Being discipled plays a big role in God’s plans as you’ll learn today. In my last post, we discussed what God wanted us to do, consider this part 2 of that message. As a reminder:

John 6: 27 “But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. …”

But I thought, “Hey, I gave my life to Christ when I was 12, I know I haven’t been the “ideal” Christian, but I’m saved, right?, I don’t really “have to do”, anything right? Isn’t the gift of salvation free, not based on works, why bother?”

I always clung to John 3: ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

But now I am convinced that I never really understood that verse. At face value, in modern day English, it’s very simple and I was led to believe that it doesn’t require any effort on my part, other than to have an intellectual belief that Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for my sins. I guess I just didn’t get it.

I’m sure I’ve read this verse before but glossed over it:

Matt. ²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

Your Bible is calling out to you, “Read me, read me!”

What’s interesting is that although I might’ve had that belief for many years, I knew that I knew that I knew, that I should be reading my Bible regularly.

And then there’s church.

Some years I regularly attended church, Some years I did not. Of course, when I regularly went to church I felt closer to God. I felt better about myself and overall it had a positive impact on me and my family.

Although I was attending church, something was missing. When participating in Bible studies, that helped, where we’d actually open the Bible and discuss what God would say, that gave me some Divine inspiration, but still, something was missing.

I get it now.

I understand what I was missing, and that is discipleship. What’s amazing to me is I’ve read about the twelve disciples and heard about them, but never thought that the concept applied to me, or I just never considered it I suppose.

Maybe I wasn’t attending the right church, a church that took discipleship seriously. Or maybe I just wasn’t open to it. It doesn’t matter now, I am on the path that God wants me on and it is an incredible journey. He’s using my past to teach me what doesn’t work and I can use that to teach others:

2 Timothy 2: ¹ Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. ² You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

There are two ways to be discipled.

The way I see it, there are two major ways to be discipled, and I believe both are absolutely essential for spiritual growth. The first is to be discipled directly from God.  This occurs when reading the Word and praying. I believe King David knew this very well:

Psalm 25: ⁴ Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. ⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

My friends, God is in the discipleship business, but that is not enough. We, humans, were meant for relationships, therefore the second way of being discipled, which is just as important, is meeting with someone else that has a common goal of seeking God:

Proverbs 27: ¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

I take this literally to mean that we’re quite dull (ineffective) if we are not learning from and serving our Christian brothers and sisters.

Let God transform you

Here is what I think it really boils down to, and if this makes you uncomfortable, good. A “Christian” that is not discipled in either of these ways will not be accused of being a follower of Christ. They might be a good person, have great morals, maybe even be a pillar of society. But if they are not allowing themselves to be influenced by God or by other Godly people (disciples) on a regular basis, then how effective will they be and how would they know God’s will for their lives? If you are uncomfortable, then read this carefully:

Rom. 12: ¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

In contrast, I think this next verse applies to many churches today and the North American Church in general. This passage is directed toward the church of Laodicea:

Revelation 3: ¹⁵ “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶ But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

That being said, do not wait for your church to start a discipleship program if they don’t already have one. Pray that God will lead you to someone that you can learn from. I like Bible Studies, but it’s not nearly the same as one-on-one or very small groups.

I was lukewarm for far too many years.

Today I am determined to stay on His path.

At TheBibleTeam.com we offer a weekly opportunity to learn and grow, and that is our weekly Bible Team call. This is an informal time of discussing the Bible and what everyone’s been reading. It’s open to the new believer as well as the most seasoned, everyone learns something. For me, it is the fastest hour of the week.

Are you a disciple?

“Dear Lord, thank you for your patience. Teach me your ways. It is my true desire to learn more about you and I need help with that. Speak to me in your Word and teach me how to pray. Lead me to others that can encourage me and help me grow as well. Please don’t give up on me. Thanks in advance for where you are leading me.”

In my last message, we discussed the importance of having a personal relationship (part 2) with God. Before that, we discussed the relationship God intended (part 1) for the people He created.

I said, “If we don’t grasp this concept of relationship and continually seek God we’ll miss the boat completely, so why bother?”.

What do I mean by missing the boat?

What I mean is missing out on eternal life and being separated from God for all eternity. Yes! that’s right, let me explain.

