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The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 3 March 2023 – Requirement For Effective Discipleship
TOPIC: Requirement For Effective Discipleship
READ: Mark 3:14-35 (KJV)
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he MIGHT send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
THE MESSAGE:
Discipleship is the only method used by God to recruit, equip, build up the Body of Christ for the Ministry. It is a call to be with the Lord. Mark.3:14 says”… That they should continue to be with Him that He night send them out.” Hence it is compulsory for disciples to CONTINUALLY be with the Lord Jesus. This is more than attending programs or having a daily time for prayer and the word each day. It also includes constant communication with Him all day long to receive directions for daily activities.
The Ministry includes preaching, healing, casting out demons. Being with Him continually makes one fit for this work. The purpose of this “being with Him” is to get you conformed/moulded into His likeness(Rom.8:29). When His life is infused into yours, you receive capacity to do the work as He would have it done. Are you at the Lord’s disposal, or, are you busy doing ministerial works without being with Him? Being with Him is more important than doing the work for He owns the work, knows the method and timing for perfect effectiveness. So forget working for Jesus if you dislike spending your entire life with Him. The real brothers and sisters of Jesus are those who do His will which is to be with Him before being sent out to do His work.
PRAYER: Take my life and let it be Yours, oh Lord! Open my eyes to see the need for discipleship and help me to be forever yoked with You.
