In this piece we will be looking at something that I believe is very important, it is something very sensitive. And it is sensitive because, it is something that affects all of us. You could either be a Disciple or a Discipler, or you could even be both; however, whether you are a Disciple or a Discipler, what we want to consider concerns you.

 

So, we are considering ‘The Persona of an Effective Disciple’. It is very close to the word person or personal. If you are a Discipler, this could also be the persona of an effective Discipler. But let us leave it at effective Disciple.  It is not just the persona of a Disciple but of an effective Disciple. If you are going to be a Disciple who ends up being effective in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ, these things must be true in your life.  And I want us to open our Bibles together to the book of 2 Timothy and we will read from chapter 3 and from verse 10. It says;

 

“But you have carefully followed; For those of us that have been thought by Brother Obayomi on Discipleship in the past, you will understand that he will always stress the word following in Discipleship. So, if you are not following, you are not a Disciple. It says; “But you have carefully followed my doctrine”. So, this letter is written to a Disciple, perhaps from a Disciple. But even though it was written to a Disciple, we can learn from it.

 

It says; “You have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch; If it stops at Antioch we could conclude that it could be a one-off thing. It says; At Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; I am sure if you give our brother Paul a little space, he will keep saying at this, at that. So, everything He mentioned that he believed Timothy followed, were things that have happened in His life as a Disciple of Jesus and as a Discipler of men.

 

It says; “You have carefully followed my doctrine, my manner of life another word for that is my style of life”. The kind of life I live; you have carefully followed them. Others could have followed, but you didn’t just follow, you carefully followed. So, maybe because of the carefulness of your followership, you have ended up becoming an effective follower, an effective Disciple.

 

The Bible says; In a race many run, don’t run like those who are running, run to wine the prize. Many are running but run to win the prize. So, people could e following, you are expected to be an effective follower. For brother Timothy, it says He had carefully followed his doctrine, his manner of life, his purpose, his faith, his long suffering, his love, his perseverance, his persecutions, his afflictions. It says all these things happened to him when he was at Antioch, Iconium and at Lystra.

 

Let’s continue; it says; “What persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me; And this is important for everyone to learn from. It says; Yes, like definitely, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

 

For the purpose of those who have not read the latter part of that chapter, lets read verse 16 and verse 17. It says; “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for ^[c]instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

 

Now, knowing this, let us quickly go back in our thinking to verse 10 and then we mix it with verse 11 and 12. Verse 12 says all who desire to live godly in Christ, all who desire to pattern their lives after the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says they will suffer persecutions. The reason why we had to note verse 12 separately is because when we read verse 10 and 11, we notice that among the things that Apostle Paul said, that Timothy followed was Apostle Paul’s persecutions.

 

It says you have carefully followed my persecutions. Lest we think it is just Apostle Paul’s persecutions and perhaps an experience that is exclusive to Apostle Paul. Then apostle Paul said yes! All. Whether in his own generation or in generations to come. All who desire, who wish to live a godly life, they want men to see the God in them, they want the attributes of God to manifest in their lives, it says they will suffer persecution.

 

So, if Apostle Paul because of time and space was not able to say all will demonstrate love or lack of it, all will show perseverance or lack of it, all will show a manner of life. So, the things apostle Paul said; Timothy had carefully followed. They didn’t just apply to Paul; they also apply to all of us. So, when you reflect at your life, you must be able to see these 9 things. That is why they are called the persona of an effective Disciple.

 

Let’s quickly look at the meaning of the word persona. A very short meaning and then we move on. The word persona according to google refers to the aspect of someone’s character. The emphasis is on the word character. That is presented to or perceived by others. Your persona for instance is the aspect of your own character that is presented to others or perceived by others. You could have a million sum of character, but the aspect that you choose to show to other people is your persona. 

 

Apostle Paul was speaking at a point; saying but you Timothy, you have carefully followed my; when he used the word ‘my’ then he was referring to something that is part of him. Himself being so big, but this ‘my’ is a unit. It is like one thing out of many things about him. There are many things about Paul but you could identify his doctrine, his manner of life. It was about him but you could see it. He has successfully presented them to Timothy to the point that he knew that Timothy saw them. So, when we are looking at Discipleship, or dealing with Discipleship, we are not talking about the things we do in our room alone.

 

Discipleship for a Disciple and for a Discipler does not start and end in your bedroom. It is not just about your prayer life, it is not about how you fast, the things you do in the closet, in the hidden places. How many of the things that Jesus did that we are learning from today? How many of the things that He did in secret, how many words that He said to nobody, He was just talking alone that we are sharing today? So, the words that we are sharing are the words He shared with other people.

