Inspiration for Disciple Making

10 Reasons why disciple making should be your priority

Do you know any employee who only works when he feels like it? If you do, they are usually in between jobs 😀!

I have not met a disciple of Jesus (Christian) who thinks that there is no need to make disciples for Jesus!

What I see or observe regularly are believers who take disciple making as something you do when you have the time!

I also meet a lot of believers who say that it should be a priority, and they truly want to do it but they do not know how to do it with ease and with a busy schedule.

If you are in this group then you are the one that this website is designed for!

It is because of you that I was led to start the BiVo Partnership so that we can work together as a community of believers from different professions and I can show you the tips that I have learnt over the years about how to practice the lifestyle of disciple making!

Here are 10 reasons why disciple making should become your priority! This list is in no particular order.

It fills you with joy to see people transformed by Jesus.
You share in the joy of heaven that a lost child is found (Luke 15:7).
You experience a deeper sense of fulfillment because your Heavenly Father is glorified (John 15:8).
Your faith is strengthened because you experience another result of obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:18-20).
You sense that you are playing your role as a disciple of Jesus and it gives you confidence in other aspects of your life.
You develop more boldness to pray for people in need because you have more confidence that God is with you.
Your relationships get better because you are always expecting God to move through you to love people around you!
Your relationship with your family and especially your spouse is strengthened because you start working together for a higher purpose.
You pray more and become more attentive to the Holy Spirit and it affects your decision making even in business and finances.
You become a better and stronger leader because you will be working to encourage others to make disciples!

Let’s get to it right now! Seek first the Kingdom of God… (Matt 6:33).

If you want to work with other professionals (Engineers, doctors, profs, business owners, nurses) to strengthen your disciple making then become a BiVo Partner today. Click on the link.

https://adesobanjo.com/partner/

Excuses!

We make excuses for almost everything! Success or progress comes when we stop making excuses and start finding solutions.

We read this story today at our family devotion.

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:57-62‬ ‭ESV‬‬

What are my excuses for not making disciples? What are yours?

Disciple Making is like raising kids for success!

Our first son is almost as tall as me. I’m happy to see that! I’m happy that he is developing well physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I expect that he and his brother will find their wives and start their own families. Everything we do now to train them is to get them ready to succeed at building their own families.

That is how disciples are also! Disciples should make disciples that make disciples.

Churches should plant churches that plant other churches!

We should get worried when disciples are not making disciples and churches are not planting churches!

Are you making disciples?

Steadfast Hope?

Hope is what keeps us going when things look as if they are not working!

When Hope is lost all is lost.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Hope in our Lord Jesus is spiritual hope. It is not just waiting for something that may or may not happen?

Hope in our Lord Jesus is knowing that our future and the project of disciple making is secured!

It is hope because it is in the future not because there is no assurance!

Steadfastness of hope is what the Holy Spirit gives us! He communes with us and works in us so that we continue to be sure of a secured future both on earth and in eternity!

Today as you read this dear disciple of Jesus, let the Holy Spirit in you help you to rejoice in the truth that with Jesus, you are safe. With Jesus as our leader disciples will be made and millions of people who are created by God will find rest in God through Jesus Christ!

When we listen to the news, one would be tempted to lose hope. People are really suffering and people are hurting one another!

But when we look at Jesus, and we know we can pray and love those who are around us and share with them in a DBS, then there is hope!

God can use a simple prayer when the heart is right!

In the move of God that was experienced in Wales in 1904, God used a simple prayer to do a big work.

If someone prays that God should send the Holy Spirit today we would all agree that the Holy Spirit is already here and that the prayer needs to be modified.

But God knows the heart! He doesn’t only consider the words. I believe the Lord will eventually correct us when we use the wrong words but we don’t need to worry too much about words when we really want the glory of God with all our spirit soul and body.

Here is what happened in the first week of the move of God in Wales!

The first week of revival under Evan Roberts culminated in a powerful Sunday evening service. Here is Roberts’ description of the events.
By midnight the whole congregation was “overwhelmed with tears…Then the people came down from the gallery, and sat close to one another. ‘Now,’ said I, ‘we must believe that the Spirit will come; not think He will come; not hope He will come; but firmly believe that He will come.’
Then I read the promises of God, and pointed out how definite they were. (Remember, I am doing all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and praise be to him.)
After this, the Spirit said that everyone was to pray. Pray now, not confess, not sing, not give experience, but pray and believe, and wait. And this is the prayer, ‘Send the Spirit now, for Jesus Christ’s sake.’ “The people were sitting, and only closed their eyes. The prayer began with me.
Then it went from seat to seat—boys and girls—young men and maidens. Some asking in silence, some aloud, some coldly, some with warmth, some formally, some in tears, some with difficulty, some adding to it, boys and girls, strong voices, then tender voices.
Oh, wonderful! I never thought of such an effect. I felt the place beginning to be filled, and before the prayer had gone half way through the chapel, I could hear some brother weeping, sobbing, and saying, ‘Oh, dear! dear! well! well!’ ‘Oh, dear! dear!’ On went the prayer, the feeling becoming more intense; the place being filled more and more (with the Spirit’s presence).”
The sixty or more remaining at this time now gathered around the revivalist, many almost overcome with awe. Some called out, “No more, Lord Jesus, or I die!” Others cried for mercy, weeping, singing, praising, and lying prostrate on the floor in agony of conviction for their sin. Eventually they closed the meeting, and Roberts got to bed at 3:15 A.M.
By now simultaneous revival had also come to Gorseinon, with praying, weeping, and singing such as people had never known before.
Revival Fire, Pg 190 – Wesley Duewel

When they asked the Holy Spirit to come, they wanted the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and He manifested with great convictions!

