Day 28

28 - Encouraging In The Faith 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

1 Peter 4:10

“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters— yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple... So, you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” Luke 14:26-27, 33

I have coached kids of all ages in football, baseball, and basketball. I have learned that a good coach gives both positive reinforcement when an athlete does something right, and correction when an athlete does something wrong. Maybe you've had a coach who only notices the wrong... not much fun for you, right?

I’ve also learned that I need to speak to middle school athletes differently than I speak to varsity athletes. Middle school athletes need to be pushed and challenged, just like varsity athletes, but as a coach I'm a lot more patient with them. They're still learning the basics. They will make more mistakes, so I cut them more slack. I'm not as demanding as I am with varsity athletes, who should know better by now.

When Jesus made the comments in Luke 14, his disciples were "varsity athletes" by now. Jesus made these statements just a few months before his crucifixion; His disciples had been following Him for over three years now. So He set the bar really high and gave them some lofty expectations: He is to be more important than anyone or anything else in their life. Period.

As you are discipling a believing friend and encouraging them to grow in their walk with Jesus, there comes a time to set the expectations as high as Jesus does. You probably won’t do this early on, when you're just helping them get started and grow in the knowledge of Jesus and their identity in Him. But as they get stronger in their faith, they need to be challenged more.

Read Luke 17:1-4.

• How can sin hinder someone from growing in their relationship with
• Jesus? What should you do when the person you are discipling sins?

Believers who have been following Jesus for a while need to be challenged to "give up everything." This means to resist temptation, die to sin and self, and put Jesus first. But there are other things besides sin that we are called to give up for the sake of Christ. 

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Read Luke 18:18-30.

The man said that he had no sin hindering him, but he had other things.

• What were they? If you were really rich, what would be hardest for you to give up following Jesus?
• What do you have in your life that is most difficult for you to give up for Jesus... maybe a relationship, a prized possession, entertainment, social media, certain habits, etc.? 

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Read Ephesians 4:17-5:20.

There are LOTS of great verses here about living as a follower of Jesus. As you read, put a star next to the verses that "speak" to you. After you finish reading, write out your 5 favorite verses from this passage.

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-

• Now pick one of these verses to memorize. Write it on a note card and keep saying it over and over again throughout the day. Say it every time you get or send a text to keep it memorized. 

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Apart From Him…

• Confess to God whatever sins are the biggest struggle for you. Ask God to help you resist them and rest in Him and the freedom and refreshment He gives! 

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Walking As Jesus…

• When you're discipling someone, it's important to be vulnerable and transparent about your own struggles. You don't have it all together and you're not following Jesus perfectly. Share with someone today what hinders you from following Jesus completely. Be honest. It will feel good. And share the verse you memorized with a believing friend to encourage them. 

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: