Discipleship - The Antidote to an Ungodly Generation...

A careful evaluation of the state of the world globally, shows in clear and concise light that the state of things are no longer as they were, or as they are supposed to be...

We are surrounded by Leaders who have little or no understanding of where they are heading to in life, yet they stubbornly and ignorantly drag unsuspecting followers along their wrong track. The Church has gradually allowed the worldly system to creep in and soothingly destroy the very foundations, morals and Principles that the Church was built on.

Nations that there foundations were built upon the Undiluted Word of God have made laws and rules that pushes God away from their lives and over their affairs. Nations that experienced great works of revival and evangelism, impactful and tremendous transformations have lost their place in the system and allowed sensuality and terrorism to take over. The very act of defending your faith and standing for your beliefs and convictions can get you persecuted and charged to court, when you did not even do anything except stand for your conviction.

The 21st Century Church out of ignorance are repeating the same mistakes of Old that were sternly warned against in the scriptures. It is as though, we've come to that time of existence where history replays itself and yet the people involved in this historical repetition are not keen to realize what is happening, even when it is glaringly staring them in the face. The Church have failed to take caution and learn from the mistakes and errors of the former generations. The pride, arrogance, immorality, lawlessness, and ungodliness that were the underlying factors which at one time destroyed the very principles and values that builds up the Church are still in the lives of the Church today. A careful look at this challenging circumstances, we could infer that we are drawing closer to the generation spoken of in Judges 2:10, "A Generation without God - A Generation that does not know God".

It is in the light of these disastrous challenge and in the face of this unyielding circumstance that seems to overwhelm the foundations of the Godly Christian life that we evaluate the rudimental element that would profer a solution to this disastrous circumstance...


The Antidote - DISCIPLESHIP

Most of the elements of this discussion are extracted from the teachings of Rev. Samuel Akeju during his teaching at the Retreat of ECWA Student Ministry Associate Forum.

From this teaching, we understand that Discipleship is first and foremost the most effective antidote to solving the problems and challenges of an ungodly generation. We could say that 'Discipleship' addresses the foundation of the predicament rather than just the outcome. In other words:

• To avoid becoming an Ungodly generation, Christians need to be committed to effective and intentional discipleship
• To redirect the focus of an ungodly generation back to God, believers should be committed to intentional discipleship
• To live righteously and with godliness in an ungodly generation, believer's should be committed disciples and disciplers.

It also worthy to note that Discipleship involves a relationship. It is a life-long process, it is not a hit-and-run practice and it must be intentional. For one to be a true disciple and a Child of God, his/her life must be consistent with the Word of God. Such a person must be in consistent in fellowship with God (most especially, his/her devotional life).
 
Jesus' Model of Discipleship

1. Come and See (Matt. 4:23): The people who stop at this stage of Discipleship only come to experience tesimonies. Their foundation is not strong and therefore, they cannot be of maximum impact to the Kingdom, all they have is a testimony of what they saw.
2. Come follow Me (Mark 2:14): The disciples who have grown to this stage have more than a testimony, they have learnt some vital and reasonable lessons, they have seen and heard the word and teachings, yet at this stage there's still need for them to grow.
3. Be with Me (Mark 3:14): Those who have grown to this stage of Discipleship are those who are entrusted with the responsibility to carry on the work. It is how much of Hm that you know that shapes your mentality to draw others closer to Him. You must be with Him, to draw others to Him. Unless your mind is shaped to know Him and be with Him, you cannot manifest the fullness of Him. There must be a hunger growing within you to be with Him at all times. It is this hunger that prompts you to Study the Word, to dwell in His presence, to tell the world about Him, but even at this stage you still need to grow further...
4. then we get to the final level, You must "Remain in Me": Those who grow to this stage have more than just a belief or an ideology, they have a conviction. It is the conviction in your heart that causes you to yield to God at all cost. not minding the death that lies ahead of you, you are willing to go through any length for the cause of Christ. At this stage, you are not just living a doctrine, You are living a LIFE; which Christ Himself produces in you.

