Bible 122

 Following Christ is a life of surprise. I’ve not thought of it this way but it’s true. I used to think that the Christian life could be described by rules and expectations, the straight and narrow. That might be true in one sense, but following Him is experiencing surprises of joy and peace when I could have expected complete negativity. Hod provides the grace and mercy just when we need them. Nicky summarizes our experiences as surprised by abundance and passion, which are contrary to the cultural norm as fear of being without and anxiety. God provides surprising bursts of wisdom when we need it the most, a spirit of community with like minded followers of Christ, and eye witness accounts of generosity and people being good to others. How could we neglect or minimize what He does. 

Inside Out 12

 Rooting out what does not align with God’s character and wisdom is a life long process. My stubbornness, prose, and self righteousness often conflict with His kingdom. I often think that I’m better than I am, only to plunge into a mood that I’ll never be good enough. My spiritual formation has had its ups and downs, and I’m discovering all the time that Inness His grace. Who could ever say that have graduated from the school of grace?  

Bible 121

 It’s difficult to grasp how we can own the character qualities guaranteed by following Christ. We see to be taught that we are born with our personal attributes or we attribute them to our environment. But growing deeper with God, we can gain deeper relationships and wisdom in the process. We grow restless with surface friendships that only talk about the weather and taxes. As we grow deeper in our journey, we become inspired by those with integrity, a joyful attitude, and who have a passion for helping others become all that God intended. The disciples personally changed, and became world changers. Joshua and Caleb saw the benefits of their obedience and surrender to God. Our lives can change as we grasp Hos love in us. 

Inside Out 11

 Acquiring wisdom results in knowing when to say a few words of encouragement or correction, and when to keep quiet. I’ve said plenty at the wrong time. I’m trying to say less and pray more, relying on the Spirit’s nudge rather than my own. This around me may not be ready for what I think unless I’m asked. Even then, it may be best to slowly speak. If I’m full of irritation and resentment, my words seem to reflect my attitude. But if I’m full of gratitude, and I’m practicing God’s presence, my words should reflect the over flow. 

May this be our prayer:

Heavenly Father, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). Please help me to pause before I speak. Give me Your words and wisdom to bring healing and hope to those around me. Show me that there is a blessing in it for me and others when I restrain my tongue. Transform my heart by changing what I say and how I say it. I allow You to bridle my tongue so that I can speak only as You want me to speak. Amen.

“When you don’t know your Bible well, you will tend to use it as an isolated collection of wisdom statements for daily living, and you will tend to look for the verse that best seems to fit the situation you are discussing. This method completely misses the genius of the Bible’s grand redemptive themes that form the basis of the hope and courage of the brand-new way of living to which God has called us.” - Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do

Bible 120

 There is no denying that my life could quickly turn evil. I need a Savior to rescue the sinful intentions that can emerge. Just like Psalm 51 states, ‘There is no one who is good.’  Following the philosophies and ideas offered by a long list of sources are rabbit trails to no where. But following Jesus is the only solution to our natural desire to do life our way. Like so many examples documented in the Bible, we may need to stand alone as we do the right thing, and as we follow God’s design for living. Joshua and Caleb weee great examples of individuals who didn’t listen to the crowd, but they did listen to God’s word for their lives. 

Inside Out 10

 Psalm 119:114, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”   “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Storing up God’s word is not earning a status or position to handle life’s crises and pressures. It is not a formula or a transaction to have more peace and calmness. But the process of remembering and meditating on Scripture teaches us to be open handed to receive His grace, to have an open heart to His love. When I begin thinking that focusing on Scripture is a transaction, I miss His grace and mercy. Anticipating His grace is the opposite of anxiety, countering my guilt of not measuring up. It counters my attempt to grab all the insight I can. It is opposite of my entitlement desire to have it all because I deserve it. 

“Forgetting the awesome and glorious One who made it all and holds it all together by the sheer power of his magnificent will, will always insert me into the center. This means that no story will be more important to me than my story. I will ask no bigger question than the question of how I am doing. I will have no bigger concern than my satisfaction and comfort. I will ask life to serve me, to submit to my interests, and to deliver whatever I demand. This viewpoint will guarantee me a life of huge disappointment. And not only that, it is also an insane way to live. I am not the center of all things. The world will not do my sovereign bidding. God will not offer his awesome throne to me. Awe of self, worship of self, underlies every form of self-destructive living.” - Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do

Rooted 10

 Praying that something happens doesn’t mean we wait and do nothing. Our decision making must be in line with God’s provision, yet He allows us to have creativity. We can pray that the hole gets dug but if we have a shovel in the garage, something isn’t quite syncing with our efforts. On the other hand, we can believe all the right stuff but if we are grabbing all we can out of fear, I’m missing the peace and hope He provides. Instead of a grab and go attitude, I must live in grateful receiving. Gratitude is key to living right. 