 

He said the things you have heard from me in the secret, go and declare it in the open. The Disciples saw Him pray at a point and they said teach us how to pray. It was because they saw Him pray and they knew they didn’t know how to pray. And He said this is the manner that you should follow when you pray. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. So, they saw it; they asked questions and then He taught them. Jesus at a point was walking by and He was hungry, He wanted to take fruit from a tree and when He got there, there was no fruit, and He cured the tree and He said no one should eat from you again. And someone will say is it just because Jesus is angry or Jesus is hungry? That day went by, the Disciples that were following Him while He was hungry when He cursed the tree, they followed Him another time, this time around they were the ones that called His attention to the things they saw.

 

They said master, the tree that you cursed the last time is already dried up. And this is it. Jesus said; if you have faith as a mustard seed, that lesson couldn’t have come if the Disciples didn’t follow Him, if they didn’t ask Him. They wouldn’t even as Him if they didn’t see anything. So, Discipleship is about following but beyond following, it is about the things you see in another. Apostle Pau was confidently saying you have carefully followed. This shows the attitude we must have in Discipleship.

 

We don’t follow with lezz-affair or laid-back attitude. I have carefully followed my wife’s doctrine, somedays ago during the leadership fellowship, I wrote in my jotter ‘my wife is now my pastor’. Maybe because she has been the one pastoring me for so long. She can’t hide from it, for many years now I sit-down and she teaches me. So, I have carefully followed her doctrine. And I can’t follow what I have not seen, so she has to show me more. How many of us can boldly say; show me more of your afflictions? When I call somebody and say do you know somebody doubt me, it’s not because I am trying to be a busy body, I am showing you, my afflictions. If I am sharing an experience that doesn’t look interesting, don’t get tired of it, I am just making sure I don’t just tell you all things that are good.

 

Discipleship is not about telling people the things that make them feel high. Image that you hear that Apostle Paul has just been arrested and you don’t know when He is coming back. Will you be dancing? No! you go to meet him in the prison; he has not eaten in the last three days; mosquito is biting him. When you get there, you will not say glory be to God. Whatever emotion that He is having you are going to share it. So, when he was persecuted, if you had followed him, you must have seen him in persecution. So, Discipleship is not about following Jesus through rosy and comfortable experiences.

 

If you observe Jesus so well, you will see beyond His love, His afflictions, and His persecutions. What is true for Jesus must be true for our lives. Because for many people today they cannot see Jesus but they can see you and I. And we are telling them; follow Jesus.

 

So, before they can find Jesus, they will still want to find you first. And so, your life must be so visible before them. You can’t Disciple people away from the people. Growing up as a believer, when I read the books of men of God specifically in Nigeria, I don’t just read books because I just want to gain knowledge, I read books because I am trying to connect with them. This is how I mean, to the point that if the writer gives an example of when he was in his sitting room, I will literally be finding myself in the sitting room. I don’t just want to learn the principles, I want to learn the life, the character if the writer. There is a life that he lives, I don’t just want to cram what he is writing and then I pour it. I want to pattern my life after the life I am reading.

 

So, how many of us have gotten to that point in life that when we encounter the word of God, we don’t just want to encounter the letter, we look deep to find a life that is being lived there. And we ask ourselves; how can I pattern my life? How can I carefully follow this life that I am seeing? You see an experience of one being afflicted, how can I pattern.  

 

In Philippines 3 verse 10, Apostle Paul having beheld Jesus, He came to a point and he started speaking; It says; “That I may know Him; it is not known in the flesh. There is a Scripture by Apostle Paul that says; we know no man after the flesh. So, he wouldn’t know Jesus after the flesh. It was beyond that I may know Him in the flesh. It was beyond the surface. That flesh could also represent the surface.  If you settle with the surface, you could be misled or you may not learn anything from it. You have to look within. Let’s look at it again. It says; that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.

 

A man wants to know another man, and he said let me know the power that raised Him up from the dead, let me become a fellow with Him in His suffering, He suffered, I want to suffer with Him. How many of us can leave enjoyment and say this person that I am currently following is suffering; let me leave my comfort and step into the suffering because I am trying to follow Him. Someone will say it shouldn’t be. But that’s the reality of what we are looking at. The persona of the Disciple. Things about you that people can see.

