Nov 18, 2016
1 Cor 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” I am learning what it is like to be part of the body of Christ and it all started when I began my journey in the Discipleship Program of Gospel for Asia. Though it has been challenging at times I am finding it to be worth the growing pains, with that I will begin to tell how this came to be.
Imagine with me if you can…
Being rudely awakened by an alarm going off at 5 am across the room, knowing it’s not your own, you are somewhat annoyed. Then having the person hit snooze who knows how many times or not even hearing the alarm at all; but now you’re awake when you wanted to sleep till 5:55 am, which would have given you enough time to grab your bible and run up the stairs in time for family devotions at 6:00 am. But now you’re wide awake because she didn’t turn it off herself, what will you do? Be upset or extend grace and take the opportunity to spend more time with the Lord? You lie there thinking: If this is how the first few days are, what will it be like for eleven months and will you be able to handle it??
After a few months of getting to know each other and living together you start to realize just how blessed you are and how much you have grown in your character, your walk with the Lord, love for each other and how God has used each lovely lady to shape your life.
Though it may have been a scary thought at first to think of living with six other ladies it has turned out to be a growing experience, filled with both joys and sorrows. Who would have known that living in close quarters with people who were strangers at first could have become sisters and friends? These precious sisters have helped me to become more like Christ by their lives and examples of love and grace.
By living in a community setting I am learning what it is like to love, forgive, and extend grace. There are many opportunities to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, like it says in Heb 10. Daily we can learn more about God, each other and ourselves and what it is like to be the bride of Christ in one body with many different parts. I am truly grateful to be part of Gospel For Asia’s Discipleship Program. I have seen how the staff lives out what we have learned in our books and messages; they have shown me what it is like to be a unified body of Christ as each one fulfills their role in Christ. Col 3:12-15 has taken on new meaning as I’ve seen it lived out and I’ve been able to be part of it too.
Written by a Discipleship Program Student
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Oct 21, 2016
On August 16th 1812, after only one day of bombardment and a mere seven casualties, General William Hull the commander of the American forces in fort Detroit surrendered his command to a British force of approximately half the size of his. With the greater size of his force, he should have been able to win the battle. Why did He give up so easily?
Prior to the bombardment, Sir Isaac Brock, the British General, through several ruses caused General Hull to believe that the British force was significantly larger than his own. As General Hull focused on the perceived size of the enemy and the barbarities that he believed the Native allies of the British were capable of, he was destroyed by fear. Because of the fear in his heart, he gave up with almost no fight.
Lately, as I have been perusing my social media accounts, I have been noticing that people are worried about the Moslems doing this, the government doing that, and churches compromising Christ all over the place. As the reports are pulled together in the news feed, I have the tendency to believe the problems are greater than they are.
This isn’t limited to social media, when we get together with our friends how often do we discuss that the world seems to be taking over and Christian influence and freedoms seem to be diminishing? This is focusing on the enemy and his work. When we do so, we run the risk of being paralysed by fear as General Hull was. When we are focusing on what Satan is doing, we may miss what God is doing. In the past month or so, God has opened my eyes to what He is doing just in my own circle of friends.
Through the course of the year, we in the Discipleship Program, have an opportunity to go home for a week of holidays. I recently returned from my said week. While I was home, I was greatly encouraged by what I heard and saw God doing. On the day I returned home, a young lady from my Church was leaving Canada to serve God as a nurse overseas with BIC Canada Global. The first Sunday that I was home, I was talking with a young man from my college and careers group and learned that he was going through NTMC’s training. I had the opportunity to meet with my pastor and during the course of the conversation he shared with me a bit about what is happening in the Church. During the year and a half plus, that I have been part of the Discipleship Program, God brought a family into the Church who then went on to Bible College. I never had the opportunity to meet them, however it is quite encouraging to know how God is moving among those at home. He also shared how the Church has begun to focus on revival. Because of this focus, a member of the congregation suggested that they start a prayer meeting and currently about a sixth of the Church is meeting once a week for prayer.
Take a moment to think about those around you, how is God moving among the people around you? Then think if God is doing all this just among those we know, what is He doing in the areas we don’t know about? When we hear about discouraging things and our world seems to be falling in around us, we have a choice. We can either focus on what Satan and his servants are doing and be overcome by fear, or we can look to God and realise that there are more with us than the enemy and in Him we triumph. In the battle for Detroit, General Hull could’ve won if he had have been taken in by a bluff. We are more than conquerors in Christ, let us purpose not to be taken in by Satan’s bluff.
