It is dangerous to be living outside the Will of God for your life. I see so many people today living lives that are so chaotic and hectic and do not take the time to sit back, reflect, and seek God. We live in such a fast-paced world that makes it the norm for us to make major life changes very quickly. I want you to ask yourself, when was the last time you came before God and submitted every area of your life to Him?

Proverbs 3:6 (ESV) tells us, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”. In every area of our life, we are to acknowledge God, we are to realize His role in that area of our life, along with what His Word says about it. The New Living Translation has this verse as, “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”. We need to realize that the moment we are born again, that not only are we a new creation, and our lives are no longer our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

In context with Proverbs chapter 3, we are not to lean on our own understanding or strength. Far too often we have allowed our self-image to exceed our view of God in our lives. So many people are so full of themselves today, rather than living a humble life. In Psalm 50:16-21 we are warned of a mistake that is commonly made by people in the church today. Many people today think that God is just like us, and what happens when you do this is you make a god of your own image. We must be certain that we are following the God of the Bible, and not the god of our own self-image.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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.”. We need to realize that the way God operates is on a totally different dimension than the way we operate. This is why we must get the Word of God in us daily so that we can discern what the Will of God is. If you want to hear God speak to you, do not go searching for an audible voice, go and read your Bible for 15 or even 30 minutes a day. So many people say they want to hear God audibly speak to them, and they get themselves in trouble trying to seek some voice, and they end up actually listening to something that is not of God. It is quite simple to hear God, read His Word if you have to read it out loud.

Let us examine ourselves and see if we are in the faith and living in God’s Will for our lives. Let us begin to seek God on a daily basis on what His Will is for each day, rather than just going with the flow.

The lifestyle of the Christian is so critical, but it has sadly become neglected in the American church. The Bible tells us that we are set apart from the rest of the world. The Bible tells us that we have the Light of the World inside of us (John 8:12). How will unbelievers know you have the Light of the World inside of you when you blend in with the rest of the world? Is there an obvious difference between your life and the life of an unbeliever? Do you talk the same way unbelievers talk? Do you act the same way unbelievers act? Do you watch or listen to things that are clearly unholy?

The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT), “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”. The moment one truly gets born again, you become a new creation, your life is no longer the same. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a process of growth that is ongoing during the life of a believer. But let me say this, it is not possible to have a genuine encounter with God and remain unchanged. Why is it that it has become the norm in evangelism for people to get asked to pray a prayer and still months later remain unchanged at all? That is because it is possible to have an encounter with American evangelism and remain the same. American evangelism is built on sinking sand, any preacher can get up and give a 20 minute Ted Talk with a Bible verse on how God has a wonderful plan for your life, and mention nothing at all about why you need a Savior and expect you to repeat some prayer.

The problem with the modern church today is no one wants the full move of the Holy Spirit. People love when the Holy Spirit shows up and someone gets healed or someone gives a prophetic word, but no one anymore wants the Holy Spirit to move in the arena of conviction. Let me be clear, I believe in all the Gifts of the Spirit have continued and are available to all believers today. However, so many people have gotten caught up in one aspect of the Holy Spirit, and have neglected the rest of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is time that we yield to the full work of the Holy Spirit which includes signs and wonders, and at the same time includes conviction of sin and the redemptive work in a believer’s life where they will begin to walk in holiness.

Being genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit will not only empower you with the supernatural Gifts of the Spirit, but you will also have an overflow of the Fruits of the Spirit in your life. When one is truly filled with the Spirit they will have a deep hunger for the Word of God, and a desire to grow in holiness. Being filled with the Spirit will also empower you with boldness to stand firm for the truth, just like the Apostles spoke with boldness in Acts 4:31.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NLT) tells us, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy”. This verse doesn’t say the believer should be holy, it says you must be holy. We can only achieve holiness in our lives because of what Jesus Christ has done, and through fully yielding to the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and yield to the Holy Spirit we will love the things God loves, and we will also hate the things God hates. God hates murder, therefore we should hate abortion. God hates drunkenness, therefore we should be sober and vigilant. God’s Word tells us to put our mind on things that are above and of good report, therefore we should not get caught up in all of the worldliness of the age.

It is time that we fully surrender to God’s plans and purposes rather than what satisfies our emotions or what is the norm of today’s culture. When people look at our lives they should be able to tell there is something supernatural in our lives that makes it possible to walk the way we walk, and that will point the unbeliever to the Savior they desperately need.

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

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!