 

And we realized that about you there must be your doctrine. You must come to a point where you yourself must have a doctrine, a personal revelation of Jesus Christ. You must come to a point where you have built a body of knowledge. You remember that place in Acts 20 verse 32? It says; I commend you unto God and the word of His grace; this is what it will do to you. It is able to build you up. When you talk about building up, you are talking about knowledge. It says word of His grace; word is about knowledge. Which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among hem that are sanctified.

 

So, when we look at you, we must find your affliction. I am emphasizing on the harsh part of it. Of course, that love that looks simple, many of us may never learn it if Jesus didn’t help us till He comes. It is not easy to love. Remember what the Bible says in Galatians 5 verse 22, it says but the fruit of the Spirit is love. So, it is not easy to love except the Holy Spirit makes you to love. Love is not produced in the flesh. Of course, you can lust after somebody or someone in the flesh and the ultimate goal of lust is to consume.

 

There was a man that began to lust after one of the daughters of David, in fact it was the elder brother, He lusted after his own sister to the point that he raped the sister. And immediately when he was done raping the sister, he began to hate the person he just raped. Immediately. The girl had not left the bedroom, and then you ask. What was the point for the lust? The lust was just to consume and throw away.  Whereas love is not like that.

 

So, you cannot in the flesh love, when you are in the flesh, what you produce is lust. And whatever you lust after, you want to quickly consume and throw away. Let me give an example that may not be too practical. We are in 2023 and you just heard that a new Samsung is out.  And the cost is about 1.2 million. And you say wow! What is the goal. You are lusting after it right? Do you want to buy it so that you will die with it? How many people buy phone so that they can die with the phone. How many people desire to use only one phone till they die? Who has ever thought about that? When we desire these things, we want to quickly use it, let me show other people that I have arrived. And in the long run it is either the screen breaks or you spoil it or you get tired of it. Because, by next year you get tired of the old and you get the new.

 

Yesterday we were learning about crucifying the flesh, and even Solomon that keeps saying everything my eyes wanted looking at the flesh; He got it. So, with every new edition of wives, He was purchasing. He got so much wives that they said no what is available is not a wife but a concubine; he said let me get it, to consume it to his own lust and love is not like that. Love is when you desire a person, you receive it in love to keep it. The attitude of love and lust can be compared or explained with the life of a shepherd and a hunter. And when you look at the story of Jacob and Esau you will understand love and you will understand lust.

 

When Esau is going around in the field, when he sees an antelope, he will say wow an antelope; if only I can catch it, I will keep it till I die. Is that what we see? No! he wants to kill it; he wants to make it immobile. Some men when they see some women, they want to render them immobile in life so that she can’t move forward, she will be relegated to your level. She can’t move forward. So, when a hunter catches such an animal, the goal is not to multiply such an animal, the goal is to go and consume it at home. He will say do you know yesterday I caught a big animal an antelope, boasting about it. And by tomorrow he has finished it or started eating it. And before you know it, he is without any more antelope.

 

But Jacob is not like that; because whatever he finds, he brings it home to nurture so that that thing can produce many more. To the point that when the thing is able to produce many more, the ones keep growing to become big in the house. One is to keep for a longer time, perhaps till death do them part. But the other one is to kill it immediately. So, in case we think it is easy to love, it is not easy. When you love someone, you are not trying to finish the person in a rush, you have to calm down. It is a calm experience. You are not in hurry. You are not planning to enjoy something to the point that you destroy what you are enjoying.  So, as a Disciple you must have your own love. People must be able to say he has his love.

 

Your perseverance; it is not every thing that you want that you get now. There will be delay in getting many things while those things are delaying, are you going to stop doing good or you are going to continue doing good? Your perseverance will show it. Anybody that is following you will notice it. Apostle Paul told Timohty; he said let your progress e evident to all. Meaning as a Disciple, the things about your life, your persona must be visible. Don’t tell me it is only the angels and the Holy Spirit that knows you. How we measure and notice that you have progressed if in the past we lack understanding of where you are, where you are from and where you have gotten to. We don’t have any track record of your experience, we don’t know your patience, your sufferings, the things you are covering, your afflictions, the things you are suffering for a long time. We don’t know it, and we don’t know your faith. We don’t know your purpose, if we know all these and we see you demonstrate a different level of purpose or faith we say you have progressed. We say sir I am learning from your faith. But if you never knew anything about his faith, you wouldn’t know if there is a reason to learn from it. The challenge for each one of us is that let your life be clear.

