Discipleship Network Forum

In connection with The Discipleship Network, Disciple Nations International is offering one free chapter from our book, “Journey into the Spirit Empowered Life – A Guide for Personal, Family & Community Transformation”.  This book offers a very practical guide for experiencing God’s Presence transform our personal lives, marriages, families and out into our spheres of influence.   Below we give you a free preview of Chapter 10 entitled, "Fruit of a Spirit-Empowered Lifestyle - Evangelism, Discipleship & Love."

Book Description:

Jesus stated that whoever believes in Him would do even greater works than He did because He was going to the Father (John 14:12). With such solid promises from God Himself, why is it that so many sincere Christ-followers feel confined to a life of spiritual mediocrity? How is it that those who have the Spirit of God living in them are failing to live in victory over sin? Why is there so much lack of love and unity among those called to represent God’s life to the world?

Journey into the Spirit Empowered Life is a book that transcends culture, and taps into the deepest desires that God has placed in the human soul. This book addresses some of the hard questions that many Christ-followers have in their hearts but have not found answers to. Through the pages of this book we will seek to break the status quo and enter into a new reality with God that will transform every aspect of our lives.

Endorsements we have received:

"Transformation" and "revival" have become a part of everyday conversation for those who consider themselves as followers of Jesus.  However, very few of us are proactively growing in the kind of lifestyle that reflects the image of our Lord. Chris Vennetti provides a clear road map to anyone desiring authentic personal revival that will lead to family, community and national transformation.  I highly recommend Journey into the Spirit Empowered Life for such a time as this and to such a person as YOU!

Dai Sup Han, Founder/National Facilitator, Prayer Surge NOW!, Serving with Youth With A Mission

"Journey into the Spirit Empowered Life will help you discover and cultivate a lifestyle that is totally surrendered to Christ and walks daily in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Dr. Dick Eastman, International President, Every Home for Christ International

Chris has written a gracious but needed challenge; a call to the radical lifestyle we cannot ignore as we read the scriptures. He has summarized this journey well:

A truly Spirit-Empowered person is someone with a lifestyle that is radically consecrated to Jesus Christ, and who has learned to live in a place of wholehearted faith in the character, will and ways of God.

May the Lord use this teaching to transform our view of the Christian life, expand our vision of authentic discipleship, and drive us back to scripture in a way that results in Spirit-led, scripture-fed expressions of God's love in and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Phil Miglioratti, National Pastors' Prayer Network

Chapter 10

Fruit of a Spirit-Empowered Lifestyle

Evangelism, Discipleship & Love

When we are still bound by our flesh, the world, and the enemy it is difficult to even begin to help others.  We lack real authority to call them to be free when we are still living in bondage.  As God’s Spirit sets us free we are simultaneously released to be used of God to assist others.  As we look at the sphere of influence that God has entrusted to us it is helpful to be equipped in three key areas: Evangelism, Discipleship & Love.

A Spirit-Empowered Lifestyle Prepares Us for Effective Evangelism

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.    2 Timothy 4:2

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.        1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)

While not everyone is called to be an evangelist, as Peter mentions here, we are all called to “be prepared to give an answer” to those who ask us about the hope that we have.  Paul speaks of a fearless readiness, to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in every situation at any time (Eph 6:19-20).  This lifestyle of evangelism is more than simply going on a specific outreach to declare Christ to those who do not know Him, but it speaks of a faith that flourishes in every situation from morning until night.  We may share Jesus through our words, as well as through our service.   When we are living in victory in our personal lives, we are positioned to be effective witnesses for the Kingdom of God.  We should experience a desire to seek opportunities to share the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus.    

Living in this way, keeps us from becoming apathetic in our faith, and encourages us to walk in a vibrant intimacy with God that is attractive to those He brings into our lives.  We should always look to make the most of every opportunity.  Whether that be in the area where we live, a business, a school, while we walk along the way, or whether we are among family and friends at home.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.   Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)

He who is wise wins souls.    Proverbs 11:30

Are we regularly winning souls into the Kingdom of God?  Do we live in the awareness that if the souls of those around us do not come to know Jesus Christ that they will spend an eternity in hell?  What level of urgency do we have towards the lost?  When was the last time we tapped deeply into the heart of God which “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”?

Practical Instructions for a Lifestyle of Effective Evangelism:

-         Consider asking God’s Spirit to give you at least 5-10 names of unsaved family, friends and acquaintances that you can be regularly praying for their salvation.  Write these names down and keep them in your Bible or in a place where you will regularly see them.  Pray for them as regularly as God’s Spirit leads you to.

-         Daily make yourself available to be used of the Holy Spirit by letting Him know each day that you are willing to be used of Him to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.  As you make yourself available to Him, He will make the opportunity for you to share His message.  If you pray this way regularly, you will find amazing doors begin to open to share your faith.

-         Consider recording answers to prayer.  These big and small victories will serve as an encouragement to keep believing God to use your life as a vessel of His Good News.

A Spirit-Empowered Lifestyle Prepares Us for Effective Discipleship

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”     Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus did not simply ask us to make converts but to make disciples.  Jesus told us that the way we are to disciple an individual, our family, and our sphere of influence is a process of teaching them “to observe all that I commanded you”.  It is difficult to teach others to observe all that Jesus has commanded us when we ourselves are not yet surrendered to this lifestyle. 

When the Holy Spirit begins to bring us through to the reality of a full surrender to His will and ways, we are being prepared to become an instructor of others.  As we seek to encourage those around us in a lifestyle of radical abandonment to Jesus, we can take courage from His final statement in Matthew 28 where He promised to be with us “always, even to the end of the age”.     

Do not be surprised if your discipleship of others does not look glamorous in the eyes of the world or even the religious system.  The religious system of our day often displays a hyped up image of what successful ministry looks.  Sadly, this image of being a success in the eyes of other people is often in direct contradiction to the ways of God. 

Jesus modeled for us what a life of discipleship looked like.  With a massive vision to disciple every nation; He made a very interesting decision to invest the majority of His earthy life in just 12 men.  He lived in close relationship with them and taught them His commandments, both through His Words, but most importantly through His Life.  In this lifestyle of discipleship, Jesus laid the foundation for His Church.   

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.         Philippians 4:9

Paul shared about the need for mentoring and modeling a Spirit-Empowered lifestyle in close relationship with others.  This same pattern of discipleship is just as essential today, if we are going to see Christ’s Kingdom established on earth as it is in heaven.  The discipleship of our families ought to be our first priority (1 Tim. 3:1-2, 12, Titus 1:6-7).  Then we are in a position to disciple every other facet of the sphere of influence that God has entrusted to us. 

