Rod Culbertson - The Disciple Investing Life: Helping Others Grow in Their Relationship with Christ

The Disciple Investing Life

Helping Others Grow in Their Relationship with Christ

Rod Culbertson

I f I have convinced you thus far that you can not only be a disciple of Christ (which you are, if you know him personally), but that you can actually assist another believer (or believers) in his/her Christian growth, then we need to talk about a few basic requirements or qualifications necessary for the task. What are the attributes of a person who wishes to invest in anothers Christian growth and progress? The reality is that the qualities that are fundamental to helping others grow in their walks with Jesus are the same qualities that the early disciples demonstrated while they followed Jesus during his pilgrimage here on earth.

A Walk with Christ

The first qualificationand one that might appear obviousis that the disciple investor must be a person who is walking with Jesus daily through life. That is to say, the disciple investor must know Christ personally, not simply by mere profession of faith, but in an active and vibrant relationship in which Christ is very real and present to the follower. Is this you? Are you looking to Jesus each day in order to listen to him, respond to, and follow him with your whole heart? Granted, there are always failures and lapses in our efforts to walk with Christ, and sin can enter in as well, but are you moving forward? Are you repenting of your nagging, persistent sins? Are you looking to Jesus for his help and presence, and do you sense his nearness even when you sometimes feel far from him? Is Jesus both your Lord and friend in your personal walk through life? What does this mean? Some decades ago in 1971 , when I was a teenager, a musical known as Godspell hit Broadway. (I admit, I never saw itI heard that Jesus was portrayed as a clown.) Overnight it became a sensation, possibly promoted by the catchy theme song written by Stephen Schwartz and sung by someone by the name of Robin Lamont. The song hit the billboards in 1973 and became a popular public chorus, sung and hummed by many in the West (America and Europe) who heard it. The song was entitled Day by Day and known for its simple and easily memorized lyrics:

Day by day, day by day, oh, dear Lord, three things I pray To see thee more clearly Love thee more dearly Follow thee more nearly, day by day Day by day, day by day Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray...

Interestingly, the story behind this song is that the captivating chorus drew its three line refrain from a prayer ascribed to the thirteenth-century English bishop Saint Richard of Chichester (possibly on his deathbed). Although history is unclear whether Bishop Richard actually composed the rhyming refrain (the words were translated from Latin into English and probably embellished by the translator), the Godspell rendition certainly provided a basic description of a vital walk with God. To see the Lord more clearly addresses the need of the believer to hear, read, study, and meditate upon Gods holy Word, the Bible, as the source in which he reveals himself. To see in this sense clearly focuses on the intellectual or knowledge domain of the heart. To love thee more dearly describes a deep desire to know the Lord intimately, with personal emotion and passion for his being, and focuses on the affective domain of the heart. Lastly, To follow thee more nearly ascribes a willingness (flowing from a heart of love) to obey and submit to the revealed will of Goda focus on the volitional domain of the heart. So my question to you, as a potential disciple investor is, Are you walking with God? Are you seeking him through his inspired Word, the Bible? Do you have a loving attachment to and desire for the personal God who made you? Are you seeking, wholeheartedlydespite your failuresto follow and obey him as you grow in understanding his revealed will? If so, he not only can use you but I believe he will use you as you seek to minister to others.

A Flowing Fountain

Part of this growing walk with God involves learning to depend upon and trust in the Lord to provide the life of your daily journey. Christ is the source of all that you do for him. In John , Jesus says the following,

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The person whom God uses to do the ministry of disciple investing grasps the great reality that it is the power of the indwelling God, through the Holy Spirit, who brings success or results to any venture on his behalf. Gaining ones life from the vine means always looking to him for strength, sustenance, and provision. We can do nothing without him, and yet with him, we can change the world one person at a time. But were not changing anyone he is doing it through us, as we depend on him. And he gets the glory that is due only to his name. The late, great nineteenth-century evangelist of Chicago, D.L. Moody, once said, The only way to keep a broken vessel full is to keep the fountain flowing. I love that quote! It is liberating. We admittedly come to the Lord as broken vessels, broken by our sins, failures, inadequacies, deficiencies, and inabilities. But the branch is attached to the Vine! There is life. The broken vessel, filled with cracks small and large, can still hold waterat least some or enough to be usefulas long as the fountain (or the spigot, as is often used in our modern context) is pouring out water. The vine provides life to the often dangling branch. The fountain provides the life-giving sustenance of water to the broken vessel. And the spirit of Jesus uses the finite, failing believer, who trusts in him to do his work through him. Is the fountain flowing in your broken life?

Faith that God will Work

If you are walking each day with God and learning to depend upon him for the fruit that he produces, it would seem logical to expect God to use you. Again, in John :, Jesus says, If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit... He subsequently says in verses , If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. God promises to use you! You can bear fruit in Jesuss kingdom! One aspect of the life of faith for the Christian is to trust God to work through your life, your words, your speaking, your teaching, your counsel, your comforting of others, and even through your silent presence in times of need, trial, or even joy and blessing. You serve the Lord, even taking risks or stepping out of your comfort zone, trusting that he will act. I was a campus minister at the University of Florida, serving with a ministry known as Reformed University Ministry (RUF today). While I was there, the RUF founder, the Reverend Mr. Mark Lowrey, would constantly remind us campus ministers of this one truth: God is at work! Many of the campus ministers in those early days of RUF worked on difficult campuses or had struggling ministries. Mark knew that every six months or so, when we had staff training (and there were usually less than ten of us), we needed encouragement to keep plugging away at our ministries, and to do so by faith . God is at work! In John :, we read, But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working. God the Father and God the Son are always working in this world. You can count on it! And the foundation of faith lies in both prayer and Scripture, to provide stronger faith for the seeking believer. So, labor, befriend, invest, contribute, listen, and counsel others who need you, and do so by faith. God will show up because he is always working and will bring himself glory by blessing your persistent efforts on his behalf!