DISCIPLESHIP SERIES 1: THE DISCIPLE

We will start part 1 of this series by opening our Bibles to Matthew 4

Matthew 4 opens with Jesus being led into the wilderness for 40days and 40 nights, after which he was tempted. He came out of the wilderness to find that John had been imprisoned. Note that John was the one preaching that men repent before he was arrested.

In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:1‭-‬2 NKJV

Like a town crier, he went about telling this to men.

I noticed something for the first time when the Spirit was teaching this. After Jesus came out of the wilderness and got this bad news. What did he do?

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 NKJV

The first time Jesus opened His mouth to preach and to say "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" was when John's voice was silenced in prison. And He didn't stop here

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:18‭-‬19 NKJV

FOLLOW ME

Why the call to follow?

Bisola: To build their capacity for a bigger commission

Sumi: I think he asked them to follow because he wanted to show them the way to salvation which was himself.

Samson: Jesus was a fisher of men. For Simon and co to also become fishers of men, they had to follow Jesus, to "learn the ropes"

Bukola: So they can learn and continue the spread of the gospel after He's gone.

Bisi Kalejaiye: To be like him and to follow in his footsteps after he leaves.

Basically, John started the work, then John was arrested. Jesus came out of the wilderness to learn of John's arrest and immediately knew that John's work had to continue

In fact, his leading to the wilderness was majorly because John's part of the work was about to end and His, properly begin.

So He started and as He went, He called men. He called men to join Him

To learn from Him

To watch Him and become like Him

Then they will in turn fish men

Men who will also continue in this template.

For at no point until His return should the work John began stop.

Jesus did not call to Himself believers. Jesus did not call to Himself Christians. Jesus called to Himself Disciples!

The terms Christlike and believers are embedded inside of the call to follow.

For the one who follows must first believe the one He follows. And as he follows (is discipled), he begins to appear like this Jesus he follows. He becomes Christ-like (Christian)

So when we say we are Christians, what it should really mean is that we are disciples of Jesus.

No one can become Christ-like except they have first been disciples. The word disciple simply means Learner.

A learner or pupil who has accepted Christ not just as Saviour but also as Lord.

A student who accepts Christ's teachings and lifestyle.

Whoever is a disciple learns with the purpose to Obey

To act out that which they've been shown and taught

The life of a believer is that of discipleship and it is a whole lot of discipline and commitment. You can't cherry-pick.

All of these things seem like really hard work. Actually, they are 😁

So does it mean Jesus has called us to hardship? As I thought on this, I was drawn to when we shared from the Sermon on the Mount.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:3-12

This sermon came before Jesus taught about being the salt/light of the earth in Matthew 5, from verse 13. “Blessed  are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 NKJV

Blessed are the poor. Happy are the poor

Which poor person is happy in their poverty? 🌚

But there is a context

The poor in spirit

The one who sees himself as inadequate. Completely dependent people

Blessed is the man who is completely dependent on the spirit for such receive the kingdom of God. The one who is a disciple must be completely dependent on the spirit. And while this looks like work (like I said, discipleship is work and commitment), it is a blessing.

The commitments we make on this path of becoming Jesus is a blessing for us. It is added as happiness to us, not burdens.

Never burdens!

We must note these qualities expected of us individually.

We cannot say we are disciples and we do not depend on the Spirit for everything! Even the things we know/have.

To become a disciple is to be a lifelong learner and partaker of the life of Jesus.

We share in His joy

And Happily (I was going to type sadly before o 😂 but it is happily), we share in His suffering.

So I have questions for us 😁

1. What Qualifies one as a disciple?

Ayodele: Constant learning and followership of the master. Total dependence on the Master...

Bisola: Your total belief in the one who has reached out to you

Samson: Being teachable. Humility. Willing to pay the cost

Sumi: One is qualified as a disciple by deciding to completely submit his or herself to the ways of the Lord

2. How can one become a disciple?

Bisola: One who is ready to have a servant attitude and obey instructions given 

Sumi: Obedience, discipline and consistency

Samson: Look up to the Master and do everything he says you should do

3. Should people be allowed to disciple themselves?

Bisola: Disclipes follow!!! You can't be the passenger and the driver at a time. So no, no one can disciple themselves.

Ayodele: No, discipleship requires guidance

Samson: Nope

“It is the same for each of you. You must leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower. Luke 14:33 ERV

Every time I think of this particular scripture and the way it began, I want to laugh and cry at the same time.

It almost feels like an attack sometimes.

Many people were traveling with Jesus. He said to them, “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life! Luke 14:25‭-‬26 ERV

See them..They were travelling with Jesus o but yet Jesus said they weren't following.

And this is it with so many believers, we are travelling with Jesus o but not following Him anywhere

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26 NKJV

The man who follows Jesus cannot tight anything to their chest 

Nothing is important 

Nothing!

And this begets the question: Are you really following? Are you a disciple of Jesus?

DISCIPLESHIP SERIES: INTRODUCTION

Discipleship.

This is a very interesting topic as it is a mandate for the church in this season. Actively or passively, people are being discipled in various areas of life.

Tinubu has disciples. Even Guru Maraji has disciples

Church pastors have disciples.

If this is something everyone is doing, what is it to us as believers? Is it God's will?

Is it something we should be doing?

As we begin this series, let's note that it will be a very interactive one.

I will start by asking us: What does discipleship mean to you?

Louisa: It’s the process of becoming like Jesus

Debola: Discipleship to me is followership, following in the ways and steps of someone

Bukola: Discipleship to me is the process of submitting oneself to be led and taught in a particular manner or with set principles in order to replicate someone.

While the term discipleship is not expressly used in the Bible, we see the use of "Disciple" - a noun used for a person who is a learner, follower or student. In fact, this is the word Jesus used to describe His followers.

