve -- designating them apostles -- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.”
Matthew 10:1 adds “and to heal every disease and sickness.”
Jesus proclaimed the good news and as his goal was to reproduce himself in the lives of his disciples they were all called to be messengers of the truth of the Kingdom of God.
Nothing changes in this regard for the people of God. All have been called to proclaim the gospel message by what we do, by what we say, by our example, by our priorities, by our commitments. We are to speak loudly to the watching world.
The job of the Church is not to impact the Church but to impact the world. Everywhere Jesus went there were desperate people who flocked to Jesus for help. It is in this context that Jesus chose His twelve disciples. His divine strategy of Jesus for meeting the needs of the world was to be through his disciples. His method of expanding the Kingdom of God was through the multiplication of his own ministry in the lives of others.
Having our character transformed by Jesus is absolutely essential but sometimes we have believed that we can imitate his attitudes but not his actions. We all need to have attitudes like Jesus but what good would the attitude of compassion been for the leper if Jesus had simply said, “You have my sympathy” and done nothing else. He would still have been a leper. Good actions come out of good attitudes.
The gospels indicate for us that with Jesus’ authority the disciples did go and do what Jesus sent them out to do, including preaching, healing and casting out demons. They were called to teach Christ’s truth and act in his power. This means those first disciples also knew being a disciple meant risk. Jesus was taught and did radical things, which ran against the grain of the traditions of men
“Christ is not a happiness capsule; He is the way to the Father. But the way to the Father is not a carnival ride in which we sit and do nothing while we are whisked through various spiritual sensations (Calvin Miller, quoted in God – What the Critics Say, Hodder & Stoughton)
When Jesus issued the call to be disciples his early followers had a decision to make: Would they come to Jesus? It would mean forsaking all the worldly things, which they held dear, to follow a man who would likely get them into serious conflict. Would they, could they identify with such a man? That is the same question we are facing today. We are asked to count the cost.
3. Becoming what that person is
It has been said, “A student learns what his teacher knows but a disciple becomes what his master is.”
2 Corinthians 3:18  “And we all with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Being a Christian differs from being religious, just as players differ from spectators. Players prepare before the game, players play the game and players learn while playing. They get better at their sport and receive the blessings of victory when the game is over. Spectators don’t grow, learn or improve for having watched the game.
But for the player or the disciple to learn there has to be willingness to keep moving on.
“Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today in not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people but for deep people.” (Richard Foster “The Celebration of Discipline” )

“The Church is 3,000 KM wide. We are everywhere but we are 3 cm deep.” (Jim Packer)
We cannot afford to be content with gloss and spin. Jesus calls us to a deep life with Him, a life where boundaries are constantly pushed, where baggage from the past is cleared out and the things in our lives that stop us becoming like Jesus are decisively addressed.
Christianity without discipleship is not the real thing.
Learning to live as Christ’s disciples is our lifetime quest.
Our task as a people together is to help each other in that quest.

God  bless   Carol