Monthly Archives: March 2021

What is Biblical Discipleship?

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Two Plagues in the Church

There are two great tragedies in the American church. One is the preaching of another gospel, the second is many churches do not teach or demonstrate what Biblical discipleship is. I personally believe these two issues go hand in hand. The most well-known example of another gospel being preached is the ‘prosperity gospel’. The ‘prosperity gospel’ continually gains popularity in America because it is simply a gospel that focuses on self rather than focusing on Christ alone, and it is a gospel that does not save. Now let me say something first I believe 100% that we are to have faith in God’s promises according to His Word and that God will bless His people according to His Word. Too many people want God to heal them and nothing else. I fully believe it is God’s Will for healing and that we should lay hands on the sick, while at the same time we cannot let the focus of us seeking God be just for the earthly benefits. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about living “Your Best Life Now”, it is actually about dying of self and putting away the old nature and rising fourth as the new creations we are in Christ Jesus. If the gospel message is distorted in America on average, then there will be a lack of Biblical discipleship.

What is Discipleship?

So, what is Biblical Discipleship? Let us look at what Jesus said in Luke 14:27 (ESV), “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”. So, what does ‘picking up our cross’ really mean? Some people think that dealing with a poor job, sickness, or emotional issues is what this means, that could not be further from the truth! Picking up our cross daily simply means that we are willing to die for Christ, we must die to ourselves and live our lives fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Picking up our cross has nothing to do with how often we go to church or how many conferences we go to. Jesus also said in Luke 9:24-25 (ESV), “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”. So many people’s attention is easily drawn to the things of this world that have no eternal value. We must fully surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ, not just on Sundays.

Abide in Him!

Look at John 8:31-32 (ESV), “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””. To be His disciples, we are to fully abide in and follow His Word. This is why it is so vital to feed upon the Word of God daily. Study the Word, meditate upon the Word of God, as much as you can! We must get the Word of God into us so we can abide in it.

Bear Fruit

fruit bowl

Not only is discipleship about giving time over to the Word of God, prayer, worship, and fasting, but there must be Biblical fruit that is a result of this. Jesus told us in John 15:8 (ESV), “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”. This fruit includes the Fruit of the Spirit and also the works we do that are a result of our Salvation. How are we both individually and collectively bearing fruit? When was the last time we Biblically evangelized someone or prayed for someone who was sick? When was the last time we wept because we see people every day that we care about, who we know that are not saved and are on the broad way to Hell? Do we have the burden of the Lord upon our heart? We really need to seek God where we are lacking in our fruit-bearing, I myself could be yielding moreover and I am sure many of us could. We need to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about glorifying ourselves, but it is about glorifying God.

A Fully Surrendered Life

When we walk in Biblical discipleship, we should also be edifying each other as fellow believers. Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) tells us, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”. We are to be encouraging our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord and building each other up so that we can walk this walk. This is just a portion of what Biblical Discipleship is about, there is so much more to be covered. I encourage you to make this the year that you fully give yourself over to being a fully surrendered disciple. We have many people in both the world and in America who have not heard the True Gospel. Let us go forth and make disciples as Jesus commissioned us!

The River of Life

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This year I have really been touching on walking in faith and the importance of coming to the knowledge of who we are as new creations through Christ Jesus.

I would like to draw your attention to the Book of Ezekiel when he describes the vision the Lord gave him of The Temple. We see him describe the glory of the Lord in Ezekiel 43:2 (ESV), “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.”. We then see the reaction of Ezekiel to the glory of the Lord filling the Temple in verses 4-5, “As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”. Ezekiel in this very passage was given a vision of the Temple of the Lord that was to come. I want you to look at this passage with the mindset that as new creations in Christ Jesus that we are all individually a Temple of the Spirit of the Living God (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Let us take this a step further and look at some keys in Ezekiel 47:9-12. In this very chapter Ezekiel describes a river that is flowing from the Temple.

  • In verse 9: “ And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea  may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”.
    • Jesus told us in John 7:38 that those who believe in Him will  “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”.
  • In verse 10: “Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.”.
    • In Matthew 4:18-19, Jesus called two fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew to come follow Him and that He would make them “fishers of men”.
    • Additionally, Galatians 3:28 (ESV) tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”.  The Body of Christ will be composed of both men and women, and people from many different ethnicities and cultures around the world.
  • In verse 12: “And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
    • Jesus told us in Matthew 7:15-20, that we “would know a tree by its fruit”. He is talking about believers here. It is not about how long ago we prayed a prayer, but the fruit that we bear as disciples of Jesus Christ.
    • We also know that through the finished work of Jesus Christ we have Salvation from sins, healing from all sickness and disease, and deliverance from every type of demonic oppression.

Too often when we read about the Temple of God as in the Old Testament, we may be quick to brush over it. However, we should pay attention to this, because as New Covenant believers we are each a temple of the Holy Spirit. This is just one example of how the Temple in the Old Testament relates to us as believers today. I pray that you will study these passages for yourself, and that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened to know who we are as new creations in Christ Jesus.

