The 6 W’s of Discipleship
Facilitated by Pastor Joedy Lim
Shape Your World With The Word
You could study the Word… but the Scripture is clear in saying that we would learn the Word from one another. While we’re here, we heed the following:
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:15-16
We can learn about Jesus on our own, sure, but the rate of us learning from Christ from learning with each other. Learning in fellowship.
See, words have power the shape the life of a person – if our own words to ourselves and others could make so much change, how much more would God’s word change us? And in fact, the Word is not only so full of potential, it is crucial and critical.
“It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
There is power in words, and there is eternal power in the words of our eternal God. Worlds are not only shaped but made by His word! And His word is the foundation of our lives. It has claim as our foundation because, again, the words of an eternal Father are themselves eternal, and will not fade.
The Early Church’s Example
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.Acts 2:42-43
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.Acts 17:10-12
By God’s grace, we too are made noble. Other translations say we are made fair-minded, that we would not only wait for someone to speak to us, but we would also thrive in studying the Word together, in a less spoon-feeding, more interactive discussion.
Meat is protein, and milk is fat. Meat is for growth, and milk is for sustenance.
Considering the modern world, we need to take a look at the World’s ideologies regarding fun and fulfillment. These mindsets have taken over through Social Media and Mass Communication, and more people now than ever are led to believe in a lie – that happiness, fun and fulfillment are attainable apart from God.
With that said, we need to bring back the Word – reminding each other that the Word – leading to Christ, who is the Living Word – the Word is the main shaping factor of our lives and destinies. We need to know His grace more and more, and as we learn it changes us to manifest more of Jesus Christ in us, with us, and through us. We need to spread the Word of God, and we need to testify about Jesus, that the schemes of the enemy would be thwarted and his lies would be exposed for what they are – Christ is the Truth, and the Truth sets us free!
We go back to Colossians 3:15-16: And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Paul was only reiterating what Christ said in the parable of the sower: When the word of God begins to dwell in you, the planted Word has nothing else to do but to grow and to flourish.
Does this mean we memorize the literal Bible? You could, but something else takes precedence:
Jesus Is The Word
Jesus is the living Word that came to show us the Truth of God and His kingdom. Jesus is the living Word of Wisdom. He is the Word of Life, the Word of Healing; He is the everlasting eternal Word… and in our discipling others, let’s not forget how we’ve been discipled.. and all of us have been disciples effectively, but not without the Word, not without Christ.
Beyond Christ being our Word of Healing, Word of Encouragement, and so on and so forth, Christ is our TIMELY Word. One person may take one revelation different from another brethren who was around at the time, and that’s because Christ is for each and every one of us according to who we are and what we’re going through at every given moment.
Let’s also take the Parable of the Sower and the Soil:
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that
“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”Mark 4:1-20
It’s our prayer that every disciple becomes good soil. Rather, everyone that is as good soil automatically becomes a disciple. But what do we do for the others who weren’t as fortunate?
To those whom we perceive had seeds thrown to the wayside, we say that they weren’t really listening. They were blind and never understood. Satan is as the birds who take away the seed so open. We pray for these people, and we pray, because our weapons of warfare are not of this world, nor are our enemies of flesh and blood. We pray for retention, and we pray for a hunger to arise in their hearts.
To those whom we perceive had seed thrown into stony ground, we understand, as Christ has shared, their roots lacked depth. They need more soil to grow deeper. They need more encouragement. They need to know that they are welcome.
To those whom we perceive had seed thrown into thorny ground, we see that they couldn’t bear fruit. They are constantly worrying about the cares of life. According to the old mindset these are folks who do not think twice about working on Sundays and missing church. Those who are with more tend to be ‘choked’ more by these cares. These people need to be reminded of the right perspective of riches, of glory, and power and fame. They need to be put in their place – thorns still have their part in a garden, but they are never the center.
The ultimate goal is always for all of us, no matter where we are planted, or no matter how seed is planted in us – Let us humbly accept the word of God by faith, and let it take root like good soil… and it’s inevitable that we would bear much fruit for His glory – up to a hundred fold!
And here’s the call to us as ministers – let’s just keep preaching the Word, let’s not change people. Let’s just keep sharing the word, and the Lord will provide the growth. Let’s help each other to learn and receive, and to receive and learn.
The Benefits of God’s Word
- Enlightening
- Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.Psalms 119:98-100
- Equipping
- All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.2 Timothy 3:16-17
- Encouraging
- And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.Hebrews 10:24-25
- Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! SelahPsalms 61:1-4
- Engaging
- His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.2 Peter 1:3-4
- Empowering
- For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Pastor Joedy’s conclusion: When we join our brethren in Christ in discipleship groups, we learn knowledge of the world, and through inspired explanation, we gain understanding, and then with application, we now grow wiser in the grace of Christ.
Let us open our homes and fellowship in the Word of God!
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment