Disciples - Acts of Obedience

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, 
let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  

Luke 9:23

Discipleship does not separate the follower from their previous existence.  We don’t forget where we came from.  We don’t neglect people; unsaved spouses, people that need you to minister to them; we don’t follow Christ and neglect family.  When we make God our priority, He will teach you how to take care of what has been assigned to you. There are somethings that have been assigned to you and God will not take you down a path to ignore what has been assigned to you.

When you begin to follow Jesus, it immediately creates a new situation.  You cannot stay in an old path and be a disciple.  Disciples are followers of Christ.  

You can’t walk in the old and follow Christ in the new.

 

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  Matthew 16:24

You cannot get new knowledge and stay in an old situation.  New knowledge causes situations to change.  There is no transformation if you stay in the old trying to possess the new.  When you are presented with new information, it brings about change.  There are pros and cons of the new.  There is always conflict before victory; otherwise it would not be called a victory.

Jesus cannot be a secondary cause; He must be first.  

We cannot question God with why, where, when and how; 

it demonstrates a lack of faith.

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.  Matthew 4:18-20

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.  Matthew 9:9

You cannot learn to believe or obey while you are in an old situation.  New information creates a new situation.  It causes you to become stuck between the 2 situations which causes a ‘hybrid’.  The issue becomes blaming Jesus for our bad decisions.    As disciples, we have to exercise ownership of our actions.

The enemy does not want us out of the ‘church’, he wants us out of God.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:  Luke 22:31

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

Discipleship causes you to sell out of your natural mind and allows the mind of God to be in you.  As disciples, we are followers.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Philippians 2:5

God cannot talk in between 2 decisions. 

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.  1 Kings 18:21

It is error to think that we must become what we hear from other people. 

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  Philippians 2:12

You cannot equate people by their level of blessings.  The development of faith in discipleship equates to the experience of living in God ordained situations that will now cause you to believe.  We have to learn to believe in God and not the ‘stuff’.  The experience of following Jesus as He takes you through situations that causes you to believe causes you to become obedient.  

You cannot grow without obedience. 

Jesus calls Peter into a new situation that causes him to believe:

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  Matthew 14:28

In discipleship, we have to wait to hear God’s voice and be obedient to it.  Part of selling out as disciples is we have to learn how to say no to the stuff we could have said yes to in order to serve God. 

Questions: 

√    Who’s voice is that powerful in your life that it can get you to follow it into sin?

√    What good is it to hear God’s voice and not obey it?

Obedience is an act of faith:  Scripture References:   Genesis 12, Genesis 22

Act of Obedience / Obedience is faith

Obedience to God’s word increases our faith.  Be careful not to be obedient to things that God did not say; it leads to indicting God for things that He did not say.  Obedience to God is better than sacrifice. 

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  1 Samuel 15:22

You cannot learn to believe so long as you ‘practice’ disobedience.  Obedience must be an act and part of our daily regimen:

>  If you say you believe and if you want to follow Christ, then get up and make the first step

>  Step out in faith on God and don’t worry about what will happen next.

>  Stop listening to other people and listen to God.  

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.   Acts 2:40

You cannot hold people to a standard that you do not hold yourself.  You cannot grow following disobedience.  If you want to follow Christ, make the first step.  Following Jesus allows you to turn your world upside down and then turn other’s upside down.

‘It takes grace to make it to heaven and even more grace 
to make it through the door’.

‘Grace and mercy is where you started, but victory is where you’re going’

The more you follow Christ, the clearer the vision becomes.  

‘The further I go in Christ, the better I feel’.  

Be resilient and learn to bounce back. 

Don’t allow Satan to provoke you to ungodliness.  Don't allow him to minister to your flesh which in return allows your flesh to minister to your spirit.  A successful person in the spirit knows that they minister best when under attack.

 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10   

Learn how to give God praise in the midst of enemy attacks.  Find the strength to encourage yourself.  You will never grow without following Christ.  God knows how to swoop in and give you strength. 

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.  Psalm 16:11

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.   Philippians 2:2

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  1 Corinthians 15:58

We should not allow others to run down our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Don’t feed into it.  Stop it; don’t let people pull you into their mess.  Don’t let the enemy distort your view and kill your walk with Christ.  No one is worth your soul.  

‘Don’t let anyone put your joy in their back pocket’.

Pick up loyalty, commitment, righteousness and holiness; what God wants; realizing that we are serving God with imperfect people who are striving for perfection. 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:48

Pray in your home; start with you.  It starts with us.  We have to make peace.  The disciples were called to be leaders.  The more we follow Christ, the more we take on His leadership qualities.  Know who you are in Christ and know that for which you are striving. 

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  2 Corinthians 10:4

Excerpts taken from Word Enrichment

- Bishop Joel C. Lofton -

(Biblical Studies)

01/29/19
03/19/20