Practical Instructions for a Lifestyle of Effective Discipleship:

-         Ask God’s Spirit for His wisdom and timing as to whether He believes you are equipped to begin to step out and disciple others.  If our own lives are still in a position of compromise, we would be wise to wait and allow God to disciple us first before we launch out and start seeking to lead others.

-         As your life is consecrated and living a Spirit-Empowered lifestyle, begin to ask God how He would have you pour your life into others.

-         Trust God to reveal those He wants you to connect with in this way.  Learn to allow His Spirit to disciple others through you.  This is not a matter of attempting to disciple others in your own strength.  It is learning to trust Him to disciple others through you.

The Ultimate Goal – A Lifestyle of Unconditional Love

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  1 John 4:8

While there are many fruits of the Spirit, the scriptures are clear that none compare to love.  Unconditional or “agape” love has no parallel.  This type of love is the greatest measure of our depth of connection with God.  God has revealed His loving character to us, and if we desire to properly represent Him to the world, we must tap deeply into His love for us and for others.    

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”       Matthew 22:36-40

The Spirit-Empowered Life is a life of faith, of hope, and of love, but the greatest indication of being indwelt with the Holy Spirit is our level of love.  It is clear that Jesus intended for love to be the primary distinctive that caused the people of God to stand out above every other people on the earth.  It was by our love for God and our love for others that Kingdoms would be conquered and nations discipled.  Our love for God was to be far superior to our love for any other earthly thing.

The Gospel calls us to die to ourselves, and live for Christ’s purposes.  In order to live for His purposes and properly represent Him as His ambassadors we must allow His standard of Love to become our standard of love.  We must allow the Spirit of God to remove any root of bitterness that may be there from our past.  We must forgive as Christ has forgiven us, and daily ask the Holy Spirit to take us deeper in our understanding of His love for us, and of His love for all men.

(Jesus speaking) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”     John 13:34-35

We do not need to look any further than the lack of love in the church in order to see our grievous disconnection from The Vine.  God is Love.  Whenever an individual lacks love this points to their lack of relationship with the source of all Love. 

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  But what if we have not allowed God to love us?  What if we have rejected His love?  Then it should be no surprise that many non-believers lack love.  They have not received God’s love for them therefore they have no sacrificial love to give to others. 

But what about those who claim to follow Christ and yet lack love?  What about the many believers who are easily irritated, frustrated, and lack love on a daily basis?  Could it be that we too have failed to receive God’s Love for us? 

Do everything in love.    1 Cor. 16:14 (NIV)

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.   Gal. 5:6 (NIV)

When was the last time that you allowed God to reveal to you just how much He loves you?

Why don’t you take some time right now and stop whatever you are doing and allow the Spirit of God to show you just how much He loves you?  Will you let Him do this for you now?

Prayer time: God I ask that You would reveal the love that You have for me.  (Take time to wait on Him.)

I hope that you took the time to allow God to saturate you in His Love for you.  This is the most important thing in all of life.  God is Love.  We can only love others when we have a revelation of His love for us.  Love is the most powerful witness to the reality of God.  Therefore, allowing God to love us must become top priority in our lives.

From this place of love, we have the Life of God necessary to impact every circumstance no matter how difficult.  Love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).  Love breaths new life into places that were dead.  A vast throng in heaven can testify that it was the love of another believer that won their heart over to Jesus. 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”       Matthew 5:43-45

In this passage, it is not just any type of love that is being asked for, but Jesus says that we are to have agape love for our enemies.  We are to have unconditional love for those who hate us and we are to do good for them.  Why?  Because God Himself passionately loves those who are His enemies and He expects us to have the same love that He has for those around us.

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.                                 1 John 3:23

In the Middle East it is love that triumphs and causes hearts to turn to Christ.  In Communist countries, it is love that shines like a bright beacon testifying to the reality of Jesus.  In a cold and hardened individualistic culture in the western nations it is love that cuts through the ice and rescues souls from eternal darkness to eternal light.  Don’t underestimate the power of love.  It is love that compelled God the Father to willingly allow His Son to be killed in our place (John 3:16).  It is love that motivated Jesus to willingly lay down His life for humanity.  It is love that will bring about the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the nations of the earth. 

If we realize that love is the most powerful spiritual weapon, the most effective means of evangelism and discipleship, the most needed and rare resource on the earth, then we would ask ourselves the question: “How do I increase the level of love that I am living in?”

The answer to this question is quite simple.  Enter more deeply into the One and Only Person who is Love.  Unlike our desire for other spiritual gifts, such as the desire for miracle working power, or a deeper understanding of future events, there are sources of darkness and sources of light.  But real, genuine, self-sacrificing, and unconditional love has only One Source. 

If we wish to lay hold of more of the most precious commodity on earth, then we must abandon ourselves more completely to Jesus.  We must allow His Life to so infill us, that it is no longer us living, but Him Living through us.  We must allow Him to love us completely, and allow Him to remove the areas of our lives that are lived in contradiction to His Spirit, so that we are clean and pure vessels.  As His Love consumes us, and as we find ourselves willingly melting into Him, our lives will appear as a blazing inferno of love to show the nations that Jesus Christ is alive.

Will you begin to allow His Great Love to consume you?  Will you allow Him to fill you with a deeper revelation of His Love for you?  Start now and don’t stop until He takes you home to be with Him forever.

Conclusion

Can you envision this lifestyle of evangelism, discipleship and love, flowing from your personal life into your marriage / parenting?  How about your workplace?  What about an entire congregation that begins to embrace this lifestyle?  What if the Body of Christ in a community or city began to be equipped and sent out to bear this type of good fruit everywhere they went?  Could we not see entire cities and nations turned upside down?  Let’s allow God to work this good fruit in our lives so that we can begin to share this with others.

Discussion Questions:

• Do you presently live as though the only reason you are here on earth is to give glory to God?  If not, what are some of the common ways that you have been pulled away from living for God’s purposes?

Evangelism

• In what way have you experienced God’s Spirit winning lost souls to Christ through your life?
• How do you believe God’s Spirit wants to win even more souls to Himself through you in the days ahead?

Discipleship

• In what way have you experienced God’s Spirit discipling others in the will and ways of Jesus Christ through your life?
• How do you believe God’s Spirit wants to disciple others even more effectively through you in the future?

Love

• In what way have you experienced God’s Spirit loving others through you?  Do you see yourself consistently living in the level of love that Jesus loves?  If not, what makes it difficult for you to love others as Jesus loves them?   
• How do you believe God’s Spirit wants to love others at an even deeper level through your life in the future?

