Extreme or Normal Discipleship?
Jesus sent out His twelve disciples and told them the following:
“As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” ~Matthew 10:7-8 NASB
In western culture, we often think of Jesus description of discipleship as extreme because we do not witness these things in our culture. But is this list extreme? We hear of people in other countries being raised from the dead, but few of us have experienced these discipleship endeavors in our western culture.
Jesus said discipleship includes:
- Preach the kingdom of heaven
- Heal the sick
- Raise the dead
- Cleanse the lepers
- Cast out demons
- Freely give as you have freely received
As we ponder this Bible verse, the desire to renew our mind according to His Word increases.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.” ~Romans 12:1-2 WEB
Prayer
Lord, we ask You to keep us from deception and extreme fleshly living. We desire to offer ourselves as a “holy, acceptable, living sacrifice.” We choose to renew our minds with Your Word, and we make ourselves available to You for kingdom of God service.
May Your Words of life flow through our mouths in such a life-giving way that others know the kingdom of God is at hand. May Your Holy Spirit flow through us in such a way that those who are sick, crushed or oppressed are set free.
Thank you that according to Your Word, this is not extreme, but normal discipleship. Lord, You say, ‘If the son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Set us free, Lord!
We pray for our faith to increase and for freedom from the spirit of fear and unbelief. Let us be known as people of extreme love. May the testimony of Your life touching people and setting them free be manifest in our lives as it is in heaven, in Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
Recommendations:
The Powerful Testimony of Jesus Christ – Strength with Dignity
He Can Perform Powerfully in You until Complete – Strength with Dignity
References:
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB 1995), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway
Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is extreme.
22 thoughts on “Powerful Discipleship is not Extreme but Normal”
Maybe we could raise the dead
as Christ said we should believe
if we just took our daily bread
and gave thus as we receive,
but it seems we fear sore lack,
that things won’t always go our way,
and so we hold a little back,
saving for a rainy day.
And maybe that’s the reason why
the dead still rest beneath the ground,
for we cannot look in the eye
of the God that we have found
and follow Him from first to last
without a look into our past.
Yes, Andrew, if we received from God, then freely shared it with others, the world would be a better place.
I love the boldness you encourage here! That was a fresh Word for me today! Thank you! It’s so important to keep the fire burning as we make disciples in ongoing ways!
May the Lord help us burn bright for Him, Stacey!
Thank you for encouraging us to follow Jesus’s example more closely!
Just stopped by from FMF#14
May the Lord strengthen us, Heather!
“Let us be known as people of extreme love.” Amen! Thank you for sharing this.
Yes, I pray we are known as a people of extreme love!
Yes, may God’s words flow through our mouths in life giving ways! Your post is an encouragement for this time.
Carol, we need His Words of life in today’s world!
I can work on the first and last in the list :). I often wonder if we don’t hear of people doing those other things in the US is because we are too complacent and Laodocian in our attitudes about God’s power.
I think fear plays a huge role in it, Anita. Fear of what other people will think, fear of God not showing up and leaving us on the line looking foolish, fear that He will show up and overwhelm us. I think when love is greater than fear, it changes the dynamics.
Yes, I think for the connected believer the desire is to walk as Jesus walked, but I wonder if maybe we in the church translate “heal the sick” as get to a doctor. Thereby missing the the full intent of the Lord’s heart in the matter.
Yes, we do desire to love and know God, then share His love with others, thereby making Him known.
Thank you for the encouragement, Lisa! True discipleship is so lacking in our culture, I believe Jesus wants us to be boldly discipling others!
I agree, Donna. May He fill us afresh with His Holy Spirit and love. And may His love flow through us to those around us.
True Discipleship has been missing in the church for a while now. May the Holy Spirit help us. Thanks for sharing
May the Lord help us, His People, Ufuoma to follow after Him with a whole heart.
I know I often forget about the glorious gift of freedom that I have. Thank you for this reminder to revel in the freedom that Christ gives me.
He has given us so much freedom, Lisa!
This powerful post reminds me that most people who go to church and who say they read the Bible, really don’t read it. There is so much in it that the normal supposed Christian doesn’t even talk about. You can’t pick and choose. If you believe any of it then you have to believe all of it. Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 90. Shared.
His Word is so powerful, Dee!