Discipleship is an invitation to a process of submission to be led and taught in a particular manner with set principles. Why?

So we can become like Jesus....so we can replicate Jesus

Not duplicate, replicate! In fact, this is what the great commission is.

It doesn't stop at preaching to men. Go into the world and make disciples of all nations 

We move into replicating Jesus on Earth. This is the great commission.

Our assignment: Creating mini Jesus'

How? Through discipleship

In our world today, we see a lot of pastors actually disciple people but instead of raising men as replicas of Jesus, some have been raising men to look like them. They've been raising men to act, talk and behave like them

Peter had disciples. Paul had men actively following him. But you see, these men spelled out who exactly was being followed: "Follow me as I follow Jesus"

We will be unpacking so much in the next couple of weeks

Who the early followers were as disciples.

What it means for us in such a time as this.

Is it the work of the spirit alone to disciple us? 

How to be a disciple.

How to disciple others.

At what point can we even say we "are Jesus enough" to disciple others 

Discipleship and mentoring, what is the difference

We will be answering a lot of questions on this.

YÂSHAB

One thing the Lord has kept highlighting to me since last year is how our prayers have turned to intimacy.

Not like it is bad to ask our father for things o but our prayers moved beyond this completely last year

And this is collective, as a family

Don't know if we noticed. We moved from focusing on our individual needs to wanting to just spend time with the Father. 

Towards the end of January, the Lord gave us a theme for our 2022 nightly prayers 💃💃💃💃💃

Let's open our bibles to Psalm 27:4

The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalms 27:4 NLT

I ask only one thing from the Lord. This is what I want most: Let me live in the Lord’s house all my life, enjoying the Lord’s beauty and spending time in his palace. Psalms 27:4 ERV

I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet. Psalm 27:4 MSG

If you read from the beginning, the chapter opens with songs of celebration from David but everything changed in verse 4

I'm not sure what his Eureka moment was. I also know that David did not decide to seek God because he needed to conquer nations or win a battle.

One thing I crave the most

The only thing I want

The one thing I seek above every other

The one thing I really desire

Amplified says The one thing I ask, and I do not just stop at asking, I will proceed to seek..Omo

This was David with not just a desire but a will to make sure that desire comes to pass. David would do anything to actually dwell in the house of God

Anything!

I remember the first time this scripture hit me, I wrote my own version out and will just say it every day in prayer :

I long to be in the secret place, you and I alone. Have the privilege of living with you DAILY and communing EVERY moment. I want to find the sweet loveliness of your face, touch the fine lines on it, gaze upon your beauty, stay in awe of how wonderful you are. Delight in your glory, think of your greatness and just revel in it. I want to just ponder on your Grace and burst into tears at how amazing you are. I want to live so close to you that we both find pleasure in this friendship

Prayer is warfare, true. But you see, Prayer is way more than warfare. It is intimacy, dwelling!

I will come back to verse 4

That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic. Psalms 27:5 MSG

Did David live in Lagos? 😂😂

I don't know how I found that verse in MSG but i did and it just gave a new meaning

Felt like I had a shared struggle with David. This is what prayers have been to me really

Away from the noise and all the troubles of the day

You know, sometimes when we give testimonies, we are testifying of what God has done o, but it comes to me sometimes as if we are gisting God about our day. The way we detail and express

I pick really little things, so I noticed.

You know when you've gone out since morning and you are coming to just tell your lover everything 😭

Or just snuggle up close. This is how prayer has felt

Our prayer theme is a reality we are already inside. One that David understood and lived too

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalms 27:4 (KJV)

"That I may Dwell"

Our prayer theme for the year is Yâshab

💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

It is pronounced yaw-shab

It means to dwell

To remain

To settle

To ease self  (verse 5 makes sense from this angle)

To tarry

Inhabit

Marry

Remain

To seat

To sit still!

Why did David want to stay here?

To behold the beauty of the Lord 😭😭😭

We will find God beautiful. Kai!

As we gather and continue alone also, we will find God's richness

Ah! We will know His laughter, his chuckle and we will love the sound of it

We will remember it while we work

To enquire in His temple

First to just take in His beauty

Do His eyes twitch when He smiles? 

Are there lines on His face? 

Does the richness in the sound of His laughter give me a tingling?

No one dwells and not fall in love 😭

Nobody

Take in all of Him

And then ask Him about Himself because the more we know Him, the more we know us. Our lives are hidden in Him

The things we don't understand, we enquire. We do not bother about them, we just ask Him

We take His thoughts. We take His opinions

I am excited about this word (theme). I am excited because it is a love journey. Yes!

It is prayers but this is a journey of love I see before us. And I am so delighted that we will be doing this together

Knowing God this intimately together

I want this to guide us every time we come to pray

On some days prayer becomes an obligation. On days when you feel prayers have not been answered. On days where you really can't see the use of prayers

Please find this message and go back to your habitat. Let it guide you back here in love

And when we gather?

Please behold His beauty. Don't ever forget to take it all in. Allow yourself to be lost in the sweetness of His fragrance

Sniff Him. Take it all in

Take Him in!

So much that even when you are not here, His fragrance is on your body

You know when you cuddle someone so much and they leave their fragrance on your body

I am looking forward to experiencing all of God alongside you. I cannot wait for the seeds borne of love

Make it a date

Mark it out on your calendar.

Invite people

You know when you are blushing at work and they think it is (wo)man but they don't it is God 😂. Invite them to enjoy this too

So yes...

Our Prayer theme for the year is yâshab.

Mon - Sat

9pm

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7828051628?pwd=dzFld0NOSWR0Z3V1Z2JLcDVyR2kydz09

Mixlr: Mixlr.com/olurehmy