Action Step:

Take time to ask God how He would have you begin to be even more fruitful as it relates to evangelism, discipleship, and love.  Write down any immediate action steps that He asks you to take and through prayer and obedience put them into practice.

Evangelism__________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Discipleship__________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Love for others________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Prayer Focus:

Father God, I need You.  It is clear that apart from You that I cannot help others to know You more.  You have promised me in Your Word that if I would remain in You that I would bear much for fruit for Your glory.  I ask that You would show me how to let my light shine more brightly so that those around me will come to know You.  I ask that you would teach me Your ways of discipling others so that you can use me to mature other believers.  I believe You to continue to reveal Your great love for me so that I will have an abundance of love to give to others.  I ask that You would give me a greater understanding of Your love for those around me.  (Continue to pray as God’s Spirit leads you.)

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You can view the opening portion of the book free of charge on Amazon by clicking here (and then click the "Look Inside" link)  The book is available both as a paperback and in a Kindle Edition.

Contact us if you have any questions and/or if you are interested in sharing this lifestyle in your location.  We host pastors "Vision Conferences" as well as weekend conferences that are open to the general public related to this topic.  Contact: office@dninternational.org or visit us on the web at www.dninternational.org

As we journey through life, we frequently need forgiveness of sin and relief from guilt -- something only God can give.

“The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.

It is twice blessed -- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”

- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

It God did not have a heart, we would not stand a chance.

If He corrected us in anger, we would be reduced to nothing.

If He took up arms against insurrection, we would be devastated.

If He dealt severely, we’d survive less time than dandelions in a windstorm.

To our great relief, between God’s pure holiness and unbending law is a mercy seat.

He is the Fountainhead of pity, with sole authority to extend clemency to condemned prisoners.

Guilt is a burden we cannot manage on our own—thankfully, God is far easier on us than we are on ourselves.

Attempt to cover sin, and He uncovers it to our dismay;

uncover it honestly before Him, and He covers it with Jesus’ blood.

Unworthiness makes us tremble at the thought of standing before God—

but freely forgiven by Christ, at His mercy, we can relax.

“May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man.”

Genesis 43:14 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 30 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

As we journey through life, we frequently need forgiveness of sin and relief from guilt -- something only God can give.

“The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.

It is twice blessed -- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”

- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

It God did not have a heart, we would not stand a chance.

If He corrected us in anger, we would be reduced to nothing.

If He took up arms against insurrection, we would be devastated.

If He dealt severely, we’d survive less time than dandelions in a windstorm.

To our great relief, between God’s pure holiness and unbending law is a mercy seat.

He is the Fountainhead of pity, with sole authority to extend clemency to condemned prisoners.

Guilt is a burden we cannot manage on our own—thankfully, God is far easier on us than we are on ourselves.

Attempt to cover sin, and He uncovers it to our dismay;

uncover it honestly before Him, and He covers it with Jesus’ blood.

Unworthiness makes us tremble at the thought of standing before God—

but freely forgiven by Christ, at His mercy, we can relax.

“May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man.”

Genesis 43:14 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 30 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

Our culture constantly teaches us that self-confidence will guarantee success. Scripture teaches a different lesson. 

“There’s one blessing only, the source and cornerstone of beatitude—confidence in self.”

- Seneca

There are two fundamental lessons we need to keep relearning—1) there’s a God; 2) we are not Him.

Eventually, we realize limitations—enigmas we cannot decipher, messages we cannot decode.

Self-confidence inevitably crashes into failure’s brick walls and gets lost in life’s labyrinth.

Survival of the fittest disqualifies us; swagger hurries down dead-end alleys.

Haughtiness paves humiliating roads; ego proves to be insufficient.

A do-it-yourself attitude can never be a substitute for grace.

Blessings cascade in our lives from God the Source.

Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone of beatitude.

The key to the confidence course of life?

Confidence in the trustworthy God.

“’It is beyond my power to do this’” Joseph replied.

‘But God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease.’”

Genesis 41:16

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 29 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

The book began with the words, “This book is by the one who thought he’d be further along by now, but he’s not.” It doesn’t matter who wrote the book, for its author is legion. Nor does it matter the title of the book, for the opening line describes the book everyone hoped to write someday. How have we learned so much, yet applied so little? How have we grown so much, yet matured so little? Oh, I know a few whose ego allows them to believe they have arrived at perfection or at least they camp out in its vicinity. I remain their friend because I figure they need someone who sees through them and still likes them. I know many who are still on pilgrimage, struggling ever upward to their goal, however they understand it. I remain their friend also for we are sometimes on the same stretch of road and it’s good to fellowship with the like-minded. I also know of an Apostle named Paul who wrote, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:19). I thought Paul would have been further along on his journey by the time he wrote this. Press on fellow pilgrim! 

“Cannons and fire-arms are cruel and damnable machines;

I believe them to have been the direct suggestion of the Devil.

If Adam had seen in a vision the horrible instruments his children were to invent,

he would have died of grief.”

- Martin Luther

At times it feels there are hawks everywhere—but a Dove is on the believer’s shoulder.

Benjamin Franklin was certainly right—“there never was a good war or a bad peace.”

Incredibly, this world seems to thrive on war—over 100,000 killed in Syria so far!

Afghanistan and Iraq have been battlegrounds for years, and are not yet quiet.

Millions have died in combat, with “the war to end all wars” not yet fought.

Ukraine trembles in the shadow of her giant threatening neighbor Russia.

Will America’s paratroopers in Poland keep the menacing bear at bay?

“Wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6) pervade the daily news.  

Peace at last is the promise of Scripture—God speed the day!

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. ”

Isaiah 2:4 ESV

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

Many claim that discipleship includes most everything we do in church. I would agree that this statement is true in many evangelical churches; anything that helps believers grow to become like Christ is part of the discipleship process. That being said, what would Jesus’ disciples have concluded to be the method they should use in obeying his command?

I am sure this wasn’t even a question to them, because there was only one common method in that day for making disciples. But if there had been other methods, there still would have been only one answer. Without question, they would have said that Jesus meant for them to make disciples of others just as he had made disciples of them. Jesus’ method is the only method they would have considered.

Secondly, let us question what modern-day method and procedure most effectively accomplishes the task of making disciples. When we make a financial investment, we undoubtedly want the mechanism that will give us the best return on an investment. We should evaluate our eternal impact in a similar way if we desire to have the greatest impact on people’s lives. We should actively be “redeeming the time” (Col. 4:5, KJV), “making the most of the opportunity,” practicing the method that will produce the greatest yield in discipleship.

