Category: Make Disciples

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Video Teaching: The Four Levels of Discipleship

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This week, instead of writing a blog post, I have decided to sit down and do some live teachings on the Disciple-Making Mindset, and the four levels of discipleship that I have been training on in East Africa for the last few years. You can join me everyday for the live teaching on Facebook, YouTube, or the Happs App; or catch the rebroadcasts below.

As a part of this week’s teachings, I am also making available, “The Global Outreach Discipleship Handbook,” which contains the subjects I am sharing this week, and so much more. I hope the videos, and the handbook bless you and your ministry work.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE DISCIPLESHIP HANDBOOK

Video 1: The Disciple-Making Mindset

In this first video of this series, we dig into the Great Commission’s command to “make disciples,’ and then take a look at how the process of discipleship imitates life from birth, through adolescence, to adulthood.

Video 2: Discipling the Lost (Level 1 Discipleship)

In this video I discuss how to “Disciple The Lost,” or what I call “Level 1 Discipleship.” I share two practical ways to present the gospel message as well as the need to use our personal testimony to reach those around us.

Video 3: Discipling New Believers (Level 2 Discipleship)

In this video I discuss how to disciple new believers (what I call Level 2 Discipleship). Two keys are helping them get free of any bondages to the devil, and helping them lay a foundation for their faith through basic, topical teachings.

(The book on Deliverance I mentioned is “Healing Through Deliverance,” and can be found on Amazon here.)

Video 4: Discipling Growing Believers (Level 3 Discipleship)

In this video I talk about how to do discipleship with growing believers (what I call Level 3 Discipleship). At this stage we must teach them how to study God’s Word and how to hear God’s voice for themselves. They are not new-born Christians anymore. We must help them learn to care for themselves spiritually.

(The book I recommend in the video, “4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice,” can be found on Amazon here.)

Video 5: Discipling Mature Leaders (Level 4 Discipleship)

In this video I talk about how to transition mature believers into servant-leaders in the body of Christ. As we begin to help them develop a vision to serve others, we must also help them identify and grow in their Holy Spirit giftings. Then we must begin to impart to them, the vision for ministry leadership which God has given to us. Some will stick with you forever. Others you will need to release and commission to serve God in other ministries, but either way, you must love them into spiritual adulthood as a good father or mother in the Lord.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE DISCIPLESHIP HANDBOOK

If you’re enjoying the content I produce, a little caffeine to keep me going would be appreciated!



© Anthony Scott Ingram 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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5 Ways to Practice Hearing God’s Voice

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Before you can hear God’s voice on behalf of others, you must develop a personal, intimate relationship with Him, in which you have learned to hear His voice for yourself. We do this by studying scripture, praying and asking the Lord for revelation, and taking time to wait on Him to speak to us. We must learn to practice hearing God’s voice!

As He speaks, it will take time for you to learn discernment between what is His voice, and what are your own thoughts and imaginations, as well as attempted distractions and lies from the enemy.

For the Christian, learning to hear the voice of God in your life is absolutely the most important and beneficial thing you can do. Here are five activities you can do to position yourself to begin hearing God’s voice.

Keep a Listening Journal

When I was new to hearing God’s voice regularly — not only on rare or “special” occasions — keeping a listening journal was one of the most helpful things I was taught to do. As it takes time dedicated to learning to hear, the journaling process helps you track your journey along the way. It also allows you to let other, more mature believers read things you are unsure of, to help you discern whether it was God you heard or not. The truth is, we all miss it sometimes.

Now that I have been hearing God’s voice regularly for many years, spending time praying and writing in my listening journal is still the most intimate time I have with the Lord, where I am able to press into Him more and to hear Him speak about issues of life, leadership, and ministry. Anytime I have one of those “I wonder…” questions, it usually goes into my listening journal, and it is always time well spent.

To keep a listening journal, get something to write on and something to write with, then simply ask God questions. I write my questions to God at the top of the page and use parentheses or “//” to mark when it is my words and thoughts, and then use the rest of the page to write down every impression or thought or vision I feel like God is using to answer that question. Sometimes the answer “bubbles up” immediately. Other times I will wait for a long time, but eventually an answer will come. As one question answered leads to another, I continue writing down my conversation with God until I am out of time or have exhausted that topic of conversation.

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What I have found is that God is eager to speak to us and help us live the Christian life, so this is a great way to let the Holy Spirit disciple you and lead your own Christian walk. In fact, many times when I am just craving some intimacy with God, but don’t have a pressing question to ask, I will just start my journal with, “Lord, what do you want to talk to me about today?” These are often some of the most profound things He speaks to me.

A listening journal is also a great way to keep a record of your journey with the Holy Spirit, to look back on and see your personal growth in Him.

The Name Game

For many people, a listening journal may sound like an exercise in futility. I have discipled various people in the practice, and it is always a long process to get started with an activity like that as it takes time to train yourself to hear God’s voice clearly and consistently, without your own thoughts and preconceptions getting in the way. Some people have sat for long periods of time with a blank page in front of them, not actually knowing what to do.

The name game is a little bit easier, and is a good starter exercise to begin hearing the voice of God. Here’s what you do: get into a setting where you can spend time in silent prayer, a place without distraction, then simply ask the Lord to tell you what He calls you or how He sees you. Then wait on Him to answer.

As people I know have walked through this simple process, God has always been faithful to tell them something very personal and uplifting. For one person who did not have a good relationship with his dad, God simply called him “My son.” For another who dealt with rejection and not sure how people saw her, God said, “Beloved.” God not only spoke clearly to them, but touched them deeply with His love in what He said. Since God wants to be our biggest encourager, we can actually go back to Him again and again asking Him how He sees us or what He wants to say about us, and He will always have something sweet to say.

