A Journey of Faith

 

There was a time that Paul and Barnabas agreed that they should go back and visit the towns they had preached and see how the believers were doing. Barnabas wanted to take Mark but Paul disagreed. Mark had deserted them on a previous missionary journey and not continued on in the missionary work. Because of the sharp disagreement about Mark, Paul and Barnabas split ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus while Paul took Silas and eventually landed in Lystra, where they ran into Timothy and brought him along in the missionary work in that area. (Acts 15:36-16:5)

Had Barnabas not stuck with Mark, we would be missing this incredible gospel today. Paul and Barnabas both had a passion to disciple people. And as we grow in maturity, this is our job, to bring others along in the faith. I have a quote, not sure where I got it but it says, “Take people on a journey to find more.” Our faith needs to bring us to a place where we are investing in others. Our faith will always lead us outward.

In a dream I had a few days ago while I was doing a leadership retreat, I saw five dimensions or stages to discipleship. I felt God speak that the staff that I am leading are at different places and I needed to make sure that I was meeting them at all their different levels in relationship with the Lord.

Besides with Paul and Barnabas, we see discipleship happening and people stepping into different roles throughout the Bible. With Moses and Joshua, we see Moses mentoring him to be the next leader. We see Naomi mentoring Ruth and her ending up in the lineage of Jesus, as a foreigner. And we see Eli mentoring Samuel, Elijah mentoring Elisha, and on and on.

Even earlier with Aaron, there were special positions and clear differentiation made in roles and responsibilities. In Exodus 28-29 the Lord tells Moses to ordain Aaron as a priest, causing him to step out into a position of service where he bears the names of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision ever before the Lord. He is to also regularly make an offering to the Lord at the front at the tent of meeting. He was making room so that the Lord could dwell among them. The Lord spoke about the tent of meeting, “There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.”

In this, there were consecrators and ones who made the room for the Lord to dwell among them and there were others who did not share this role. Rather they only participated in receiving from the Lord. In meditating on Psalm 1, here are some thoughts I have about the dimensions of discipleship:

SALVATION

The first dimension in discipleship is coming to know the Lord. This is the most important dimension of discipleship as we cannot enter the Kingdom of God without being born again. As we see with the man next to Jesus when He was crucified, we only need to receive Him to have eternal life. As this is so crucial, we need people to bring us along and awaken us to know Jesus. Our jobs as ambassadors of Christ and He makes His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God.”

Zacchaeus was invited to receive Christ and become His disciple. He then invited all his friends to dinner with Jesus so they could all know Him. Salvation came to his household. We see many examples of people receiving salvation and it is all different. There was never one way. In most cases, it involved someone sharing the good news with them and they were invited in. Sometimes there was also healing, deliverance and, or baptism of the Holy Spirit. But, in the case of Paul, we see a voice from heaven speaking directly to Paul and he came to salvation that way.

What people need to hear at this dimension is that He is real, He knows them personally, and He is for them. They need to know that He is not a powerless God but has a plan, purpose and life for them. They need to not only hear about Him but experience Him – taste and see that the Lord is good!

HEARING AND RECEIVING

When people are saved, they need foundational truths to guide and direct them. They need to start hearing on a regular basis messages that guide them into knowing they are loved by the Lord, walking in grace and forgiveness, reading their Word and hearing from the Lord for themselves. They need to establish personal habits that help them form a personal relationship with the Lord.

What people need in this dimension is lots of foundational truth. They need encouragement to establish some good habits in their life and know they are loved. They need to grow in dialog with God and understanding the ways that He is speaking to them.

WALKING AWAY FROM SIN

As people hear the message of the truth, it begins to bring conviction in their lives. As they stand in the goodness and love of God, they are transformed and turn away from the world. They begin to lose an appetite for sin and see how damaging it is to them. They part ways with many sinful tendencies as they confess it, repent of it and are lead towards walking in fellowship and servanthood.

What people need in this dimension is to know they are forgiven and there is grace for their sins. They need to know that the blood of Christ is effective to wash every stain of the past away. They need to begin to see the fruit of repentance as it grows them deeper in relationship with the Lord.

WALKING INTO FELLOWSHIP AND SERVICE TO OTHERS

As people walk out their relationship with Christ, it leads them to a place of walking with others and serving others. There is a fellowship of the saints that helps people grow exponentially in their faith. People begin to discover their purpose and how God may use them and engage their gifts. They learn to love people at their worst and God rubs off some of the hooks of manipulation they have in the way they care for others. They begin to see their relationships and fellowship with others in light of their relationship with God.