Based on my thirty-five years of experience and the opinion of countless number of Christian experts, life-on-life discipleship remains the primary method used in our modern age that incorporates the discipleship methods of Jesus Christ. This discipleship method, when followed correctly, will more deeply develop a person’s spiritual transformation and growth in the shortest amount of time than any method known to man.

Rediscovering the Lost Secret to a Fulfilled Life

If you’re like me, there’s hardly anything in life more frustrating than when you lose something that’s important to you. The day is off to a bad start if you can’t remember where you put your car keys, your cell phone, or the computer file you’d worked on all day yesterday.

Everything else is put on hold until you find what you lost.

On the other hand, nothing is more exhilarating  than to find something you thought might be gone forever. Jesus tells three stories about this kind of experience in Luke 15, where a lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son all were regained with great joy.

Have you ever had this kind of experience?

Recently I uncovered a “lost” secret to having an adventurous, discovered-filled life. I feel like the man in Matthew 13:44 (MSG) who unexpectedly found “a treasure hidden in a field for years.”  How could I have missed or neglected this “treasure” for so long?

The secret is amazingly simple, found in a single word. It’s a word that probably sounds wimpy or even defeatist at first—yet it’s anything but that.

The word is filled with explosive power and potential, but this may not be obvious at first. It is a lot like nuclear energy—power hidden away for millennia inside of tiny atoms until activated.

Even though this word is never used in the Bible, the concept is found throughout. However, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard a sermon by this name.

So here it is, the forgotten key to a happy, impactful, and prosperous life:

RELINQUISHMENT

Dictionaries define relinquishment as surrendering, releasing, letting go, or yielding. The closest Bible “proof text” I could find was an obscure marginal reference in Psalm 46:10 (NASB): “LET GO and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The secret to having God exalted in our lives is in simply letting go—relinquishing  something we treasure to Him. Or, as Jesus told us, we must lose  our life in order to find  it (Luke 17:33).

Relinquishment takes a person’s life from ordinary to extraordinary…from bland to blessed…from victim to victor…and from boring to bold. In contrast, nothing is duller or more depressing than trying hold on to what we already have.

Abraham’s son Isaac was just an ordinary young man until Abraham relinquished  him to the Lord and put him on the altar of sacrifice (Genesis 22).

Once Moses relinquished  his ordinary shepherd’s staff (Exodus 4:1-5), it was transformed into “the rod of God,” able to perform mighty miracles.

There was nothing extraordinary about the five loaves and two fish the disciples had on hand—until they relinquished  their supply to Jesus (Matthew 14).

The stone waterpots in John 2 contained only ordinary, colorless, tasteless water, until Jesus took the bland water and did a miracle—turning it into sparkling, tasty, intoxicating wine. You see, whenever RELINQUISMENT takes place, God does miracles and life gets exciting.

So why is it so easy to miss this? The answer is simple: Because of fear and unbelief, we tend to hang on to our meager resources rather than entrust them into the hands of God. How sad, for He has shown throughout history that He can do far more with the resources than we can.

The life of faith is never ordinary, bland, or unexciting. But the “religious” life is a completely different story. Religion always turns the wine back into water and removes the fizz from the adventurous life of discovery God planned for us.

Jesus relinquished the rights and privileges of His heavenly life in order to embark on the great adventure of redeeming humankind and giving us a right to enter the kingdom of heaven. Still today, He beckons us to a life of relinquishment, where it is “more blessed to give than to receive”  (Acts 20:35).

Instead of being a life of boredom or defeat, a life of relinquishment is a life of anticipation, success, and victory. What could God do with that “thing” you are holding in your hand? You’ll never know until you relinquish it to Him. That’s when the fun starts and the fizz returns.

Easter is the highest holy day of the Christian faith. The Presence of the living Lord in trusting hearts changes all of life.

“The Easter message tells us that our enemies, sin, the curse and death, are beaten.

Ultimately they can no longer start mischief.

They may still behave as though the game were not decided, the battle not fought;

we must still reckon with them, but fundamentally we must cease to fear them anymore.”

- Karl Barth

The resurrection of Jesus is a fact we could never have imagined, a reality changing our destiny.

His resurrection was not merely the product of hallucinatory desperation or wishful thinking.

The disciples were not convinced by an empty tomb—personal encounter convinced them.

“I have seen the Lord!” canceled their doubt and dispelled their fear—today, it still does.

An empty tomb never proved resurrection; but a heart full of love is strong evidence.

                                                         Because He lives, enemies are beaten, all life changed.

Despair is not the last word—hope indeed springs eternal.

The grave is not a prison—the body will decay, but the soul is free.

Death is not the finale of the symphony of life—eternal life is the encore.

Aging will not have the final say—a glorious body will replace a humiliating one.

Funerals are not a final good-bye to loved ones—hellos will echo in heaven’s reunion.

Rough roads are not permanent–when time’s journey is over, saints will stroll golden streets.

Sin’s nightmare will not last forever—pain and tears will disappear when God’s dream comes true.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again

to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

How did Jesus do it?

It’s always good to learn from Jesus for several reasons.  He pleased God the Father so completely that God the Father affirmed Him several times, like Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”  Jesus also provides us a sinless pattern to follow in His steps.  He said that John 12:47 "If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn't take it seriously, I don't reject him. I didn't come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I'm saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word. I'm not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it. And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That's all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you."  Jesus modeled obedience to the Father and disciple-making, along with the eventual benefits of persistence.

So here are 5 things Jesus did with His disciples looking on.  He spent some time with crowds and equipping His disciples to reach many, but His main work was discipling the 12 and the 3 – every day, without fail.  The secret to successful discipling is spending time together, modeling, living spiritual experiences together; i.e. learning by doing together, like Jesus & the 3!

1. Told Everyone the Good News (Gospel)

2. Taught Many (5,000 and the 4,000)

3. Trained Some (Seventy sent out 2 x 2)
4. Equipped a Few (the 3 and the 12)
5. Modeled a Relationship with the Father

Another way to contrast this is to say that as great as Jesus’ mountain-top teaching was (e.g. His ‘Sermon on the Mount’) when the disciples had to live on their own when Jesus was gone, they mainly remembered their 1:1 time with Him.  For more on this profound comparison, refer to Reference [2].

Discussion: In your opinion, which is generally more effective in lasting kingdom work, a great preacher or evangelist, or someone who spends 1:1 time discipling others?  Why?

