Discipleship Point
Matthew 4:19 NIV 1984
Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
~ Jesus
Pulled from Putman and Harrington’s DiscipleShift book, the following definition of a disciple is drawn from Matthew 4:19 above and broken into three parts: It is a great reminder that we give in relationship to Jesus, that we give from a heart being changed and prioritized by Jesus, and that we give as part of the mission of Jesus.
Head: Jesus’ Invitation into Relationship with Him
Come follow Me: To “follow” Jesus means to know Him and come under His authority and direction. We call Him Savior and Lord; As Savior, He delivers us from sin, death, and the devil; as Lord, He has ownership of our lives, and we are to submit to His leadership, denying ourselves to do so (Luke 9:23).
Heart: Being Changed by Jesus
And I will make you: Using His Word, Spirit, and Body (other believers), Jesus’ brings change into the lives of His disciples. The result will be altered attitudes and shifting priorities. This happens as you spend time in relationship with Jesus in prayer, meditation, bible study, and with His people in small group, worship, and fellowship.
Hands: Joining Jesus on His Mission: Fishers of men
In response to Jesus’ call, we are to join on his mission to the world – fishing for men, or as Jesus says in Luke, “to seek and save what was lost” (19:10). We are committed to His agenda in life even above our own, serving at His pleasure with whatever time, talents and resources He puts at our disposal.
Discipleship Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to give with a compassionate and generous heart that appreciates all You have done for me. Continue to re-prioritize my heart as You see fit, and open my eyes to the harvest fields around me so that I can effectively join You in Your mission.
Micro-Meditation Scripture
Psalm 95:1-11
- Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. - Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song. - For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods. - In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. - The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. - Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; - for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice, - “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, - where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did. - For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, they area people whose hearts go astray,
they have not known my ways - So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’
Micro-Meditation
Teaching or Command of God
Hebrews 4:14
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 4:9-10
[There remains] a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Micro-Meditation Pondering Point
This Psalm’s warning is revisited and reapplied in the New Testament with a call to see that true rest comes from God through Jesus (see Hebrews 3:7-4:13).
Hebrews 3:7-4:13
Warning Against Unbelief
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.