Disciples Help Others Follow Jesus
Pastor Caleb Womble

“For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.”
— 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 NLT

Who are the people in our lives that we truly imitate? I know that when I was younger my dad was my superman. There was nothing that my dad could not do and I constantly would watch every move that he made. I would study him because my greatest goal was to be like my dad. Still, to this day I call him all of the time to learn how to do stuff. I spent my childhood always bragging to my friends about how my dad played college football and how it was my goal to do the same. Although not at the same level, I did end up getting to follow in my dad’s foot steps and play college football. Little did I know that football wouldn’t be the only area that I would follow my dad’s example. I then began to work for the ministry and now I am getting to spread the Kingdom with him.

I say all of that to say — I wanted to imitate my dad to be the best that I could be. He was and is an amazing example of a person that worked hard to take care of his family and most importantly to serve God. I am completely humbled (well maybe not completely lol) because my dad taught me almost everything I know. He taught me by walking with me daily and allowing me to try, allowing me to succeed, and allowing me to fail. He was always there to rejoice with me and to correct me. I wish everyone had someone who was willing to pour into their life as well.

As a disciple, it is essential for us to help others to follow Jesus. We are all in this together, believe it or not. We truly are working together to find ways to reach even more people for God’s Kingdom. One of the greatest goals of a disciple should be to multiply His Kingdom. This ideal should always be our mindset and our goal. I ask our students all of the time, “Who have you talked to at school this week about Jesus?”. I challenge them every week to wake up in the morning and ask God to show them someone at school that they can reach. As we continue to grow as disciples we have to remember that we are not only looking to be poured into but that we are looking to find others that we can pour into as well.

The greatest way to continue to build God’s Army is to pour into the lives of those who are walking with us already. Some people just don’t know what to do to follow Jesus. They really have no clue what it means to be a disciple. One of the many things I love about The Seed Church is that we are given the resources, training, and tools to develop into what it truly means to be a disciple. If we have been a part of The Seed Church for some time now, we really have no excuse to not be out winning people to Christ. We have been taught and equipped with everything we need. 2022 is our year to go out with boldness and to not only win souls but to help disciple people. Many people really believe that it’s just checking an attendance box off for coming to church or helping occasionally with service projects. Most people do not understand that being a disciple can and should be a complete life change. Being a disciple does not mean that we are an occasional or carnal Christian but that we are called to go much deeper as a result of our relationship with Christ.

As we look into Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonica, we are watching as Paul is actually scolding them for being lazy Christians. He writes about the example that he laid out for them when he was in Thessalonica where he wanted to do everything possible to make sure others knew that being a disciple meant to imitate Jesus in every area for others to see. Unfortunately, the people of Thessalonica became stagnant and lazy. They wanted to receive payment for who they were and not because of their hard work. So, Paul does what Paul does best and spoke to them with authority and told them that they needed to get their act together and stop relying or waiting for Christ to return. They had an attitude of not wanting to put in any effort because Christ was coming soon. Sound familiar?

We are not supposed to sit back and live off of the lives of those that went before us. We are to set an example for others and urge each other on towards completion in Christ. We are to walk beside each other, hold each other accountable, and help others to draw strength in times of need. There is a a genuine need for true disciples in this generation. Otherwise, the church becomes more of a social club and less about multiplying the Kingdom.

MAKE DISCIPLES: Jesus was very adamant about what our calling needed to be in regards to being a disciple. He has called us to make more disciples. Remember in scripture when many asked to go and take care of their affairs or to go and bury their parents? Jesus simply replied, “let the dead bury the dead”. Jesus was not insensitive to their request but it was a test of their heart. A test of whether they could become a disciple, forsake all else, and follow Jesus.

”No one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” — Luke 9:62

Jesus was simply stating that we who have decided to commit our lives to God have repented from our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ and have committed to move forward. When we look back and take our eyes off of Jesus is when our lives can become crooked and our fields will not yield a full harvest. If our focus isn’t on Jesus then we will find ourselves struggling to grow deeper as a disciple and fail to produce.

When we look into this on a personal level, ask yourself these key questions:

Do I consider myself a disciple of Christ?
If yes, how am I growing in my walk daily with God?
Who has God placed in my path to walk beside and nurture to become a stronger disciple as well?
If no, do I need someone to walk beside me to help me become a stronger disciple so that I can begin to help others in their walk as well?

These are questions we need to ask ourselves daily, and we need to be honest with our answers. Who is leading you and who are you leading to be a stronger disciple for God?

— Pastor Caleb

For fasting information and devotional visit theseedchurch.com/2022