This Model of Jesus' discipleship lifestyle forms the landmark for one to build the lives of men around you. I've earlier stated that discipleship is an Intentional Action and a lifelong process; therefore, you do not grow older than been discipled and you cannot retire in the work of raising disciples.

If we are not intentionally making disciple's, the vision God has entrusted to us will die in our hands/time.

We must make a conscious decision to invest time, energy and resources in the act of raising disciples for the Kingdom of God, and we must watch them grow in it and treasure what you have taught them. You must not stop half-way. they must pass through the first Curriculum/Model down to the Fourth, final and most important Model, to become full of God and deeper in their conviction.

Discipleship is a process, the stage where you are in the curriculum determines the intensity and propensity of your conviction and strengthens the level of your relationship with God.

Jesus' Seven (7) Practices to raising up Disciple's

1. Teaching the truth (Mark 1:21): Christ taught His Disciple's the word of God. From the time He fed them with the Milk of it, until the time when they were able to swallow the raw bone. He consistently taught them the truth, raw and undiluted. So, they grew. You must teach your disciple the Word of God, raw and Undiluted. Not something that would soothe them, rather a Word that would change them for the better.
2. Experience (Matt. 14:28, John 20:23): They experienced the teachings of Jesus, through the things He did and the life they saw Him life. Peter had an experience of walking on top of water, and seeing Christ teach and draw so many souls back to God. Your disciple must have an experience of your teaching with you, let them see you walk the walk as you talk the talk
3. Accountability: Be responsible and accountable. Don't live in deception; have a life that is responsible to someone and someone else is responsible to. Christ lived a life of total reverence to God, and taught His disciples to do same. They knew He was accountable to the Father and to them as well, and never for once did He give them any cause to doubt His teachings.
4. Mentoring (Mark 3:14): In Mentoring, we share our lives with the people we disciple. We mentor them, coach and counsel them and we show them through our lives and action, the fruit their lives are expected to produce. "Sharing Our lives and hearts with others is what makes head knowledge becomes heart knowledge"
5. Modelling: In Modelling, you show them a path they've seen you walk on and guide them to follow that path. In modelling, you serve as a guide and an anchor to point them in the right direction and lead them aright. In Jesus' lifetime, He modelled a lifestyle of passion, prayer and hunger for the lost souls and after He ascended into heavens, the disciple's earnestly followed that model.
6. Multiplication: This level is vital and important, but always remember to place it in the right perspective. Christ taught the disciples, let them have an experience, held them accountable, mentored and modelled them, before sending them out to multiply. If you jump Principle (2-5), you will make a half-baked disciple that would not be effective in carrying out this principle. Every disciple must multiply, but must do that at the right time. Mark 3:14 says, "He first called them to be with Him, before sending them out to preach" (paraphrased)
7. Supplication (John 17:6-26): The place of prayer for the disciple cannot be overemphasized. Keep praying for your disciple, and committing Him to God. Keep praying for the disciples he's going to raise and trusting God for growth. Christ consistently prayed for His disciples, even to the point of His death and the scripture tells us that He still makes intercession for us before the Father (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25)

When we apply these principles as we see in the lifestlye and model of Jesus in raising godly disciples, we would raise disciples that have a deeper and greater conviction of who they are and their relationship with God are still intact.


Appeal to Believer's (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

• Guard the indispensable treasure of the Word of God
• Don't ammend the message of Christ no matter what! Pass it on, Undiluted!
• Entrust and teach the Word to faithful believer's
• Become a link in the chain of redemption.
• Don't just teach the scriptures, live out the scriptures.
• Passing on to the next generation is living out the Word of God and the teachings of the gospel in a visible manner.

 If this Generation must turn from an Ungodly to a Generation, Christians should be committed to the Intentional making of Disciples who are matured in faith and properly modelled to handle the Word of God.

Many of our Churches spend so much time and resources building structures rather than building men. The irony of life is this: "One day, the men you failed to build will arise and destroy the structures you have built". The situation in Turkey, America, Northern Nigeria and several other parts of the world where the gospel was prominent but have now become obsolete and demolished are enough lessons for us to learn.

Let us invest in building and equipping men, rather than erecting structures and edifice
Shalom!

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