Resurrection and the Need for Discipleship

[HKHaugan]

Needs take a personal turn when we are reminded that Jesus was resurrected with a purpose, to meet those needs, needs that are the result of being separated from Him. If we had not chosen to be separated from Him we would have no needs but Adam changed all that and we have inherited His nature, a needs nature. If we really analyze what we call needs we will find that every one of them is relational. So if our relationship with our Creator is restored then as our needs become apparent, we can turn to Him to have them met. Discipleship is basically letting Jesus into our personal needs so that we can be restored relationally to God and to others.

Discipleship is best described in John the Baptizer’s words, “He must become greater; I must become less (Jn.3:30 NIV).”

We need to understand we can’t fly under God’s radar. There is no way we can get around God. He is above us, below us, to the east and the west of us and surrounds us. God is God and we might as well get that straight. Any way we turn there He is. The more we try to go it on our own the more relentless He is in His pursuit of us. When you get to the bottom line God is the unchangeable personal reality that can’t change, won’t change and can’t be talked into changing. Yes, there were times when He did change His mind but that is not really change on His part as it is change on ours. It is consistent with His will, which is that all mankind should repent. When we say we are sorry for having gone against His unchangeable nature, part of which is to offer repentance, we discover it is us changing, our wanting to be like Him because we realize He made us to be like Him.

Three things happen when we repent. First, we come closer to God. Second, we come closer to ourselves. Third, we come closer to others. These are because when we give up all right to ourselves and return to God He shows us who we really are in Him and who and what we can become as He opens our hearts to others. He takes us out of our self-centeredness, our fears, our defensiveness and our sinful expectations. He moves us into something new, out from under the control of sin into a spiritual atmosphere where faith is every next step in every next moment.

So if there is change it has to come from us, from our minds, from our hearts and from our spirits. Discipleship is the process that enables us to become more like Him. Discipleship is what enables the Holy Spirit to bring the power of His Word as we allow our minds to think like Him. Discipleship is learning to be a disciple of Jesus, a conscious disciple experiencing spiritual growth in His presence.

Discipleship involves seeing Jesus in the totality of His earthly life as recorded in Scripture. It is hearing His call to follow Him (Mt.4:19), to learn from Him (Jn.13:15), to be like Him (Jn.20:21) and to bring others into His kingdom (Mt.4:19).

Discipleship is learning who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. He works on our minds and hearts. He brings the depth of Jesus, His words and His life, directly into our minds and hearts (Jn.16:14-15). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus was looking ahead at every succeeding generation as He prayed before His crucifixion,
“I'm praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me (Jn.17:20-23 The Message).”