Devotional Chisinau,Moldova 6:30:2024

Mt. 28:19-20- Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

What is a Disciple?

A disciple is one who is considered a pupil of someone, in contrast to a teacher. The most notable uses of the word “disciple” are in the NT Gospels. In all cases it implies that the person not only accepts the views of the teacher, but that he is also in practice an adherent.

The word disciple has several applications. In the widest sense, the word “disciple” refers to those who accept the teaching of someone, not only in belief but also in how they live. Jesus first calls Simon Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4 and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They left their nets and followed him. Jesus also called out to James and John and they followed Him. The call to “follow me” is mentioned around 20 times in the Gospels. When these men left their professions, their families, and their homes they may have thought of this call to “follow” as a front row seat to see the demonstrations of the messiah. At first they may have felt as if they would be on the front lines of a revolution against tyranny. After all, they would be “following” after the chosen one. The follow me and I will make you fishers of men in Matthew 4 progressed to taking up your cross and following Him in Matthew 16.

These men were not called to only “follow” anymore. The benefits of “following” suddenly seem small. To be a disciple of Christ means that we not only profess belief that He is the Messiah, but there also must be self-denial.

A disciple of Christ is one who believes His doctrines, rests upon His sacrifice, imbibes His spirit, and imitates His example.

What is the Job of a Disciple?

Mt. 28:19 says to go and make disciples.

Bro. Stan Gleason, when talking about discipleship, talked about a person who reached 140 souls in one year, but that person did not make one disciple. When we look at the numbers and we see hundreds filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized in Jesus Name we get excited. We should get excited over every soul that is saved. But, God did not call us to reach 140 people in one year. He called us to make disciples.

How Do We Make Disciples?

1 Corinthians 11:1says,” Follow me, as I follow after Christ.” We are filled with the Spirit. We know that when we are Spirit filled fruit of the Spirit begins to be imparted. The Holy Ghost will empower us to live in a way that imitates Christ. The first thing we must do if we want to fulfill the Great Commission is to live in a way that we are submissive to the suffering of Christ. The suffering is not often associated with discipleship, but it absolutely is part of it. We will never fulfill the call to make disciples if we do not submit ourselves to the suffering. That means mortifying these members, beating our flesh into subjection, fasting, and praying for spiritual desires rather than fleshly desires. If we are to make disciples, we have to be a disciple, disciplining ourselves to live in a way that is pleasing to Christ.

Build the relationship. Humans want to see big numbers. We want to see demonstration. We want people to be saved right away. Sometimes we get caught up in the soul winning aspect that we forget about discipleship. If we want people to follow us just as we follow Christ, there has to be a relationship built with us so that we can present the message of Christ. We cannot put our hands on a hundred souls, but we can grab hold of one person. We cannot ignore our day to day and one on one interactions with people. We can’t get so caught up in our lists of things to do that we forget about the real reason why we are here. Are we focused on just building an organization, whether in Bulgaria, Moldova, Macedonia, etc.… or are we focused on building relationships with people who are hungry. God has filled us with His Spirit. He has imparted part of His self in us. Our pastors and leaders have imparted and invested their selves in us. The question for us today is have we done the same thing for someone else? The 12 disciples weren’t called to simply be followers and learners of Jesus’ teachings. They were called to impart those teachings to somebody else. What if we were to focus one making 1 disciple in a year? If we challenged ourselves to do that, and then next year we challenged that person to do the same, within 20 years a whole country would be exposed to the truth of the Gospel.

I’m closing, I just want to ask again… Do our lives imitate the life of Jesus, and are we investing that into someone else’s life.