General Omar Bradley said, “The American soldier and citizen demand professional competence in their leaders.” Let’s repeat this another way – The body of Christ demands life competence in their disciples. But we have a BIG problem. When was the last time we saw our churches require that our Disciples be competent? To answer that, we must examine what that means, and I want to take that on through Vince D’Acchioli’s four markers of a Disciple as we explore ‘KNOW’.
Competence is a demand that ranges across public, private, non-profit, and should range across our churches. One of the quickest ways to lose trust and commitment is when those in charge demonstrate incompetence. Apply this to rank and file men who portray themselves as disciples. This does not mean that a disciple must have all the answers. It does mean that a disciple must have knowledge and mastery of four key skills in his walk.
· Marker One – Intimacy
Intimacy with God continues in conversation with God. It’s called, Prayer.
Jos 3:7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
Joshua called on the name of the Lord and the Lord responded!
· Marker Two – Image
Word. As we move toward intimacy with God, we discover His image in the Word placed before us. It begins with,
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth…”
And ends with
Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Between those two bookends, all that begins in Genesis is completed in Revelation. Disciples must KNOW this.
For Joshua, the Torah – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – were dictated to Moses by God. That word resided in scrolls next to the Ark of the Covenant.
Deu 31:26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;
· Marker Three – Inquire
Intimacy and Image converge to answer the Inquiring Disciple through prayer and study of God’s word.
Psa 27:4
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
· Marker Four – Intention
As we discover the Why, we can fathom the purpose of our lives and being disciples because we KNOW God.
Deu 7:9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
For Jesus ‘fans’ to become Jesus’ Disciples, the WORD, like the copy of the Torah next to the Ark, must reside in our daily lives as a witness of God’s word in the world. David Barton of Wall Builders often quotes President John Quincy Adams:
“No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied and so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible. I have myself for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year. I have always endeavored to read it with the same spirit which I now recommend to you, that is, with the intention and desire that it may contribute to my advance in wisdom and virtue.”
With the removal of the Bible from Public school in 1963, it is very rare, today, to discover people with this same diligence in God’s word. Yet, if we are to KNOW what a disciple does, we must KNOW God’s word.
Jay