Knowing God

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I want to talk about how one truly knows God. This teaching is something that I myself must be reminded of, I am far from perfect. Many people claim to know God simply because they go to church or have read so many books. Now both of those have their place in the Christian walk. But I want to ask you a question. Have you ever had an encounter with God? Now I am not talking about something that is completely birthed out of emotions and enthusiasm, while emotions and enthusiasm can be a result of encountering God, we must know that we do not live according to what we feel or see (2 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 8:12, Proverbs 28:26, and Proverbs 12:15).


In many of my teachings, I have talked about how the Christian must have an intimate relationship with the Father. We can spend all the time we want reading books from other people who knew God, but still never have a genuine encounter with God. You can spend all the time and money you want obtaining all the seminary degrees you want, and still never have an encounter with God. Now let me be clear I believe God has ordained people to write books for His Glory, and seminary has its place. However, there is a whole other aspect of the Christian walk that is tragically neglected and that is knowing God by having a genuine encounter with Him.Sadly, most people who profess to be Christian have had more of an encounter with religion than an encounter with God. Most people do not realize this but when you get born again and receive the new nature inside of you(2 Corinthians 5:17), the Kingdom of God is birthed inside of you. You see the Kingdom of God is not something that is far away from us, it is within us as new creations in Christ Jesus. Jesus answered the Pharisees in Luke 17:20-21 (ESV), “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””.


This is why it is so vital we learn to be led by our new nature, rather than being led by the desires of the flesh. So many believers have never come to the knowledge of who they are through Jesus Christ. We need to get to the place where we get into the Presence of God daily and let Him teach us. When Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, He said the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth (John 16:13). We should not have to rely on Study Bibles and Commentaries to teach us, we have everything we need to grow in godliness within our new nature. Study Bibles and Commentaries have their place, but we need to know God based on an intimate relationship with Him and leaning on His Spirit to teach us and reveal things to us from the Word of God. 2 Peter 2:18 (ESV) says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”.


So many people only want to give God fifteen or thirty minutes a day, just so they can put a checkmark on their Bible reading plan. Now there is nothing wrong with having a consistent devotion time. But I want to challenge all of us, myself included, let us get some alone time with the Father and wait on Him. I mean truly wait on Him, whether it be one hour or longer, wait on Him. We need to cry out to Him daily to know Him more. We need to saturate in the Presence of God daily. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:6 (ESV), ““And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”. This will play a vital role in us putting away the things of the flesh. When you encounter God, the sin that is in your life will become so clearly known to you. Now, this is not meant to hurt you, this is meant to help you grow in godliness because we are to walk after the things of our new nature, and not the things that passed away from our spiritually dead old man. Additionally, when you are in the presence of God, you will have joy that is unspeakable, a type of joy that this world cannot simply give you. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) tells us, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”.


We need to be men and women of God who have the mark of God placed upon our lives. This is only something that can happen when one truly gets into the Presence of God and waits patiently on God day and night. James 4:8 (ESV) tells us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”. Let this be the year that believers are not marked by their fleshly abilities but become people who have the mark of God upon their life and when you come in contact with unbelievers they will be able to smell the aroma of the Kingdom of God upon you and will want to know what it is you have that they so desperately need.

God’s Ways vs. Our Ways

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So often as Christians we can get stuck looking at our circumstances with a worldly standard, rather than God’s standard. We might think a certain situation looks impossible, or that we might not be enough to do what God has called us individually to do. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”. One of the problems in the American church is we are so brainwashed with the things of this world that the average Christian does not reach his or her full God-ordained destiny. Now before I go any further let me say that when God blesses us, it is to bring Him the glory and not us. God’s plan is to bring glory to His Name. If it is a plan that brings glory to self, then it is not of God. We must be careful not to lose focus.

Look at Jerimiah 1:4-10 (NKJV), “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.””.

In this very passage, we see God officially calling Jerimiah to be a prophet of God. We see right away that Jerimiah immediately looks at his self through a worldly view, rather than coming into alignment with God’s view. In the Old Testament, we see that God only anointed certain people to be used mightily by Him. Today we are under a New Covenant. When we become truly born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need to walk in the destiny God has called us to walk in for His Glory. However, too many believers have not gotten themselves filled with the Word of God enough to realize they must walk in the newness of life. Too many people think that the Christian walk is simply repeating a prayer, getting dunked in water, and becoming a member of a church. However, the true Christian walk is more than that. It is about a lifestyle of discipleship and living your life for the glory of God.

Jesus tells us in Acts 1:8 (AMP), “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.””. So many believers fail to realize the fullness of what was accomplished through the full complete work of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV) tells us, “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”. If only we could live according to Scripture instead of being given over to doubt and everything else involved in the world’s way of things.

If you have been struggling with first knowing what God has called you to do and carrying it out, I encourage you to get into the Word of God more. It is so vital we get into the Word of God. We must make sure our mindset and heart’s desires are in line with God’s Word.

As we spend time in prayer, worship, fasting, and in God’s Word we should see God increasing in our lives and less attention drawn to our self-desires. As you give yourself over to the true discipleship process you should also see the sinful desires in your life decreasing. As we go on in this year more, let us put ourselves in more alignment with God than the world.