Again, this is a very simple process, but it can still take some time to hear what God speaks. Though everyone I know who has engaged in this activity have heard God answer, it has not always been immediate, and in some cases have taken weeks before they were sure it was God. Just remember, God’s promise is that we can hear His voice. However, just like tuning an old radio with the manual tuning knob, it can sometimes take a lot of work to get  clearly on the desired station. Once you can hear God answer this simple question pretty easily, it can always become a good starting point for deeper question and answer times with God.

One neat story I can share about this activity is one time, when I was on staff at a local church in Texas, our Senior Pastor took all of our community group leaders through this activity. For some the answer came quickly, and for others took time, as is always the case. In that group was a husband and wife team who began praying together for this answer. The wife heard what God called her almost immediately. She then began praying for her husband, and she heard the answer for what God called her husband as well, and wrote it down secretly. It was, however, another two weeks before he heard the answer for himself. Yet when he did finally hear it, it was the same thing their spouse had heard on their behalf two weeks before. How’s that for confirmation?

Treasure Hunting

Treasure hunting has become a world-wide “game” in many charismatic circles of Christianity, especially young adults who have come to learn that they can hear God’s voice and He will lead them into plenty of opportunity to minister to people and see God do awesome things. Another word for treasure hunting in this case would be, “Prophetic Evangelism.”

This can be an individual practice, but is a lot more fun when you do it in small groups of 2-4 people. The premise is this: You (and your friends) sit down in a room with a notepad and pray. You ask God to show you a place you should go to and other clues such as tattoos, clothing, jewelry, or other things that would lead to a specific person. You write down the “clues” He gives you, then you set out looking for God’s treasure.

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For example, God may give you a picture of a Starbucks sign in your mind’s eye. As you pray about who you should meet at Starbucks, He then tells you “red dress, black necklace.” You would then write those things down and head to Starbucks, to find God’s treasure. (Don’t forget to pray for words of knowledge, as to what God wants to say or do when you find them, too!)

It may be awkward at first, telling them, “God told me to come find you,” but as the Lord reveals further how you should minister to them, you will get past that quickly. 

I have been on various treasure hunts, both in the U.S. and abroad, looking to see if I heard God speak clearly. Sometimes I miss it and try again. Other times, I have had some good times of sharing the love of Christ and prayer with people who need it.

Ask God About The Person Next to You

How much of your day is spent near people you don’t know very well? It may in a check out line at the grocery store, waiting to order food for lunch, sitting in a waiting area of the hospital or car wash, talking to a sales person, or sitting on an airplane.

Why not make some spiritual use of that time and ask God for a word of knowledge for that person. They may be shocked when you look at them and ask, “Is your daughter sick?” If the answer is yes, then you have a perfect opportunity to tell them how you knew that, and then pray with them for their child. If the answer is no, you can still use it to share your faith but saying, “oh, sorry. It’s just that I’m a Christian and I’m trying to learn to hear how God speaks to us. I guess I missed it this time. Are you a Christian?”

Serve on a Ministry Team

I know to include this may sound a bit out of place, but if I’m honest, one of the best places to learn to hear God speak is when you are actively engaged in loving on other people and seeking to serve them in one-on-one ministry. Unless you are one of those few people who are happy and loving twenty-four hours a day, serving on a ministry team will require you to hear God’s voice, and find your love, strength and abilities in His leading. 

This may be serving long-term, on the ministry team in your church, or by serving on a short-term mission trip. My own ministry in Uganda and Kenya hosts various teams throughout the year for teaching and training in Spirit-led ministry.

I believe that serving on a ministry team can also offer one of the safest place to practice hearing without fear of rejection or intimidation. Though it isn’t always the case, it should be that as believers in the body together we encourage one another to keep trying to hear God more clearly, rather than bring one another down when someone misses it. 

Do you have any other practical ways you have grown to hear God’s voice? I would love to hear them in the comments.

If you are enjoying what you are reading on my blog, I would be honored if you would subscribe to my weekly email, below. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for blog updates!

If you’re enjoying the content I produce, a little caffeine to keep me going would be appreciated!



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© Anthony Scott Ingram 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by N. on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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How to Practice Discernment in Hearing God’s Voice

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So far in our discussion on hearing the voice of God, we have looked at the three “revelatory gifts” given by the Holy Spirit to the church, as well as some biblical ways in which all believers can hear Him speaking to them. However, no matter how we hear God’s voice for ourselves, we must turn our attention to the fact that learning to practice discernment is of the highest importance in this pursuit. 

THE THREE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD

As simple overview of the bible seems to tell us that, for all believers, there are actually three different voices you can hear in your head at any given time. Yet all of them will sound like your own thoughts. It is important to learn what these three voices are and how to recognize them. Then we can begin to align ourselves with the voice of Holy Spirit as we live our lives.

1. The Voice of Your Mind

The most obvious voice we all hear is our own thoughts and imagination speaking to us. This is key to human existence. This is how you reason, and determine your thoughts, wants, and needs. According to some philosophers, it is this mental capacity that make you who you are, and without it, your ‘self’ wouldn’t even exist! 

“Cogito ergo sum.” “I think, therefore I am.”

The problem is that our mind and thoughts were corrupted in the fall. The self-voice in our head is influenced by emotions and external stimuli, and as such cannot always be trusted to make the best decisions. Certainly, it is our mental passions that lead us into temptation and sin. However, as we follow Christ closer and more intimately, this voice will become more and more conformed to the mind of God.

2. The Voice of the Enemy

The second voice we hear all-too-often is that of the enemy. He wants to flood our head with sinful desires and discouraging, condemning thoughts. He is always speaking lies to us to see if we will accept what He is telling us as truth. “You are not good enough.” “You are all alone.”  “No one loves you.” “You’ll never stop sinning in that way. Why try?”

These are the thoughts that lead many Christians to withdraw from community and live in self-loathing solitude, believing they can never be used by God in a meaningful way. In reality, though, these are not your own thoughts. They are lies that we must reject. We must learn, through faith, to believe and hold to the the things God says are true about us.