Inside Out 9

 It’s so easy to live by what you feel. What is right for me may not be right for you, and we cannot judge each other by how we feel. The mantra for the day is Torrance for anything and everything as long as no one hurts each other. But the idols of the day will trap us into a prideful selfish life that enslaved us to our passions. Jesus has a better way. Surrendering to His love and holiness is far better than the regret and shame of living for ourselves. 

Oh, Father, intensify my desire to see You and hear Yiu in my life.  Your live must not be a meee

Priority but pre-eminent in my life, superseding all other priorities.  Prevent me from pursuing anything that could harden my heart.  Enable me to detect worthless pursuits. Empower me to see Yiur kingdom moving in and around me, that I will always search for Your righteousness in all decisions.

Jeremiah 13:10:  "This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing."

“Accordingly, the greatest need you and I have—the greatest need of collective humanity—is renovation of our heart. That spiritual place within us from which outlook, choices, and actions come has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed.” - Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ

To “grow in grace” means to utilize more and more grace to live by, until everything we do is assisted by grace. Then, whatever we do in word or deed will all be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17). The greatest saints are not those who need less grace, but those who consume the most grace, who indeed are most in need of grace—those who are saturated by grace in every dimension of their being. Grace to them is like breath.

Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ 

Bible 119

 Following Christ is going against the grain of also many changing cultural values. Marketing schemes play on scarcity and fear that we don’t have enough in the future. If we really believe in God, we are assured that He will provide the grace and mercy we need. We still must work hard yet be gracious ourselves. As Nicky highlights, God is full of love and we can trust Him. We may still have opposition as did King David. But we can trust God totally. I want to be faithful despite what bumps in the road may be ahead. 

Nicky’s prayer can be our prayer:

“ Lord, help me to finish well. May I be able to say at the end of my life, ‘I have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ Please fill me with the inner strength of the Holy Spirit as I seek to see Jesus’ new agenda fulfilled and the gospel preached in his name to all nations.”

Bible 118

 Searching for the living among the dead seems like a foolish thing to do if we are sure the person has deceased. But Jesus rose from the dead. Even though I believe that Hs is living, I’ve treated Him as though He didn’t. Ignoring Him, not paying attention the wisdom He offers has been as if I don’t believe. But I’m learning and relearning that I should live up to what I believe. The gospel story is not a fantasy story with no credibility for truth. It is fact the absolute truth. I need to live like it. When I do practice Hjs presence, the burning passion for Him ignites. I hope you experience the same. 

Bible 117

 We are fortunate to live in a culture that does not persecute our faith in Christ. That may change as our cultural values change. Sometimes we may be shunned or excluded for the life we live and for our values but that norm is not to be threatened for our lives. It does not seem fair that good moral people would have to suffer for their beliefs but I’m reminded that we live in a broken sin gripped world. Life will not be perfect until Christ returns. It’s easy to live like a fool but the costly results can be catastrophic. Learning to live with wisdom is a huge investment far beyond our imagination. What a legacy we can leave if we live like Joshua, without fear but with courage because we live by what God has documented for us. 

Discipleship first

 Bobby Harrington

BLOG · BOBBY'S BLOG

Discipling Lost People into Jesus’ Kingdom?

ByBobby Harrington and Curt Erskine

Share:

Dear Discipleship-first Friends,

“Metanoesein kai pistos emoi genesesthai!” These were the words of Flavius Josephus to a group of Jewish rebels in 66 A.D. commanding them to abandon their current course of action and to instead come under his command and direction. In English, we recognize his words as, “Repent and believe in me!”

To the Christian, this is reminiscent of the call of Jesus in the first chapter of Mark, “Metanoeō kai pisteuō en ho euangelion!” or, “Repent and believe in the good news!”

What was the good news?

Jesus emphatically stated that the good news was, “The kingdom of God has come near!” (Mark 1:15).

