Discipleship, Putting it into Practice, Part 3
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you”
Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)
This is last in a mini-series I’ve being doing on the whole theme of Discipleship: Putting it into Practice. Click here and here for the first two articles in the series.
In this passage, we see the Apostle Paul bringing a word of encouragement and exaltation to the church in Philippi. He calls them to think about things that are ‘excellent & praiseworthy’. That’s one of the first crucial stages in being a disciple and follower of Christ – thinking correctly. Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) states that as a man ‘thinks within himself, so he is’ – what we think is so important. It’s foundational to our lives in God. Paul knew this, he was always reminding the people of God about their identity in Christ and who they were and what they were called to be and do.
Paul was also calling the church to look at his life as a leader. He was so confident that he could set an excellent example for them to follow in their pursuit and devotion to Jesus. Paul also states: ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ’ to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:1). He wanted them to see things in his life, hear his speech, watch his actions, receive from his heart as he followed after Christ with all his heart and passion. He wanted them to put the things they saw in his life that reflected Christ and his Kingdom into practice. That’s one of the true joys of christian leadership; to see people catch your heart and passion for Jesus, and then to watch them put it into action and practice in their own lives. That is so rewarding to see!
It’s like when your kids start to do something great on their own without any help from Mum & Dad – they see something, they learn something and then they do it. That’s the goal of discipleship – ‘See Jesus, learn from Jesus and then do all the things that Jesus did’ – e.g miracles, healings, moving with compassion, mercy & grace, ministry to the poor, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom etc.
The ultimate goal of discipleship is to put into practice & action what we see in the words, life and ministry of Jesus – Praise God that he is with us as we live out this exciting journey!
Gavin White