 

 The truth is; anybody that calls himself a leader in the church today, once your life is not visible for me, from afar, in all these things, I can’t call you, my mentor. The truth is certain people don’t know me today and there are mentoring me because I can see these things from afar. Even though it is not every body that is seeing it; me I am seeing.  It is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If you are looking at something that’s when you know the thing is beautiful. Apostle Paul said you have carefully followed. Me I will carefully look to the point that I will start noticing it. If two of us listen to the same man of God, when we are done, you could say he preached a great message, and me I could be seeing his attitude, his patience. Maybe as he is preaching and somebody stands up in the congregation and he says sit-down there; because of the way he says it, I normally shout, but he says it in a different way. I would need to learn. I will not be shouting on people.

 

You were learning the revelation, enjoying the message, I was learning the attitude. Jesus could be far, but from afar what can you see? When Jesus is speaking to another person and you get to hear it, what do you learn from his manner of speaking? Many of us are aware that Jesus suffered a lot of things. We don’t have to think too much, we can read it in the Bible; the afflictions of Jesus, the persecutions of Jesus, what about the love of Jesus? When you read the gospels, do you find the love of Jesus there? When you find it, don’t skip it, it is only my pastor that can do this. No, if you will be a successful Disciple, an effective one, you must be able to demonstrate what you saw Jesus demonstrate.

 

Because, that is how your Discipleship is built up. It says I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. That word of His grace shows you the things that He did. When we talk about grace, what do we use it for? And beyond the theory of grace, the real application of grace. They say grace is for a race, you don’t have a race that you are running, you don’t need a grace. So, there is something you want to do and you required God to do it right? Its about the things you do. The Bible says; the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men; teaching us; the grace of God that makes us better people, has appeared to all of us. And He is teaching us, helping us to over come our challenges.

 

So, when we read the Bible, when we read the experiences of Jesus, the things that He did, what do they teach us? Do we just catch revelations or we identify these 9 things in the Bible that we read. When we observe men around us, do we look at him from these 9 angles? What are the doctrines of my Pastor? What does he teach? Those doctrines could be called his principles. What are the principles that govern his life? Beyond the sweet mouth that he has to share with us on Sunday or on Monday or any day, what are the principles that govern his life? They are his doctrines. When you look at your pastor or somebody theta you are learning from, you must be able to understand his manner of life don’t be deceived. Observe the manner of life, how does he live his life? How does she live her life.

 

Beyond the words that you are preaching, how you live your life really communicate your character, the man, the woman that you are. When you look at somebody that you are able to respect, you must be able to identify the person’s purpose. You must be able to know why the person is existing, because for instance, if a man is existing, so that he can repair tires, and you don’t want to be a repairer of tire in the future, and you go to understudy a man who is repairing tire, you will end up repairing tire even though you never wanted it. So, its not about what you want to do in life or what you don’t want to do, who are you carefully following. If you follow labor party for instance you will end up becoming a politician. Who are you carefully following.

 

If every day you are always sitting in front of the system reading newspaper online, and you are dissecting the geo political attitude and atmosphere of Nigeria, before you know it, the only thing in your head will be politics. Even when you want to write an article, it will not be Holy Spirit inspired, it will just be politics. It doesn’t mean its bad, but you could ask yourself, is that your purpose? Because. Even though that is not your purpose yet that will be your output in life and in the future, why because that is what you are following. So don’t follow what you don’t want to become. Because, you will become whatever you follow.

 

What about the faith? You could be a man or woman of God; do you cover your faith? Yet the Bible says you are like a city that is set upon the hill, you will not be hidden. Your attitude, your faith must never be hidden. You must be able to help anybody that is following you, observing you to know what you believe. What are the things you are believing God for; they must reflect in your conversations. What are the things that you are trusting God for? For instance, one of the things, I do with my wife since we got married is that I disturb her daily with the things I desire. Even though it is mixing with visions now. But how do you know my faith? Is it not by the visions I share? If you are asked, what are you trusting God for? And you say I am just trying God so that there will be rice on our table, that is faith, but that’s just a scope of faith.

 

So, when I share with my wife now, I must be able to share more than a cup of rice. I must be able to tell her that I am trusting God for this, I am trusting God for that. And she must be uncomfortable with the things I am sharing if they will require faith. If I share something and my wife says no big deal, its just a matter of two days, two years we will just get it, that means she doesn’t need faith. I must share them to the point that she will ask, how can these things ever be? The Bible says the Holy Spirit will overwhelm you, and the Holy One that shall come forth will be called the biggest, the highest, the best; something the eyes have not seen, nor the ears heard before; why? You believe God.

