The Word: Luke 9: 43 (KJV)
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Dig Deeper: Matthew 8: 34 (KJV)
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Think about it
BASICS OF DISCIPLESHIP
Welcome to the month of march. The season of rainfall. So expect your rain of blessings, goodness, grace, a new anointing IJN. Do you know that snow is also rainfall but in a solid form. What you have been waiting for is liquid rain, showers of blessings….. Well it has started already… Remember Isaiah 43: 18 -19 : I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. So your new is here… Just that atimes, we need to be still and know that he is God (Psalm 46: 10). I have to practise the same thing. Atimes I am so in a hurry, I am so pressed, I am so desperate for a change, but the Holy Spirit says: ‘wait, I am working on it’. Impatience and playfulness is part of the hallmarks of children. Kids struggle to stay still. Their attention span switches quickly. Being able to be still is a sign that we are starting to become matured sons. Though it is difficult, we need to practise being still and allow God finish what he is working on.
This month, we will be discussing and teaching on discipleship. After the new birth, we must become disciples. If not we will always be babies and never grow up into what God wants us to become.
Who is a disciple?
A disciple is someone who follows. A true disciple is a true follower. Being born again will be ineffective in our lives if we don’t become a true disciple because discipleship helps us to grow. Can you imagine a woman who desperately wants a child and prayed to God, So God eventually answers the prayer, the person becomes pregnant, gives birth to a baby boy, but after a few months the doctors discover that the child has a sickness that will not allow him to grow. So this baby is 2yrs old but cannot walk or crawl because he is still the size of a new born baby.
Discipleship allows us to grow. Unless we become true disciples, we will never grow properly. If you have been born again for 5yrs but you notice that you have not grown properly in the things of God, then it is because you have not been properly trained after the new birth. If a baby is not properly fed milk, then the baby will die. Can you imagine God wanted many adopted children, he was excited when you became born again. So ideally you are now 12yrs old in the faith (since you gave your life to Christ) but the level of growth that you exhibit is like that of a 5yrs old. If you are the parent (in the place of God), would you be excited about that baby? Granted you will be happy that you eventually atleast have this child, but you will wish the baby can grow and develop in the expected way. Well that tells you how God feels about some of us. He is happy you are his child. He loves you to bits… But he sometimes wishes, you could buckle up and grow to the level he wants you to be right now. Discipleship allows you to be trained like a child. If we are to experience true next level this year, then God will have us revisit our spiritual growth this year. And this is what our discussions this month will be based on.
Nuggets:
Every believer needs to become a disciple in order to become a true follower of Jesus.
Our memory verse for March 2018
Luke 9: 23
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Let’s take a few moment to learn our memory verse for this month by heart. It can be memorised in 3 lines:
Line 1: And he said to them all,
Line 2: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
Line 3: and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Once you say it a few times it will stick.
Prayer focus: Our next level prayers:
Lord help me become a true follower of you….
On Grace:
Masterlife Workbook: The Church is embarking on weeks of discipleship workbook study: Masterlife now on the 2nd workbook: The Disciple’s personality
