Discipleship

Jesus commanded every true believer to be an Ambassador for Him! It's not hard.

Discipleship: fulfilling the great commission Matt. 28:18-20 Here is how to go about it! read article by Rick Lawrence, D. D.

Before Jesus left from earth to heaven, in Acts 1:10, He gave a command -- a commission -- to his disciples. "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

What is a disciple? Webster's Dictionary defines disciple as follows: 1 : one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: as .one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ's followers according to the Gospel accounts. is a convinced adherent of a school or individual:

we know Jesus had 12 original disciples whom he taught face to face during his 3 year ministry on earth, however, The Scripture speaks of numerous other disciples who followed the Lord Jesus, e. g, , Acts 16:1 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. There are many instances in the New Testament that call all followers of Jesus, His disciples. If you are a total follower of Jesus, today, you are one of His disciples. Jesus as One sent from God and His designation of His followers as those who, as His representatives, carried on His work (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:21; Acts 1:6).

The early church's connection with the person of Jesus gave birth to the term and function of the word "disciple" to more than the original twelve, but not all witnesses were rewarded with this word, disciple, which excluded false teachers and others who followed Jesus a little, but served themselves. Those who used the Gospel and Jesus' great ministry as an opportunistic way to serve their own desires for recognition, control of others and just plain wealth and greed-- did not qualify to be called disciples. There are an increasing number of false Christian witnesses and teachers in the world today. The meaning, and use by the early church of the term "disciple" referred to all who put their trust in Jesus' to become spiritually born again, (John chpt 3) acting upon His words and commands and doing what pleased Him; they were true disciples. It is the same of those who would accept him as their personal Savior and Lord of their life in today's world. and who become spiritually born again believers. See RKL2.org home page and the about Rick page of the above website. The Bible says Jesus is alive and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Heb 13:8..

"Again -- what is a Disciple? And who is a disciple? Were talking now about Christianity and believers who are following Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the incarnate God, God the father who came to earth and was born in human body and became fully God and fully human and was named Jesus, the messiah. In John10:30 Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." Jesus did not sin, not even once, but felt the mind and body problems of mankind: hunger, tiredness, pain, and worldly issues common to you and and to me. He suffered just like we do, and had the same trials and everyday temptations and needs. That is why we can pray and ask for him to help us with out needs and problems; he has been there and knows what we are going through. Jesus said over and over in the Bible, that He loves us, wants to and is willing to help us and has the power to do so. It is my firm belief in the Gospel that the Lord Jesus suffered, shedding His blood for you and me that we might gain eternal life in heaven. If you are a spiritually born again believer in Jesus Christ, -- as I am myself -- we are under an obligation not to conceal this great supernatural happening in our life, rather we have become disciples of the Lord Jesus through this salvation and, I believe, the Bible teaches we are under obligation to witness, or share/tell this great blessing with others."

Jesus wants something else from us. He wants us to follow his attitudes and Godly ways. He served God, the Father with all of his heart and soul. He wants true believers to emulate him. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." This verse means we must walk the same way and act the same way as much as possible in our human bodies. And what must we proclaim as His emissaries, ambassadors? We must stay true to his word and doctrine, we must confess it (homologeo -- GK) say the same thing as and agree with his Word; we must then, share his words, teach, preach and/or witness in the light of God's calling upon our lives. A first and important purpose of Christian discipleship is to emulate the character of Christ.1 Peter 2:21 says, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

Bearing fruit for Our father God, Yahweh-Hebrew; Jehovah -- English for the sake of the kingdom of God is also a requirement of Christian discipleship. John 15:8, says, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Jesus wants us to be active, productive and knowledgeable about his Word.; that is one of the important meanings of discipleship We have definite responsibilities after we accept Christ and become his disciples; he doesn't just recommend to us that we bear fruit; he commands us to love, serve others and spread his gospel., that is, to witness to the truth of the Bible and about the work and miracles of Jesus Christ when he was on earth. Hey, Wait a minute! No one told me about discipleship when they led me to Jesus! In Jesus' three-year ministry on earth, He often said He had been sent to teach His disciples about His Father. Jesus wanted his disciples to know that God is real, loving, and knows all about us. The Father loves to favor and reward those who obey his commands and do what pleases him. In John15:7, 8 Jesus said, 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