The “good news” was that the King has come in person and he has established His kingdom, which will be fully consummated when he returns to the Earth. (Acts 3:21; Revelation 21:1ff) Therefore, the only proper response to the good news was to “repent,” to abandon our current course of action and come under the command of our ruling and saving King.

So, what does this have to do with discipling lost people into salvation?

You might have noticed in the statement of Jesus in Mark 1:15 that “good news” in Greek was, euangelion. The word, evangelism, is a version of transliterating the word, euangelion.  Jesus proclaimed the gospel in Mark 1:14 and we are told to proclaim it in Mark 16:15. We proclaim the gospel (good news) that Jesus is the saving King and that we have been invited to repent and join His kingdom.

But is the expression, “proclaiming the gospel” something that is to be done in a church, through an evangelistic crusade, while standing on a street corner or through an informal discipling conversation? The answer is “yes”–proclaiming the good news includes all these forms of communication and more. But here is a good way to think about evangelism:

Think of evangelism as the front end of disciple making.

Now, if you grew up in North America you might be confused because you have always heard that evangelism was presenting a gospel that says, “Jesus died on the cross for your sins.” Someone might have even pointed you to 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 where Paul lays out the fundamentals of the gospel. However, when looking at these verses, we must remember that a first-century audience would have understood “Christ” to mean “the Anointed King” and that it was a direct reference to Jesus’ kingship both as an earthly descendant of David (as was written in Scripture) and as the enthroned King of Heaven after His resurrection. So, with that in mind, Paul wrote that the gospel was:

…that the Anointed King died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Thus, reading between the lines and understanding this statement as a first-century reader, the gospel is not only that Jesus died for our sins, but that He is the Anointed King, descended from David, and is now enthroned in Heaven after His resurrection according to the Scriptures.

We can summarize the gospel by saying that Jesus is our Saving King – he invites everyone into his kingdom.

It is important to couple salvation and kingship together. That Jesus died for our sins cannot be separated from the fact that He is our King. Our response is to pledge faith, which is allegiance and faithfulness, to our king. The response to him is to place our faith in him, which brings salvation and puts us in his kingdom. (Colossians 1:13-14)

Traditionally, we think of evangelism as something we engage in to lead people to conversion. And then discipleship as something we do after conversion, to lead people to maturity, as they become more and more like Jesus. We can diagram it this way:

But is this dichotomy taught in scripture? Let’s look at Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

In the Greek text, “make disciples” is in the imperative mode, which means it is a command that dominates the focus and meaning of the text. It is like Jesus said: make disciples, and here is how you do it.

Three expressions are in the participial mode, meaning they describe how you make disciples:

• Go
• Baptize (and)
• Teach Obedience

So, the great commission tells us to go, and; 1) disciple people into baptism (evangelism), and then; 2) disciple people to obey every command of Jesus (maturity). It would be better to diagram the teaching of Matthew 28:18-20 this way:

And, lets note something else… Evangelism, understood as proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, is something that does not stop at the point of conversion. I need to hear the gospel regularly after conversion, as part of my ongoing discipleship in Jesus. I need to hear it from others and I need to hear it from myself. As Martin Luther used to say, “we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily.”

So, in short, we can put it this way:

• We privately proclaim in discipling relationships and publicly the “gospel/good news” that Jesus the saving King came into the world to offer his kingdom to all who repent and turn to him by faith.
• King Jesus’ life, teachings, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension open the door to the salvation and new life found in his kingdom.
• We disciple people into faith in King Jesus so they can receive the salvation found in his kingdom.
• We disciple people into the faithfulness and obedience in King Jesus because it expresses the reality of his kingdom reign.
• We wait for King Jesus to return to fully consummate his kingdom – where we will live with him in sheer joy throughout eternity.

The only proper response to the good news is to “repent,” to abandon our current courses of action in life and come under the rule of our saving King.

Do you want to look at all the Mainstage sessions and breakout tracks at the upcoming forum?

ALL THE INFORMATION ON ALL THE TRACTS is a click away … go to https://m.discipleship.org/

For King Jesus,

Bobby & Curt

Inside Out 8

 I used to think God was distant and frowning at me. There was no way I could feel close to Him and I could never measure up to His expectations or the expectations of others. I’m not sure how I acquired that terrible theology, but after reading the number of times in Scripture the word ‘seek’ or ‘search’, it’s apparent that He is searching for hearts that seek Him. May you and I continuously be expectant for His presence in us and around us, all the time, in everything we do.