3. The Voice of God

The third voice we can all hear is the Holy Spirit speaking. While many people talk about the supernatural ways God speaks say, “God is talk to me like that,” the truth is, most of them just don’t know how to tune in to what he’s saying. 

I’ve heard Kris Vallotton, one of the pastors at Bethel Church in Redding, California, compare it to a radio where God is speaking on the FM channel, but we are searching the entire AM dial wondering why we can’t tune in. In order to practice discernment, we must learn how to tune to God’s station.

The key, then, is discerning how God speaks to you! Then you can make every effort to tune in, as often as possible, to hear how He’s speaking and leading you on a daily basis. The good news is, we can learn from history how God has spoken in generations past, and have a pretty reliable idea of how He will still speak to us today (see the last post).

GROWING IN DISCERNMENT

Once we recognize that these three voices are all present in our lives, it is time to grow in discernment.

Early on in my own process of learning to hear the voice of God, I was taught to keep a “two-way” journal. (This is something I will discuss more in the next post.) One night, during this time with Him, He gave me some insight on discerning these three voices. Here is what I asked, and what He spoke:

//Lord, what do you want to teach me tonight?//

“Tonight I want to focus on your discernment of when it’s My voice you’re hearing, giving you insights into thoughts and situations, and when it is your own imagination’s voice or a deception.

//Ok, so let’s start with the basics. What is Your gift of discernment as opposed to a natural discernment?//

“Natural discernment most often plays out for self-protection or self-promotion. My discernment, on the other hand, is for Kingdom promotion. There may be elements of personal benefit as a byproduct, but that is never the primary focus.

//So then, how does that play into discerning between the three voices in my head?//

“First, you need to understand that your thoughts will come based on where you have most focused your mind. Remember, you are transformed by the renewing of your mind, so to have sanctified thoughts, focus on Me and seek My Kingdom and your thoughts will follow.

“Second, when the enemy speaks it will sound like truth, yet underneath will be the ‘permission’ to rebel and sin without consequences. He is working to build a false image of Me and who I want you to be becoming.

“Third, to know for sure if it’s Me speaking, learn to ask me the question, ‘How is the Kingdom or my personal sanctification advanced by what I’m hearing?’”

THREE STEPS TO PRACTICE DISCERNMENT IN HEARING GOD’S VOICE

Based on this wisdom from the Lord, we must begin practicing discernment, and aligning ourselves with Him.

This means we must learn to identify the devil’s deceptions. We must recognized when He is speaking to us those permissions to glorify self, at the expense of God’s word. That is exactly how He spoke to Adam and Eve! “Did God really say you can’t eat the fruit or you’ll die?…” He led them to believe their own desires were more righteous and true and they doubted God.

As we grow in maturity in Christ, we should be able to distinguish truth. In fact, the writer of Hebrews describes mature believers as “those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

Let’s look at three steps we must practice daily, train ourselves to discern God’s voice, and align ourselves with Him.

1. Train Our Senses.

The Bible makes it clear that we are transformed by the direction our minds go. Too often, we allow our mind to be polluted with everything coming at us on the news, the sitcoms, Facebook feeds, twitter updates, and every other tool for entertainment and information. Most of us do this without the filter of scripture in place to keep us from the downward pull!

There is only one definite way we can train our senses to know truth, and that is through God’s only infallible revelation to man: the Bible. We must read the Bible. We must study the Bible. The Bible should become the foundation of our mindset, each and every day!

If we want the voice of our own minds to lead us into righteousness, and to come into agreement with everything the Holy Spirit wants to speak, then we have to begin guarding what we put in, and it must be filtered through the teachings of scripture.

There is only one definite way we can train our senses to know truth, and that is through God’s only infallible revelation to man: the Bible. We cannot just read the Bible; study the Bible. We must make the Bible the foundation of our mindset, each and every day!

2. Reject the Devil’s Input

In Luke 4 we see the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. Once again, He comes challenging the Word of God. The last thing heard spoken to Jesus before this is, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The first thing out of the devil’s mouth is, “If You are the Son of God…” followed by the temptation to sin and prove it.

Jesus, however, had grounded His own thinking in the Word of God, and used it as His weapon of choice to reject the devil’s temptations. Responding to every lie out of the devil’s mouth with scripture, Jesus successfully defeated the attacks.

The same is true of us! “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). There is no better way to resist a demonic lie, than to be prepared with the truth of God’s Word. “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). 

So when the devil brings shame and guilt, telling you that you are not good enough: Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Or when the devil tries to tell you that God doesn’t love you. You are too sinful. God is punishing you: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

The Bible teaches that the weapons we use against the devil are not fleshly weapons. Through the Word of God and our new identity in Christ, we have supernatural power to take every thought captive, and bring it into obedience to Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). We do this by contracting every temptation of the devil with truth!

The devil can talk to us all He wants, but when we know the truth of God’s word, and practice our discernment over every thought that come in, he cannot fool us!

3. Obey the Voice of the Lord

Once you have overcome the lies of the enemy, and are seeking to keep your own mind conformed to the thoughts of Christ, the only thing left to do is listen to God and do what He says. That is the foundational principle for the life of a Christian.

We want to be hearing Him speak to us. He definitely wants to speak to us. So once we are sure it is Him we are hearing, then we act on His revelation. Relationship with Him requires obedience (see John 14:15). It must be the goal of listening to Him, to then obey whatever He tells us to do.

As we begin to act on what He says, our lives will come into alignment with His will for our lives. We will walk in power. We will see blessings and breakthrough. Our whole lives will be changed!

It is the greatest privilege of the Christian to live a life led by the Holy Spirit. We must be diligent to ensure we hear His voice clearly, and to dismiss every other distraction. 

Practice discernment. Listen to God. Do what He says. 

I’d love to hear from you in the comments. How have you experienced living with these three different voices in your head? What testimonies can you share of when God has spoken and the fruit of obedience?