 

So, you must believe God for bigger things. Let people see your believe, don’t cover it up, don’t try to be humble. The Bible says blessed is she that believes for there shall be a performance of what has been said to her by my Lord. When Jesus saw that tree that did not produce fruit, He said you are cursed; no man shall eat from you again. And when the Disciples saw it the second day, Jesus told them, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain; be removed and be cast into the sea, when Jesus said His own people were around, He was not proud. He was just declaring what He wanted. He believed it and Himself and the people saw it.

 

So, as a Disciple, you must be able to demonstrate your long suffering. Because you are following Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t suffer certain things in life for a long time. If that moment didn’t happen, God wouldn’t give it to you by a Spirit the fruit of longsuffering. You must be able to suffer certain things for long. It could look as if God is not answering you, God is just stretching you. The Bible says concerning Jesus, although He was the Son, yet He learnt obedience by the things He suffered. How long? We don’t know. It doesn’t have to be too short; it could be long. So, we must have moments in our lives that we are able to suffer for a long time.

 

Sometimes you are trusting God for certain things, because it doesn’t come doesn’t mean you should quite on God, it doesn’t mean you should quite on your purpose. Apostle Paul said concerning this matter I beseech the Lord three times that He may take it away from me.  He beseech the Lord once, twice and thrice and nothing happened; that means that thing he had been suffering, he had to suffer it for a while, for a longer time. And the third time God told him; my grace is sufficient for you. The suffering won’t stop but my grace will be sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore, he said where I am weak, there I am strong. Why?

 

It is the area of His weaknesses that the power of God is made visible. So, when we are going through certain things in life and they don’t look like they are going, let us ask God for grace, it is not everything we will be fasting; Lord take it. When God wants to show you mercy, He will tell you why He has not taken it. You may be praying Lord do it, God may not want to do it. Dr Myles Munroe was saying in a message about something that happened to either his elder brother or younger I am not too sure. The man died at the age of 42, He died at 60 or so. But he said when the man died, he really prayed that the man should rise up, but nothing happened.

 

And after a long time, he kept praying and bothering God, why didn’t you do it for me? Later God told him what year did your brother die, He said 42; and God told him my own son died at 33. So, your brother was older. And God kept asking him questions like that, when he answers God will reply.  God then says I can do all things, I can heal your brother and I can do nothing.

 

Part of what God can do is that God can do nothing even though He could do all things. But we don’t believe God can do nothing. We don’t believe part of the ability of God is that God can do nothing. God can choose to answer you, God can choose to tell you to hold on, you cannot say God if I am your servant, you must answer me. Then you could ask; who is serving who? If God is your master, then you can’t be choosing for God. There are many things in life that we just necessarily have to suffer.

 

There was a time a particular truck and all I wanted was for God to provide 300 thousand to change the engine. For a long time, we could not raise 300 thousand to change the engine. And we just managed it till we sold the vehicle. And just as we sold it, there was money that was more than 300 that buy another one. And I was wondering; Lord is it that you didn’t want us to repair the truck? And in those moment, you will be thinking God does not love you. In those moments you could be experiencing circumstantial lack; you won’t have access to anything. I am not saying it applies to everyone, we are not all the same maybe its my attitude. Sometimes I get so stubborn that the only way God controls me is by withholding resources.

 

So, when you are praying Lord supply. But the instruction you are not following. There are matters in our lives that we don’t just ask Lord fix this, change this; we may only need to go through it. That is why God says when you pass through fire, when you pass through water; He didn’t say if; it says when. It will happen, it may be in the morning or afternoon or evening. Whenever it happens God says I will be with you, I will make sure the fire doesn’t burn you, I will make sure the water doesn’t overwhelm you, but it will happen. There would be afflictions.

 

Scripture says many are the afflictions of the righteous. That you choose to be a righteous man or woman you won’t be afflicted, it will happen. Bible says afflictions will not rise the second time but it will come the first time. So, let us understand these things. Don’t cover your afflictions from people that are learning from you. When you think you are a Disciple and everything must be rosy, it is not a real world. In the real world there will be affliction, when you are succeeding there would be persecution and when you are being persecuted, you will need to persevere and in the midst of it you must continue to be in your faith, you must not loose it, you must continue to suffer long, you must still be showing love,  your purpose must stand, it must not shake, your life must be in the order that God wants it, and you must continue to have new understanding of God, new principles as you go on and as these happens to you and I, men will say; this one is a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? We can see his doctrine; we can see his manner of life. We can see his affliction, but we can see his love.  

 

Show love, show hope, show your faith that no matter what you are going through, things will be alright, everything no matter how harsh, it will soon pass away.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Gboyega ADEDEJI!

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