Private Time with God

You can’t give away (or sell) what you don’t have.  To elaborate on what we said in the section title Past, you have to reach out and take Jesus and His payment for your sin, by faith, or it really is not in your spiritual bank account for you to spend.  My daughter used to go with me to downtown Dallas Union Gospel Mission.  She would ask to stop, go in and buy a candy bar.  At the mission she would approach street men on the front row, extend the candy bar to each one in turn and ask them to take it.  Some were not sure they should, but finally one would take it.  “It’s yours to enjoy” she would respond.  “You must reach out by faith and take Christ personally as your savior before you can KNOW you have eternal life based on His payment for all on the cross.”  Similarly you must spend daily private time with God and His Word to let Him disclose His love letters to you, and to spend intimate time with “your daddy.”  Reference [3] outlines many ways to do this, since people are different.  I prefer praying; reading a few verses, writing in a notebook a paraphrase of them in my own words, praying, and then writing a personal application for those verses (often a prayer).  I must do this first when I get up, or most often something will interrupt and distract me. 

Discussion: How has your Quiet Time worked or not worked for you? 

Prayer

Private prayer is essential as mentioned in our Quiet Time above.  Actually as we grow we learn to pray without ceasing throughout our day, both listening and speaking in our communication with God.  He hears the prayer of our heart, independent of moving lips.  As we sharpen our conscience through experiencing the 9 fruit of the Spirit, learning obedience and sensitivity to the Spirit, and confession of sin, our communication with God improves.  Prayer is the root of all successful spiritual work, including discipleship.

Reference [4 ] is an excellent book on prayer to help us grow in the 6 aspects of prayer below that are taken from that book.

Another excellent prayer motivator is the DVD and study booklet [5] from Brooklyn Tabernacle that graphically shows personal transformations and church growth through prayer.  And yet another prayer motivator is the slides [6] I present to churches and groups to help individuals grow, mature, and enjoy God’s special prayer provisions for us.

Discussion: Spend a few minutes comparing the two columns in the House of Prayer table below [8].  Circle on each row the number in the left or right column that seems most like your church.  Use this information to place a 1/2/3 in the left of the 3 rows where it appears your church could improve most.

"My House shall be called a House of Prayer " Matthew 21:13

Staying in love with Jesus

Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) wrote a book [8] on staying in love with Jesus.  If you think your initial love has lessened, please consider reading this and letting it rekindle the flame.  For me there are 3 main elements to keep the flame burning bright: (1) Daily Quiet Time, (2) Daily learning to pray without ceasing, and (3) daily reporting for duty with a “get to” attitude to receive assignments and God working in and through me to show me His will and empower me to do it!

Recently I traveled to visit an 86 year old lady that had fallen and cracked her hip a second time.  I took lunch for her and her grown son.  Not long after we started talking and reminiscing she asked out the blue, “how is your love life?”  I immediately replied that I find I am more in love with Jesus every day.  My wife died a year and a half ago, but God has kept me busy as His way of helping fill that void.  Obviously time spent together daily, and good and honest communication are key ingredients to fan the flame of His love initiative and our passionate response.

Here are a couple of ideas to fan the flame of your love for Jesus.  Praying according to the dimensions listed above like worship, praise, thanksgiving, and intercession can rekindle our joy in the Lord that can quickly progress to increased love for Him.  Also our obedience to Him in serving others can similarly blaze a path of increased love for Him.  Personal revival can be simply defined as our experience of an increased love for Jesus.

Discussion: As honestly as possible, please discuss or pray privately about the progression of your love life with Jesus.

What does discipleship mean to you?

As we continue to sharpen our focus on discipleship we need to personally focus on what that means to each one of us.  We know that Jesus prayed and invited 12 disciples to “come follow me and I will turn you into fishers of men.”  Amazingly to me these unlearned men immediately (without excuses or equivocation) left the fishing nets, lucrative tax collecting, homes and comfort zones to “follow the Master” and learn from Him as His disciple.  They spent time (24x7x3 years) with Him.  His leadership style was to show and tell, but much differently than most of us would do. 

He showed (demonstrated) things like prayer with such recognizable results, that after awhile, they asked Him, “teach us to pray.”  He then succinctly verbalized a model prayer as a template example to guide their prayers.  In contrast to the way Jesus did it, most of us would likely have called a meeting to discuss prayer or have started a class or lecture series on prayer.

He told them truth mostly as it came up during their travels and discussions.  Often such teaching came when He needed to correct their thinking, speaking, or action, i.e. offering opportunity for them to make personal changes to get back on track.  He was willing to patiently repeat such teaching and give examples and stories (simple parables taken from everyday life) that you could only miss if you were set in your own ways (and motives) in opposition to God.

Many of us would agree that a disciple follows his mentor or master to learn from him in order to become more like him, including becoming more able to achieve results similar to his teacher.  Jesus’ disciples at first had major difficulty understanding His goals and objectives since they often got hung up on their own earthly purposes that obscured what He was teaching about spiritual things.  Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus promises that disciple and disciple-making fruit comes as a result of disciples “abiding in Him and His love” and He and His word “abiding in us.”  This is similar to the Hebrews 4 instructions about resting (ceasing from our own works), believing or trusting in Jesus and His word, and lastly partnering wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, and energetically with Him as we “strive to enter into His rest” of seeing and doing His will.

So at this point let’s stop and discuss: how we became interested in being a disciple of Jesus; have we received any “calling” to follow Him; what intensity do we feel about this (e.g. where does discipleship fit in our list of personal priorities); and what are one or two main objectives we are focused on in our discipleship?

Discussion: This is your opportunity to discuss the above questions and to firm up what you want to achieve through discipleship, as well as what you think God has in mind for you.  For you to have participated so far in this discussion you must have some ideas about discipleship purposes.  For example who has so far helped you most to become more like Jesus?  Is that a major goal of yours?  This can give you clues about who to look to as you future mentor.  This is also a major chance to ask questions to sharpen your goals and focus as a disciple of Christ, and to discuss current or future fruit by which you can measure progress with the help of others.

Holy Week is a good time to reflect on the price our Redeemer paid for our salvation.

“It has been the cross which has revealed to good men that their goodness has not been good enough.”

- Johann Hieronymus Schroeder

Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, restored to his former position as Joseph predicted, should have at least said thanks.

However, he promptly forgot all about Joseph, “never giving him another thought”  (Genesis 40:23 NLT)

This Old Testament non-example prompts Christians to remember our Redeemer.

We should remember our Savior with heartfelt gratitude – visualizing the cup of wine symbolizing His blood.

