We would like you to take a closer look at the result we get when we follow Jesus Christ faithfully – it involves discipleship.

=> Like the scribes and John the Baptist, Jesus too had “scholars” who submitted to His authority and followed Him everywhere.

Jesus however expects of His followers an unconditional discipleship which far exceeds traditional dimensions. The disciple of Jesus must be willing to leave everything behind for the beginning rulership of God (see Luke 9:57-62; Luke 14:25-27).

 

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

 

25 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple.

27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

 

 

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

In the book of Acts the church is often described as “disciples”, where nowadays we would say “Christians”; this labeling given to the disciples of Jesus by their environment initially carried a rather deprecatory tone, “Christians” (see Acts 11:26) (translation of a part excerpt from the CD-ROM Luther Bible Edition).

 

… 26 and when he (note: Barnabas) found him (note: Saul), he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

 

True disciples of Jesus are scholars/students who continue to learn, grow and search for knowledge of their callings and goals (citation from Rick Joyner). <=

 

 

When we follow Christ whose name means “the anointed one”, we enter into His anointed footsteps, so that our feet too will turn into anointed feet. This results in a spirit-filled life. Discipleship implicates a spirit-filled understanding of the word of God, which enables us to share the words of Jesus Christ, who is our king, with our fellow men.

 

This call bears comparison to the blessing of Asher, the son of Jacob, and the correspondent tribe of Israel (see Genesis 49:20; Deuteronomy 33:24 i.c.w. Matthew 7:28-29; Luke 2:47).

 

20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

 

24 About Asher he said: “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil.

25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.

 

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

 

47 Everyone who heard him (Jesus) was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

 

 

When we really and truly follow Jesus Christ, we also increase in supernatural power and make clear decisions in accordance to His word, and our “yes” and “no” will have impact (see Isaiah 40:31 i.c.w. Matthew 5:37; James 5:12).

 

… 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

 

12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

 

This pure i.e. clear act of will of a disciple can be likened to an entrance, which is opened for the good and closed for the evil (see Deuteronomy 33:25).

 

25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.

 

 

It is our faithful discipleship that contributes to the fulfillment of the promises of God in our lives.

This can be seen in the prophet Jeremiah's statement, as he prophesied the following word of God:

 

„ … and if it (note: my people) does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. “ Jeremiah 18:10

 

 

Faithful discipleship does not consist of merely doing ones duty, but having true fellowship with God the Father.

God is a loving Father and it is His greatest wish to have the same fellowship with us as He had with Adam. The Heavenly Father created Adam to express His love towards him, so that Adam could reciprocate; in the same way, the Heavenly Father still longs for our fellowship.

For this reason our faithful discipleship should not derive from a sense of duty, but from intimate fellowship with the Father, which is based on love for Him (see 1 John 4:19).

 

19 We love because he first loved us.

 

 

To implement true discipleship, we need to understand that God called us into existence as “spirit-being” first.

Essentially, we are not humans living in a human body with a soul (note: will, emotions and mind), but we are “spirit”.

If we are created in the image of God and God is spirit, then we are also spirit, as true fellowship with God the Heavenly Father and adoration for Him in love is only possible in the spirit (see Genesis 1:26-27 i.c.w. John 4:23-24).

 

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

 

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.

24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

 

 

This principle (note: the spirit-being exists before the natural human form) can be seen clearly on the basis of Adam's creation. The Heavenly Father first created the spirit-man „Adam“ and afterwards his body, because God later breathed the already existing breath “Adam” (see Genesis 1:26-27) into Adam's body, as we can read in Genesis 2:6-7.

 

… 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 

We are not first and foremost human beings, who have souls and live in human bodies; rather we are primarily spiritual beings, who have souls and reside in human bodies.

As humans we have indeed become human beings on this earth by our parents. But when we were born again in spirit, we were born from a seed which is not corrupt.

This means from the day, we were born again we carry a holy seed in us, the devil has no legal right to touch (see 1 John 5:18)!

 

18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.

 

 

During our faithful discipleship as believers we occasionally encounter inner or personal conflicts, because our souls have to undergo divine reorganization (note: this applies to every person), so our spirit-man can begin to change our souls and place our bodies in a different position, as everything going on inside of us is mirrored by our bodies.

 

 

As disciples of Jesus we should be aware that God's kingdom is already present.

 

This kingdom takes us into the kingdom of Heaven which exists outside of us. In short, it is God's kingdom inside of us which transfers us into the kingdom of Heaven. It is the kingdom of God in us that takes us to another position or place to sit and reign, where He is (see Colossians 3:1-3).

 

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

 

This means the kingdom of God in us in the “here and now” places us directly in the kingdom of Heaven. Once we understand this truth in our hearts, Jesus Christ will be seen more clearly through our lives! (note: based on a revelatory teaching by Ian Clayton from the book „Realms of the Kingdom“ Volume I)

 

 

True i.e. spirit-filled discipleship is like the work of a bee which collects pollen meant for its owner and beneficial for the bee itself.

Likewise everything a disciple of Jesus Christ does, is intended for his Heavenly Father and not for personal gain.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm