Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
Years ago, after a season of backsliding, I made the decision to become the best disciple that I could be. I had tasted and seen all that the world and sin had to offer, and it still left me yearning for the presence of God. In the presence of God, every need is satisfied. There is nothing better.
So how do you remain in God’s presence? You remain in His will. How do you remain in the center of God’s will? Obedience. You do what God says both by the Spirit and by what is written in the Word. The two will agree.
I’ve since become equipped in Holy Spirit led ministry. Really, isn’t any ministry supposed to be led by the Spirit? And honestly, shouldn’t every mature believer be led by the Spirit?
The Spirit has explicitly told me to focus on disciplemaking. Not maintaining programs, not being an itinerant preacher, not creating a business or organization, not traveling the world winning souls to Jesus. Just make disciples. That’s what He wants me to do.
Would you know, God brought a disciple making movement mentor into my life who is living the journey himself? We meet once a week and learn to obey what Scripture teaches. It’s simple, it’s reproducible, it’s easy and it’s fun.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Discovery Bible Studies. They work with pre-believers and believers alike to examine a brief passage of Scripture, digest it, and paraphrase it in your own words. Then you ask the Holy Spirit how to apply that truth to your life this week.
Then, you commit to doing it and your friend holds you accountable the next week to see if you did what the Spirit led you to do based on what you learned from Scripture.
Spirit led, Scripture based obedience is the heart of disciple making movements. They work in unreached people groups. They work in house church movements. They work in established legacy churches.
If you make disciples, and teach them to obey, and hold them accountable, you can change the world. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to pivot to obedience. Move to making disciples and live a life that pleases your Father in Heaven.
Once you do, you’ll be wondering why you wasted so much time on things that didn’t work. It’s simple. You just didn’t know any better because no one showed you the way.
Lord, forgive us for wasting our time, talent and treasure on things that You have not called us to do. Lead us by Your Holy Spirit to live lives of humble obedience to do Your will and to go and make disciples in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.”
Luke 10:1-3 NLT