We should remember the Master by the way we humbly serve—joyfully being a cup-bearer for the King.

We should remember Christ in integrity—purifying the cup inside, not just polishing the outside.  

We should remember the Lord in hallelujahs—drinking from a cup filled beyond the brim.

We should remember Jesus by persevering—drinking a bitter cup without complaint.

We should remember Christ in hope—anticipating His toast to life in heaven.

“He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

‘This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.’”

Mark 14:23-24 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com (blog & book info)

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 28 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

During the first years of his earthly ministry, Jesus devoted time to form his apostles and the disciple. He was a very patient teacher and devoted a lot of his time to instruct, form, teach and show to his people how to walk with God. Twelve of all his first followers later became his close circle and had further “trainings" and became the apostles. We cannot be all apostles, but we are all called to be the disciples of Christ.

Jesus was known for his miracles, but more importantly it was his teaching that was the force of his ministry. He came with a whole “new” way of living for the lord who caused so many to stumble and others to re-discover the life in God. The Pharisees must have been very angry as their disciples must have stopped following them and was now following Jesus. In fact, their anger was surely based on the fact that so many people were turning to the teachings of Jesus rather than to the normal Jewish teachings. Their concern was that those teachings will become the new sets that will be adopted by the people, and this would cause their demise.

The question we face today is whether we are disciples or not,  do we understand what this means, are we similar to those disciples who lived during Jesus’ time and the early church time?  If not,  Why?

If we want to talk about discipleship,  we will need to have a short study of this word and how it came to being and what it really meant.

We hardly find any use of this word in the OT except for 1 Chron. 25:8 and  Isa. 8:16.  In those references, it normally means someone who is following a teacher,  in Chronicles it referred to those who were attached to the temple’s musicians as learners or scholars who were being trained for the various offices. In Isaiah,  the reference is to those who are following the word of the Lord of Hosts, those who are following the commandments of God.

In the Greek environment, the word “disciple” was used to describe any adherent of a particular teacher or religious and philosophical school. His task was to study and learn from his masters, then he was expected to be the one who will be passing along the sayings and the teachings of his masters or teachers.

The Jews have a different use of the word disciple in the sense that for them, it meant one who was committed to the interpretations of Scripture and religious tradition given to him by the master or Rabbi. This was done during several meetings, where the disciple would be taught, instructed,  and follow memorization, recitation techniques that will allow him to pass on the teachings without any distortions in the original. The disciple would finally become fully devoted to his master and his teachings.

When we come to the NT, there are various uses of this term, we can find the disciples of John the Baptist (Mark 2:18; Luke 11:1; John 1:35), Of the Pharisees ((Matt. 22:16; Mark 2:18), and of course  the most commonly of all disciples,  the disciples of Jesus. Since the arrival of Jesus, the word disciple has been more used to describe those who are following Jesus, but not only following, but as we have seen, be a real student, adherent,  someone who will follow his teachings, sayings and would live by that and would be the one responsible to pass along the teachings and sayings of Jesus.

What are then the characteristics of a “disciple” ?

I think that firstly,  the disciple has to be a good listener. He must be someone who takes time to listen to what the teacher is saying, What he is talking about and what message he is bringing.

Secondly, a disciple must be a believer. It is hard to find anyone who does not believe in something but continue to follow and behave like a disciple. The disciple must have believed in the message and teachings of the master or teacher. For him, everything that the teacher is saying is true, and he firmly believes in those truths enough to be willing to follow the teacher and engage in a constant exposure to what the latter has to teach.

Thirdly,  he must be a very committed person. When we read about those who followed Jesus, we read about the thousands of people who continuously followed him. We have the first disciples who followed him night and day and wherever he was, they were. Dedicated in the sense that once they have heard the first teachings, and they have been captivated or touched by the teachings; they were dedicated to make the most of every single thing the teacher has to day or show. This meant being present at every speech or teachings of the master. The disciple would place the study and the following of his master as the priority of priorities. Remember that the early disciples of Jesus,  left everything to follow him.

Fourthly, The disciple has to be someone who is willing to be taught and has a very humble heart. He must be someone who accepts that he does not know everything and that the master is the master, and his role is to learn from the master and his teachings. He must be willing to be disciplined to his masters “rules” and way of doing things. He must be someone who understands that his ways are not good, but the master’s way is the good one to follow.

Fifthly, The disciple must be someone who puts what he learns into practice. Everything that he is learning, he believes in that. He thinks that it is the truth and the reason he is studying or following is because he will himself proclaim or teach those values. What a better way that to live what you are being taught?  If we study any of the disciples, they all had this in common, that they started to live the way their master was telling them. The firm belief they had in the teachings and sayings, made them change their behavior and way of life to adopt the one that their master was teaching. In any case, it is what was really expected of any Jews or Greek disciples.

Finally, the disciple is someone who is totally ready to die for his master. This type of disciples, is only true for those who follow Jesus. History can tell how many Christians have been killed and martyred since the resurrection of Christ and the beginning of the early church. What they all have in common even with the apostles, is that they did not reject their master. They did not reject the teachings they received, and they were ready to sacrifice themselves so that the teachings would remain. Without they sacrifice and dedication to pass along those teachings, we would not be here today, in liberty to practice our Christian faith.

This is precisely what my question is today. Based on what it means to be a disciple,  are we real disciple?

Are we the same kind of Christians to those that heard the good news for the first time and set  out to listen and live what Jesus was teaching?  Are we taking the time to read our master’s teachings and sayings?   Do we believe in what our master has taught us?  Are we dedicated to the teachings and sayings, are we believing and dedicated enough to put into practice what we learn from our master?  Most of all, are we ready to die for our master?

If we cannot answer those questions positively, then we need to assess ourselves really. Because being a disciple implies all of these things. We must not be living a life of a lie, where we think, we are disciples, when we are simple being Pharisees.

We are not the disciples of some mere human philosophers, politicians or other star. We are the disciples of our Lord God,  Jesus Christ.  We do not need to walk a lot, to wait for the letters of the apostles today; we have the Bible. We have everything at hand.

If we cannot be true to him, if we cannot follow him,  if we cannot believe in his teachings and live to it, if we are not ready to pass along his teachings and saying;  Can we still call ourselves disciples?

I got to thinking about asking questions this past weekend. s good, right?

With about 120 other pastors and leaders, I had the opportunity to participate in a four day training seminar with Kevin Greeson in Austin, Texas.

For some reason this method has met with some controversy and pushback, probably because some people just aren’t asking the right questions. Ya think?