If you are being helped by this content, then I’d be honored if you would subscribe. I will send you a weekly email with all new Christian life and Gospel leadership insights, every Sunday. Social media users, you can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram!

If you’re enjoying the content I produce, a little caffeine to keep me going would be appreciated!



© Anthony Scott Ingram 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Rayan Almuslem on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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How You Can Hear God’s Voice

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In the last post, we said “you can hear the voice of God.” There is as expectation in scripture that all believers would know His voice and follow His lead. We also discussed the “revelatory gifts” of scripture: prophecy, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom, and how they work. 

Today, we will begin to look more in depth at how you can hear the voice of God. All throughout the Bible, we see God speaking to His people in various ways. These are not always categorized into the three revelatory gifts mentioned before. Although there is no limit on how He might communicate with us, I want to explore eight ways He speaks to His people in the Bible. This will be followed in the next post on how to develop discernment in our hearing.

Reading Scripture

“All Scripture is breathed out by God…” — 2 Timothy 3:16

Even from the early days of the church, it was recognized that the Bible is a collection of books that was authored by men as they were directed by the Holy Spirit. That means that as we engaged with the Bible, we are reading a letter to mankind, written by the Holy Spirit Himself. As we trust in this fact, it becomes clear that the Bible is the foundational means for hearing God’s voice because it is in the Bible that we learn all about God’s character and His ways.

Since the Bible is true and written by the Holy Spirit, we can also trust that the Holy Spirit will never speak anything to us which is contrary to the scriptures. Therefore, not only does the Bible help you learn to hear God’s voice, but it also builds discernment for whether it is God’s voice you are hearing at all. We cannot neglect this foundation, if we want to hear God speaking to us.

Spirit to Spirit (or Intuitive Hearing)

Often times you will hear Christians say, “I feel like God is saying…” What they are usually talking about is hearing God with an intuitive hearing, rather than hearing God’s audible voice. It is the Holy Spirit inside of us, speaking to us from the inside. 

Oftentimes, these words come more as impressions or as “outside thoughts,” not originating in your own mind. In the Old Testament, it is the Hebrew word, “nabi” meaning “to bubble up.” The thought you have is a Holy Spirit-given thought that seems to bubble up from the soul, rather than from the mind. 

In my experience, this is one of the primary ways they hear God speak in the busyness of daily life for most Christians. It certainly is for me. Growing in discernment between the voices in your head will be key in learning to hear God speak this way.

Hearing the Audible Voice of God

This is when God speaks out loud, and we hear it with our natural ears. One biblical example is when Jesus blinds the Apostle Paul at his conversion, and speaks to him audibly with a loud voice, “Why are you persecuting me?” The Lord then spoke to him of his destiny and gave him instructions on what to do immediately.

The audible voice of God seems to be rare among Christians, but it does still happen. There are a few people who hear it regularly; however, the majority of people who do experience the audible voice of God only do so once or twice in a lifetime. This has never happened for me.

Dreams

Dreams are another very prominent way that God speaks to people. Some believe it is because that is the time our rational minds are at rest, and He can speak to us without us reasoning it away.

Deuteronomy refers to one type of prophet as a “dreamer of dreams.” (Deuteronomy 13:1)

This is not to say that all dreams come from God. (Though it is likely that many dreams are from God, though we haven’t realized it.) You still need discernment in determining where the dream comes from and if it has meaning to reality.

Visions and Trances

There are different types of visions given in scripture.

Visions (Internal) – In general, a vision is similar to a day dream, though it does not come from your human mind. Instead, you see something play out in your head in the same way an intuitive word from God “bubbles up” from the soul.

Open Visions – Open visions are external. They play out in front of you like you are watching a tv screen. Rather than just being a daydream, it overlays reality so that you can see with spiritual eyes what is going on. One example is Elisha’s servant, who’s eyes were opened to see the angel armies supporting them from the mountaintops. 

Similar to visions is a trance. According to Jamie Galloway of Global Awakening:

“A trance is when you completely lose consciousness of your physical surrounding because you are overcome by the Spirit of God. It seems you lose your logic and are overcome with what God is presenting to you as if it always was.”

We might say that a trance is when an open vision does not just play out in front of you. Instead, you are actually pulled into the vision completely, and therefore lost to reality around you. A person in a trance may seem fully awake and conscious, but in reality their mind is somewhere else. Again, this can be from the Spirit of God, or can also just be a fleshly preoccupation with some thought that has consumed the person.

Peter finds himself in a trance on his rooftop while praying in Acts 10:10.

Physical Sensations

Physical sensations often occur in relation to words of knowledge for healing. You might call it a God-given sympathy pain. It would be where you experience a sudden pain in your knee, where you should not be feeling pain. This could be God prompting you to ask the people around you if they have knee pain. It builds faith that He wants to heal.

In our ministry, we seek words of knowledge for healing in prayer, and then call them out to the whole crowd at our crusades and events. We have seen many people healed in this way.

Sometimes God can give you physical sensations leading to other things, like perhaps feeling something in your ring finger could be pointing you to ask questions about the persons marriage or if they are married.

Physical sensations can go along with intuitive hearing as they may just be a very direct way for God to initially get your attention.

Visitations

Visitations are when a heavenly being, whether an angel or even Jesus Himself shows up to you in person. Sometimes the visitor will have a message to speak to you. Other times they may use non-verbal communication to tell you what they were sent to say.

Angels are all around us. It shouldn’t be a surprise that sometimes they come just to see us. It is also worth noting that you won’t always know they are angels (Hebrews 13:2). Sometimes they will come to you in the form of a person and give you a word from God, or simply converse for a while or ask for charity, then leave without you knowing their true identity.

Inspired Speech

Inspired speech happens often in the public presentation of the gospel. It is when you open your mouth to say one thing, and something completely different than you planned comes out. Yet what does come out is more profound than what you meant to say or reveals some deep hidden truth. In a surprise to everyone, God speaks through your mouth. Inspired speech will always be helpful to the person or group of people you are ministering to, rather than condemning or judgmental.