In this dimension, what people need are opportunities to fellowship with others who are growing in their relationship with Christ. They also need opportunities to serve others and try different things to see where their passion and calling resides. They need to see that they have value and belong and God has given them specific and unique gifts for blessing the body of Christ.

YIELDING FRUIT

Jesus was born by the power of the Spirit (Galatians 4:29). There was nothing He did that was outside of the working of this power. He was fully human, born of Mary when He walked the earth, but also fully God. He was seeded by the Holy Spirit’s power. All that to say, we, as His heirs, are meant to walk in full freedom and the fullness of His promises by His power.

There is a place of dependence and yielding to the Spirit that comes with growing maturity in Christ. One listens and responds and, by such, becomes more and more effective for the Kingdom of God. Like Aaron stepping into His call as a priest and holding the Israelites up before the Lord, there is an amazing calling for believers to utilize their gifts in a way that an anointing flows through them as they step out in faith.

It is the place of abundance and overflow. When they walk in this dimension, they have already established personal habits and a strong relationship with the Lord. They also are aware of the promises of God for their lives. As they plant their feet in them by faith and pull on these promises, they see immense and supernatural fruitfulness.

Life becomes a journey and adventure of miracles. As a person sees that God is meeting them in their activities, they pull on Him for more. Faith grows and the Kingdom of God is established around them. They learn perseverance in suffering, and their priorities and values begin to align in greater ways around the Kingdom of God. Personal pursuits seem to wither away in light of His immense goodness. One not only flourishes in every season but causes flourishing all around them.

Those who enter this dimension are the ones who walk in the power of God. It says in Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

This word believe used here is the same word that is used in Matthew 8:13, “it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And from Matthew 21:22, that says whatever things we ask for in prayer, believing, we will receive. It is the opposite of unbelief. To live in unbelief is to live enslaved by the law and tied down to weak and useless spiritual principles of this world (Galatians 4:9).

It is not only our job to only ask, but to believe. Our faith grows as we read the Word, confess the Word, and step out in it by faith. It is rooted in the disciplines in our lives, like reading the word, fasting and praying, as well as how we handle difficult situations that grows our faith for believing for more.

Faith is a good fight that takes training, discipline, and effort. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, “Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

If we frequently quit, choke out, or give up when difficulty comes, we will fail to grow the faith we need to overcome. The more we overcome and learn to rely on the Spirit for navigating, the more our faith grows. As I often tell leaders about their development, “I want you to be uncomfortable because this is the place of growth.”

We have to step out in faith which means we often have to step over some things and through some things. Faith is the substance of that which is from the unseen realm. It is the currency of operating out of this unseen realm. And like the story of the talents, the more you have, the more it will grow.

At this dimension of discipleship, many are called but few are chosen. It is the narrow road that few find. Some people go back and forth in some of the other levels in discipleship and never step into the covenant promises. They don’t grow deep enough to produce the fruit. Or they become stuck in legalistic principles and choose this over a flourishing relationship based upon His promises.

Some tote Him around like a sentimental rag doll. They stay at a superficial level or even become a bystander. They may appear needy frequently as they have not built stamina to stand in faith. And in the other dimensions, they never catch the vision for sharing His bigger purposes. They don’t get near enough to share His heart.

In this dimension, what people need to excel is depth in relationship with Christ, dependence upon the Spirit for leading and guiding, and growing faith in His promises. They need a vision for what could be, a heart of passion to get there and courage to step forth into all He has for them. Since this is a dimension that bears fruit, they need opportunities to produce and grow into more so they flourish others.

I just recently started a bible study of women who are all in this dimension. They are hungry to grow in faith and into the promises of God. As part of this, I have them step out and lead, practice using the gifts of the Spirit, and share their heart’s passion and vision. We prophesy over each other and encourage each other to step out in greater faith and belief.

Overall, discipleship is a process. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling as we continue to look to the Lord and walk with Him and others along the journey. As iron sharpens iron, we need people along the way to guide, encourage and help us stand into more. The end game is not growing in fulfilling the law by following the rules but growing faith that causes us and others around us to flourish.

Lord Jesus, help us to both be good disciples and disciple others. Give us wisdom along the journey to step into all you have for us and to cause others to flourish. Break us free from any hindrances that would hold us back from all You have for us.