Discipleship - Faith

John 12:44 “Jesus cried aloud, “Every man who believes in me, is believing in the one who sent me”

Lee Camp, in his book Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World, writes “Jesus of Nazareth always comes asking disciples to follow him--not merely "accept him," not merely "believe in him," not merely "worship him," but to follow him: one either follows Christ, or one does not. There is no compartmentalisation of the faith, no realm, no sphere, no business, no politic in which the lordship of Christ will be excluded. We either make him Lord of all lords, or we deny him as Lord of any.” 

A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone and asked, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you." Livingstone wrote back, "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." 

This begs the question of the would be disciple, how committed am I?

A hymn by the Rev’d Nick Fawcett asks additional questions….

Lord, there are times when I have to ask, ‘What?’ –
times when your love is not easy to spot.
What is life’s purpose and what of me here?’
Grant me some answers, Lord, make your will clear.

Lord, there are times when I have to ask, ‘How?’ –
times when what’s preached doesn’t square with life now.
Wrestling with doubt I ask, ‘How can this be?’
Grant me some answers, Lord, help me to see.

Lord, there are times when the questions run fast –
times when I fear that my faith may not last.
Help me, support me, Lord, help me get through.
Lead me through darkness till light shines anew. Amen

Words by Rev’d Nick Fawcett © Words & Music: 2004 Kevin Mayhew Ltd

Discipleship - Faith

Discipleship is not an academic process, although learning is part and parcel of our discipline, but is a journey of intense love. 

The late Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, past president of the Methodist Conference, describes the moment when his first child was placed in his arms. He could not possibly have loved that precious bundle more. But when the second child was born he knew that, without loving the first less, he loved the second no less. How much wider is the embrace of God's love.

Although in language that sounds so foreign to the 21st century ear none the less speaks of how the love of God in Christ  moves the disciple.

The love of Christ doth me constrain

To seek the wandering souls of men;

With cries, entreaties, tears, to save,

To snatch them from the gaping grave.

Such is the loving way that forms the essence of the call to discipleship. We recall the words of Jesus to Peter.

John 20:15-16 After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be asked the question often, 'Do you love me?' it is not the that Jesus doubts us, but he wants us to recognise how we express that love. Guided by St Ignatius, we might ask, 'What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What will I do?'

Your light is the only light I need,
as I travel through life's mystery .
Your word the only voice I hear,
that still small voice that leads me
to the place where I should be.
Your presence is the only company I need,
as I walk this narrow road.
Your fellowship the warmth I crave,
to help me on my way. Amen

Discipleship - Faith

Discipleship is about learning together; enrolling in a class along with others.

Dr Sangster that great Methodist preacher speaking in the Royal Albert Hall in 1951 declared, “We need each other in our Christian pilgrimage. A convert in an evangelical campaign was invited by the local vicar to drink a cup of coffee with him. In the Vicarage study the convert told the minister that he would not be joining his or any other congregation — he would ’go it alone’. The vicar listened quietly, then went over to the fireplace. With the tongs he took a blazing coal from the fire and placed it in the hearth. The conversation resumed. After a few minutes the solitary piece of coal began to splutter and smoke. The visitor took the point. 

Paul writing to the Galatians says, “Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.” Galatians 6 (the Message)

Discipleship according to Michael Spencer means that a “Jesus-shaped spirituality hears Jesus say "believe and repent," but the call that resonates most closely in the heart of a disciple is "follow me." The command to follow requires that we take a daily journey in the company of other students. It demands that we be lifelong learners and that we commit to constant growth in spiritual maturity. Discipleship is a call to me, but it is a journey of "we.” 

Lord, you have called us to love and serve you; And with your help we will. Give us the wisdom to know what we should do, The courage to keep on loving and giving, And the faith that will see us through. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Discipleship - faith

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The early preaching disciples always stressed the power of the Risen Lord. They never regarded themselves as sources of power, but only as channels of power. They were well aware of the limitations of what they could do. They were also aware that there was no limitation to what the Risen Christ could do through them and with them. Therein lies the secret of the Christian life. The Christian knows that so long as he thinks of what I can do and what I can be there can be nothing but failure and frustration and fear; but when he thinks of ‘not I but Christ in me’ there can be nothing but peace and power.’ 

I recall a hymn that had the words;

Channels only, blessed Master,

But with all Thy wondrous pow’r

Flowing through us, Thou canst use us

Every day and every hour.

