A Do Something Disciple

“THE PURSUIT: LOST”

The Rock Church in San Diego caught my attention today. I am discovering more and more churches engaged, not only in making disciples but in disciple-making and this is one along with the Perimeter Church in Atlanta.

Their definition of a disciple is someone who has a disciplined pursuit of the heart of the Father – a heart being perfected in love for God and people.

They have a prayer and it goes like this:

Father, give me a heart that:
• Desperately seeks face-to-face intimacy with You.
• Faithfully avoids that which displeases You.
• Humbly embraces a Kingdom Mindset.
• Values making disciples that make disciples.

Jesus, create in me a heart that:
• Values being guided by the Word of God.
• Gratefully grows in generosity.
• Nurtures a burden for lost people.
• Demonstrates a commitment to a Spirit-filled expression of my gifts.

Holy Spirit develop a heart in me that:
• Gracefully gives and receives forgiveness.
• Passionately worships God.
• Is dependent on the power of prayer.
• Serves with Humility.

Father, knit my heart with Yours. Fill my heart with Your passions, motivations and desires.
In Jesus Name, amen.”

So when it came time for me to find some application of my reading in Deuteronomy chapter 19 this morning, the city of refuge was the sermon presented by Pastor Miles.

He related that Jesus is our Saviour and as we have found our refuge in Him – we are saved. Being saved means there are certain implications because being saved means we should have a passion for proclaiming that act to others so that they can be saved too. That is a great evangelism presentation. I was more interested in the discipleship part of the lesson. The church presents an acronym that uses the word H.E.A.R.T. and then asks these questions that apply to the word.

H – Holiness: What has God revealed to you through prayer and Bible reading? What are you doing about it? What sin do you need to confess? What do you need help with?
E – Evangelism: Whose salvation and/or discipleship are you praying for or actively pursuing?
A – Appreciation: How are you showing appreciation to God and others for what He has done?
R – Relationships: How are you growing the Kingdom of God through the use of your spiritual gifts? Who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to ask forgiveness from? How are you using your spiritual gifts?
T – Thoughts: Are there any destructive thought patterns that need to be destroyed? What Scriptures have you been studying or memorizing that are designed to establish Biblical thought patterns?

These are some tough questions that I am sure I would have to fluff off a few times before I would be able to be transparent and honest. I am definitely challenged today to have more of a HEART relationship with God than ever before.

Pure Deuteronomy

INTO THE NIGHT – Dave and Jess Ray

Someone paraphrased some of Chris Wright’s presentations on the ‘Great Commission’ as pure Deuteronomy. I like it. I like it because obedience, particularly in Deuteronomy was not just about following a set of rules, but in fact, imitating the very nature of God. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 it meant imitating both justice and compassion. This specifically was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ instructions.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. – Deuteronomy 10:12-19 ESV

One may want to argue that this has nothing to do with the Great Commission but I think that it would be hard to object how we are naturally linked to the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus commands and actions to show compassion on the poor is only echoed here. This is who God is and what He does.

The foundation and essence of my life as a follower of Jesus means that I follow Him with all that I am and hold nothing back. Deuteronomy challenges me in the area of my financial life as it declares it inseparable from my worship. To be a lover of God is to be a giver. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the very essence of our generous God.

You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. – Deuteronomy 14:22-23 ESV

I find myself coming back to the standard definition of a disciple as someone who adheres to the teachings of another – a follower or a learner – someone who takes up the ways of someone else. When I apply it to my walk with Jesus, I am someone who learns from Him in order to live like Him. My aim is to become a “little Christ” – a Christian.

And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian? – Acts 26:28 ESV

Wholehearted love

Wholehearted

If there is only one God then it makes sense that this one God demands total devotion to Him. To confess Him as Lord, the only one worthy of worship, the response needs to be obedience to Him. I am not too sure I know too many that like the word “obey.” But there are a few I know that like others to obey them. What I do love about God is that He Himself looks at obedience to Him as love. In fact, to obey God is to love Him. In fact, I was created so that I could love Him above all else. What makes this even more attractive to me is that my love for God is actually a response from me to Him because of His love for me. So as a disciple of Jesus, I want to love God fervently. This is what love looks like.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

When it came to disciple-making our children, this was the one action on my part that became the foundation of what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. I know we feel lost at times – where to begin, what to say, do I really know myself – feelings of inadequacy.

The passion to follow Jesus can be a great role model. Others with such passion accomplished so much. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli were advocates for the teaching ministry within the family. Luther wrote two catechisms – one focusing on assisting the clergy to teach parents and a smaller one for children and their training. Calvin also wrote two catechisms aimed at children. The idea continued through those like Robert Raikes who pioneered what we know today as Sunday School and Alexander Campbell who emphasized the family with parents as disciple-makers within the home.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. – Deuteronomy 6:6 ESV

What a great role model for how I can proceed in my own discipleship process. In this manner I can relate daily events and actions to God’s sovereignty and connect them to my responsibilities. So either as a parent, mentor or disciple-maker, I can turn conversations towards learning opportunities.

Basically I can see Paul changing his language skills and presentation style to suit his audience too. He never spoke to children, but he did on occasion proclaimed the gospel to the polite and educated elite. He used literary koine to encase his speech. As a result, he saw impact right away. As an ambassador of the good news he focused on the message, modified his style and persuaded his audience so that they could understand and he could be respected. As a disciple of Jesus, I am empowered by the Spirit to be an effective witness for Jesus.

Points to ponder

Looking at the end of Numbers and the beginning of Deuteronomy and trying to figure out what I can glean for a disciple-making nugget. I was interested in how the “disciple-making” Levites were taken care of and provided for by the community.

“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits^[a] all around. And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities. – Numbers 35:2-5 ESV

Being with the Navigators who are a deputized mission, it shows how important it is to make this a ministry that is fully supported by the community they serve.

Deuteronomy starts with a similar message that came through yesterday. There is a time to wait, but at some time you have to get up and go! I pray that I can discern the difference between the two as they are both significant steps.

“The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’ – Deuteronomy 1:6-8 ESV

I jumped to Acts 23 to get some New Testament reading in and Paul’s true colours come out here. He opens with the assumption that he can say what he wants, when he wants, and earns a slap on the mouth. Then he angrily responds and then has to apologize right away. If Paul can lose it, so can I. How do I pass by my assumptions and emotions?

And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” – Acts 23:1-5 ESV

While I have not been on a specific track today, I picked up a few things to ponder.

Why do I wait when I am called to move?

Josh Wilson – I Refuse

When Paul had to address a crowd that were eager to have him put to death, he recounted his conversion story and the calling from God that came right after it. He shared some of the words that Ananias spoke over him.

And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. – Acts 22:14–15 ESV

Ananias summarized Paul’s life – he would know God’s will, see His Son, hear His word and be God’s witness to everyone. But I loved the very next verse – that is my challenge today.

And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. – Acts 22:16 ESV

Why are you waiting – get up and go and do what you are supposed to do. Why am I waiting?