Disciples

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They Are Not My Disciples

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 28, 2020
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Leadership, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”­ – John 1:35-39

 

Two items bother me about this passage. One, the disciple-making process is a catch and release program. And two, it takes a bit of faith.

But let’s back up. For four hundred years, there has not been a prophet in Israel. Then John shows up, and he’s pretty weird. While wearing camel skins, eating locust legs and living in the desert, John stirs up trouble by calling the religious leaders to repent. Naturally, this behavior draws not only the ire of the religious, but also a crowd and a few disciples.

However, John knows his place. John knows that he is God’s instrument to point the way to the Christ, but he is not the Christ. John knows he is not the Word, but his words reveal Jesus. This, of course, begs the question, “Do my words reveal Jesus, the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world?” Not always, but I’m getting off my point.

John knew how to make disciples, and he knew they weren’t his to keep. A wise friend of mine said that Christian discipleship does not come when a person receives salvation. Rather, discipleship comes when you make a friend and take them with you on your journey with Christ. Furthermore, it continues when you let them go to walk with Jesus on their own. 

John knew that to be a successful follower of Christ he would have to point others to Jesus. He knew that, for a while, it was okay for others to hang out with him, but one day they would have to walk with Jesus and follow Him on their own. Likewise, there are people who are attracted to my teaching and me. But I must remember that they are not my disciples. I serve them best by pointing them to Jesus.

Each of us must come to the point where we ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?” And Jesus will reply, “Come and see.” This means I can’t know always know where Jesus is going until I follow Him. And I must follow Him without always knowing where He is going.

It also means that sometimes “my” disciples will leave me in order to follow Jesus on their own. This is the way it should be, but I’ve noticed that some people have difficulty letting go. Have you ever left a church fellowship to follow Jesus’ calling on your life, only to discover that those you left no longer speak to you, or if they see you around town, feel uncomfortable in your presence? Yeah, me too.

After resigning my last staff position, a member of the church said, “I’m mad at you.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you left my church,” he replied.

“That’s true.” I said. “But I didn’t leave you.”

That didn’t seem to console him too much. I’ve seen him a few times since but he seems uncomfortable with me, and all I can do is pray for him.

            My encouragement to you who are leaders is to know when to let people go, and when you do, make them feel comfortable and accepted in the going. Remember, they are not really leaving you. They are following Jesus.

Casual Christianity

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 7, 2013
Posted in: Christian Spirituality. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I thought I’d share a little excerpt from this Sunday’s sermon called “Your Last Will And Testimony.” This is part 49 in our continuing series on the book of Acts.

Those who are most active in church work, be it in the physical part of the building or in looking to build lives through witnessing or teaching, are those who can say with Paul, “This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all” (1 Tim. 1:15). Until we are truly aware of the extent that our sin cost God the death of His one and only Son, we will be casual observers of the Christian life. Until we come face to face with our own sin and how much God loves us, we will continue to play with Christianity at our own convenience. Until we are absolutely convinced that we have no life outside of the grace and mercy of God, we will continue to make God someone we admire and mostly agree with when it suits our mood and fits into our schedule. But anytime being a Christian or going the extra mile to become a disciple costs us too much, like getting up early to get the kids ready for church, or budgeting our money so we can tithe, or not just joining those who gather for a Bible study but actually contributing to the conversation, we’ll take the easy way and find an excuse to put God second to our current desires for comfort and ease.

What’s In Your Future?

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 28, 2013
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Church. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

 “Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. ‘And after that.” he said, ‘I must go on to Rome.’” – Acts 19:21

FutureWhen you talk about the dreams you have for the future, what do they involve? Do they include a comfortable retirement, a good 401k, perhaps some traveling? Those are a few of the things I think about. But then, as I’m preaching through the book of Acts at my church, I come across this verse where Paul says he must go on to Rome. It seems Paul’s idea of a future involved going to Rome and dying for His Lord, while Jesus’ earthly future involved Calvary. Both these men finished their lives with the needs of others on their mind and the promotion of the Good News on their hearts. Now I have to ask myself this question: Does my vision of the future involve the Good News of Jesus brought into people’s lives? How about you? What is your Gospel hope? Where do you plan to take the Gospel next?

If the Gospel is truly moving in you; if the Word of God is so deep into your life that it is able to judge and separate the thoughts and attitudes of your heart (Heb. 4:12), then it will confront any vision of the future that does not include speaking about the goodness of God and the sacrifice of His one and only Son. I’ll take it a step further. I don’t know if it is possible to be a fully dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ and have a vision for the future that does not include making disciples, because the Great Commission of Jesus to the Church is to take the Gospel into all nations and make disciples. It wasn’t to make churches, construct nice buildings, develop an exciting Children’s church, put together a killer worship team and hire a dynamic preacher that makes you feel good about your relationship with God. Christ commissioned us to make disciples.