In one of Jesus’ most famous sermons, He told three different parables about things that were lost: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son (Luke 15). If He was giving the same sermon today, He probably would add the Parable of the Lost Jetliner.

The facts of the story would already be well known. A commercial Boeing 777 carrying 239 people suddenly vanished from the sky. Despite pervasive modern technology such as radar, communication satellites, and Google Earth, the simply plane could not be found. Debris sighted in the ocean turned out to be a false alarm, having nothing to do with the missing jetliner. Black box “pings” were heard at times, but then the batteries apparently went dead.

People all over the world were captivated by the story. Everyone loves a good mystery, after all.

Video clips of anguished family members were shown by cable news. Unbelievable pain, anger, and confusion fueled tears and tortured screams. Oh, what love…what loss…what agony.

Meanwhile, TV pundits and aviation experts spouted never-ending theories on what could have happened. Was terrorism involved? Did one of the pilots take the plane on a suicide mission? Was there some kind of catastrophic electrical failure? Had the plane been hijacked and landed in some remote location? One CNN anchor even asked if a black hole might have been involved!

After more than a month of fruitless searching for the hapless jetliner, billions of dollars had been spent by countless countries and humanitarian organizations. But despite the focus of the entire world and a massive outlay of resources, the plane and its 239 people remained LOST.

At this point in the parable, Jesus would segue to some personal applications for His followers. In particular, He would note a strange fact: While people around the world devoted enormous time, money, and technology to recover a lost plane and 239 lost people—people who were already dead—there were hundreds of thousands of LOST people in every major city in the world. “Where is the passion, anguish, and commitment to find and rescue those lost people?” He would ask.

Jesus then might remind us that when He stated HIS mission statement, He was also giving us OUR mission statement as His followers: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”  (Luke 19:10). I don’t think He was referring to lost jetliners. He meant people—sinners in need of a Savior.

Shouldn’t we be challenged to have the same kind of anguish for lost souls as the relatives have for their loved ones who were on Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? Shouldn’t our devotion to rescue the perishing surpass the energy and resources shown by the search teams combing the Indian Ocean? Where are our tears for the lost people all around us?

On June 29, 2012 God placed a “call to action” on my heart.  Throughout the night I woke up multiple times to take notes.  I didn’t fully understand that what God shared with me that night would be the beginnings of the ALL IN Movement, but I knew that God was stirring my heart to action.  Two quick points for the sake of clarity before reading some of my raw notes from that night:

1. The Newton Project was a nonprofit organization I started in 2011 to demonstrate how acts of love and kindness can make a big difference in people’s lives
2. Sparkhound was the technology company that I owned a portion of and ran operations for prior to leaving to launch ALL IN

Notes from 6/29/12

Hate is not the opposite of love.  Indifference is the opposite of love.  I'm awake at 1am.  I have been struggling for weeks with whether or not to buy a new truck.  God has shown me tonight that he has already provided everything I need, but it will never be enough for me because I am trusting in the provision rather than the provider.  What I should be agonizing over instead is that I have not been loving others as I should.  I have been indifferent. God has shown me tonight that what I should be agonizing over is my lack of love for others.  I talk to people about The Newton Project and how we want to make a difference in people’s lives and yet I focus more on its popularity than I do its impact.  The Holy Spirit corrects me and tells me that I shouldn't but I often find myself doing it anyway.  One of my Sparkhound employees is in the hospital and may not make it.  We had another employee earlier this year die of an overdose on medication and alcohol.  I talk to people about it and I say "it's sad", but am I really caring about it the way that I should?  What should I be feeling?  It is easy to simply say "that is sad", say a prayer, and do nothing else.  I pray that God will make my heart hurt for people.  I want to love like Christ loves.  I want to see the family on the news who's house burned down and I want to really hurt for them.  I want to be moved to action for them. That is the kind of life I want to live.  Praise God for His Spirit that lives within me and stirs my soul! 

What my notes that night reveal is that God was no longer going to allow me to live an indifferent life.  My ask of each of you today is that you search your heart and answer this question honestly. Are you living an indifferent life or is your soul stirred to action to help people in any way that you can? 

Jesus makes it clear to us in John 13:34-35 that we are to love one another.  Jesus also makes it clear in Luke 19:10-26 that our business here on earth should be the same as His business – “to seek and save the lost” and that we will be held accountable to accomplishing it.

Are you loving the way that you should?  Are you serving in the way that you should?  Will you allow God to move your heart to love like Christ loves?

As for me – I am a work in progress, but I am ALL IN.  I pray that you will be as well.

Learn more about the All In Movement at www.LivingWithPower.com

“How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource!

We go to him because we have nowhere else to go.

And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us,

not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.”

- George Macdonald

God is our best resource for help—sadly, we frequently seek Him only in an emergency.

Our Heavenly Father, who knows us best, is able, willing, and ready to help us.

Yet often we use Him as a spare tire instead of our steering wheel.

In pain, we pray;  in desperation, we cry out for help.

Ultimately we find God our Greatest Friend.

The Lord was with Joseph in a pit, a prison, and a palace.

When all his brothers deserted him, God stayed.

Serving foreigners, God walked with him.

In prison, God was his Cellmate.

Unfailingly God is with us.

We march in a victory parade as servants of the King of kings.

Hearing His future melody, we whistle a hopeful tune now.

Even at midnight, His Spirit inspires hymns of praise.

In the storms of life we are never left alone.

Unreservedly thank God for God!

“He took Joseph and threw him into the prison, where the king’s prisoners were held.

But the Lord was  with Joseph there, too.”

Genesis 39:20, 21 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy and paste to browser)

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 27 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

Life is good because God is good.

“No man is in true health who cannot stand in the free air of heaven, with his feet on God’s free turf,

and thank his Creator for the simple luxury of physical existence.”

- T. W. Higginson (1823-1911) American clergyman and writer

God embroiders elaborate rainbow-hued relationships.

He orchestrates events for your benefit in kaleidoscopic patterns.

Your robe is not just one color—variegated threads make life anything but drab.

God conducts the full orchestra of His instruments—time, place, people, circumstances—

drowning out monotony’s sour note of pessimism and playing His never-ending love symphony.

Thank God for the privilege of physical life – every breath and heartbeat is His gift.

Thank God for the pleasure of abundant life – He does not orphan you in the storms of life.

Thank God for the promise of eternal life – you will live with Him in a tearless, deathless, painless place.

Wrapped around your vision field is a full-color spectrum—

an azure sky of hope, green grass of life, purple violets of royalty,

red roses of pardon, snow-white lilies of purity, golden sunsets of triumph.

