Marks of Jesus’ Disciples

Here are William’s Personal Applications for Message 9: Marks of Jesus’ Disciples

There are 3 exciting Experiences in our journey of growth as Christ’s disciples. To grow in the Lord, we need to grow in our conviction and commitment in following Christ. Christ’s example of dying on the cross has always been teaching us to die to ourselves; brokenness and submission are key traits in our growth as Christ’s disciples. It is also a natural process in our spiritual growth to experience the Lord empowering us and use us to achieve great things for Him. We will also see fruitfulness in our lives because of God’s blessings.

1. Conviction & Commitment
It is essential to have the absolute certainty that God has called us into the ministry, and to have the correct motivation for going into the ministry. Why? Because it would be impossible to develop something supernaturally while having a natural attitude and motivation. Serving the Lord requires great conviction from the heart as the challenges that one faces in the ministry is very great. If we serve in the ministry with motives from our flesh, we are bound to be disappointed and get disillusion over time. The only way we can persevere in the Lord and never give up in the midst of our struggles is to fix our eyes on Jesus and be certain of our calling in the Lord. We need to realize that it is God who have called us and serve Him with all our heart to fulfill what we are called to do. God chose you from among the millions of humans dwelling here on planet earth. You were selected by Him to continue His work. Knowing this should cause us to have a profound commitment with Him. With the Conviction of our hearts, then we can be fully committed to our Calling in the ministry. There is great power in those who are fully committed in what they set out to do. Conviction and Commitment are 2 Key Marks of being Disciples of Jesus Christ. Disciples who are not committed to the Lord’s calling will not be worthy to be His Disciples.

2. Brokenness & Submission
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24). Brokenness is the most powerful protection mechanism a believer can have when facing the adversities of life. In the ministry, we will face many challenges that will attack our confidence. We may experience many setbacks to failures and we would felt accused of being not good
enough. The best way of overcoming the adversities of life is brokenness. It is only when we die to our own pride and realized that apart from God, we can do nothing, will we be able to overcome all the disappointments in life. Those who are a spiritual authority must understand that our authority over others is not an imposition, but a position of managing others as we present ourselves as examples in everything. It is through a lifestyle of humility and submission that we can win others to follow our example of being
disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submission is a key in growth of us as disciples. True disciples are people who are able to submit themselves to the lordship of their disciple makers. Those who follow the Lord need to follow Jesus’ directions wholeheartedly as how Jesus fully submitted to the Heavenly Father’s will. To grow in submission is to grow to be like Christ.

3. Anointing & Fruitfulness
This is when you experience the presence of God in your life continuously. It is reflected in the way you speak, in the way you teach, in what you pray, in what you understand and in the people you lead… God gives us the anointing to carry out His work effectively. Experiencing God’s anointing is a great experience because it is great to know God can use us. When we see what the Lord achieve through our hands, when we see lives and families being transformed and restored as a result of what God prompts us to do, we
will marvel on the greatness and goodness of God. One of the advantages of the Vision is that everybody can develop their potential to its fullest, and it is reflected in fruitfulness. I know that there is no greater joy a person can have other than the feeling of usefulness in the work of the Lord…. So be faithful to God’s calling; He has His eyes fixed on you. He will bless you because He is your heavenly who loves you and gave Himself up for you.

Conclusion
It is a privilege and a responsibility to be called by God to leadership. Place your life in God’s hands and you will see fruit in abundance from your ministry.

Source of the above message: Message 9
(Taken from the book by Cesar Castellanos D, 52 Teachings for the G12 Meetings)
Teaching 9: A Leader called by God
The words below are extracts from Pastor Cesar’s book itself…

When speaking of leadership, it is important to understand what the “calling” is. It needs to be understood in order to develop a leadership of excellence…. Although Jesus could have poured out His life onto the multitudes, He didn’t. He preferred to work skillfully, shaping the character of twelve people who were completely different from each other… Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is an essential requirement in order to hear God’s calling and understand it….. Fulfilling God’s call requires the following:

1. Conviction
It is essential to have the absolute certainty that God has called us into the ministry, and to have the correct motivation for going into the ministry. Why? Because it would be impossible to develop something supernaturally while having a natural attitude and motivation. Besides, we know that whomever God calls, He will also equip in all things.

2. Commitment
God chose you from among the millions of humans dwelling here on planet earth. You were selected by Him to continue His work. Knowing this should cause us to have a profound commitment with Him. God could have chosen someone else, but He preferred to choose you. Now go and do God’s work without fear!

3. Brokenness
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Brokenness is the most powerful protection mechanism a believer can have when facing the adversities of life.

4. Anointing
This is when you experience the presence of God in your life continuously. It is reflected in the way you speak, in the way you teach, in what you pray, in what you understand and in the people you lead… God gives us the anointing to carry out His work effectively.

5. Submission
Those who are a spiritual authority must understand that our authority over others is not an imposition, but a position of managing others as we present ourselves as examples in everything.

6. Fruitfulness
One of the advantages of the Vision is that everybody can develop their potential to its fullest, and it is reflected in fruitfulness. I know that there is no greater joy a person can have other than the feeling of usefulness in the work of the Lord…. Be faithful to God’s calling; He has His eyes fixed on you.

Conclusion
It is a privilege and a responsibility to be called by God to leadership. Place your life in God’s hands and you will see fruit in abundance from your ministry.

May you have a fruitful and blessed week ahead!
Ps William