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PURPOSE
The 1 Step Disciples lessons were written for the sole purpose of bringing seekers to the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ and to teach them to walk as He walked. That purpose is both profound and very simple. This writing takes all the important truths of God and condenses them down into one thing and one thing only. Although there are many truths to learn, all truths lead back to this one thing, to follow Jesus and to walk as he walked. Jesus says it very simply “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me”. John 14:6.
The One Thing
The One thing entails one essential action and that action is to follow Jesus by walking as He walked. That is what being “Christian” means. It means living in the reality of what I profess to believe and that everything I believe and everything I do is in alignment with God’s viewpoint in His Word. Faith is not a feeling but is action that is founded on right believing. The One Thing means we believe in and put our faith in Jesus, not in doctrines, teachings, philosophies, or anything or anybody else. It is continually, constantly and persistently aligning our thinking, choices and beliefs with God’s Word at any moment in our lives. It is simply walking by faith, living by faith, keeping the faith and constantly pursuing faith.
To Become Like the Master
These teachings lay out a roadmap for a journey to a new life – a life that looks like the life of Jesus, a life that is truly life. It presents basic and precious truths that will transform our lives so they look like His life. It is a journey of many steps and many truths that will transform our character into Godly character. “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.” Matthew 10:25. We are not to simply know what Jesus taught but we are to live those truths as He and the disciples lived them. “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. We must know the truth, believe the truth, and live the truth. Trust and obedience are key elements that must be put into place if we are to follow Him.
Believing
The journey into the One Thing does not come through wishful thinking or making decisions and commitments, or going to church, or participating in religious activities. It comes only through one simple act: believing. The whole basis of Christianity and the journey into life hinges on faith and believing. It does not come through knowing or agreeing with truth, but believing God’s truth and putting our faith in Him. It is therefore very important to know what faith and believing is and what it is not. A person can think they have faith and think they believe God’s truth and not really have faith or believe God. These teachings will show you what it means to truly have faith and believe.
The Outcome of the One Thing
I, and those I have taught these truths to and who are living according to these truths have found a consistent peace and contentment as we experience the life that is truly life. We have a renewed faith and hope as the Holy Spirit reveals the Father to us and we learn how to hear what God wants us to know about Him and His will for our lives. It is simply moving into a relationship of oneness with the Father and the Son. It is the road less traveled but is the road that leads to the life that is really life. Few are willing to count the cost to enter this state of oneness with God.
How God Proves Our Character
One of my favorite authors, Oswald Chambers, who authored the book “My Utmost for His Highest” says that “crisis reveals character”. Your character is not what you think it is but what circumstances reveal it to be. God will test and prove your character through people, circumstances, and events in your life. These tests are not designed to discourage or hurt you, but simply to show you if you have the right faith and right beliefs. A crisis will reveal who you really are as opposed to who you think you are. A crisis will show you if you really have faith and if you really believe God’s truth. It will reveal wrong beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that are out of alignment with God’s viewpoint.
How to Approach These Teachings
These teachings are not designed to impart more knowledge about the Christian life but to facilitate change in our life so our life looks more and more like His life. It is a life-long journey because it takes a long time to work out all wrong beliefs and godlessness that we have in our lives, much of which we may not even be aware of. Some of our problems come through spiritual attacks from Satan’s demonic kingdom. Other problems are simply a result of wrong believing, wrong thinking and wrong choosing. As we learn to think, choose, and believe rightly, our lives will become more like His life and godly character will replace ungodly character more and more. We will learn to walk in faith as true believers, to walk as He walked.
The Importance of Discipleship
Discipleship is simply following Jesus and walking in obedience to His commands. Jesus emphasized that if we are truly His disciples we will obey what He taught, then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” John 8:31-32. Having someone in your life to walk with you on this journey is the best way to learn to live this new life. Having someone who is experienced on the journey to walk with you will greatly accelerate your journey into this new life. You will be shown how you can do this so you can have a relationship with others who are well down the road on this journey.
Basic Concepts
The most important concept that will be emphasized again and again is the simple act of believing what is presented and living as if it is truly believed. Here is a summary of what these lessons teach:
- The One Thing
- What is truth?
- What does it really mean to believe?
- What is faith?
- Experiencing God personally
- God’s salvation and being born again
- How to find true freedom in Jesus
- What is a disciple?
- The cost to follow Jesus Christ
- How thinking, choosing and believing impacts our character
- Learning to trust God
- The importance of obedience
- What is biblical love
- How to love God.
- How to love others
- How to love yourself.
- How to pray
- How to read God’s word
- Developing right thinking
- Knowing God’s will.
- The importance of forgiveness
- Dealing with negative emotions.
- Dealing with sin
- Discerning between God’s wisdom and the wisdom of the world.
- The good works that God requires.
