Make Me

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.  

Psalms 119:35

Beloved, if we be honest with ourselves and with God, we have to admit that there are some things in this walk that we just cannot do if left to our own.  For all of those things that we struggle with, that we find difficult to do, do as King David did and ask God to make you stop doing things outside the will of God or start doing the things of God!

We have to understand  as disciples of God where He wants to take us in the spirit.

The reason why we find it so difficult to engage in discipleship is because we struggle between following Jesus and following our own human agendas:  personal aspirations, career goals, personal vision for our life.  This struggle is what causes the difficulty.  Because our background has shaped us; it is totally different from what God calls us to be.  This is where ‘Not my will’ becomes crucial to us.

 

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.  Luke 22:42

The struggle comes in fighting this.   We fight in our spirit.  We put our personal agenda’s before God.  We cannot rest in God when we struggle. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  Matthew 11:29.  

We cannot negate the scripture.  We have to ask our self what are we doing that hinders the rest that God promises us.  God does not need our permission because our life belongs to Him.  He can change the path that you are on without your authorization. 

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2 

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Philippians 1:6

The call to discipleship:     

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

And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.  Mark 2:14

What did Jesus say?  It was a command:  Follow Me.  The response by Levi and Matthew was action, not lip service

Are we trying to clear our schedule to follow Jesus or are we giving him an immediate response?  Where does the difficulty come in in following Christ?  The battle of the mind is in trying to figure out how to follow Jesus against the odds that comes against us. 

The move of the disciples to follow Christ was out of faith.  Jesus requires blind faith.  The disciples were not worried about the circumstances of their life. 

The problem is that if we don’t know who we’re following, we cannot trust him.  It is an injustice to God when we keep making excuses when all God wants from us is blind faith.  When God calls us we have to be responsible for ourselves – quit trying to bring someone with you that God has not yet called.  We are making excuses to get out when the world is trying to get in!

Discipleship is not a group or family thing.  God calls us individually to serve Him and we become co-laborers.  It is not about finding new friends.  We become brothers and sisters in Christ and are connected to each other through Christ.  It is a 2 Step process: 

(1)       The call of Christ is followed by a

(2)       response.

It is a simple act of

®    (a) obedience,

  ®    (b) faith and

   ®    (c) action

Obedience is an act.  Church has taught us lip service.  If you are really in agreement with the word, you will walk it out and stop making excuses.  Quit using the ‘God knows my heart’ confession as an excuse.  

God doesn’t need a confession of our faith, 

He needs our obedience to His word. 

The relationship of the call and the act of obedience: 

The natural mind wants a deep explanation; you’re in effect telling God that He is messing with your plan.  This is why we don’t have the promised rest; because we are wrestling against God’s will for us.  Simple truths we should know:

¨   Our life is not our own.  We belong to God

¨   We do not get to choose and decide our life; it is in the hands of God

¨   In following Christ, we have peace and rest

¨   When we accept Christ, we can rest in the fact that we are different, that people don’t treat us the same but our total trust is in God.

¨   We have rest and peace in the wait

The confession of faith mixed with the act of obedience does away with the need for explanations.  God calls us because He sees the need for salvation in us.  That supersedes the need for an explanation.

The only answer we can give for obedience to a stranger is that there must be something in that person that produces an authority that responds to what is birthed in us already.  Not an audible call, but something in the spirit that recognized an unfilled yearning that only the call from Jesus can fulfill.  We need to respond to that call with a complete ‘yes’.

The power, appeal, deity and nature that Jesus has is powerful and demands a response.  The very essence of Jesus demanded the disciples to ask what manner of man is this.     

But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!  Matthew 8:27

And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.  Mark 4:1

And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.  Luke 8:25

We need to understand where the disciples ended up after following Christ.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.    2 Timothy 3:15-17

We should know from the examples given in His word that our end is profitable to us.  There should be nothing for us to think about, intellectualize about or analyze when Jesus calls us.

Ö  Our response to God needs to be immediate obedience.

Ö  God’s call is not a question, it is a command

Ö  Know the difference between a command and a question.

God commands us to be good stewards over our time, our money, our children, and our family.  We cannot get to faith without going through obedience.  Genesis 12 (Abraham:  Lot, Sarai,)  demonstrates how Abraham had to correct his acts of disobedience.  Know that:

¨   Obedience does not need your input.  Stop altering obedience to make it fit your situation.  If you’re not going to do it just don’t do it, don’t try to alter it.

¨   We can’t treat God as if He is our natural parents.

¨   Faith begins through the process of obedience.

Discipleship is following Jesus (not walking beside him, but behind Him) so He can get you to the place He is leading you.  It is a diabolical spirit that does not want to follow the leader.  Everything needs a head; someone to follow.  A good leader knows how to follow.

Learn to see Jesus, not the rules. 

If ye love me, keep my commandments.  John 14:15

Live with a healthy fear of God.    

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.  Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.  Proverbs  9:10

The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.  Proverbs 10:27 

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.  Proverbs 14:27

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

Daily ask God to develop the fruit of the spirit in you.

     

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

(Biblical Studies)

10/12/18
03/13/20

Excerpt from Word Enrichment on Discipleship

- Bishop Joel C. Lofton