THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP.
Dr. Mike Oluniyi.
QUESTION: Are You A Disciple, Seeking To Disciple?
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.(Lk.9:23)
A disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. He is like an apprentice that is learning to become like his master, Jesus. It is a personal passionate devotion to Jesus. The aim of every child of God should be to become like Jesus, in other words, to be a disciple. Jesus, however, gave conditions for whoever will want to follow Him in our opening scripture. There are three conditions: Deny Yourself, Take Your Cross Daily, Follow Me. Let us look closely at the conditions:
DENY YOURSELF.
Let’s look at this condition as saying that you should forget who you really are whenever it will prevent you from exhibiting Christ. There are a lot of times that who you are will prevent you from exhibiting who you should be in Christ Jesus. Who we are often prevent many from becoming a disciple. Let me give you a personal example.
Many years ago, I joined other Gideons to distribute Bible at AdeolaOdutola College, Ijebu Ode. I came late and did not know that when the students are on the assembly, you can’t make use of the roundabout in the school. As I drove to the roundabout, I effectively affected the arrangement of the assembly as the students had to make way for my car. As I parked, one of the teachers came to me and rebuked me for daring to make use of the roundabout while the children were on the assembly. The way he addressed me was so insulting to me. All I was thinking about was, ‘What an insult! If this man has first degree, I have scores of him under my employment. If it is Masters degree, several of his working for me’ I got down from my car fuming. In great annoyance, I asked him, ‘Do you know who you are talking to?’ Others quickly came round and told him who he was talking to. On learning my identity, he melted into the crowd, among other teachers. Other member of Gideons came around too to pacifying me. Thereafter, we distributed the scriptures and left. As I drove out of the gate, the Holy Spirit asked me a question that I will never forget! “Who did you come here to represent today?” Of course I knew the answer, I went there to represent myself and NOT Jesus!
When you are too conscious of who you are, you can’t really be a disciple. For a disciple to do like his master, Jesus, he may often have to do things below his status. My dear pastor’s wife, if you are going to be a help to your husband and ministry, you must forget your status and mix with those whose status are lower than yours. You may sometimes receive insult and still be yourself. To be a disciple, you must reckon yourself to be dead (Rom.6:11). This is because dead men don’t complain. If you are dead, you won’t remember, you won’t be conscious of, who you are as I was in the example above.
TAKE YOUR CROSS.
Taking your cross means accepting the circumstances of life around you which you can’t change. Before Jesus was arrested, He prayed that His Father should take the cup of suffering from Him, but He immediately added, ‘not my will but your will be done.’
Look at your life very well. You will discover that there are some circumstances you really won’t have liked to be in. Let’s start with your husband; it is very likely that there is something in him that you wouldn’t have put there if you were his creator. I call it the law of imperfection in marriage. Whatever that imperfection is and you have prayed and prayed, it is still there, it is better you get used to it and stop complaining. If you don’t stop complaining, you won’t be your best in that marriage and when that is the situation, it has a way of affecting ministry.
Whatsoever it is that you don’t have the power to change, you will have to accept it and move on with your life. If not, you will not enjoy your life. It is a requirement for discipleship. Some other pastors will be more gifted than your spouse. Yes, that’s true. But you are already married to this one. You can’t throw him away and go to the one that is more gifted. If you accept this one and you work together, the ministry will move forward as each one of you identifies your strong points which you could combine together to make some impact. You must also realize that the acceptance is a test for you. If you fail the test, it will either jeopardize your home or make you really unhappy throughout your life. Carry your cross daily. That is what that condition says.
FOLLOW ME.
Follow me means ‘do things the way I do it.’ What are some of the ways that our Lord Jesus Christ did His own ministry? Looking through the scriptures, we may pick some of the features of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ we may need to have, if we are really His disciples. Let’s look at some of them:
Passion For His Father’s Work.
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Lk.2:49)
How passionate are you about God’s work? Do you really believe that it must come before any other thing. In the scripture above, Jesus did not mind what His earthly parents would say. If you are a disciple, you must follow His example.
Submission To His Father’s Will.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done (Matt.26:42)
One of the greatest features of the life and ministry of Jesus which you must follow is His submission to God’s will. In your life as a disciple, there will often be times you will be faced with situations in which the will of God will not be convenient for you. But as far as God’s will is concerned, it is not a question of your convenience but a question of His will.
Self Discipline.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt.4:4)
Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights and right after that, the devil came to tempt Him. It takes high level of personal discipline to say no to the temptations that were brought to him. Whoever wants to follow Jesus must be self disciplined.
Passion For His Vision.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Lk.4:18-19)
Jesus knew the purpose why He was sent and was passionate about it. When He had the opportunity to read the scripture at the temple, what He read to their hearing was His vision. How passionate are you about the vision God has given you and your husband? Following Him entails knowing your assignment and being passionate about it.
Raising Men.
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men (Mk.1:17)
An important part of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ was raising men who later succeeded Him. The process of raising men continued till today and that is why those who are his disciples must follow Him to raise men.
Love For One Another.
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.(Jn.13:34-35)
Jesus is passionate about love for one another. Anyone that does not love is not His true follower.
Other features on which you need to follow Jesus includes Humility, Forgiveness, etc.
Dear pastor’s wife, the question we started with was, ‘Are you a disciple seeking to disciple others?’ The question is necessary because someone who is not a disciple cannot really disciple others. You definitely can’t give what you don’t have.