- Common ungodly character traits and how to transform them into godly character traits
- Dealing with physical problems, relationship problems, addictions, demonic oppression, and anything else that may be a barrier to a godly life.
- Making disciples – helping others to experience spiritual freedom.
One Truth at a Time
This journey is NOT just about learning all these truths and agreeing that they are true, and then pursuing more truth. The approach that we have found that works best is to learn one truth at a time and then focus on living that truth until it is part of your life, maybe not perfectly, but more consistently. It is very tempting to read through all the truths with the thought that you will come back to them and work on them. You may find yourself overwhelmed by how much you are lacking in these truths and you may become discouraged. If you begin to experience that, remember, you are not alone. Everyone is in the same boat but you don’t have to stay in that boat and as you learn to live one truth at a time you will enter into the life that is truly life.
A Life Long Journey
This journey into godliness is a lifelong journey because it takes a long time to ingrain these truths into the core of our spirit and our soul so that we become that truth and it becomes our very life. We then discover a great peace, contentment, and joy and find true freedom from the things that torment people today. We don’t get there all at once, but step by step it will unfold in our lives and others will see the fruit and desire to taste of that fruit. We find life that is truly life.
BEGINNING THE JOURNEY
The Right Attitude
It is important to realize that the lessons that follow are not something to read through and then go on. They embody eternal truths, none of which should be taken lightly. The lessons are not designed to be an easy read through to get knowledge or to learn something new. They are a way of life, a way of living day to day so they become your very life. There are many tremendous truths in these lessons, and if approached in the right manner will lead to a new way of living so you can discover the life that is truly life. So the attitude that must be put in place to begin this journey is to realize that it is about both learning and doing. If you leave off the doing you will be worse off then you were because the tendency is to think since I know this truth now I am good to go and you end up with a false faith and a powerless Christian life. You become only a hearer of the word and not a doer and so you gain no value and you are stuck in a place where you know truth but are not living it. Your life becomes hypocritical.
Persistent and Consistent
Our lives are often so full of activities, wants, needs, expectations, desires and possessions that we find precious little time to pursue that which really matters, that which will provide the greatest value for our own lives and that of our family and friends. Persistence means we press in after it even when we don’t feel like it. We press in even though there are a hundred other things we need or want to do. We press in regardless of all the pressures and expectations from others to satisfy them. We must learn that we need to satisfy the Lord first and He will help us to see rightly to satisfy the needs of others and keep a right attitude towards things.
Consistent means we keep a right mind and attitude about what is important and what really matters to God. We set aside a time that is the Lord’s only and in that time we pursue and seek Him so He can show us what He wants us to know. He will show us the way to life that is truly life and will draw us into oneness with Himself and His Son. But I promise you He will not take second seat to anything in your life. If there is something in your life that is of more value to you than seeking Him to find the life that is truly life, those will be the very things that keep you in bondage.
But I believe since you are reading this that you are most likely a true seeker and you will realize that this is exactly what you need and you will pursue it wholeheartedly. You will begin a journey to a destination that few are willing to pursue. The destination is not a degree or a certificate, but a person whose name is Jesus. When you get Jesus you get life and life more abundantly and Jesus becomes your way, your truth and your life and you will experience a life of peace and contentment and a wonderful relationship with God through Jesus. Fear, worry, doubt, and stress will melt away and give way to faith, love, grace, mercy, compassion, kindness, goodness and many other wonderful virtues that are God’s very nature.
Cornerstone and Precious Stones
Each of the following lessons presents a basic key truth that is essential for the Christian faith. Each truth uncovers areas of wrong believing and wrong thinking and attitudes that have crept into our lives over the years. Many of these religious beliefs and attitudes are counterfeits of the truth in God’s Word. Jesus is the cornerstone of truth, the foundational stone that keeps everything in place and establishes an unshakable foundation. The truths are precious stones with which we build on the cornerstone into a holy and pure temple for the Holy Spirit to reside in. It becomes a building whose maker is God because it is built on His Son and His truth.
If any of these precious stones are cast aside because we don’t like the color, or the shape, or because there is something in our life that causes us to reject a precious stone, the structure becomes weakened and will eventually crumble along with our life. The method for applying these precious stones to the foundation is by simply learning a truth, believing that truth, and then living as if the truth is true. If you only learn the truth and believe the truth, but do not live as if the truth is true, the precious stone will fall off. You will learn this truth in the lessons, that unless you are living your life as if the truth is true, you don’t really believe it. Living as if it is true means your actions and speech reflect that truth in your life.
Spiritual Disciplines
There are many spiritual disciplines along the way that you must put into practice in your life to keep those precious stones in place. The disciplines help us to continue on the journey of living what we profess to believe and they encourage us to keep our focus on the one most important thing in all existence, God. As our spiritual building is being built, our lives look more and more like the life of Jesus. Our thinking, choices, beliefs, attitudes, and actions become godly. We build a godly character that looks like His character.