Proudly wear your richly ornamented coat every day until the Lord Jesus Christ

drapes an immaculate heavenly robe fashioned for you around your redeemed shoulders.

“Jacob loved Joseph, so he gave Joseph a special gift—a beautiful robe—a coat of many colours.”

(Genesis 37:3 NLT, KJV)

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy and paste to browser)

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 26 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

Matthew 28:16–20 has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by many. To better understand what Jesus is saying in this passage, let’s first talk about what he is not commanding us to do.

         Almost every sermon I have ever heard preached on the Great Commission treats Christ’s words as a command to share one’s faith or to become a missionary. Yet these interpretations water down Christ’s original purpose for the Great Commission. The command here is not to make converts. I like the way Christopher Adsit put it: “In a spiritual sense, we have a tendency to think that the greatest thing we Christians can do is beget babies. Consequently, what we have here in America today is the largest spiritual nursery in history.”¹

         Jesus’ command was not solely an injunction to win the lost to a saving faith in him. Likewise the Great Commission does not serve as a directive to be a missionary―though being a missionary can certainly be an application of accomplishing his commission. On the contrary, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all people of the earth. So, what does this command entail?

         Let’s come back to Jesus’ original words, in Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

         Many preachers have taught that Christ commanded every follower to “go!” After all, the command starts with the words “Go therefore.” However, Christ’s actual command becomes clearer when we consider the Greek grammar in the passage. The imperative here is to “make disciples.” Furthermore, the words “go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are adverbial participles which modify the command “make disciples.” Thus, the words “go,” “baptize,” and “teach” tell us how we are to follow Christ’s command. In the Greek grammar, the word “go” is an aorist passive participle—which means that the correct translation of the command is “going,” “in your going,” or “having gone,” to “make disciples.” In other words: You’re already going. So as you go, make disciples.

         Prior to Christ’s proclamation of the Great Commission, the disciples had just fallen on their faces in worship (Matt. 28:17). Peter didn’t get up from worshiping the resurrected Christ and say, “It’s been good knowing you Jesus. Hey John, want to stop for coffee on the way back to the boat?” Since the natural response of true heartfelt worship is service, telling the disciples to “go” was unnecessary; they had just finished worshiping the resurrected Messiah. Jesus knew they were going to go; all that the disciples needed was direction. Therefore, he gave the command, “In your going, make disciples.” This command of Jesus to make disciples is every bit as important and in every way as serious a command as any of the Ten Commandments. Jesus Christ fully expects you and me―in fact, commands us―to make disciples and to help young disciples grow and mature. Truly, disciple making is Jesus’ top priority.

         Discipleship in no way devalues the importance of evangelism. No one can disciple a person for Christ unless he has first been won to Christ. However, many people can be won to Christ without ever being discipled. I am convinced that the church would win far more people to Christ, and create many more leaders, if we were effectively discipling people. True disciples are always active in sharing their faith with nonbelievers. Sadly, Christians across the United States, and worldwide, tend to misapply the Great Commission. We win people to Christ and they “sit, soak, and sour.” I am appalled at the great number of believers who have never grown up. Many supposedly receive Christ as Savior and yet never faithfully attend a Bible-believing church; many do attend church and yet take years before they grow to a moderate level of maturity.

         Since most missionaries have come from the United States, this fact may in part explain why the modern church in general has been so ineffective in accomplishing Christ’s command. Indeed, the church as a whole has perpetuated this error in its interpretation of Matthew 28:16–20, which in turn has drastically changed the primary purpose of the modern church and led to deterioration in attendance and spiritual maturity.

         The lack of effectiveness in the American church is evident. According to Robert Coleman, the church as a whole in North America is barely keeping pace with the increase in population, whereas in Western Europe there is a steady decline.² In reference to the church Chuck Colson, president of Prison Fellowship, told a journalist, “If this were a business, you’d be contemplating chapter 11 (bankruptcy).”³ Studies demonstrate that few churches are doing effective discipleship. Christian researcher George Barna, after completing a two-year research project across America, concluded, “Almost every church in our country has some type of discipleship program or set of activities; but stunningly few churches have a church of disciples.”⁴ Elsewhere he says, “the twenty-first century church has many ‘followers’ of Christ in the sense that I follow the Yankees: We dabble in Christianity. That’s not what Jesus had in mind when He called us to be His disciples. . . . Discipleship is not a program. It is not a ministry. It is a lifelong commitment to a lifestyle.”⁵

         I am convinced that this lack of mature disciples in America stems from our ongoing avoidance of the most effective approach God has given us to change lives―life-on-life discipleship. It is through life-on-life discipleship that the Holy Spirit most effectively enacts biblically driven life change, through the relationship between a hungry young believer and a mature discipler. Our deviation from effective discipleship is our Great Omission of the Great Commission.

1. Adsit, Christopher B., Personal Disciplemaking (Orlando, FL: Campus Crusade

for Christ, 1996), 72.

2. Coleman, Robert E., The Master Plan of Discipleship (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1998), 99.

3. Quoted by Hendricks, Howard and William, As Iron Sharpens Iron

(Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 132.

4. Barna, George, Growing True Disciples (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 20.

5. Ibid., 19.

Scientists are still spending millions attempting to discover the origin of the universe. Is the Bible too simple for sophisticated minds?

“No philosophical theory which I have yet come across is a radical improvement

on the words of Genesis, that ‘in the beginning God made Heaven and Earth.’”

- C. S. Lewis

A recent sighting by BICEP2 [Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2]

detected a distortion in microwave radiation which seemingly pervades all the cosmos.

Some scientists believe this single observation conclusively proves three theories—

1) a Big Bang and an inflationary universe produced a series of gravitational waves;

2) this happened in the first billionth of a trillionth of a quadrillionth of a second;

3) these faster-than-the-speed-of light events occurred 13.8 billion years ago.

It’s amazing what one observation at the South Pole has led scientists to believe!

Anyone who challenges their conclusions is considered uneducated or ignorant.

But are you and I so naïve we swallow such inferences deduced from “facts”?

What proof exists for such fantastic theories hypothesized by the scientists?

Who of these sophisticated scholars was there when the cosmos began?

All this reminds me of the atheist Ph.D. candidate who actually told me,

“In the beginning” (that sounded familiar) “there was a total vacuum.”

When asked, “then how did everything begin?”, he said “friction!”

Faith in the First Cause trumps such empty-headed foolishness.

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command,

that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”

Hebrews 11:2 NLT

 Almond

         Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

Author’s blog at www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com