1 Chronicles 16:10, “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” 

Psalm 69:32: “When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.” 

Oh, Father, “You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord do I seek” (Psalm 27:8). We come expectant to seek You and all of who You are.  We worship You for who You are, holy and pure, full of love and grace. May we meditate on Your attributes in such a way that we experience Your intimate presence. Forgive us for minimizing Your presence in us and around us. May we rejoice in who You are. May we find rest in You no matter what is happening in the moment.  May You revive us with Your strength so that we can pursue others. We need You and desire healthy intimacy in the friendships around us. Empower us to have open eyes and ears with expectant hearts to participate in Your kingdom.  Helps us to practice Your presence in the ordinary moments ghat we may develop a rhythm of talking to You all the time.  Amen.

“How many believers really live a lifestyle that results from believing that God has graced them to be not just recipients of the work of his kingdom but instruments of the work of the kingdom as well? When you believe this, you live with a constant ministry mentality that results in an everyday ministry lifestyle.” - Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do

Inside Out 7

 I’ve had a long list of fears that minimized my awe and respect for God. I’ve been afraid that I wasn’t doing enough, wasn’t good enough, wasn’t working enough to provide money, afraid I’d be a poor parent, or I’d goof up in a work project. My fear of not having enough, or being good enough has been huge. But the more I’ve grasped how much my Father lives me, how holy He is, and what length He went through to redeem me, my anxieties are much less. Anticipating His goodness is built in gratitude for Hos goodness. 

“Without a healthy fear of God, we will do what is right in our own eyes, not what God asks us to do. A healthy fear leads us to joyful obedience.”

In addition, without a healthy view of God, I can slide into a hardness of heart that elevates myself to being ruler of my own kingdom. Or, my hardness of heart can lead to demote myself to be unworthy of seeing God for who He is. 

“I came to see that I was wired for awe, that awe of something sits at the bottom of everything I say and do. But I wasn’t just wired for awe. I was wired for awe of God. No other awe satisfies the soul. No other awe can give my heart the peace, rest, and security that it seeks. I came to see that I needed to trace awe of God down to the most mundane of human decisions and activities.” - Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do

The Vine / Fruit

 Michael Sprague

MY FAVORITE VERSE

For some time I have been asking groups of people, “What are the signs of soul neglect? What tends to emerge in the life of a person who neglects his or her soul? What symptoms creep in?” 

The lists looked something like this: • Fatigue, irritability • Loss of vision, impatience, mentally sluggish • Anger • Anxiety, headaches, body aches • Loss of joy, no belly laughs, emotions flat-lined• Escapist behavior, feeling like one’s missing out on life • Spiritually dry, apathetic, drifting • Preoccupied, shame, not fully present in the moment • Isolation, limited time for relationships • Growing weary, • Compassionless • Self-focused • Sin looks more appealing. What a list, a sad list.

We turned the page of the flipchart and I asked, “What emerges when your soul is healthy and deeply connected with God?” A new list emerged, quite different from the first: • Love • Joy • Peace • Patience • Focus • Vision • Trust • Creativity • Energy • Enthusiasm.

Flipping to the first list, I asked the group, “Who votes for this list?” There was laughter and no hands raised. Flipping the page back, I asked, “Who votes for this one?” Everyone got the point. Then I said, “The truth is, you vote for one or the other every minute of every day.” Our souls are such that they can thrive or shrivel. They can be healthy or unhealthy. 

You do not get a lot of formulas with Jesus. Except, perhaps, the formula of John 15:5 …  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. Sometimes God has to say to me, “Michael, what part of nothing don’t you understand?” The key: Abide in the SOURCE of life. Without the connection we are computers without power, sailboats without wind, sticks at the base of a tree. Stay connected. Stay rooted in the Vine.

 

There is a difference between our SOURCE and our RESOURCES. RESOURCES are good… books, blogs, temples, institutions, leaders, significant people … as long as the RESOURCES point us to the SOURCE. When our RESOURCES become our SOURCE our souls wither. 

Want to be fruitful, beautiful, and good to others? Do not manufacture the fruit yourself. Do not get religious. Do not get cocky. Stay connected. Abide in the VINE.

Oikos - fear of discipleship

 "The best defense is a good offense" is an old competitive proverb, one that has been applied to a lot of arenas, from athletics to military combat. And maybe even in church.