Some of the greatest prophetic words I have heard or received have been inspired speech.

The Desire to Hear

There are many ways God can and does speak. The biggest question is, “Are we listening?” If you haven’t experienced any of these phenomena in your walk with the Lord, do not get discouraged. Instead, press in closer to Him and ask Him to help you hear His voice. He will!

If you want to learn more about these different ways God speaks, I discuss them in depth on The Christian Life Podcast. I encourage you to check it out, and subscribe if you want to hear more!

If you have experienced any of these things in your life, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

If you haven’t subscribed to my weekly email with all new content, I’d love to have you join. You can also follow along with all my writings on Facebook and Instagram!

If you’re enjoying the content I produce, a little caffeine to keep me going would be appreciated!



© Anthony Scott Ingram 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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You Can Hear God’s Voice

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One of the things I talk about on the blog, regularly, is listening to the Holy Spirit and hearing God speak. However, I probably take it for granted that everyone reading understands how to hear God’s voice, and live their lives with His presence and guidance in mind. Unfortunately, that is likely not the case.

In my 18 years of church experience, I have found there are three general ways people view how the Holy Spirit actively speaks to His people. 

Cessationism

The first viewpoint is to deny that He still speaks. This is a form of theology called cessationism. It argues that the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit ended with the completion of the Bible. Since the Bible is held to be the “complete revelation” of God to man, cessationists do not believe that the Holy Spirit can add any more supernatural revelation beyond what the scriptures reveal. They do not believe He speaks, so they do not listen. 

This is obviously not the position I take, though I have many friends who do. However, I will not make time in this writing to argue against this viewpoint. (Here is a great book that does so better than I can.) It will suffice to say that the main problem with this view is that the Bible itself is where we learn that the Holy Spirit speaks to His people, and how we are to hear and interpret His words. 

Continuationism

The second view is that the Holy Spirit is still active and speaking to His people. In some form, this is the view of most modern Christians and ministries. Although the level at which God speaks is viewed differently – some believing that He speaks daily to all, others that He only gives special revelation at certain times – there is a value for His leading, and it is encouraged to listen and obey. This view is called “continuationism.” These people believe that He speaks, so they actively listen to Him. 

Functional Cessationism

The third view, and the one I want to focus on in this post, is those who affirm with their mouths that the Holy Spirit speaks to His people, but their practice does not involve listening to Him. They functionally live and do ministry the same as the cessationists, even though they have better theology. They believe that He speaks, but do not listen. 

Often, this is simply a lack of understanding of how to hear Him speaking, which is what we will address here. Sometimes, however, it is not a lack of understanding. Rather, it is a lack of priority for His direct leading and guiding. This cannot be corrected with a blog post. It must be corrected in the heart. 

What I want to look at, today, are the spiritual gifts involving hearing the Spirit speak. Then, in my next post, I will discuss the various ways the Bible says we can hear His voice as believers.

THE REVELATION GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 

There are three specific “revelatory” gifts listed in the New Testament. These are given by God for personal ministry within the church. Though all of these gifts are hearing God’s voice, and may function in some of the same ways, they seem to have different and distinct purposes for which they are used. 

General Hearing

The first thing to be aware of is, though some gifts are clearly labeled, such as prophecy and words of knowledge, there is also a general expectation that ALL believers will hear God speaking. Jesus Himself said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Jesus went on to say (John 16:12-15) that He had so much He still wanted to tell His people that it would have to wait, and would come through the Holy Spirit. It would be the Spirit’s job to speak to believers, teaching us God’s truth, and revealing everything Jesus still has to say. He would be the one to “declare” what God wants to say. God’s plan is that the Holy Spirit would be our guide in how we live our lives as believers.

Therefore, we must begin with an understanding that the Holy Spirit Himself is the first “gift” given to us, and the Bible expects Him to speak to all of us! (Here is a great book to get you started personally.) The rest of these gifts, are simply different methods He uses to do that in some circumstances.

Prophecy 

While the Bible tells us that all believers should be hearing God’s voice for their own life and personal direction, the gift of prophecy is when you are hearing the voice of God on behalf of other people. This may be a revelation or insight into their life. It may give direction in a decision making process. It may be speaking to their destiny and calling in life. 

The Bible tells us that the purpose of prophecy is to build people up, encourage them, and to console (1 Corinthians 14:3, ESV). No matter how a prophecy plays out, at a minimum, it must always lead people toward Jesus and His ways. It will agree with scripture, and will leave them feeling encouraged. 

The Apostle Paul places the prophetic at the highest place among other spiritual gifts, telling the Corinthian church to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Words of Wisdom 

A word of wisdom is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit Paul talks about in his letter to the Corinthians. It is not natural wisdom, rather, it is when the Holy Spirit speaks to you with specific instruction pertaining to a specific time and place. 

This gift may come into use, for instance, whenever you are ministering to someone under deep stress due to some personal situation. As they seek guidance on how to handle things, we must do more than just give advice. This gift would be when the Holy Spirit speaks through us to tell the person exactly how to handle the situation, leading to peace and a good outcome. 

A word of wisdom may also be God instructing you what to do in a ministry situation with another person. For instance, you could be ministering to someone who has many needs, and the Holy Spirit leads you to pray for them or speak to them in a different way than human reason would naturally lead you to. 

Personally, this is a key gift in my life when I do pulpit ministry. Before a meeting, I wait for God to show me a mental picture of exactly what I am supposed to do and speak, and how I should pray or minister to the people. It is always more effective than when I simply come to the platform with a well crafted sermon I wrote myself.

Words of Knowledge 

If words of wisdom tend toward God giving instructions, words of knowledge would simply be God revealing information. It is when you simply know something you should not otherwise know.