Matthew 7: 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

What does Jesus mean by difficult? John 3: 16 sounds easy, “whosoever believeth in him“, but it’s easier said than done.

Believe means trust. This is beyond a belief in your mind, it’s more of a trust from your heart and that’s what makes it difficult.

Then there’s this passage from the sermon on the mount:

Matthew 7: ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Did you catch that? “I never knew you“. These verses make it clear that the religious busybodies that do this and do that for God, without developing a relationship with Him lose out in the end.

Here is another example:

In the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Jesus ends with this:

Matthew 7: ¹² “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

There it is again, “I don’t know you“. This doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t know they exist, it means that Jesus hasn’t heard from them enough to really know them. The bridesmaids were not prepared. A great part of being prepared is getting to know God, in fact, it’s the most important part.

Relationships go both ways

In any relationship, there is a give and take, and God wants to participate in a relationship with you. He wants you to trust in Him, ask Him for things and come to Him with all your cares and burdens. He wants to answer those prayers and give you hope and peace. If you only knew what He wants for you!

Think about a father that keeps inviting his children to visit him and all they do is stop by for an allowance. Maybe they run errands for him and prepare food for him, but then they leave. I can tell you now that dad’s not happy, he’s lonely and disappointed that his kids didn’t hang around and spend time with him. I’m a father, I know this.

Keeping it simple

Luke 10: ²⁵ One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

²⁷ The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁸ “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

What does it mean to you to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind?

For me, it means to love Him with every fiber of my being. To do all that I can to know about Him and listen to His voice.

If our primary focus is not on loving God then we’re being disobedient, regardless of what else we do.

I suggest that you spend more time on your relationship with the Lord than anything else you do. It’s your relationship with Him, not your rituals or Sunday morning attendance that will lead you to an eternity with Him.

If you have questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

In my last post, “How Well Do You Know God? Part 1″, we discussed how God has always intended for man (men and women) to accept His invitation to know Him and become part of His family.

Acts 17: ³⁰ “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

We also discussed how we can be very religious, as in reading the Bible every day, praying and going to church every week, yet not know God in a personal way. This reminds me of this passage…

John 5: ³⁹ “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! ⁴⁰ Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

Jesus is addressing the Pharisees, the religious leaders, telling them that they are simply being religious. Imagine that! They refused to come to Jesus and He was right there in front of them! The Scriptures don’t give eternal life, but they point to the One that does! This happens today. People worship the Bible when they make more of the Bible than what it is. If only their leaders could introduce them to Jesus!

The Bible is God’s Word, God’s message to us, but it’s not God.

Any spiritual knowledge we receive from the Bible comes from the Holy Spirit. Even atheists read the Bible, but they fail to acknowledge God’s existence.

Think of the Bible, it’s message, as a key, but the key only works when oiled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Door (John 10:9) and only the Key (Scriptures) with the Holy Spirit, can open the door.

Here’s a passage that makes this clear:

John 4: ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The Truth, of course, is the Bible, Knowledge of God, either written or audible and the Spirit is the Spirit of God. This is so simple yet cannot be overstated.

Romans 8: ¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

You can make Christianity religious if you want.

Sure, make Christianity religious if you want, like so many others do. Say your daily prayers, go to church or mass every Sunday, and even read your Bible every day.

Just know if you do not know God personally, and are not seeking Him (as we’ve discussed) and placing your trust in Him, then you are either religious or in some strange social club.

Only when we have that relationship which allows God to bring true change to our hearts will we be attracting others to Christ through our actions and love. Knowing true change for ourselves and seeing God through others is what sets us on fire.

Do not miss out on this!

If we don’t grasp this concept of relationship and continually seek God we’ll miss the boat completely, so why bother? I’ll explain why you’ll miss the boat next time.

Jesus and His Father want you to know them and to love them with your whole heart.

Isaiah 29: 13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

Doesn’t this sound like our church today?

This is a very personal message and this whole concept of a relationship with the Creator of the universe can be overwhelming. I can only point, direct and lead people to God. The relationship part requires that one makes a conscious, deliberate effort to meet with and converse with the Lord daily.