Can we truly be obedient to God and not be involved in making disciples of Jesus? If you will not put yourself out and involve yourself in the lives of others in a way that introduces the full story of Jesus and the power of Calvary, then you can say you love God until you run out of breathe, but the truth is you’re not obeying the Word of the Lord.

Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — John 1:35-39

Posted by Jim Thornber on August 27, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

They Are Not My Disciples

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”­ – John 1:35-39

Two items bother me about this passage. One, the disciple-making process is a catch and release program. And two, it takes a bit of faith.

But let’s back up. For four hundred years, there has not been a prophet in Israel. Then John shows up, and he’s pretty weird. While wearing camel skins, eating locust legs and living in the desert, John stirs up trouble by calling the religious leaders to repent. Naturally, this behavior draws not only the ire of the religious, but also a crowd and a few disciples.

But John knows his place. John knows that he is God’s instrument to point the way to the Christ, but he is not the Christ. John knows he is not the Word, but his words reveal Jesus. This, of course, begs the question, “Do my words reveal Jesus, the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world?” Not always, but I’m getting off my point.

John knew how to make disciples, and he knew they weren’t his to keep. A wise friend of mine said that Christian discipleship does not come when a person receives salvation. Rather, discipleship comes when you make a friend and take them with you on your journey with Christ. Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Matt. 14:13-21; 15:32-38

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 19, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

Jesus Feeds 9,000

“‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. Jesus replied, ‘Bring them here to me.'” Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-38

Up until recently, I never had a need or an opportunity to apply these verses to my life. However, since I have been unemployed for a while, I am starting to read Scripture differently, because I am starting to doubt my own resources.

As I search, seek, and ask God about my next assignment, I cannot help but wonder about my skills and talents and why so many churches and businesses have no interest in employing me. I do not have an answer at this time, but it has driven me to look at Scripture in a different light lately.

Because my primary spiritual gift is teaching, I have spent years reading the Bible mostly for those things I could teach from the pulpit or in the Sunday school class. However, since those two forums have recently (and, I pray, temporarily) dried up, I have resorted to reading Scripture not so much for how I can apply it to your life, but for how I can apply it to mine! Yes, I should have been doing this all along, but I am a little slow on the uptake. Just like the disciples in these two passages. Perhaps this is why these stories bothered me as I read them this morning; they hit too close to home.

In the first passage, the disciples show their concern for the crowd, but in a selfish way. They know they need to eat, but the disciples do not want to take responsibility for this task and ask Jesus to send them away. Not missing a beat, Jesus says, “That isn’t necessary – you feed them” (14:16 NLT).

However, the disciples reply by saying they do not have adequate resources. “But we only have five loaves of bread and two fish!” they tell Jesus.

“Bring them here,” Jesus says.

At that point, I stopped reading.

I am feeling a bit like the disciples. I know I have some resources, but they seem so meager and inadequate for the task. It is all too overwhelming for me. People need to be fed and taught and discipled and trained to do the work of ministry, and all I have is a little Bible training and a passion to teach.

“Bring them here,” Jesus tells me.

And I know what will happen when I do. He will take the little I have and bless it and make it adequate for the job He has assigned for me. Feeling better about myself –  if not a tad rebuked –  I continued reading.

Now I come to the second story, the feeding of the 4,000 (5,000 plus 4,000 equals 9,000, hence the title, if you were wondering).

In the second passage, Jesus has to tell the disciples of His compassion for the hungry people and guides the disciples into an understanding of the people’s need to eat. The disciples respond by wondering where they could find enough food to feed everybody. Jesus takes them a step further and asks them what they have on hand. “Seven loaves, and a few small fish,” they reply.

Once again, Jesus asks for their limited resources, blesses it, returns it to the disciples and has them distribute it to the people. Much to their amazement, the disciples discover that not only were 4,000 men fed, but like before, there were baskets full of leftovers.

I stopped reading again. This one not only hit home, but also destroyed it.

I have often prided myself on my ability to read Scripture, understand enough of it to apply it in a situation, and find a way to teach it. But this second story, coming so quickly after the first, reminds me how often I have to learn the same lesson numerous times. I used to shout at the disciples, “Why are you so dense? Didn’t you get it the first time?” Now I leave the disciples alone and ask myself the same questions.

So what are the lessons for me? (I don’t know about you. Go get your own lessons.).

1.      Jesus knows my limited resources.

2.      Jesus asks me to bring my resources to Him.

3.      Jesus blesses my resources beyond my comprehension.

4.      I may have to learn this lesson more than once.

Fortunately, there will come a day when Jesus will send me out to feed the hungry, heal the sick, teach new disciples and bring glory to His name. I only pray that I don’t have to learn this lesson too many times. I’m tired of being unemployed.