Discipleship A Key to Kingdom Expansion

Imagine Jesus inviting four fishermen to follow Him and then He tells them I will make you fishers of men. They decide to do it and their lives change forever. What He told them came true. They used a different net this time to throw out. It was what He taught and trained them to become and do. He taught of a kingdom that they could not deny. He demonstrated this kingdom before their very eyes. They discovered they wanted to become like Him. Expanding God’s kingdom became their priority. They will produce fruit just as He said they would. Their lives will never be the same. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:8 (NLT) Believers in Jesus Christ bear His image. Jesus Christ sent from God gave Himself the permanent sacrifice so man can experience fellowship and relationship with God and advance His kingdom on the earth. When Jesus Christ the Son of God was on the earth, He chose twelve men who would become His followers. Before He chose them, the Bible tells us Jesus prayed all night to His Father, God. As His followers, they would become a different class of men. They would be the first apostles chosen by Him. (See Luke 6:12-18) He would reveal to them the kingdom of His Father and demonstrate before them what this kingdom was like. Luke wrote, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:1-3) He began this spiritual process of discipleship with them. Jesus said He did nothing of Himself. In relationship with His Father, everything He said and did was what His Father taught Him for His mission on the earth. Although being a disciple of someone was not a new concept, the difference with following Jesus is it brings us into supernatural power that comes from God. (See John 1:35-40, 8:28-30, 18:33-38) As believers and followers of Christ, we come into the work of expanding God’s kingdom through relationship with Him. Why do discipleship? Its importance lies in the way that Jesus revealed what discipleship is and how it works with those who are in a relationship with the true and living God. (See Genesis 2:7, 19, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Thessalonians1:9) “The Kingdom is relational.” He would spend the next three to three and half years being the example He desired them to follow and do. Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew, casting their nets for a catch; they were fishermen. His Father’s purpose was running through His mind. Finally, He was walking as a man on the earth He created. He would walk with those who would become His disciples. He spoke as He did at the beginning of all things. (See Colossians 1:12-18, Hebrews 1:2-3) He wasted no time for the times required urgency. He knew He had a short time to teach and train the men He chose. He had to leave His Father’s purpose in the hands of those He called to continue the work His Father began.(John 4:34-35) Then He said to them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Then He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John, mending their nets, “He called them, and immediately they left the boat...and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:19, 22) Jesus began the process of discipleship with them in those few moments; those moments in time that He needed them. He related it to the work they already knew. They had learned everything they needed to know about the fishing business and were experts. Now He would teach them how to catch men and women. He would teach and model before them how to live from a kingdom perspective. How God works is the same for us today. In writing this study, I was able to see, how much more I needed to grow spiritually and for the image of Christ to form in me. He speaks to us today saying, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations...teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”. Matt.28:19-20 (KJV) Knowing who we are and maturing in Christ will influence our lifestyle. This is what discipleship involves. Jesus fulfilled His Father’s purpose showing His consistency in what He taught and did. He knew who He was. He lived among them. He learned to obey His Father in discipling them. He was full of His Father’s love. He proved His commitment to serve in His Father’s will in love. (See John 14:10-11) We need to do the same. Jesus Christ is our example for discipleship.