—School of Discipleship student
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Aug 19, 2016
God has angels, why does he not use them for His work instead of man?
In Pastor Damian Kyle’s message “The Fall of a Great Man” from the series “The Making of a Psalmist” he asks this question and also answers it.
Damian Kyle is focusing on the time in David’s life where he falls into sin with Bathsheba. Now there isn’t any way we as humans can be perfect. Sin will always find a way to express itself but Damian Kyle said that when we are occupied with doing the Lord’s work, we are less likely to fall into sin. That would be one of the reasons why we are chosen to do God’s work.
Even when we do fall into sin, He gives us the victory in trials. He picks us up and tells us to try again. Being in God’s will, might be hard but being outside of His will, would be even harder. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10. We are God’s masterpiece, Christ has restored us to Himself and we are now holy and blameless in His sight. “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without fault.” Colossians 1:22
This brought a new question into my mind; why wouldn’t God use us for His work? Without the perfection of Christ I am nothing. Because I am incapable of living a perfect life I need the application of the righteousness of Christ.
When Christ came to die, His joy was set before Him and that joy was me. In His eyes, we are nothing less than perfect. “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil – the commander of the world of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised from the dead.” Ephesians 2:1-2, 4-5a
—School of Discipleship student
School of Discipleship CA
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Jul 15, 2016
Glorious Redemption!!
The Son of God is hanging on a cross, suffering unimaginably but not just from physical pain but from the weight of the sin of the whole world, my sin included! He has the choice to call ten thousand legions of Angels to His rescue but He stays, He submits to the will of His Father to redeem mankind from their sin. He knows He is their only hope, and so He willingly gives up His life on the cross. All creation trembles and the sky grows dark, it acknowledges what has taken place.
It was here at the cross when Jesus died that redemption was made possible for us. Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace.” (NKJV)
I have known the truth of this for almost my whole life, having grown up in a Christian home, but only recently has it actually changed my life. I have been a Christian for a couple of years now; I gave my life to Christ at a revival meeting one night when I was 18. The joy of being forgiven of my sins was amazing! I was on fire for God; unfortunately it didn’t last very long… I didn’t know what I had done wrong and I started doubting my salvation. I had many doubts and had no victory in my Christian life, I felt confused and alone. I lived this way for many years and eventually I began searching Scripture and started believing the promises of God about how He has called us and will complete the work He has started in our lives. I didn’t have complete victory over this until recently.
We had a speaker come and teach our class a couple of weeks ago and his topic was not about redemption but while teaching he mentioned briefly what redemption means and how it impacted his life and I was just struck by this truth and it has stayed with me ever since. He said that when we come to the cross in repentance and salvation we exchange our lives for the Righteousness of Christ, so that when God looks at us He does not see us in our sinful flesh but He sees Christ’s Righteousness in us. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (ESV)
This verse was not foreign to me, I just never really fully grasped it’s meaning but it makes so much sense now and it has really encouraged me and helped me be victorious in my life! Through Redemption Christ lives in me, by understanding this truth I now can fully surrender my life to Christ and trust Him to work in me and make me more like Him; I don’t have to try and overcome my sins and failures on my own.
1 Corinthians 1:30 “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” (NLT)
—School of Discipleship student
School of Discipleship CA
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Apr 12, 2016
O what fullness of life, to trust and obey the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Having studied the book “Touching Godliness“ by K.P. Yohannan, I have learned much about submission to authority, and how submission and obedience is the secret to an intimate relationship with God and with my fellow creation. It amazes me that submission to authority and obedience to the commands of that authority are the principles on which all invisible and visible things exist and are sustained. If GOD were not holding all things in order as the ABSOLUTE authority, this world would be absolute chaos. I’m sure I would have been annihilated a long time ago by a falling star, if God were not in control and holding all things in order with absolute perfection!
Unfortunately, my natural sinful arrogant nature wants to do everything but submit and obey to God and others. I realize this is my overruling problem; that as long as I want to live my own way doing what I think is best I will never truly come to know and live the life that God desires me to live — one of freedom and peace and joy! The amazing thing is that we can live an intimate life with God with only one condition: that we die to ourselves. Hebrews 5:8 says that “Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered”. I guess that means we “must suffer” if we are ever going to come to a place of obedience. This is most certainly true but the amazing thing, is that what is already “wretched and rotten” is that which will suffer and die so that we can be raised anew to truly live a godly life! This is a most amazing exchange and oh so worth it. Learning to Trust and Obey Him, is to KNOW HIM and this is all we need!
—School of Discipleship student
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