WEEK THREE FOCUS: DISCIPLES

In the Kingdom of God we never graduate from being disciples because we can never finish knowing God. For us to be effective in discipling others we need to remain disciples of Jesus as long as we live, ever learning.

Guiding Principle: Jesus used challenges to grow faith and trust in God.

Scriptures

Matthew 14: 28-31.

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Mark 4: 35-41.

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

John 6: 5-6.

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

James 1: 2-4.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 1:7.

so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 41:10.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Proverbs 3: 5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Prayer

• Thank God for His ever-reaching hand to believers each time we cry out to Him in the midst of the test. Pray that we will thus be encouraged to step out of our comfort zones and try out new things as disciples, not bothering whether anyone else is ready to join us or not.
• Thank God, that He has the ultimate power to intervene in all the tests in our lives. Pray that through the trials we experience this year, we will get to know better this Jesus who commands obedience from thewind and the sea
• Ask God to forgive us for failing to develop our faith as disciples, because of fear of persecution, rebuke, or mockery. Pray that in times of testing we will stay close to Christ to understand what He is up to because He already knows what is supposed to be done and so He will ably guide us.
• Pray that God will give us discernment to understand His will in the midst of confusion, and guide our steps according to His truth. Also pray that God will help us to see challenges as opportunities for growth and character building and not as obstacles to our faith.
• Pray that God will grant us the strength to stand firm when our faith is tested, knowing that He will uphold us with His righteous right hand.  Pray that God will fill us with inner strength so we can face challenges with courage and not rely on ourselves because He has promised that He will strengthen us.
• Pray that God will teach us to wait on Him with a calm and trusting heart. Pray that God will help us to believe that His timing is perfect and He will make our paths straight. Pray that God will strengthen our spirits so that tests do not break us, but instead refine us into vessels of perseverance as we put our trust in our everlasting God.

Declaration:

• We declare that every test we go through will develop our faith in Christ and that none of us will miss this growth opportunity.
• We declare that no testing of our faith has the power to deviate us from our call to be disciples of Jesus Christ.