DO
Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.
Bruce Li
Character and Competence, the BE and the KNOW, underlie everything a disciple does. But character and knowledge - while absolutely necessary – are not enough. Disciples ACT. They DO. They bring together everything they are, everything they believe, and everything they KNOW to provide purpose, direction, and motivation to their families, discipleship groups, churches, professional lives, and even the political arena. Disciples work to influence people to Christ but don’t stop there. They disciple all those around them to influence more people to Christ, operate with them to accomplish Christ’s mission for the Church in public and private life, and act to mentor and train new Disciples. They solve problems, deal with conflicts, proclaim the truth in Love, overcome obstacles, strengthen teamwork among disciples, and achieve Kingdom objectives. They disciple and DO to produce Kingdom results.
Let’s look at a guy who had a few problems with the DO part of his call as a Disciple:
Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
Jon 1:3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
OOOPS! We know where this story goes…
Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Sometimes, moving a Disciple from BE and KNOW into DO is a tough journey. Jonah’s prayer of repentance, glorifying God, and begging to DO happened in the belly of the Great Fish:
Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly.
Jon 2:2 And he said:
“I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
Jon 2:3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
Jon 2:4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
Jon 2:5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
Jon 2:6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O LORD, my God.
Jon 2:7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the LORD;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
Jon 2:8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
Jon 2:9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD.”
Jon 2:10 So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Basically, Jonah transitioned from called to rebellious to fish vomit so he could DO:
Jon 3:3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.
Jon 3:4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Jonah’s message certainly was NOT seeker friendly, but the miracle is that God used it to save an empire. This walk from BE and KNOW to DO was tough for Jonah and it will be for many of us, as well.
Disciples have three specific areas of action in the Kingdom – These are hard and require the disciplines from BE and KNOW to be effective:
· Influence
Disciples most often influence other disciples and new believers face to face. Influencing includes making decisions, communicating those decisions early and clearly, and motivating fellow disciples to act with informed (word and prayer) Kingdom influence. Yet, this is often through indirect methods like teaching, encouraging, and mentoring.
· Operate
Disciples act to accomplish Kingdom objectives and missions. This runs the gamut from personal checkbooks (finances) to small groups, to Sunday School, to Church ministry to professional lives, and even to the political sphere of influence.
I want to note something critical under ‘Operate.’ We often do not plan well in the body of Christ. I encourage and emphasize that disciples MUST learn to develop detailed plans and execute those plans, take care of their brother and sister disciples, and effectively manage people, time, resources, and funds. This can be as simple as knowing week by week planning what your small group will study at each session. It can also be focused on a church ministry such as ‘Redeeming Abortion in the Body of Christ.’ Big or small, operating successfully as a disciple requires diligence and planning.
· Improve
Disciples strive to leave their relationships with other disciples, their church, their small groups, and even their daily personal time in God’s word better than they found it. We are often tempted to focus on the small term gains – i.e. we won ten converts at church today. We wonder “Why bother to fix more right now?” because next week, next month, next year, those new believers will be someone else’s problem. Disciples who are loyal to those they lead to Christ consider the long term effects. They invest adequate time and effort to develop individual disciples in their Kingdom walks, improve mentoring and teaching sessions, and foster a Kingdom climate. Disciples Improve other disciples by learning, seeking self-improvement in the Kingdom, and welcoming disciples in for that journey together, shoulder to shoulder, to the Kingdom of Heaven. Disciples who improve on what they do are proactive.
Disciples DO NOT bring people to Christ then send them off with the trite encouragement to ‘go forth and prosper.’
Jay