John1:1-5 (Living letters) says, "before anything else existed, there was Christ with God; he has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is, nothing exists that he didn't make. Eternal life is in Him and this life gives light to all human beings. His life is the light that shines through the darkness and the darkness can never, extinguish it!" Again, John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people, and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, "You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We are commanded to take His light and spread it around the world to others so that they may see Jesus, the Christ and receive Him as Savior, themselves. Everyone who is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ can do something to spread His light, his Word. The Scripture speaks of taking his light (His Gospel) to the world. We know we can't be everywhere around the world. Nowadays, the Christian media such as print, radio, movies and TV has a great ability to reach the world. Christian disciples can help reach the world this way -- but are we expected to reach the whole world in person? I don't believe the Scripture means every person can be a witness to the whole world, in person, but rather, we are to reach out around us and then, even further if we can. and yes, we can support missionaries and evangelism via the media which may, through print, radio, TV reach the world. MY FRIENDS, ONE THING WE CAN START WITH, WE CAN WITNESS TO THOSE NEAR US ABOUT JESUS AND WHAT HE MEANS TO US AND HOW HE HAS HELPED US IN OUR DAILY LIVES!! ~ by Rick Lawrence a doulos (bond servant) and disciple of Jesus Christ,, eternally.

Note: Rick has helped hundreds of people to be 100% sure they are spiritually born again (John 3) in the Lord Jesus Christ and will be in heaven when they die. Rick's ministry involves: One on one, radio programs [his most recent is a 10 minute dynamic program entitled Crossroads of Life which has aired for most of the late 1990s -- 2008, and website www.RKL2.org which has reached out to many nations of the world and is used for training disciples in 15 + nations such as India, Kenya, Nigeria, and others in Africa, Western Hemisphere, Middle East, Europe, et. Al. Rick answers all credible emails and believers in foreign countries use online translating sites to contact Rick in the English language and then to translate his response to them. In this way, ministries and others can dialogue with Rick via email, etc. Rick prefers email. Many are teaching Q&A to explain and answer Bible doctrine.

BREAKING NEWS: Rick has been made to know that a Christian radio station will be airing his Crossroads of life program; Rick will not be able to continue answering the emails he receives from ministries and others in nations, globally. Rick says, "I love all of you in Jesus, I know you understand that I must concentrate on Crossroads of Life program; i need some time off to study, pray and to take a break once in a while. Further, I must proceed in the direction the Lord, by His Holy Spirit leads. The programs don't write and narrate themselves; it takes much work on my part. I must follow the leading of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus called me to the MN/Canadian border area to participate in a powerful revival, and He is preparing hearts and minds. I must be obedient to this calling and ministry. Finally, I have placed a lot of teaching on the RKL2.org website and you are welcome to study, copy, use it in your life and work. I will, if I have an opportunity, put some more teaching on this website. I have been working hard, sometimes around the clock. I make mistakes when I'm tired. Well many of you know what I'm talking about. Don't be offended if I don't answer your emails; it is nothing personal. Be sure to "DO" what you learn from me.

Rick also teaches deeper life in Christ on occasion to dedicated individuals (no personal contact is involved), Rick forwards copies of email or letters he has written to individuals in which he has spoken of the deepest, deeper life steps to successful life and ministry. Rick teaches deeper life ministry to interested groups, and includes some discipleship training. This deeper life ministry is separate from all of his other public speaking, teaching. Included in his deeper life and/or discipleship training is the easiest and most productive soul winning plan that has ever been offered to Christian believers. Even a child can learn its few simple steps. One 9 year old child, Rick knows of, led the police chief of his city to the Lord using this plan. Rick is available, as his schedule permits, to teach and role play this plan to any group who requests it.

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP -- http://www.edginet.org/ christian/sermons/
uke14.html

http://www.rkl2.org/secrets4.htm