A TASK FOR DISCIPLES

A disciple is a fellow-worker with Christ; he is a significant part of the work of God.

The imagery of plowing in Matthew 11 ties in with the parables of Matthew 13; the seed that fell on good soil fell on plowed ground. The field is the heart of man; the heart of man needs to be cultivated.

The cycle of harvest is rain, plowing, sowing, growth, and harvest. The ground cannot be plowed where the rain has not fallen. Christ will only be plowing where the rain has fallen on the ground. We cannot break up what is dry.

But where the rain has fallen, the heart can be cultivated. This is the work that we share with Jesus Christ; He wants to sow the gospel in their hearts, but the heart must be broken up by the plow first.

The good works that come from Jesus working in us are the tools that Jesus uses to turn over the hearts of men. We are the light of the world. But the world that does not believe in Christ is convinced that we are deceived; it is convinced that we have nothing but an empty faith. Their heart has become hard; the gospel will not be able even to begin to grow in it.

These hardened hearts need what will turn their thoughts over; their assumptions need to be broken up by what they see. What we do as we are yoked with Jesus will break up the fallow ground of their hearts.

But what is important is the way in which the light shines; we are to let it shine in such a way that men give glory to the Father. They need to see the good works as the work of sons, not members of an organization. What an organization does, no matter how good it is, is not seen as personal. But what a person does from the heart is personal. Good works are meant to break up hard hearts; good works need to seen as coming from love. Those we help need to see that we value them.

If good works are to prepare a heart for the gospel, they must do more than scratch the surface. The work must dig down into the heart; good works must be significant. What is superficial is of little use, even if many are touched by it. What we do must have a profound effect; even if only one person is touched by it. If we have done significant good for one, we have entered into the work of Jesus.

“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.” Jeremiah 4:3

-Greg Whitten

Discipleship

A disciple is a copy.

Discipleship requires a decision.

Discipleship requires training.

A disciple is a copy of another person. The copy is to be made of one who is himself fully a disciple, keeping all that Jesus commanded. Good fruit alone gives evidence of discipleship; the lawless can have sheepskins and gifts. Disciples are the good trees; good trees come from the word. The word is the genetics of discipleship.

Those who disciple must make the choice clear: the gate is small, and the way is narrow. The soul must be lost in order to follow Jesus Christ. The beginning in baptism pictures death, burial, and resurrection, not joining a club. A living community of disciples can be built with disciples; but those who will not listen to Him cannot contribute to the life of this community.

Those who disciple must teach process not just facts. A disciple must learn how to keep all that Jesus commanded. He must be taught how to do what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. The foundation of discipleship is in what is done in secret; the word of the kingdom stands or falls by what is in secret. Those who have learned to keep all that Jesus commanded will then themselves make disciples, for that is part of what He commanded.

To be discipled we must listen, to God and to others. We need to build a connection between what is said to us and what we do. What may be a still, small voice in our thoughts or in our interactions with others may be the most significant next step that we need to take. We need to trust Him that He is working to disciple us; it should not take years to do what we are being told to do.

To be discipled we must make a place in our life at the cost of everything else. We must clear some ground in the midst of this world. This is the great struggle, keeping the darkness from swallowing up our one place of light.

To be discipled we must be a good place for the word to take root in. There is life in the word; disciples are gardeners of the word, each one in his heart. Christ must be formed in each disciple; there is no equivalent mechanism that will work.

-Greg Whitten-

Held Captive By The Devil

What would it be like to be held captive by the devil to do his will?

We might think of the demon possessed in Scripture who wandered among the tombs. Or, some sinister being lurking around in the darkness.

Sadly, this person is just as likely to be found in the church. Paul describes him to Timothy. He is a quarrelsome person. He (or she) stands in the way of ministry, through gossip, wronging others without merit. They are trapped in a snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, to do his will.

We never think of those in the church as doing the will of the devil. Yet, some do. They stand in opposition, not by dialoging with those with whom they disagree but rather by means of gossip. The opposed is not given an ability to defend himself, for gossip is done in secret and stimulates the sinful nature of man.

And the Lord's bond-servant must not strive but be kind (gentle) to all (Rom. 2:4), able to teach, patient when wronged (enduring evil), with gentleness correcting (to train or chastise, as a child) those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance (to rethink-this is granted by God) leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26