Perhaps you are ministering to someone who has not been forthcoming with the sinful root of their issue. In love, the Holy Spirit uses this gift to reveal the underlying problem to you so you can minister to them appropriately.

Words of knowledge also play prominently in my own pulpit ministry, especially in the area of healing. Sometimes God reveals to me that He wants to heal someone with a specific sickness, and when I call that sickness out and pray for them, there is a much higher percentage of healings of that issue, than when I just pray for the sick in love.

Not only do words of knowledge help you minister effectively, but they also build faith in the person receiving ministry. Hearing the word lets them know with certainty that God sees them in their situation and cares what is happening in their life. 

Other instances of words of knowledge might be when God leads you to a certain place, or reveals a certain person to you that you need to minister to.

Remember, God will never reveal knowledge to us about something that He does not intend on working on. This is one of the ways we can “see what the Father is doing” and then follow His lead (see John 5:19). 

Any time we receive a word of knowledge or word of wisdom, it should embolden us to speak, being confident that God wants to use us in those situations. 

Conclusion

From all of these things, it is clear that the Bible expects us to be hearing God’s voice and to live by the Spirit’s leading. So the question is, do you? Have you taken time to seek God’s direct input in your daily life? Do you invite Him to use your mouth as His own in the lives of others? Have you desired spiritual gifts, especially prophecy?

In This Series

In this blog series we will look at:

Want to know more about this topic? I discuss this topic in depth on The Christian Life Podcast. I encourage you to check it out, and subscribe if it blesses you!

I would love to hear from you in the comments. Don’t forget to come back soon, in the next post, I share the many ways you can hear God speaking for your self. Don’t miss it.

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Level 4 Discipleship: From Learner to Leader

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(Click here for an Overview of the 4 Levels of Discipleship.)

After a person gets saved (Level 1) and matures in the Lord, they will go through the process of being taught about Christianity by others (Level 2) as well as learning to grow themselves through the Word of God and prayer (Level 3), yet that is not the end of discipleship. Their personal maturity in the Lord must continue to develop until their focus makes a shift from themselves to others. This change is part of a life-long journey into Christian service.

Catching a Vision To Serve

While a person is growing in the Lord, they must come to know their new identity in Him, and also the inheritance they carry. This process can take a lot of time and revision – years for many of us. However, this internal identity shift should naturally begin to manifest itself outwardly in service toward others. 

As a believer discovers the extravagant ways Christ loves us, their hearts will begin to change, in love, toward other people. They will naturally begin to look for ways to share that love. As they do, God will begin to give them a vision for ministry (which simply means service) and to reveal their spiritual gifts to them, for His purposes.

Although there are obvious universal aspects to God’s ministry within the church, this developing vision for ministry will be personal to each believer. As people demonstrate the desire to serve and begin to step into various love-sharing opportunities, we must begin to disciple them in clarifying their vision for serving others. 

Christ gave general commands to those He sent out in the New Testament. Those same commands still apply today. We must continue to “preach the gospel,” “heal the sick,” “cast out demons,” “encourage one another,” “care for widows and orphans,” etc. However, He has also uniquely designed each one of us to fulfill different aspects of service in His Kingdom. Each of us are equipped with different giftings and callings from the Lord.

As we disciple people to “become who they are in Christ,” we must never seek to force all Christians into the same areas of service, or expect the same abilities from everyone. Just as not all are apostles or pastors (see 1 Corinthians 12:29-31), it is also true that not all are choir leaders, children’s ministers, or ushers.

As we continue to disciple people, personally getting to know them, we must give them opportunities to develop their own unique gifts and talents, and help them find their place within the Body of Christ. This will enable them to serve His people, and the world He wants to save, with passion and effectiveness.

Catching a Vision To Lead

Once a person has found their own place in the Body and is using their gifts with excellence and with joy, the next step is to go beyond simply serving, to leading. As we have discussed before, we replicate in others what God has formed within us. We said that at the most basic level, disciples make disciples. In the same way, ministers will make ministers out of others.

As we have also previously discussed, Ephesians 4:11-12 makes clear that the role of ministry leaders is not “doing” the ministry, but “equipping” others to serve. All believers, without exception, must discover how to minister to the body of Christ and to share the gospel with the lost. However, in the continuing growth process, we must all move from being ‘learners’ to being ‘leaders’ in our service.

Part of a person’s vision to lead will develop naturally, as others begin to pick up and follow their passion for service. However, for most Christians, there comes a time when they must be pushed out of their comfort zone, and into the place of leading and guiding others.

We, as disciple makers, must make every effort to identify the giftings and fruit in a person’s life, and move them toward opportunities to teach others what they have learned from the Lord.

Let me share a personal example. I once served as a missionary to the island nation of Haiti. I was in an area of heavy witchcraft, yet the present reality of evil also built an expectation of supernatural activity from God. Every Sunday after I closed our church services I was approached by many people for prayers for their physical healing.

Up to this point in my life, I had seen people healed through the prayer of others, and I had a very high personal desire to see healing in the ministry, but I had never had the opportunity to pursue healing very much. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew that the “effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man” has power to heal (see James 5:13-15), but I did not know how to pray that prayer for myself. My passion was still greater than my inability; however, and so I prayed (ineffectively) for every person who came to me for months.

As I continued this pursuit, God led me to the ministry of a man named Randy Clark, whom God has used to both heal the sick, and to impart the healing gift into thousands of regular Christians all around the world. I was personally touched very powerfully by the Lord while attending the Voice of the Apostles conference and receiving Randy’s prayer. I went out with a new boldness to pray and a new gift inside me. The very next week, on a short trip to Southern Sudan, I had the chance to lay hands on a blind man and to watch his grey eyes regain their color. Many other incredible healings followed over the next few days.

Being emboldened by this experience, I signed up for Randy’s training course for healing ministry, to learn from him and his team how to pray more effectively. That was in 2012. Since then, God has used me to heal hundreds, maybe thousands, around the world in my own ministry.

