What we will be examining in this message is like Discipleship Refreshers Course. I don’t plan to bore us with so much information as regarding what discipleship is or not. I just want to share with us these truths I have discovered to be important to ignore in our journey of discipleship, and therefore, I have titled the message: 5 Things That Are Too Important to Ignore as A Disciple.

 

1) YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE A DISCIPLE

And so, because of this, the first question you want to ask yourself is this: Why am I a disciple? Because if you know “the why”, then you would be able to know “the what” and “the when”, and “the where” and “the how.” But the question of “why” is pivotal to our understanding of why you and I are disciples. Number one, we are disciples because we are God workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto Good works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

 

Number two, you and I are disciples because God has given us the power to transform this world. Acts 1:8 says: ^“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The transformation of the world has been committed into our hands. No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-14: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

 

In Acts 17:6, the Bible says concerning the disciples at the time: “But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” The Bible recorded that the early disciples shook their world for Christ and they became a threat to even the authorities, not for evil thing, but for the good cause of Christ.

 

So, the first thing you must never ignore in your discipleship walk is why you have been made a disciple in the first place. Because when you know why, you would be able to adequately position yourself for the work that is ahead of you.

 

2) YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO KNOW THE WORK OF A DISCIPLE

What is the work of a disciple? What have you been called a disciple to do? The work of a disciple is what he or she has been ordained to do. In Matthew 10:7-8, Jesus said to His disciples: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Our work as disciples is to preach about the kingdom of God, and not to propagate religion. If you claim to be a disciple and you haven’t been doing this, then you haven’t entered fully into the assignment.

The same statement we see in Mark 3:13-15, J

esus have His disciples the work of preaching about the kingdom. “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. ¹⁴ Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.” Apart from the preaching of the kingdom, we are also expected to make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:18-20 says: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

 

Also, in John 21:15-17, Jesus made some very important impressions about what he was meant to be doing, and I believe this also is applicable to everyone who claim to be a disciple of Christ. “So, when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, you know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.””

 

From all the Scriptures we have read, we can see that the work of a disciple is encapsulated in these four things: the preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God, healing and delivering those who are oppressed of the devil, making disciples of nations and feeding, tending and keeping of the flock of God.

 

3) YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO KNOW THE MESSAGE

The centrality of the message in discipleship is about becoming like Christ. So, Christ is our message. In Acts 10:39-43, the Bible says:

“And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. ⁴⁰ Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

 

I want us to take note of certain important keywords from those verses. Peter said especially in verse 42, when He said “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.” The disciples were to testify about Him alone and no one else, which shows that the message should be about Him. In Acts 1:8, He said to His disciples “and you shall be witnesses unto me...” In Colossians 1:28-29, apostle Paul said: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”

 

Did we see that? Christ is the message and not ourselves! Everything we do in discipleship and as disciples, should point people towards Christ and not ourselves. We are not the subject; Christ is the subject. The end goal of discipleship is until Christ is formed in people. Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 4:19: “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you”, that statement shows the end point of stage one of discipleship, until Christ is formed.

 

4) YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO WALK IN INTEGRITY

About two and half years ago, a brother walked into my office, he happened to be one of our new students in our discipleship program at the time, and he said “since he has arrived for the program, he noticed we weren’t collecting tithe and offerings in our meetings and so, he had been compiling his tithes for about four months and he has been led to come and pay me the tithe.” So, I said to him: “number, this organization does not receive tithe so, I cannot receive the tithe from him. Number two, I am not the most senior in hierarchy in this organization and if it even happens that we do receive tithes, I am not still the one that he should bring it to.” Based on these two submissions, I told him I am not in any capacity to receive the money from him.

 

He smiled and was amazed by those responses. Now, noticed it was a conversation between myself and him, there was no other person there at the time. I could have collected the money from him and no member of the organization would know about it. I sure did needed money at the time, but I so much strongly believe that God does not bring about provision in through crooked means. So, I rejected the brother’s propositions.

 

What am I trying to say here? As a disciple and discipler of our Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot ignore the place of integrity in your discipleship walk. You must never do things that would undermine your integrity or bring about shame to the name of Christ that you represented. See what apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:1-2. It says: “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

 

Let us see what apostle Peter said concerning integrity in 1 Peter 3:13-17 as we begin to conclude on that subject matter. It says:

 

“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” ¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

 

Did we see that? It says “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.” Do we remember the words of Jesus Christ in the beatitudes concerning this very statement? It says “blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” It is better to be persecuted for the right cause or for integrity than to be persecuted for all the wrong reasons. It says further that when people defame you because of your good conscience or integrity, it says they will be put to shame. The Bible made us understand that Jesus was persecuted and reviled on every side, yet, he was found blameless. This must be our hallmark as disciples.

 

5) YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO BE A MAN OR WOMAN WHO FASTS AND PRAY

If we want to record tremendous progress in our discipleship assignment, then we cannot afford to treat with disdain the place of fasting and prayer. Jesus said something profound about this in Luke 5:33-35. It says: “Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?” ³⁴ And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.” Jesus was obviously talking about these present days that we live in.

 

A prayerless disciple, a fast-less disciple is a powerless disciple. One thing that fasting does every now and then is that it brings us to a place of consecration, where we are able to present ourselves to God. Most times we fast, not because we wanted anything from God, but to bring ourselves to the place where our soul is connected and attuned with Him. Jesus fasted for forty days and nights.

 

Luke 2:36-37 gave us an account of a disciple of Christ by the name Anna who did served the Lord in fastings and prayers. “Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” Which means she didn’t do it once, twice, she did it regularly.

 

I believe you have been blessed!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!