Navigating God’s Call to More – His Method for Our Making

In Process for Planning, we discovered that God does not have an x-step plan for guaranteed success. His plans for His children are dynamic, and unpredictable. There are two ways to learn this.

The first way to respond to God’s dynamic nature in planning is to resist, self-manage and control. My experience tells me that He allows us to pursue this approach; knowing, one day, that we will get tired, look up, and realize we are not making much progress.

The second response is to trust and follow. As we recognized in our last article on this subject, Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you…”. That is what we are here for: To be made fit for God’s call to more. As so, we come to the matter of our transformation.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2Corinthians 3:18

You can find a number of articles on this subject by searching for “transform” on the inLight Adventure blog site. It is my favorite topic. Metamorphoo is my favorite Greek word!

For now, let me highlight a few key points, regarding Jesus’ method for our making, which will help you cooperate in the work.

Navigating God’s Call to More – The Plan is to Follow

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday. Psalm 37:5-6

One of the tricks our mind tries to play on us is the interpretation of Scripture to meet its preferences, and prejudices. This is perfectly normal… for the carnal mind.

But, we have the mind of Christ. We are empowered and responsible to think differently.

Consider Psalm 37:5-6. My carnal mind would prefer “commit your way to the LORD” to mean, “Here is my plan God, please bless it.” My carnal mind will pursue this line of thinking, hidden away in my subconscious. To avoid this deception, I must be diligent in my suspicion of the way my mind is thinking.

Jesus came to help us with that. His expression of Psalm 37:5-6 is “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It is important to note that Jesus made them disciple makers. That’s a lesson for another time. The point here is that God’s planning process is a following and making process.

Let me be clear: Failing to follow Jesus will result in the failure of God’s plan for you. Refusing to be made is a refusal of His plan.

Why has Making Disciples Become so Hard?

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ requires that one obey His command to make disciples. It is the commission He gave to everyone that would follow Him. If you do not currently understand, believe and commit yourself to obey this command, you should stop here and go search out this matter for yourself.

Those that have committed themselves to the Great Commission must realize that Jesus intends to use us as vessels and instruments, to make disciples to Himself. They are not our disciples. They may be “following us”, but that must only be true because we are following Him. When they look at us, it must be to behold Him as in a mirror.

Furthermore – and this is critical – we are not making disciples unless those we are discipling are also making disciples. This is a place we often get stuck; and a matter to which we should be giving more thought. For example, how do we know that they are making disciples if we only talk at them once a week?

You may need to stop here and consider the meaning of this for your ministry. That’s okay; you can come back later.

Now, to answer the question: Why is disciple making so hard? Or, put another way: What can we do to get our people involved again in the Great Commission?

Practical Steps for Counting the Cost

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Luke 14:28-31

Counting the cost of following Jesus Christ has been lost by most of the church. If you have not been encouraged in this regard – or you have not been encouraging others – you will be blessed in reading our most recent lesson: The Lost Foundations – Counting the Cost… First.

Once you decide to count the cost (and/or encourage others to do the same), the following may help you get started.

1. I have found that the most profitable starting point is a simple conversation with our Heavenly Father (imagine that). Here are some good conversation starters:
   1. Father God, stir up the desire you have placed in my heart – to hear your voice regarding the cost of following your Son.
   2. Father God, stir up the desire you have placed in my heart – to invest in Your kingdom.
   3. Father God, give me the opportunity to begin the investment strategy Your Spirit reveals.
2. Keep in mind that a person’s perception of reality can be bent in one of two ways: Toward optimism, or pessimism. Both can be dangerous; pessimism, more so. Be wary of your mind’s leanings.
3. Counting the cost may reveal areas where we are still reigning – in charge of our investment decisions. There is a fine line between what we would like to have, and what we demand, to be satisfied in life. If God and Christ are truly reigning, then everything we have been entrusted with is subject to their investment decisions. Repentance regarding ownership may be in order.
4. Counting the cost may reveal areas where we are living in fear. Ask yourself: What do I fear losing? Remember, behind every fear is a lie, deal with the lie and the fear will fly. Ask God to identify the lie, and the truth that will overcome it. 
5. NOTE: Beyond this point, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in determining which of these helps will best exercise your faith.
6. One way to test your counting is to consider a past commitment. For example, you may have promised Jesus that you would follow Him anywhere. Or, you may have commitment some amount of time to serve those less fortunate. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the commitments you have already made.
7. If you have not made a particular commitment, then allow the Holy Spirit to prompt your imagination for a particular kingdom investment opportunity. Be careful; our minds are tricky things. They have a tendency take what the Holy Spirit suggests out to something entirely farfetched; something to which we can easily say “no way”.
8. Jesus did not hide, nor soft pedal, the investment required to follow Him. The lesson mentioned above highlights a number of specific costs. The Parable of the Sheep and Goats, the Sermon on the Mount and the Great Commission are also helpful challenges for our counting. Incorporate those in your time with the Holy Spirit (in #2).
9. Our love of the LORD should be the primary motivator for counting the cost (and paying it). Ask yourself: Do I love Him so much that I would joyfully sacrifice my __________?

I trust and pray this will help you become a more active investor in the kingdom of our LORD. Please, let me know if I can help you further.

Humbly yours and forever His,