I have also taken up the responsibility of teaching those I lead how to pray for the sick. I want my fellow ministers to have strong faith for healing breakthroughs, too. Though I have not attained to the level of Randy Clark or others, it does not release me from the responsibility of sharing what I have learned with others.

Imparting God’s Vision for Your Organization

The last thing I want to touch on is moving people from “lay minister” to joining the official ministry leadership within your church or ministry. It is at this point you must add to your mentoring processes what I call, Values-Based Discipleship. This is how you will begin to shape them with the vision God has given for your organization.

If I were to ask you, “what are your highest personal values as a ministry,” you would likely have an answer. Most founders and senior leaders of organizations have received a clear vision for the ministry. However, as I have found throughout my own ministry experience, that vision is seldom passed on to other leaders clearly or effectively.

We must personalize our leader-making discipleship strategies to fit our church or ministry. This will begin the process of turning new disciples into long-term, mature leaders within our organizations.

To give an example, in my ministry, Sozo Ministries, we have set 5 “cultural values” that the Lord called us to live out when we founded the ministry. They are Bible-loving, Intimacy (prayer)-led, Identity-driven, Revival-longing, Empowerment-focused.

The goal is that these values would mark every leader, missionary, pastor, church, and church member in our ministry. In order to make that goal a reality, we cannot simply post the values on the wall and hope they are being received by people passing by. We have to teach, train, and demonstrate these things in order to impart them into every leader and member of our churches. These things, then, become a vital focus in our disciple-making process.

In your ministry, too, I am sure you have a vision from the Lord and a set of values you attempt to live out. The question that must be asked is, “how well are you imparting those things into your next generation of leaders?”

It is true that not every person who comes through your ministry will end up carrying the same vision. That is perfectly fine! You will eventually release those individuals to go serve another ministry or begin something new. Praise God that He used you to touch their lives as you did. 

Despite this fact, there are those whom God has called to come behind you, to carry your vision on long into the future. That is a high honor for both you and to them, but it only happens when you fully share with them all that the Lord has placed on you.

We must realize that everything the Lord has done in our lives is intended to be passed on to others. We are to take the things God has given to us, and to give them away to others. If we have been taught from the word, we must share the truth with others. If we have been set free of demonic powers, we are given authority to set others free as well. If we have been called into leadership, we must raise up other leaders around us. This is not optional!

If we seek to protect what is “ours” — our ministry, our church, our blessing, our…whatever — we will end up losing it. Instead, when we learn to pour out what God has given to us for others, we will be refilled again and again as faithful stewards of the things of God.

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Level 3 Discipleship: A Bible-Centered Life

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(Click here for an Overview of the 4 Levels of Discipleship.)

Once a person has been won to Christ (Level 1), and has begun their walk in the foundational truths and practices of Christianity (Level 2), the third level of discipleship — and the longest-lasting — becomes paramount to their longevity in Christ. The believer must be taught not only to read the Bible as a matter of normal practice, but must also learn to interpret the meaning and apply it practically to their own life. This is what Paul calls, “the solid food” for believers, rather than “the milk of the word” (see Hebrews 5:12-14). 

As I have shared in elsewhere, one of the most effective ways to teach a young believer to study the Word of God is called ‘The R.E.A.P. Method,’ which teaches you to Read, Examine, Apply, and Pray. In this post, however, I want to specifically look at some questions new believers should be taught to explore in every passage of scripture they read, which will help them to examine it and make a personal application. These questions can also be used as the basis for Bible-based group discipleship meetings, which will further help the new believers learn to ask them for themselves.

To Begin, Read the Passage

The obvious first step is to read the Bible. For deeper Bible study, the passage should not be too long. I would recommend a chapter at most, but more often than not, it should be a smaller section. A paragraph or even a single verse can be a good focus, especially in groups.

If you are doing a group discussion, it might be helpful to read the passage more than once. Allow the participants to summarize what the passage says, so that you can make sure they are grasping the story and context.

Question 1: “What does this teach us about God?”

The Bible is first and foremost God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. While scripture does give us important information about ourselves, that should not be the first focus of our study. Good theology is to understand the revealed truth about God!

If all scripture is primarily about Him, then we must understand what the passage we are reading says about Him first. Does it reveal a character trait, or speak about His love or His justice? Does it show us anything of His desires or His will? According to what we read, what do we learn about Him?

For private Bible study, a good practice to teach is to keep a journal and write these things down. Especially if something seems contradictory or confusing, then the people can bring the question up for discussion with a more mature believer or a church leader.

Question 2: “What does this teach us about people?”

Once we have established what the Bible teaches about Him, we then begin to explore our role in His story. As we look at what the Bible says about us, we must remember that there are two versions of us in scripture: the old man, who is lost without God, and the new man, who is redeemed and renewed in Jesus.

We are not yet asking application questions here, so it isn’t about taking action yet. First of all, we want to establish our identity according to scripture. Who does it say we were? Who does it say we are in Christ, now? What promises does the scripture make to us, and what conditions are those promises hinged upon?

Another avenue to explore is, how does what the scripture says about us compare with what it says about God? Are they the same, or is there a contrast being made?

Again, we should be teaching people to keep notes of these things, so that as God builds their knowledge through the Word, they will naturally begin to make connections and identify themes.

Question 3: “What does this teach that you should do?”

Once we have examined the things the scripture is teaching us, then it is time to turn our attention to the practical application of the Word. It is at this point we want to take note of any commands in our passage. Is there anything explicitly stated that believers should do or stop doing? Is there anything hinted at in the passage that would require our personal lifestyle or actions to change? Are there commands for the broader church, rather than just us as individuals? Once again, write them down.

Question 4: “How will you put this scripture into practice?”