Let’s continue to pray for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as we interact with people daily, at our Discovery Groups, at our workplaces and our church meetings! Let’s ask in faith!

Desperate for a move of God – Evan Roberts

What can we do to catalyze a move of God? My answer is prayers! If we want God to move we must ask!

If you want to pray for a move of God, then the move of God has started in a way because, it is the spirit of God that draws us to pray!

When the world wide move of God started in wales in 1904, Evan Roberts had been praying for a about 13 years! Here is a quote from Revival Fires!

Roberts began to pray for 100,000 souls, and God gave him the assurance that 100,000 would be won to Christ. He testified, “The divine fire has taken hold of us.”Roberts felt the necessity of full obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He envisaged taking a team of young people with him in evangelism across Wales. He kept urging the people to surrender fully to the Holy Spirit and to obey Him.
Revival Fires, p185, Wesley Duewel

Let us keep praying and let’s not stop until we experience a move of God! While praying let’s follow Robert’s simple instructions during the revival!

Throughout the revival period he repeatedly emphasized four points: (1) confess openly and fully any unconfessed sin; (2) put away from your life anything doubtful; (3) obey promptly anything the Spirit tells you to say and do; (4) confess Christ openly.
Revival Fires, p189, Wesley Duewel

Cute little baby?

Whenever I read about the hurtful and wicked things that people do to others, I always remember that the person who is behaving like a monster was once referred to as a cute little baby.

How does a cute and adorable baby become a “monster”?

I believe a baby becomes a “monster” by acting out more of the negative thoughts that comes to their heart than other people who learn to say no to negative, unloving thoughts.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:9-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is why we preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. Every “cute like baby” must be born again to receive pardon from a just God and then to receive a new heart that loves God and others.

You and I have been called to this task. Every disciple of Jesus is called to invite everyone on earth to receive pardon and a new life in Christ!

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Labor of Love

There is labor involved in love. It takes time and energy to develop friendship. It takes time and conscious effort to know your neighbor, invite them for dinner, help them when they need it.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It takes time and energy to do a discovery bible study and start a discovery group. It takes time and energy to visit people in the hospital, in the prisons and in the homeless shelters.

There is labor involved in loving the people we know. There is labor involved in loving the people we don’t know very much!

I thank God for helping us to do this labor of love?

It’s worth it. We all came to this earth through a labor of love by our moms. And if you ask any mother, she would most likely say it is worth it!

People are also born into the kingdom of God through a labor of love! And it is so worth the labor!

You are blessed!

Work of Faith

Everything we do as believers is to be done with faith in God. The simple way to say this is this:

Everything we do must be because we trust that God is true to His words!

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Wether you have a specific scripture in mind or not, there should always be a scripture that gives you an assurance that God is true to His word.

So when we pray, it is because we know that God answers prayers not because we have no other choice.

When we love and care for strangers it is because we know that God loves them and we trust that God wants to manifest His love through us!

The work of faith therefore is the effort needed to consistently trust that God’s word is true when you have so many other voices around you fighting for your trust.

You may have a voice saying that you are not useful to your neighbor who has a very big house. The work of faith is what you do in your heart to say no!

I am useful to everyone around me because my prayer to God affects them, my smile at them affects them and God who made them and put us around each other has a plan.

I remember, the Holy Spirit helping me to stay in faith for so many things! Things as little as, say hello to that person over there. And big things like move your family to Kuje.

This is the work of faith. It is a daily work. To us believers it’s like breathing. You do it so many times in a day without sweating. But once in a while you feel it because the resistance is much!

Praise be to God for the Holy Spirit who helps us with our work of faith!

This is how we are able to continue to be effective disciple makers!

Do you know you are not working alone?

God has used Olu and I to plant 4 churches so far since 2005. That was when we did not know about Disciple Making Movements that are planting churches in thousands.

In every city that God has sent us, we have always found people who want to know God and who have been prepared by God to work with us. And these people are always people who we had never met until we got into that city.

God has many people in every city. Wherever God puts you, be sure that He has people there. Even at your workplace! These people will receive you and the gospel.

“And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭18:9-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We are now learning to empower these people of God and equip them to plant smaller and more replicable churches.

This week look out for people that God has placed at your workplace to help with sharing the good news of the kingdom of God and new life in Christ Jesus! They may not know Jesus now but they would be open to you even when they know that you love Jesus with all your heart.

To find these people or this first person, you would need to show your love for Jesus and speak about Him.

You would not know that they are people who are open to God if you don’t show that you love God.

Loving people is a very good way to show your love for God and then talk about God.