discipleship

Discipleship Is About Spiritual Pursuit

February 13, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

When the time came for Elijah to leave this earth, Elisha chased him all the way from Gilgal to the Jordan River. He refused to let his mentor leave his sight. Elisha told Elijah: “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (2 Kings 2:9). Elisha knew he needed what his mentor had. He was passionate and determined. When heaven’s flaming chariots arrived, Elijah’s mantle fell on his disciple.

Many people today want spiritual power, but few are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to obtain it. You must humble yourself and admit you need the wisdom of those who have gone before you. Don’t become proud and think you can do this on your own. Be a learner. Study the Bible. Read spiritual books. Chase your mentors. Learn everything you can. And most of all, develop a prayer life and pursue the Holy Spirit. Ask Him for a double portion of His anointing in your life!

 

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Talk to God About Your Disciples!

January 9, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

One of the best ways to “grow” your disciples is through prayer. While they need you to talk to them about God, they also need you to talk to God about them! The apostle Paul selflessly invested his time in his disciples, teaching and training them, but he also spent much time on his knees interceding for them. Paul told his spiritual son Timothy: “I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3).

I keep photos of people I pray for on my iPad and I pray for them daily. Seeing their faces reminds me of how much I love them. Sometimes I spend more than an hour a day just praying for their needs. But I am also aware that prayer helps form a person into Christ’s image. I ask the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, answer specific requests and strengthen them with God’s grace and power. The prophet Samuel said: “Far be it from you that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam.12:23). If God has put disciples in your life, you have a parental responsibility to pray for them. Let God use you to nurture and shape them into powerful followers of Jesus!

 

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You Must Be a Fighter

January 5, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

I love Caleb in the Bible. He was a man of faith who fought for 45 years to take the land of Israel. And when he was 85, he could say: “I am still as strong today as I was in the day when Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in” (Joshua 14:11). Caleb was a fighter his entire life! He fought giants and drove them out of Israel.

God wants you to be a fighter—and to stay a fighter. Never allow the devil to knock “the fight” out of you! I have seen this happen to men and women of God as they got older. They became soft and lost their passion. They became distracted by material things or got tired of the difficulties of ministry. Or they made moral compromises that made them weak. Or they looked for easier paths instead of running to the next challenge. Keep your armor on at all times, stay full of the Holy Spirit, resist temptation and be aggressive as you take territory for God and make more disciples!

 

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You Need Resistance Training

January 5, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

I’m learning a lot about spiritual growth these days as I do my new fitness routine. I’m sure you know RESISTANCE is the only way to build muscle. Whether you do push-ups or weights, you must RESIST to stimulate muscle growth. The same is true spiritually. You must resist the pressure of temptation if you want to build spiritual muscle. James 4:7 says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Resisting makes you strong in the Spirit. But like a fitness program, muscle gain takes time.

If you are tempted in any area (say lust, for example), you have two choices. If you RESIST, you will grow stronger and develop character and purity. If you give in to temptation, you will stay flabby and weak. Which do you want? My prayer is that you will consistently resist the devil until you are a ripped, shredded warrior!

 

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True Discipleship Is Not About You!

January 5, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

In Luke 5:17-26 we read about some unidentified men who brought a paralyzed guy to Jesus. The crowd was so huge that the men climbed on the roof, tore away some tiles and let their friend down into the room where Jesus was. I love their faith! Their friend encountered Jesus and was healed because they were so determined.

When you are making disciples, you are like these four men. Notice that the Bible does not give us their names. They were happy to see their friend get his miracle. They didn’t need recognition. They were not the center of attention in this story. Jesus was. When you are mentoring someone, it is never about you. Don’t try to be the focus of your disciple’s attention, and don’t be jealous if your disciple has other mentors besides you. Your role is to serve. By your love, example and prayers, you are bringing your disciple to Jesus. Do everything you can to push them in front of Him—then step back and be content to be in the background. That is true discipleship.

 

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You Must Learn the Secret of Transparency

January 4, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

James 5:16 calls us to live an open life: “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you will be healed.” You must learn to be transparent, and be quick to repent when you stumble.

Transparency requires you to open your heart with your close friends, or with those who are mentoring you. Don’t allow secret sin to fester in your soul. Choose to live with accountability. Confess your sins quickly. Don’t hide your struggles. Allow God to heal the areas of your life you are ashamed of. Then you will become an effective discipler of others.

 

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You Need ‘Protein’ to Get Spiritually Strong

January 4, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

1 John 2:14 says: “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” If you want to make strong disciples, you must teach them to feed on God’s Word. Nobody can overcome sin or become a strong Christian without feeding regularly on Scripture.

If you want to build muscle you must go on a high-protein diet. If you want to grow spiritual muscle you must discipline yourself to eat the meat of the Word. Don’t just snack on spiritual junk food. Don’t just listen to occasional sermons. Teach your disciples to study daily, cut deep into the Word, find the choice meat and chew long on it. That’s how you become a strong man of God.

 

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Learn to Focus on ‘the Few’

January 4, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

When you minister, remember: Don’t be so fascinated by a crowd. The crowd is great, but probably your biggest assignment is mentoring the person or small group of disciples you brought with you. Invest in them, pray with them and let them see Jesus in you. They will learn from your example.

Be proactive about taking a disciple with you when you minister. Whether you are traveling to preach, going to pray at the hospital, doing an outreach or counseling someone. Jesus always performed His miracles in front of His disciples so they could see. Ministry is not about you! Look for opportunities to include others as you do the work of ministry.

 

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You Must Be Broken to Impact Others

January 4, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

When Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 in Mark 6:33-44, He did four things. 1) He took the bread and the fish, 2) He blessed the food, 3) He broke the food and 4) He gave the food to the multitude (see verse 41). This is how God works with us. He takes us, He blesses us, He breaks us and then He shares His life through us.

If you want to be used by God, you cannot skip the third step. We love to be blessed, but few of us want to be broken. But if you have not been broken you cannot reach your full potential. Your influence will be determined by how much you allow the brokenness of God in your life. God uses trials and difficulties to form your character. Embrace your trials and let God shape you. Submit to His dealings. In the end, your life will touch a multitude.

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Reset Your “GPS” for a New Year

January 2, 2018 Lee Grady Discipleship Tip From Lee

Each new year I do an exercise called “resetting my GPS.” This could help you!

*** “G” stands for “goals.” Setting goals helps you move forward. What do you want God to do through you in 2018? Write down your faith goals. Be specific.

*** “P” stands for “prophetic word.” I always ask God what He is saying to me for the next year. Sometimes He gives a Scripture; other times it’s a word or phrase. This year He gave me the word “ADVANCE,” with instructions to study Deuteronomy 8 and the book of Joshua.

*** “S” stands for “special prayer.” I set aside 1-3 days to saturate my year in prayer. I will unplug my phone and fast for a few days this week. I’ll make a list of specific needs, and then I will pray about all those items during my break. I hope you can reset your GPS for 2018!

 

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