Believer or Disciple?

NEHEMIAH WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL

Are you content with merely receiving God’s blessings, or are you making a conscious decision to follow Christ, regardless of the cost?
Does your love for God manifest as active obedience to His specific commands?
Will you commit to hearing from the Master daily, so that He may speak and reveal Himself through you?

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Believer or Disciple?

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. And He promised that as we demonstrate our love for Him by obeying Him, He would be with us always.

The term “disciple” as used in the verses above is derived from the Greek word mathetes, which means a pupil of a teacher, or an apprentice to a master craftsman.

There is a vast difference between simply believing in Jesus and receiving the free gift of salvation, and making a conscious decision to forsake all to follow him – that is, becoming a disciple. If you are a leader, you cannot be satisfied with being a believer – you must become a surrendered, committed disciple.

Jesus said that those who loved Him would obey Him (“If you love Me, (you will) keep my commandments”) (John 14:15); and that if we did obey His commands, He would call us His friends (^“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you”) (John 15:14).

It is this love for God that leads to obedience to His commands and marks a key difference between a believer and a disciple. A believer will passively receive the blessing of God, but a disciple will actively obey God, actively pursue His Presence, desire to do His will more than anything else, and willingly pay the cost of doing so. Isaiah 50:4-5 expounds this principle.

[The Servant of God says] The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens Me morning by morning; He wakens My ear to hear as a disciple [as one who is taught]. The Lord God has opened My ear, and I have not been rebellious or turned backward. – Isaiah 50:4-5 [AMP]

The word “disciple” used here means one who is taught by the Master. And whereas Verse 4 describes the consistent and intimate process of regularly hearing from God, Verse 5 outlines the much more difficult and challenging task of “obeying”.  

But in the Gospel of John, Jesus gave us the key to His supernatural fruitfulness – and He said that we would be even more fruitful than He was!

You see – Jesus didn’t do anything unless He saw His Father doing it, and He only spoke the things that He heard His Father saying. 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what  He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does …” – John 5:19-20

“I do nothing of Myself; but as My Fathertaught Me, I speak these things.” – John 8:28 (see also John 12:49-50; John 14:10)

In other words, Jesus is saying that His Father speaks to Him so that He can speak through Him, and His Father reveals Himself to Him, so that He can be revealed through Him.

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” – John 14:9

And Jesus says, you will do the same … and even greater things:-

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works …”– John 14:12

It can and should be the same for us as it was for Jesus – His word says so! 

Jesus will speak to us so that He can speak through us, and Jesus will reveal Himself to us so that He can be revealed through us. This is how His will can be done here on earth, just as it is in Heaven.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” – Matthew 6:10

As Christ’s ambassadors and spokespersons, this simple principle of “to” and “through” is absolutely key if we are to represent Jesus Christ faithfully and with integrity to the world. Especially in the times in which we are living, we must become supernatural believers who walk in the fullness of God.

Which way will you choose? Will you passively receive or actively obey? Will you desire His presence, His will, and His way above all else, and willingly pay the price of doing so? If your answer is “yes”, then you are on the way to becoming one of the ”greater things Christians” of John 14:12.

Let’s Pray. Lord, grant me the tongue and ear of a disciple to hear Your voice, and grant me the courage to not only hear, but also to obey. Help me move beyond passive belief toward active obedience. Speak to me and through me, and reveal Yourself to me and through me, so that I may faithfully represent Your Kingdom and perform greater works as per John 14:12, and all for Your glory. In Your Name, Jesus, we pray, Amen.

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