Hearing, Believing, and Doing:
The Essence of Discipleship
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How does one become a disciple of Jesus?
Jesus famously used parables to explain the Kingdom of God. He showed the people a straight path to God. His message was not obscure; He made it available to all – to “whosoever will come.” His words cut through the red tape of the religious establishment, whose leaders had the truth but had bound it up so that there was no hope of the common people finding Jehovah God in them without His intervention.
Luke 6:46-49 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? (47) Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: (48) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. (49) But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
It is a glorious truth that if we hear Jesus’s sayings, believe Him, and DO what He says, we will stand even in the darkest times! It’s His promise!
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
This is a wonderful passage that is easy to memorize. The acronym is ASK. This is our part as His disciples:
Ask – We must ask for what we want.
Seek – We must take action, and do our due diligence, to find the truth.
Knock – We must seize or lay hold of the truth we find, and knock on the door until it is opened for us.
Matthew 7:9-11 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
We tend to project our own motives, mindsets, and methods onto God. We are the ones who were born in sin, but God is not sinful. Jesus is showing us the character and nature of God, in contrast to sinful human nature. He is teaching us that Jehovah God in Heaven is Good, and He gives us good gifts if we ask Him.
John 6:35-40 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (36) But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. (37) All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (38) For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (39) This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. (40) And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Jesus gave very specific pictures of God’s love for man. Man needs bread and water to live. Jesus is integral to our filling and satisfaction – He is our Bread, and He is our Living Water. He is our example of extreme obedience because He came to do His Father’s will in order to reconcile us with Jehovah God. He shows us that we will be rewarded for obedience when He raises us up on the Last Day.
The simplicity of this truth is too hard for those who wish to conjure up esoteric mysticism. With an eye toward building little kingdoms, too many wolves in sheep’s clothing claim to have a secret for better spiritual growth.
John 16:7-11 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (8) And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) of sin, because they do not believe in Me; (10) of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; (11) of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth! Not to lead us into arcane knowledge! He came to REVEAL, and not to occlude the Gospel Truth. When the Gospel is hidden from someone, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to open his eyes at the appropriate time – to convict and to convince concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (18) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Paul told the church at Corinth that we believers are being transformed into the image of the glory of the Lord. We can’t do it for ourselves; but He will do it through us and for us if we will simply hear His words (faith comes by hearing the Word of God), believe what He says is true, and obey Him.
2 Corinthians 4:1-7 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. (2) But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (3) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (5) For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. (6) For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
The enemy of our souls lies to us at all times. He tries to insinuate that God is hard to find. He wants us to feel too weak for the job that he knows we can do because he knows his doom is sealed, and we have a part to play.
It’s easy to think we are too weak for the job of discipleship. But Paul elegantly laid out the truth for us; God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and has shone His light in our hearts so that we could have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! He purposely put that excellent knowledge within us at the coming of His Spirit, knowing full well that we live in mortal bodies tainted with our first parents’ sin, but at the very end of all things, we will be made perfect in our new bodies – untainted, unadulterated, without spot or blemish, like the first Adam, and ready to be presented to Jesus Christ. Praise and glory to His name.
WE ARE SEALED IN CHRIST WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. Nothing can separate us from HIS LOVE. He is always working to lead us to the Truth – Jesus IS the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE!
All we need to do to abide in Him is to Hear, Believe, and Obey. Ask. Seek. Knock. This is the simple essence of discipleship in Jesus Christ.
Pastora Cate Covert