Disciples and the Congo
By Rodney Kirkpatrick
November 5, 2009
Praying for the DRC
Leading up to a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Lord showed me a vision that was to be the primary message brought on the trip. In the vision there was a bowl whose contents included people of the DRC covered by a liquid that was suffocating them. It was clear immediately that the people were being oppressed and couldn't get free. Then some of the people began drilling holes in the bowl and the liquid was drained off the people and they were able to function without hindrance.
It was not difficult to understand the part about oppression as political despotism, economic exploitation, and civil war are all part of the recent experience in this country. However, I was greatly surprised at the impression I got concerning the meaning of the individuals who were drilling the holes that removed the oppression. As I prayed about this part, I expected the Lord to answer that it represented a new company of young "Billy Graham like" spiritual superstars who would set the captives free in Congo. Rather, I was impressed that the picture represented very normal Christian men and women making disciples of others.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
The command of Jesus to those who follow Him is clear: make disciples of all the nations. In order to begin accomplishing this we must first understand the nature of what Jesus calls a disciple and the process that a person goes through to become one.
Disciple vs. Convert
To begin with it is important to distinguish between a disciple and a new Christian Believer or what we will call a "convert." When someone has a faith experience in which they ask Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of their life, they are "converted" and their sins are forgiven. This is the initial step in the Christian experience, but it is a mistake with profound consequences to believe that such a decision alone constitutes a person walking as a disciple described in Matthew 28.
The Greek root word that the word disciple is translated from literally means to "become a pupil." The disciple is one who not only has made an initial commitment to Christ but whose life practice is to learn and grow in a personal relationship with Jesus. Too often in the Church today the act of conversion is mistaken for the process of becoming a disciple. Someone whose Christian development stops after the point of conversion misses out on much of the "abundant life" Jesus died to give us (see John 10:10). Furthermore, a Church which consists primarily of converts rather than disciples isn't empowered to exert the influence(see Matt 5:14-16) God has given it!
Four Principals
Here are several keys we see in the pattern of how Jesus made disciples:
Not compromising The Truth
Discipleship is not simply learning a list of truths, it is the processes of continually connecting to the person who is The Truth. We are His disciples when we are guided by Christ's desires and no one else's. Proverbs 29:25 (NASB) warns us,
25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.
The "fear of man" can apply to many different areas of a disciple's life. There can be overt attempts at intimidation like the disciples in scripture who were threatened by "man" to stop working for the interests of Christ (see Acts 4:19-21 or Acts 5:28-29). Also there are the more subtle influences of well intentioned, fleshly exhortations of friends and family. Jesus reminds us of this in Mark 10:29-30 and Luke 8:19-21 when He says a key test to living out His purpose is being willing to part from family and their wishes when His purposes contradict their desires!
Personal Time with Individuals
Matthew 16:13-17 (NASB) illustrates another key principal in the discipleship process:
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."
15 He said* to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
Pay attention here not only to the specific revelation that comes forth, but especially the context in which it happens. Remember Jesus had a public preaching/teaching ministry that it is safe to say yielded maximum results. In spite of this fact, the Gospel records are full of personal, interactive times between Jesus and His disciples. If Jesus couldn't disciple without personal time spent with those He was working with, neither can anyone who is walking out this mandate. One of the primary departures from a biblical model of discipleship is the exclusion of relational time due to time constraints and other factors.
Modeling Dependence on Him
Because we must get to the place of continually learning from Jesus, those making disciples had better always be pointing those they are working with to Him. John 15:4-5 (NASB) says,
4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me."
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
One of the most challenging things about the discipleship relationship is to be careful not to allow someone being discipled to become dependant on the person they are learning from. While there will almost certainly be a significant amount of counsel given, the person doing the discipling must stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit as to when not provide an answer but encourage the disciple to hear God for themselves on the subject in question.
Demonstration
Whatever we teach will only be effectively imparted to someone else if it is modeled in our lives. This is true for either an issue of character or the actual practice of a spiritual gift. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (NASB) tells us,
1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
To often today there is no emphasis on the practice of the truth we are learning and teaching. Jesus never taught on the things of God without demonstrating their validity through the living of His own life and the practice of His ministry. If we will make the demonstration of truth a consistent part of the discipleship process, the words we speak will have infinitely more practical impact with those being discipled.
A vision concerning Japan
While presenting some of the principals to leaders in the DRC, the Lord interrupted the sermon and showed me something concerning the power of discipleship. He showed me individuals from small villages in the DRC who have gone through a true, biblical discipleship process being sent to Japan and helping to turn that nation around for the Lord.
Consider that while the nation of Japan is one of the most educated, affluent nations on the earth today, it is beset with tremendous spiritual darkness. The population of the country is less than one percent Christian and it is known as the "missionary's graveyard" for the largely failed attempt (up to this point) to introduce the gospel into the society. They also have a very high suicide rate among their young people compared to the rest of the world.
Given this vision and the earlier one concerning the nation of the DRC, the question then becomes: How could simple villagers coming from profound natural poverty be effective in piercing such darkness? The answer lies in the fact that being used of the Lord is based on connection with Him and not your natural background.
Mark 16:16-18 (NASB) gives another description of the disciples that Jesus trained and released to train others,
16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
17 "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Every Christian is called to be a disciple and make disciples of others. When the Church returns to this basic mandate, the world will see the "signs" that testify that it is Christ alone who will overcome all darkness.