‌In a FaceBook survey, we asked church attenders why they tend to not invite people to their churches. Their responses were defensive in nature, but surprisingly candid. While each response was worded differently, they all framed one thing. Fear. The following seven reasons seemed to resonate most often.

EXCUSE #1: They didn’t believe it was their job. I didn’t need a survey to know this one. Pastors regularly hear the same justifications from their church family, excuses to opt out of potential opportunities to promote faith:

·      “But God didn’t call me into the ministry”

·      “But God didn’t give me the gift of evangelism”

·      “But God didn’t give me an outgoing personality”

·      “But I don’t know enough about the Bible to be effective”

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Try to explain how God compensated for our social anxieties before we were even born. As a primary approach to build His Kingdom, He designed an incoming strategy to compensate for our lack of an outgoing personality. Your church family may not yet know that 95% of the body of Christ came into the body of Christ because of people just like them, people who aren’t in vocational ministry, don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism, and aren’t Bible scholars. It might surprise your church family that, statistically, they have a much better shot at success than their pastor does!

EXCUSE #2: They fear rejection. Actually, so do I. In fact, no normal person would really ever enjoy rejection, so this one isn’t a surprise either. But that’s the problem with fear in general. It tends to immobilize us.

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Try to show the difference between being rejected (which Jesus said we’d all experience) and fearing rejection (which we all have to get over). Maybe in a weekend service or training opportunity, simply ask for a show of hands.

“How many of you accepted an invitation to church the first time you were offered one?” or “How many of you gave your heart to Jesus the first time you heard the Gospel?”

After hardly anyone raises their hand, explain how the people in their oikos are not being any more stubborn than they probably were! But most of your church family will certainly welcome your help in framing a clear and effective strategy to share their faith, so offer them one, one that will greatly enhance the possibility of a positive response from the people they share Jesus with.

EXCUSE #3: They think their church is a warzone. The survey indicated that people tend to be embarrassed by an underlying spirit of conflict, one that is present in way too many churches.

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Rally your church family around something great. Charismatic leaders do not unite a congregation. They can fill a room, but only a common mission will unite the people in it over the long haul. Give your church family something great to rally around, like the Greeeeeat Commission! I don’t know why, but Christians who aren’t outward focused always seem to default to pettiness about worship style and theological soapboxes, especially if they have nothing better to do. Given nothing great to pursue, people can quickly become armchair quarterbacks and critique a ministry or find opportunities to major on minor issues.

EXCUSE #4: They don’t feel supported by their church. A lack of support was perceived in different ways:

·      “Our church is judgmental toward non-believers.”

·      “Our weekend services are not very compelling.”

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Assess how your church systems support an attender’s personal mission to their oikos. Have a conversation with your staff or lay leaders about how valid those concerns might be. You can’t solve a problem until you understand the problem, so facilitate enough honest conversations to figure out what’s really going on with your church family.  

EXCUSE #5: They fear they’ll be exposed as a mediocre Christian. I wouldn’t have guessed this one. “If they come to church and hear how Christians are supposed to live our lives, they’ll know I’m a disappointment.”

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Try to help people connect the dots between personal growth and personal mission. Oikos is as much a discipleship regimen as it is anything. Our oikos becomes an accountability factor in the process of our own personal growth. So, you’re not the best Christian in the world yet. But remember, it’s still early!

EXCUSE #6: They don’t feel they have any non-churched friends. Actually, the longer you’re a believer, the less likely you are to identify non-believers as part of your relational world. 

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Everyone has non-believers in their oikos, but most church families need to be trained to identify them.

EXCUSE #7: They forget to think about it. When I hear that one, I cringe. I mean, really? No pastor should ever allow the people they lead to forget what their purpose is.

How can a church leader move people from defense to offense? Don’t let them forget to think about it. Ever. I’ve found that many pastors never seem to want to repeat anything. I know repetition challenges our creative instincts and, I’m sure, people appreciate things that are new and innovative. But there are just certain things we have to keep hammering home. Good parents don’t worry they’ll remind their children too often to brush their teeth, to take a bath or shower, or finish their vegetables. No good parent ever thought to not remind their kids of those healthy habits because they were afraid a child might think they were being too repetitive. Raising healthy children requires that we repeat ourselves often and annoyingly about those things that matter most.

All that to say, rather than complain about the excuses people come up with, take the offensive and try to remove those excuses before they have the chance to surface.

Next

Saying Nothing Is No Longer an Option