Radical Disciples – Wanted
The greatest want of the world is the want of men –men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle is to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.– {WM 300} So how do you and I measure up to that high Christian standard?
The greatest need of the world today is reflected in the almost total lack of radical disciples, when compared to the likes of those active at Pentecost of old, disciples who will turn this ole world upside down for Jesus Christ. Such a disciple is one who: loves Christ more than anyone else; loves God more than anything else; dies to self-daily; loves those in the church as Jesus does; lives their life in obedience according to the Word of God; has bumper crops of the Fruit of the Spirit in their life; and seeks to bring others to Jesus and Eternal Life.
Read Luke 14:26-27, 33; John 13:34-35; John 8:31; John 15:8, 16; John 4:35-38; Galatians 5:22-25; Matthew 28:19-20.
In other words, a genuine disciple of Christ is one who grows more and more into Christ’s likeness. Such a disciple is compelled by Christ’s love, and then draws others to Jesus Christ; as others see Jesus shining brightly out from within them; it is called life style witnessing.
Read Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 2:14-15; 2 Corinthians 5:11, 14-15.
So how do you become a radical disciple? It only happens by the power of God in the life of the believer. It’s His work that makes us such people. As we come to him just as we are, putting our trust in Jesus and his death alone, He washes us from all sin and justifies the ungodly. His Spirit makes us a new person, filling us with the very love of God and begins to transform our lives into the image of Jesus Christ. As we contemplate Christ’s life and continue to abide in him by walking in obedience to his will and word, we are changed more and more into his likeness. The world desperately needs such people. Why not decide right now to open your whole life to God, allowing Him to make you into a new and radical disciple?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 John 4:7; John 3:14-16; Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 15:4-5; John 15:9; John 10:4-5. End (adapted with thanks from Gary Webster’s writings)
I came across this the other day in a book, and it is so fitting for the time in which we live.
The Fellowship of the Unashamed By Dr. Bob Moorehead
In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:
“I’m part of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.
I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till he stops me and when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me because my banner will be clear.” End
So how is it with you and I? When are we going to step up to the plate and bat for Jesus, or are we just going to continue to hide out in the bleachers and bunkers? One hears often, “well that is what the pastor is here for, that is what I pay money to go towards.” The Gospel Commission say “Go Ye,” and not “Get somebody else to do it for you.” Matthew 10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 12:30 “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
We as Christian Believers are now being challenged to step up, to stand up, and to live up to the Christian way and thus to be counted as an active disciple of Jesus. Daily working for Jesus, gathering in the harvest of souls, confessing by words and lifestyle actions that we are of the fellowship of the unashamed, a radical disciple. I’m done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals; How about you?
