Our Values – Discipleship

  Introduction Can we think of mentors in our life or guides who have helped us to become who we are today?

• Meaning of Discipleship

the condition or situation of being a disciple, a follower, or a student of some philosophy, especially a follower of Christ:The priest was known for his lifelong discipleship to St. Thomas Aquinas. the group of original followers of Christ in His lifetime:The key to Jesus’ discipleship was his personal trust in his disciples. There are many kind of mentors / disciplers who come into our life for different reasons. Physical guidance: Mentors/guides who help us with our health, i.e. to lose weight or gain weight. They will constantly be checking on us and we’ll also be accountable to them about our health. Mental / Emotional Guidance: Disciplers who help us stay calm, they guide us to be peaceful and lead to live a stress free life, or overcome certain kinds of mental disorder. Spiritual Mentors: Today we are going to talk about these mentors and discipleship with a spiritual context. We all need someone to guide us through difficult life journeys, they are the ones who have walked that path or people with Godly wisdom. Why Discipleship? It keeps us from pride. You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[a] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13-14 It keeps us from downfall. Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.  Genesis 11: 1 – 9 We tell ourselves; I can do it by myself. I don’t need anyone. Discipleship is a process from God to His people. He uses people who are spiritually sound and have built a stable relationship with Him to guide other naïve Christians towards God. Question: What if I had no mentors or I don’t believe in discipleship? We will be full of the following:

1. Pride
2. Fear
3. Ignorance
4. False Ideology

Judges 21: 25 is a classic example of this belief. ‘Everyone did as they saw fit’. The world is too complicated and demanding. If we follow our own ways, and do things the way we feel like then we will be confused by different voices. Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son listened to his worldly friends and not to the advice of his fathers advisors, causing the division between Judah and Israel. Man is made for discipleship. We need constant chiselling because our ultimate aim is to be like Christ. Because we are sinful and we have the root of sin within us, we can easily lose track. We need people to nudge us and build us, keep us on track. We need disciplers to keep us focused towards he ultimate goal of becoming like Christ. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8: 12 – 17 Some examples of Disciplers and disciples Jesus was constantly in touch with God and thereby, His disciples have consistently been discipled and taught by Him. Elijah and Elisha Moses and Joshua Naomi and Ruth Paul and Timothy The below picture explains clearly, how the process of discipleship looks like We need to constantly take the disciple to God and not make them dependent. The discipler cannot play the role of God but he directs the disciple to God. Peter being with Christ throughout those 3 years had to listen to a piece of mind from Paul regarding non Jew and Jew issue. 11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?             Galatians 2:11–14   So as a disciple, I need to embrace the following Characteristics

1. Vulnerable: Openness to share. I don’t need to pretend. The open we are about our issues; the more work can be done. If I try to hide it, and try to impress others, I’ll only be fooling myself and pretending to be self-righteous. The discipler, doesn’t have a magic wand but we work together and get victory over that weak area. Example, Addictions could be kept under control or totally sobered out with constant check, encouragement and motivation.
2. Teachable: If I don’t receive feedback positively, I am not a teachable person. I am too arrogant. It also shows that I am harbouring pride and self righteousness. It will lead me no where. Always look at the heart or thought behind that word or correction or encouragement. Our disciplers  have different ways of putting it across. It’s their personality – some could be soft, some loud, some serious, some jovial and so on. If we focus too much on what words they have used or the style or mannerism that they have said a certain thing then we will not change. The change will be temporary.

Be teachable, be trainable. No matter what age we are in, we need to keep our attitude and character in check. Don’t compare, don’t dwell on yourself too much “Why me?”. Our purpose and calling is different. The way a doctor is trained / taught is not the way a soldier is trained and taught. Each of them have a different role to play. Both save lives but through different mediums.

3. Be Available: Be approachable. Don’t react when an issue is touched. We have observed in many instances that whenever, an area is addressed which requires change, most of them would say ‘Yes’, but after few days, it’s long forgotten. Make time to call back. Don’t stay disconnected. Make an effort to call or pick the call. If we are busy, may be we can send a message, so on
4. Be committed to the truth: Justification of correction is a big issue. Justifying my areas of weakness, only makes it worse. I am actually hiding it / covering it. Just like the mirror always shows us our true self, then we change the look of improvise on it similarly, disciplers are like life mirrors. They will show us the right way and we need to be committed to hearing the truth.

Also, we need to see if there’s a certain area, that I have been constantly corrected by multiple people not related to each other, I need to change that behaviour. Neglecting it will make it worse / miserable. Now when we have the right attitude towards discipleship the process becomes easy.

• Selection of a Mentor, who will speak the truth in my life.
• Discuss an issue
• Listen to what they have to say
• Implement and take quick action
• Pray together

Sandra wife of Virjil .The Renewed Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that Renewed Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Karanjade, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.