Deepen Discipleship

PART 4 - HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
Flowers pollinate. That’s how they multiply and grow. But how does pollination work? Well, it all begins in the flower. Flowering plants have several different parts that are important in pollination. If the flowers have those parts then they can successfully help make other flowers. Only 10% of flowering plants are able to pollinate without animals or bugs or assistance from people. Those 10% of plants, pollinate by wind or water. God, as our awesome creator, made flowers to be this way. God, as our creator, also made us this way.

Remember when Jesus called the apostles? What did he say to them? “Come and follow me” it tells us in the first part of Matthew 4:19. As a child of God we are also disciples. By definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. The end of Matthew 4:19 says “and I will make you fishers of men.“ A Christian disciple is a person who accepts and assists in the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ. Just like the pollen of a flower is transferred to another flower, God’s Word is taken from us to someone else.

Jesus wants us to be fishers of men - just like he wanted those first disciples to be. We want to be children of God, we want to abide in Jesus, we will even read His Word, but we sometimes we tend say, “God, I can’t go….I can’t tell... I can‘t fish!!”

ONE TRUTH TO REMEMBER: THE GREAT COMMISSION IS FOR ME!!

That is a command that Jesus gave to us through God’s inspired Word. We will never do God’s Will if we are not fulfilling our purpose as His disciples. Jesus wants us to be His true disciples and follow him daily. Luke 9:23 "The he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

He doesn’t say deny yourself and follow me when you want to. He doesn’t say "deny yourself and follow me when it is convenient to". He doesn’t say "deny yourself and follow me when you get everything else done". Jesus wants us today, tomorrow and every day of our lives.

My husband attended a workshop last year where one of the speakers made this statement: "Many people are church "goers", not "Christ’s disciples"." Many people in the church today believe that all there is to being a child of God is regularly attending every worship service....thinking that is all there is to being faithful to the Lord. While attendance is very important in our service to God, there are so many more things that are just as important as we strive to abide in Jesus.

Many people, after they retire, decide to quit teaching classes, quit helping out in various ways with church activities, they quit being involved with the church. But what does the Bible say? When does the Bible says we should retire? WHEN WE DIE!! We can still be Christ’s faithful disciple up until the very end of our lives. Our service may change, who we serve may change, but we will still be serving. We will still be Christ's disciple.