Your task: To train trainers
Becoming a believer means surrendering our minds, hearts and daily activities to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, allowing him to govern our lives. There is of course a moment in time when a person has had the gospel of the Kingdom of God presented to him and is making a decision to believe and follow the Lord - but the actual process of salvation is the journey that follows. That is why the apostle uses the continuous verb tense in Rom.10:10: We are to continue to “confess and confess and confess” that Jesus Christ is our Lord! When we constantly repent from sinful behaviour and make Jesus Christ Lord in all areas of our lives, we will eventually become mature believers in our walk with God!
“Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil.2:12-13).
Spiritual growth takes place as we are working out our salvation, allowing God to work in us to become willing to do his will, obeying his commands.
To make this clear to the one you are helping to grow is one of the most important things you can do for the new believer. If you faithfully pray for your disciple and give him the Word of God, prayerfully observing him, you will discover whether this person really has committed himself to the Lord and is a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Prayer, teaching the Word and watching is all you can do at this stage. Don’t presume that a person is a growing believer before you can see evidence of spiritual life and development in his life.
The apostle Paul says that faith comes by hearing the word of God proclaimed (Rom.10:17). The word of God creates faith that leads to action. Therefore John the Baptist told people that came to him wanting to be baptised after listening to his message:
“Bear fruit worthy of repentance!” (Matt.3:8).
Those who believe are entering a complete new life through feeling sorrow for sin and really repenting by turning away from the old way of life. This process of turning away from the old way of life includes the process of positively turning to God, learning to think a new way according to God’s truth, and taking on board a new system of values. In this process of change, faith develops, and people move towards their destiny in God.
Before any change can take place, there must be a desire for change. Your prayer, testimony, communication of the Word of God, and example, will create a desire for growth and development in the heart of your disciple. If you find that there is no desire for change, you need to pray intensely to God to give you the keys to help your disciple take new steps in his walk with the Lord.
The four books in the training course “Finding Your Place” can’t create a burning desire for change by themselves. If the new believer already has a desire for a change leading to a new life, the weeks the disciple studies and works with the teaching of these books, assisted by you, may turn out to be a time of spiritual growth and development. Otherwise it can just turn out to be an external exercise of reading and discussion where you are just going through the motions and as a result there will be few spiritual benefits. Your daily prayers and intercession for the person you are training are the most important factors determining progress!
If you sense that the disciple is half-hearted or indifferent to spiritual things, the best to do is to pray! Prayer is your most powerful weapon in the spiritual battle of bringing a new convert into the fullness of Christ. Prayer changes everything! Prayer releases the transforming love and power of God in people’s lives and in hopeless situations. In addition to prayer, sharing your own longing for God and his presence, as well as stories of what God has done for you, may ignite a longing for change in your disciple. A burning zeal and an intense longing for God are catching.
The aim of the teaching in “Finding Your Place” and your training is to help a new believer to break away completely from the old sinful life and to bring that person into a prosperous and fruitful life in God so that the new believer is able to disciple others. The word of God, prayer, and your own example are the tools you can/should use to reach your goal. When someone has a desire to be a disciple and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, you will be able to help that person to make great progress in their walk with God. Still you need to be aware of these simple things:
To finish “Finding Your Place” together with you doesn’t mean that the disciple is fully equipped! This course provides a great opportunity for the disciple to have a firm foundation laid for further development in their Christian life. There is much more to acquire! By finishing this course one has taken some important steps towards Christian maturity. But we will go on learning more for as long as we are disciples. The more we know our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we want to know!
Reading the daily portions in “Finding Your Place” is very important. But we need to bear in mind that reading the book is not the same as being fully committed to the Lord or following in the footsteps of Jesus. Reading the book will help, the counselling you may give is important, but only those who deny themselves daily, take up the cross, and follow Jesus Christ, are his disciples.
You need to have clear aims for your work with those you are training. The person you are training should:
- Have a hunger to get to know Jesus Christ better
- Change his lifestyle and acquire a new set of values to live a life governed by God
- Hear from God and do his will
- Learn to tell his/her salvation story and win people for Jesus Christ whom he/she can train to do the same
Don’t create a feeling of guilt or condemnation if your disciple doesn’t make the progress you desire. New and immature believers are often weak and unstable in the first phase of their walk with God, as a baby learning to walk is insecure and unstable when it takes the first steps. It is your task to strengthen your disciple in the decision he/she has already made to follow Jesus Christ. Be prepared for disappointments! Do not give up and do not allow yourself to become discouraged! Remember this exhortation:
“Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2
When your disciple has a longing for God, when there is a desire to know God more and more, when the disciple makes the values of the Kingdom of God his own, when he is learning to listen to the voice of God and is doing what He says, then the disciple enters a new phase. He is no longer simply moving towards God, but is encountering him. Now there will be visible signs of change and the disciple will make progress in honouring God in his life.
Faith does not only involve believing something to be true. Real faith shows itself in action. Faith motivates us into action as a natural outcome of our belief. Growing in faith means committing every area of my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. It means submitting myself to the Lordship of Christ by giving up control of my own life and releasing it to Christ by obeying his word and doing his will. At this stage faith means trusting Jesus Christ as Lord, believing that he is able to take care of me and to free me from all sin and the power of the enemy.
At this stage in the Christian life there is no room for compromise (When in the Christian life is there room for compromise?). Now is the time for a direct confrontation between the old and the new life, old and new allegiances. When we are confronted with things from our old way of life our loyalty to Jesus Christ is tested. When we look at ourselves and realise that we still have sinful thought patterns and behaviour, we must determine in our own heart that we don’t want that anymore, confronting the flesh, the world and the sin in our life. Repentance is not only an experience on entrance into the Christian life, it is the continuous foundation of our walk with God. It is the very lifestyle of the believer living in the grace of God. The true believer will daily deny him/herself by accepting the will of God and obediently follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
It is important that you don’t settle for communicating knowledge to the person you are training. You must never be content with informing the brain or mental faculties about the Christian life. Your mission is to help a disciple to experience everything that is explained in “Finding Your Place”.
What do you think?
How does spiritual growth happen?
What is the aim of the Christian instruction and training according to “Finding Your Place”?
In what ways have you been helping a new believer?
Continue to learn this entire paragraph by heart:
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.” (Mark 16:15-18)