Ray

I’m a ardent believer in discipleship. It can take on many forms, but the overarching premise is teaching and/or training someone so they can learn and later repeat the process with others. Sometimes the discipling is intentional — like when someone comes to you with the purpose of learning specific skills and knowledge. Karate is good for this illustration.

For several years I trained in American Kenpo Karate. I was a student or disciple of my instructor who has a wealth of knowledge in the martial art. He is very advanced in the art of Kenpo (a sixth degree black belt) and demonstrated incredible skill along with the ability to pass on the knowledge. Many are skilled, but teaching is a special ability, too. He is uncommonly skilled at both teaching and the martial art.

I willingly placed myself under his tutelage to learn karate from him. Week after week I would learn, train, and then, many months later, test for higher ranking belt. It was never the amount of time you showed up that earned your next belt, but the proof you learned the material and could apply it successfully without hesitation. You start out as a white belt, but the end goal is to have a black belt around your waist. Any good black belt will say you need the same hunger for knowledge as you did when you were a “lowly” white belt. If you ever had the mindset that you knew everything, someone would inevitably come along and show you otherwise.

Discipleship used to be very common decades ago when people would become an apprentice. If there was a job or occupation that interested them they would find someone who would take them on as an unpaid or maybe an entry-level employee to learn the trade while they worked. Electricians, plumbers, and carpentry are areas that come to mind right away. Many tradesman learned from a father, uncle, or grandfather much the same way. Family businesses are often taught, learned, and passed down from generation to generation.

There are times the discipleship happens without you realizing your doing it. You’re just living your life, helping those around you, and the whole time they’re watching how you do things. Parenting is a perfect example. You’re not just keeping the child alive (one would hope), but you’re training them as well. They learn to speak by listening to you and repeating what they hear. They learn it’s important to brush their teeth and hair. They learn people appreciate it when they bathe frequently. They learn how to dress themselves and how to treat people. They learn social skills and to be polite. And it’s not as if you have a set list of “to do’s” when raising kids, it just happens as you live life in front of them.

The very same could be said about our Christian walk. There’s the innate knowledge that comes with a new heart – God’s law is written upon it when He puts the new heart in us upon conversion.

Hebrews 10:16
¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” (NKJV)

But there are a couple of biblical directives given by the Lord. Jesus was very clear in His great commission (or command) to believers. The command wasn’t just for the believers two thousand years ago, but for us as well.

Matthew 28:18-20
¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (NKJV)

Here we see the direction to go and make disciples. We’re to teach the Lord’s commands without concern. How could you be concerned if He is with us? But it is a command and not one just for the initial disciples, but for all disciples who follow. They were His disciples and now He’s commanding them to go and make disciples. The instruction is specific — teaching all that Jesus taught them. They learned from their Master and, in turn, taught the Master’s lessons to their disciples. Far down the road of making disciples is where we currently are.

Think of it, believers of today are here because John, James, Peter, Paul, and the rest, obeyed the command or instruction of Jesus and made disciples! They taught someone who taught someone who taught someone. Two thousand years of teaching and it continues. It will continue, too, until His return.

Maybe you’re thinking, “You mentioned a couple of biblical directives, but you’ve only given the one – ‘Go and make disciples’ along with the explanation of what that means. What’s the other?” I’m glad you asked.

Before you can become a teacher, you must be taught and be teachable. How can you teach something you don’t know anything about? Yes, He writes His law on our hearts, but there is a reason for the instruction to teach (and to learn) the commands and ways of the Lord. A preacher doesn’t just get up and preach their own words, but should be preaching God’s word soundly. Which means they’ve been taught. Whether schooling or experiential or both, it should align with doctrine.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV)

And another …

Titus 2:1
¹ But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: (NKJV)

And another …

2 Timothy 2:15
¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)

There are so many verses in the old and new testament I could use. Two more that flow with this thought process:

Romans 10:17
¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)

Romans 15:4
⁴ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (NKJV)

The command of Jesus was not new, but rather a restating what all of the old testament taught: Seek the Lord, learn from Him, follow Him, teach others what you’ve learned. In a word: discipleship.

So the two commands from the Lord:

1. Be taught (and you have to be teachable for that to happen)
2. Teach others

Nowhere will you see these as optional occupations. Sure you may not be a pastor or a Sunday school teacher, or a professor at a Christian college, but if you are one of His disciples the command is clear: GO and make disciples. That call is for who place their trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives.

By now you’ve likely forgotten what the title of this post is or if you remembered you may be wondering why this odd title. Well, it’s a personal story of discipleship that I’ve told before, but there is a new wrinkle I recently uncovered.

When I was fourteen there was a young man that lived across the street. He was in his early 20s and I was still fairly new to Texas (being a New York state transplant due to my parents decision to teach me how to say “y’all” and “fixin”). I didn’t fit in well and this man, a follower of Jesus, decided to do a bible study for any of the neighborhood kids that would show up. The book was ‘How to Say ‘NO’ to a Stubborn Habit’, by Dr Erwin Lutzer. The study had lots of great information and many scriptural references. Discussions always turned to the Lord.

One night, in the middle of summer, the Lord was calling me — we say we found the Lord, but truth is He found me — and I slipped from my bed to my knees. “Jesus, I don’t know how to do this, but Ray (the young man doing the bible study) said if I asked You into my heart, You would change my life forever. So I’m asking.”

I cherish that event. It still brings tears to me even now. God has been so, so good to me and all because a young man did a bible study for a bunch of teens. God knew exactly what His plans were when He orchestrated my parents move from a country town in western New York to the metropolis of Dallas/Ft Worth. He placed us across the street from this young man fresh out of the Navy who was going to bible college. And the wrinkle in the story?

I recently spoke with Ray and told him what all the Lord has been doing in the 40+ years since that night I gave my life to the Lord. I asked him what prompted the bible study. I expected some super saintly mission the Lord gave him in the midst of some 40 day fast. Nope. It was a bible college homework assignment. Imagine that — God used a school lesson given to my neighbor Ray in order to reach me. And in turn I’ve been able to reach numbers of people over the years and those have reached countless numbers over the years.

Discipleship works just like that. You often don’t realize the impact you have simply by walking through your life and doing what you do. One more related story, if you’ll indulge me one more moment.

There is a youth pastor named Arion. He has discipled many for the Lord. He gave his heart to the Lord because my son, Richie, shared his testimony and then discipled Arion. Richie gave his heart to the Lord because of my teaching him about the Lord. All those teens who’s lives have been forever changed because of Arion’s faithfulness to the Lord can all be traced back to Ray — a neighborhood friend who was simply doing a bible study as a school assignment. But God knew.

That’s how discipleship works.