The word discipline is not very popular today because it insinuates that we have to give up something we enjoy or want. Actually, spiritual disciplines help us realize that most of those things don’t really matter and are just a distraction to keep our eyes off Him. Satan truly does not want you to find the life that is truly life. He does not want you to have that foundation and precious stones in your life. He will do everything he can to destroy what God is building in your life because he hates God so much. Spiritual disciplines will put him on the run and destroy his kingdom and put to flight all his wicked, evil demons of darkness. You win, he loses.
Repetition and Reminders
Often you may learn a truth and choose to believe the truth, but it may not immediately be lived in your life. It is a process and a journey that takes time and effort. It cannot be pursued one time but must be pursued relentlessly. We must come back to the lessons and truths when we begin to see ourselves wavering or forgetting the truth. The lie that the truth overcame begins to creep back in and suddenly we see an old behavior or habit spring back to life. It happens. It can happen a lot. But that is ok. We go back and focus on that truth again, read and study the truth again, and then step out very deliberately to root out the lie and get that precious stone back in place.
Disciplines such as prayer and reading God’s Word are critical disciplines you will learn that will help you keep your precious stones in place. Satan’s attacks are ruthless and relentless as he waits and watches for the right moment to trip you up. You will learn how to use the armor of God to beat him back and put him on the run. You will learn the disciplines of watching, being vigilant, standing steadfast, discerning of spirits as well as worship, praise, and thanksgiving. You will learn that when you stumble, God’s grace, mercy and love are right there so you can always put it behind you and press on into the journey of life that is truly life. Never let the condemnation and accusations of the enemy keep you trapped.
Disciple Partner
Another thing that will speed you along on your journey is to have an experienced disciple walk with you on the journey. It is similar to going on a long hike and having someone along who has made the hike before. They know where the important places are, the dangers, and can keep you from getting off the right path or getting lost. Often we need encouragement or help thinking through an issue or event or clarification on how to live certain truths. They will be praying for you and suggesting other resources for you to help you on the journey. You may be stuck in some personal areas of your life and you will have someone who will love you and walk you through those areas.
A disciple partner will help you begin to disciple others when you are ready and teach you how to come alongside them in their journey in the same way your disciple partner helped you. A disciple partner may be available locally, but more than likely it may be remotely. Use the Blog section of this website to express you desire for a disciple mentor.
Quiet Comfortable Environment
It is best to have a quiet, comfortable environment where you can focus your mind and minimize distractions. Minimize the influence of things such as cell phones and other distractions. If you think really hard you will be able to find a place where you can have consistent time with the Lord as the Holy Spirit shows you what He wants you to know and do as you pray.
Don't Be in a Rush
There is no time frame for completing a lesson. If possible set up a time with your disciple partner to read the lessons together. This gives the disciple partner an opportunity to share their thoughts on the lesson as you are going through it and answer any questions you may have. You don’t need to get through a complete lesson in one session. Sometimes you may only get through one paragraph in a session because the ensuing discussion addresses lots of questions so you can discuss the truths in light of your own and the disciple partner’s experiences.
If you rush through a truth and have not yet worked it into your life so that you are beginning to act and speak as if it is true, you have missed the whole point of the journey. Maybe you need to stay in a lesson and review parts of it every day for a week or a month until it begins to ooze out of your life through your thinking, attitude, and actions. The disciple journey is a lifelong journey. Sometimes you have to go back and relearn a truth or a discipline. You will know when you need to do this because when problems arise in your life, they will reveal to you what you really believe and what you do not believe.
It is best to go through the lessons in order as they have been sequenced to get the right layers of precious stones in place in order for other precious stones to be added. This is not a hard and fast rule. Many of the lessons will build on important earlier lessons so you can live a particular truth. Some lessons may show you that you need to tackle another previous lesson or later lesson to deal with a particular attitude or wrong belief that is hindering you from appropriating another truth. Each lesson has a section called bumper sticker summary so you can come back to get a quick understanding of a particular truth. There are action steps and an illustration in many of the lessons as well as a list of pertinent scriptures. The most important thing is not to rush to other lessons before you have trained yourself to live in the truths in previous lessons.
One Final Word
The whole purpose of the disciple journey is for your life to become like His life. Jesus said it is enough for the disciple to be as his master. Every area of your life that does not look like His life must be torn down and rebuilt on the Cornerstone with the precious stones of truth. If you are not seeing this happening in your life as you pursue the disciple journey, you need to get help to sort out what is wrong. Sometimes the old godless foundation needs to be blasted out with dynamite. It can go, it must go, and it will go because it cannot withstand God’s power and God’s light. May God richly bless you as you truly seek to become His and become like His Son as you find the life that is truly life.
1 Step Disciples
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