If you struggle with this, then this is what I suggest: Make your prayers more relational. In prayer, talk to God as though He’s sitting across from you. Tell Him: “Father, I want to know you more. Please reveal yourself to me.“ and proceed to tell Him whatever’s on your mind.

Psalm 55: ²² Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

I’ll wrap up this mini-series next time that I hope will hit this message home.

Do you know God? One can know all about God, but not really know God. Just like someone famous. We can know all about them through media, but do we truly know them?

While I’ve been talking about a relationship with God for a few weeks now, I’ve been assuming that all my readers had a personal relationship with God. But one can be religious without truly knowing the Living God.

What does it mean to know God?

By the way, this topic is what separates all religions from what we understand on this blog. This is how to be a Christ follower, not a religious follower. There is no religion that enables people to be a “friend of God”.

Jesus did not come to start a religion…

He came to grow His family

I confess that I knew about God for most of my life, but I really didn’t know God personally until much later. It was as if God was a distant Father that was always away and never had time for me, but now I know that it was me that failed to reach out to Him.

James 4: ^8a Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

When I finally read His Word diligently, and sincerely sought Him, I discovered God in a way that I never realized. It was like He had this invitation to know Him extended to me all along, but I didn’t actually read the invitation until I finally “woke up”.

We are friends of Jesus

Check out this notable change in the relationship between Jesus and His disciples…

John 15: 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

We are brothers of Jesus

After Jesus is resurrected…

John 20: 17b “…go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

We become friends with God as His disciples and we know from this verse in John 20 that Jesus means for us to relate to His God as our God and His Father as our Father.

These verses seem to cement this concept…

Mark 3: ³⁵ Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Hebrews 2: 11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

Isn’t this amazing, how the Creator of all things desires us to be in His family? This was His intention from the beginning of time.

Our Father calls us His children

1 John 3: 1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

Can you see that God gave us earthly families to remind and teach us about how we can relate to Him and His Son? But if we don’t read the Invitation He gave us (the Bible), we’d continue in ignorance of these things and remain estranged to Him, even if we do “believe”!

Do know God as your Father?

About prayer: When you come before God, think of yourself as God’s own son or daughter, because that’s who you are! He is there to listen to us and we can take great comfort in that.

Today we’ll be discussing fruit. Not bananas, not watermelons, but spiritual fruit.

I hope you enjoyed the last two messages on distractions and knowing where your focus needs to be. Those messages need to be understood and applied in order for you to bear fruit.

Galatians 5:  ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control.

We should see a transformation

As we continue seeking God we should be seeing changes in our lives. I think it is important to make observations and journal about it. In this way, we can remember what God is doing in us and we can share this with others as our testimony. As an example, I can say that 10 years ago I lacked peace and patience. After almost 2 and a half years of seriously seeking God, I had a tremendous peace and a lot more patience.

How important is it that we see this fruit?

Matthew 7:¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Whoa! I’d say it’s very important, producing fruit is essential, but know that it is just an indicator. If you can’t see evidence of it, or it’s not obvious, just hang in there. In an age of instant gratification, this is not an overnight process. Look at it as an on-going journey. Many times we need to lessen our expectations and just focus on loving God and others.

Matthew 13: 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Don’t focus on the fruit, focus on the Lord

The fact that you’ve been reading these messages and more importantly, reading the Bible, means that you are hearing God’s word. These disciplines, in the presence of the Lord, is good soil. If the Bible does not make sense to you, then I invite you to join our weekly discussions.

As long as you are planted in good soil (reading the Word, being in prayer and in fellowship), you do not have to worry about the fruit. You can rest assured that the fruit will develop. We just need to be consistent and deliberately seeking God, making Him the top priority.

Notice that Galatians 5: 22 says “the Holy Spirit produces“, not you. So this isn’t about your ability to be more patient, otherwise, you’d be able to take the credit, but that doesn’t give Him glory.

Here is why I am certain that the fruit will come:

John 15: ⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Are you remaining in Christ?

“Dear Lord, you are my Rock. Whenever I am troubled or in dismay, You are there for me. God, I have a long way to go, I am not anywhere near where I think I should be. Please show me the progress I have made. Please be patient with me as you continue working in my life and changing my heart.”