Will you accept the challenge to “Become a more Intentional Disciple”?
If someone asked you what Jesus commanded his disciples to obey what would you tell them? Perhaps you’d think of the Commandments to “Love God” and to “Love your neighbour as yourself”? These are both outward facing - you to God and you to others. But Jesus also wants to change you on the inside, by His Holy Spirit, and gave His disciples commands about this too. It is all too easy to (conveniently) forget about these, because they might challenge us about our obedience and how we live our lives!
In his book, “The Cost of Discipleship” Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is alway Christianity without Christ”
TWO BOOKS TO HELP DISCIPLES BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS.
In the final verses of his Gospel, Matthew records what Jesus said to His disciples at the end of Jesus's ministry on earth. In Matthew 28:18-20 it says:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)
The global Church has not done the best job in discharging Jesus’s "Great Commission":
Yes, we have gone.
Yes, we have made converts/Christians, and many have become Jesus's disciples.
Yes, we have also baptised a huge number of them.
But, no, we have definitely not systematically taught them to obey all that Jesus commanded.
Although down the ages many have studied and analysed the scriptures, it is not easy to find out exactly what Jesus commanded His disciples to do, in a way that can be readily remembered. Over eighty specific commands of Jesus are set out in these materials and one way to help us memorise these is to summarise them into a small set of themes.
People may label themselves as Christian without a true understanding of what commands a genuine disciple of Jesus should be actively living out. Being a follower of Jesus is not only about trying to put these teachings into practice, but also about having a Christ-like heart and attitude. Wanting to implement Jesus’s commands in our lives should be a response that flows naturally from our salvation. Likewise, striving for consistency between our inner perspectives and our outward actions, i.e., being authentic in terms of what we say and do.
That many Christians do not follow the teachings of Jesus as much as they should is where our collective witness falls down. As a consequence, the term Christian has become devalued at the very least.
It is important for us to understand what Jesus taught so that we can apply it. Only then can we begin to help other believers become better disciples too. How could we do this?
“TEACH THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT I [JESUS] HAVE COMMANDED YOU.”
This call to action implies the question: what exactly did Jesus command us so that we can subsequently do as he directs and teach others to obey those commands? Unfortunately, there is no place where a follower of Jesus can go to simply read and understand all Jesus's commands - so that the most important messages from His teaching can be easily remembered and put into practice. Until now!
Here, all of Jesus’s commands in the New Testament have been identified, grouped, and summarised within three high level and nine lower-level themes - to help us remember them and put them into practice. Importantly they are NOT about LEGALISM - they draw our attention to Jesus’s teaching in a structured way, so that we can be assisted by the Holy Spirit to live our lives more like Jesus wants.
Two books have been created to help address the weakness of us (the church) failing to teach Jesus’s followers to obey what he want us to put into practice under the overall title of Teach Them To Obey:
All That I Have Commanded You, a reference source for pastors and teachers.
Studies for Disciples, an in-depth consideration of the themes of Jesus's teaching.
The All That I Have Commanded You book presents a unique and comprehensive analysis of all the commands of Jesus, grouped and summarised into a simple-to-remember form of three high-level and nine lower-level themes. It is for leaders to create their own Intentional Discipleship teaching programme, anyone with an interest in Jesus’s teaching, and disciplers of followers of Jesus.
The Studies for Disciples book presents fourteen thought-provoking sessions on Jesus’s commands, drawing upon the above analysis and taking it to a more challenging level as each theme is explored in detail. These studies are for followers of Jesus who want to become (and teach others to be) more intentional in living out their Christian life biblically and practically in a chaotic 21st century world.
Will you let Him take you to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him (Jesus) in the power of the Holy Spirit - so that you can truly become the person God created you to be?
