I Love to See Discipleship

Daily writing prompt

What was the last live performance you saw?

A disciple-developing church is much more powerful than an audience-attracting church. Yet, disciple-developing churches are extremely rare. Too many Christians want self-gratification more than they want Christ’s inner transformation. (Romans 12:2)

A discipleship church produces Spirit-led Christ-followers not mere service attendees. Discipleship church is about training and releasing people to listen to and obey God the Holy Spirit. It refuses to make people be a passive audience.

There is no discipleship without the self-discipline and humility to listen to and obey God the Holy Spirit, day and night. It does no good to listen to a sermon if you won’t apply the biblical aspects of that sermon to your daily life. (James 1:22)

Beyond the subjectivity of your desires and emotions, and the rationality of your mind, there is a wisdom that comes directly from the inner objectivity of God the Holy Spirit. To learn to be led by the Spirit’s wisdom is true life! That’s discipleship.

Disciples:

Love one another. (1 Peter 4:8)
Hunger and thirst for righteousness. (Matthew 5:6)
Are doers of the word, not hearers only. (James 1:22)
Seek first the kingdom (inner government) of God. (Matthew 6:33)
Bring their every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Teach and admonish one another. (Colossians 3:16)
Deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. (Luke 9:23)
Rejoice in the Lord always. (Philippians 4:4)
Serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
Are led by the Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Overflow with the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Forgive one another. (Colossians 3:13)
Flow with the gifts of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:8-ll)
Humble themselves. (James 4:10)
Encourage one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Quench not the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
Are witnesses. (Acts 1:8)
Consider others better than themselves. (Philippians 2:3)
Are givers. (Luke 6:38)
Bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)
Are persecuted. (Matthew 5:10-12)
Love their enemies. (Matthew 5:44)
Bless those who curse them. (Luke 6:28)
Pray for those who despitefully use them. (Luke 6:28)
Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
Confess their sins to one another. (James 5:16)
Aren’t conformed to the world. (Romans 12:2)
Resist the devil. (James 4:7)

About Steve Simms

I like to look and think outside the box. In college I encountered Jesus Christ and I have been passionate about trying to get to know Him better ever since. My wife and I long to see the power and passion of the first Christ-followers come to life in our time. I have written a book about our experiences in non-traditional church, called, "Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible--Ekklesia." If you need encouragement, search for: Elephants Encouraging The Room and/or check out my Amazon author page. Thank you!

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