Discipleship in Christ

Devotion 2 - Why the Neglect in Discipleship? Acts 11:25-26 – “ Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”   “Christians” and “disciples” are synonyms. Discipleship sums up Christ’s plan for the world, yet sadly, it is the one essential aspect of the Great Commission that most churches have neglected. We have lost the art of disciple-making. Many sincere Christians today may have the desire to fulfil the mandate of the Great Commission, that is, to make disciples, but struggle to find the path to do so. Like two wings of an airplane, both elements of the Great Commission matter—reaching and teaching.  The church that emphasizes  reaching  but neglects  teaching  has neglected the Great Commission altogether. Supplemental vs Fund...

  Devotion 3 - Mistakes in Discipleship As Christians, we are called to discipleship. Jesus' final words to us in Matt.28:19 were, "Go and make disciples of all nations…” The mandate was very clear. However, there are common mistakes which may hinder our effectiveness, and muddle the discipleship process. External vs Internal Transformation   Matt.23:25-27 – “ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!   For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and   self-indulgence .   Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!   For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead  men’s  bones and all uncleanness.”   In making disciples, many tend to focus on the behavioural changes rather than the fundamental change in the core values...

Devotion 4 - Affection of Our Heart Matt. 4:17 – “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   To repent is to feel remorseful for something we have done and to be so conscience-stricken that we choose not to do it again. Neglected Aspect of Repentance   Eph.4:28 – “ Let him who stole steal no longer , but rather let him labour , working with  his  hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”   If we no longer steal but start working hard to get what we desire, we have just changed our action and mind, but the affection of our heart has not change. Our heart is still captured by the world. God is still not our satisfaction, our all in all. However, the great commandment is a called to shift the affection of our heart.   Matt. 22:37-38 – “ Jesus said to him,  “‘You shall love the  Lord  your God with all your heart, with all your soul, ...

Devotion 5 - Conversion vs. Consecration 2 Cor. 6:15-18 – “ What part has a believer with an unbeliever… Come out from among them and be separate… ”   We are living in the last days where the work of evangelism will explode mightily and increase abundantly, both in individual nations and cross-cultural mission, and many souls will be ushered into the kingdom of God. However, if we are not mindful of the mandate of discipleship, the church will only experience spiritual addition rather than spiritual multiplication. This is the consequences of “partial conversion”, whereby minds have been instructed but hearts are unchanged. Conversion increases but consecration of lives unto the Lord decreases. He is only God our savior, but He is not the Lord of our lives.   It will be quite sad if there are almost no discernable differences in the lives and value of Christians and unbelievers - if the divorce rate, abortion rate, suicide rate and the data of adultery, fornication, or a...

Devotion 6 - No Neutral Ground An invisible war is being waged on earth every day as Satan fights to maintain control of the kingdoms of the world. Humanity is caught in the crossfire of this cosmic conflict and t he battle also rages within our hearts, minds and souls as Satan also strives to keep our focus away and off from God. Hence, when it comes to our position in Christ, there is no place for indecisiveness. Jesus’ expectation is very clear: He demands complete allegiance. This is how He worded it: Matt.12:30 – “He who is not with Me is against Me ; and he who does not gather with Me scatters .” Lk.11:23 – “ He who is not with Me is against Me , and he who does not gather with Me scatters. ” Both scriptures point out that neutrality toward Christ is not possible. And because there is no neutrality with Christ, we are forced to decide for or against Him. We either fight against evil or against righteousness. We either fight for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of evi...

Devotion 7 - Authentic Discipleship Before we attempt to develop a structure and material for discipleship, we need to start with a definition of what an authentic disciple is, as we cannot cultivate and develop something we cannot accurately define. At the most basic level, we define an authentic disciple as one who is genuine, being fully trustworthy to reflect what a disciple of Christ is.  An authentic disciple is  someone who is striving to become more like Christ daily , with the posture of a heart submitted to God’s will. But sadly, m any disciple-makers are not firstly authentic disciples ourselves. Therefore, we are not able to intentionally reproduce authentic disciples, resulting in the poor quality of disciples in the body of Christ.   Matt.28:18-20 - “ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.     Go   therefore and   make disciples of all the nations…”   Ther...