It was C S Lewis who said “Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self…”

John MacArthur tells this awesome story: There once was an old church in England. A sign on the front of the building read, ''We preach Christ crucified.'' After a time, ivy grew up and obscured the last word and it read, 'We preach Christ.''

The ivy grew some more, and the motto read, "We preach.'' Finally, ivy covered the entire sign, and the church died.

Such is the fate of any church that fails to carry out its mission in the world.

Loving God, you have given us your Son Jesus

To be our Teacher, our Friend and our Saviour

And you have asked us to follow him every day of our lives. 

Accept this, our offering of money

And with it our offering of ourselves

To share the Good News of Jesus with people everywhere, 

We ask this in his Name, Amen.

Discipleship - Faith

“Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a minister, “what your idea of consecration is?” Holding out a blank sheet of paper the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and to let God fill it in as He will.”

Jesus was quite explicit about the about what should be in a Disciples tool kit. 

Matthew 6:25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

This is Jesus at his most memorable, living in the present moment, trusting the providence of his heavenly father, relishing life and body more than food or clothing. Here we have a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven on this earth, and enjoy a sense of blessedness being a disciple of Jesus.

Many people will spend today planning advertising campaigns, selling clothes, promoting brands. Jesus does not question what is necessary for life but shows us how we can become preoccupied and distracted. Jesus sees that people easily become insecure, doubtful and disappointed and invites us to consider what is of real and lasting importance. 

That great missionary to India, William Carey, became deeply concerned about the attitude of his son Felix. The young man, a professing Christian, had promised to become a missionary. But he broke his vow when he was appointed ambassador to Burma.

Carey requested prayer for him: "Pray for Felix. He has degenerated into an ambassador of the British government when he should be serving the King of kings."

Loving Lord, Help me to recognise that your good and perfect will does not always look the way I think it should, but that doesn’t make it any less good or any less perfect. I desire to be your disciple and follow you all the days of my life. Please give me the strength to do that. Amen

Discipleship - Faith

According to Paul David Tripp “The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification centre, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.”

This correlates with the 4th verse of the lovely hymn by Robert Walmsley 

Come to my heart, 

O thou wonderful love,

come and abide,

lifting my life till it rises above

envy and falsehood and pride:

seeking to be

lowly and humble, a learner of thee.

“A learner of thee” - is perhaps the most succinct description of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

In ancient Judaism, discipleship was taken very seriously. It was taken so seriously that eager disciples would try to follow their rabbi (teacher) everywhere they went. Why? Because they wanted to see the rabbi, not just in a classroom setting (though there were no “classrooms at the time), but in real life.

They wanted to see how their rabbi treated his family, handled his money, did his chores. Disciples would even compete to be present while their teacher made meals and went about day to day activities.

In Matthew 4:19-20 we read “Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.”

Perhaps we should sometime just sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him.

Teach us, good Lord,
To serve thee as thou deservest;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil and not for seek for rest;
To labour and not to ask for any reward
Save that of knowing that we do thy will. Amen

Discipleship - Faith

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Galatian’s 5:26

It could be said that discipleship is walking the Jesus way. A father and son arrived in a small town looking for an uncle whom they had never seen. Suddenly, the father, pointing across the square to a man who was walking away from them, exclaimed, “There goes my uncle!”

His son asked, “How do you know when you have not seen him before?”

“Son, I know him because he walks exactly like my father.”

If we walk in the Spirit, the world should know us by our walk.

According to John’s gospel, Jesus was quite clear that he was the way the truth and the life. Later in the early church the followers of Jesus were known as people of the way. It is one thing to see the way, another to know of the one who leads the way, but another to follow. 

A disciple has been shown to be someone who follows the teachings, life, and aim of another until the person becomes like the master. Discipleship in the Christian sense is the process of learning to become like Christ. The disciple of Christ is to become like Christ in everything.

“Christian discipleship is a decision to walk in his ways, steadily and firmly, and then finding that the way integrates all our interests, passions, and gifts, our human needs and eternal aspirations. It is the way of life we were created for.”― Eugene H. Peterson

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I strive to live and walk in the Holy Spirit. Open my ears so I hear your call. Open my mind so I understand your will. Guide me down the path of righteousness. Use the Holy Spirit to build me into a disciple of God. Amen.