Having established the commands of scripture, we now make it personal. We must look at our own lives as believers and analyze how we are measuring up to the teachings of the Bible. With the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer, we should see where we fall short, and turn our attention to repentance. In areas that are not sinful, but in which we must grow, we should ask ourselves how we can intentionally seek to develop in this area. Combined with listening to God in prayer, this exercise should not take too much effort to see where we need to grow and mature.

Once we have decided how we will pursue personal growth (and written them down), then I’d also recommend adding a timeframe to begin working on them. If it is a need to reach out to others, when will you make the time? If it is a need to stop doing something, then identify when that thing will come up and tempt you again, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you prepare to overcome.

If this is a group discussion that happens regularly, then encourage the participants to make an effort to apply these things before your next meeting, so that you can include a time for testimonies or follow-up discussion when you come together again.

Question 5: “Who do you know who needs to hear this message?”

This final question is one to encourage reaching out to others with the Gospel and God’s truth. It reminds us that we are part of a community of faith, and that no matter what God is teaching us in His word, there will be someone else who needs to hear it. We are called to give away what we have received from the Lord (see Matthew 10:8)

Encourage your disciples to think about someone else who needs this truth, and to make time with them to share what God has taught them. If it is a message of salvation, who do they know who needs to be saved. If it’s a word of encouragement, who do they know who would benefit from that message. When will you meet with them? Make it a priority!

This, again, will lead to a follow-up discussion at your next meeting if the question is asked as part of a group meeting.

This Becomes Self-Guided Discipleship

As the people you are discipling at this level learn to ask these questions, and make Bible study a regular part of their Christian walk, their maturity in Christ will begin to come automatically. Though we never outgrow the need for church fellowship and one-on-one accountability and mentoring, nothing can compare to a life committed to the scriptures for growth. Level 3 discipleship will help them to mature themselves in the Lord, and to have more to give away to others coming behind them in the faith.

(Click here for Level 4 Discipleship – From Learner to Leader.)

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Note: These five questions did not originate with me, but I have found them beneficial enough that I want to share them with you! I originally learned them through a book called ‘Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery.’ I cannot more highly recommend that book if you seek to develop your disciple-making skills and method. (If you use the Amazon links from this site, I get a kickback on your purchase, which enables me to continue my own disciple-making efforts in East Africa and beyond, so I am grateful if you do.)

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Level 2 Discipleship: The Basics of Faith

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(Click here for an Overview of the 4 Levels of Discipleship.)

What are the marks of a mature believer in Christ?

This is a question that every leader in the Body of Christ should ask. We must find the answer in the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and apply it to the current setting in which we live. And then we must see this as the basis for our discipleship for new believers.

As I think through the question, there are many traits that come to mind. Things like knowing their identity in Christ, as well as running to God rather than away from Him when we sin. As we seek to answer this question, looking at those we deem strong men and women of God around us, we will begin to get a general picture of what a mature believer looks like.

As we turn our attention from leading people to Christ – Level 1 Discipleship – to helping them begin their new walk in Christ productively, we must keep these marks of maturity in mind, in order to impart them to the new disciples.

While it is true that every church and leader may place different levels of importance on different characteristics of a Christian, the goal of this post is to get you thinking about your own discipleship teachings, and to help you form a plan for your own church or ministry. What are the first steps we must lead new believers in, to get them started toward maturity?

I said in a previous post that one of the best ways to help a new believer start their walk in Christ is to lead them in some topical-based teachings, which is what I want to look at today. I call this Level 2 Discipleship.

These topical teachings will hit specific points of orthodox theology and practical Christian life, in order to help new believers gain a Christian worldview and begin to live in a manner worthy of the call on their lives (see Ephesians 4:1).

I want to share 9 topical-based discipleship themes to get you started in the process of developing new believers in their Christian walk toward maturity. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is simply to set the example of things to be discussed to get new disciples moving in the Christian life.

Salvation and Repentance

The fundamental need for all people is to understand that salvation is a gift of God, given through faith and by grace. It is not dependent on good works. It is only dependent on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. When we come to Him seeking forgiveness, it is always given! We must ensure that new believers are trusting in Christ alone, and not in their own ability to gain favor with God.

Repentance, then, is the process of turning aside from our own striving and away from everything which offends the Lord, and coming into our new identity in Him. It is a changing of mindsets wherein we begin to understand Jesus’ way of life and godliness as opposed to our old way of living, and then allowing our actions to come into alignment with His reality.

Hearing God’s Voice and Prayer

New believers must be taught that God is not far away or that He ignores His people. Salvation is entering into renewed relationship with God, and He wants to have personal, intimate encounters with us as His children. Therefore, early on in the Christian life, believers must learn to pray to Him for guidance and to hear Him when He speaks. We must learn that God is not angry with us when we fail, but He will lead us every day of our life, as we are conformed to His image, if we simply draw close to Him in prayer, listen and obey.

Bible Study

New believers must also be taught to value the Word of God — to read it, study it, and live by it. It is not a rule book to earn God’s favor, but a love letter to us revealing the destiny and favor He has already given to us in Christ. It must become the basis of our faith-walk, as the only source of reliable truth as God’s revelation to man. (We will discuss this topic more in our next post.)

Worship

New believers must learn to worship the Lord with their lives, as well as in church services and songs. The Bible says that the Lord is enthroned on the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), which means there is a greater spiritual reality that comes into our lives, releasing the power of God, when we humble ourselves to worship Him. The whole of the Christian life should be worship.

Church Involvement – Becoming a Part of the Body of Christ

New believers must be taught the importance of the body of Christ and their role within the community of faith. They must not only be taught that church attendance is important, but must understand why they should be connected as part of the community of faith. This includes helping them understand the need to serve and love other believers in unity, as God empowers them.

Baptism and Communion

New believers must learn to walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands. The first of which is to be baptized as a public testimony and prophetic declaration that they have died with Christ and risen to new life in Him. 

They must also learn the value of the Lord’s supper; what it means to come before the Lord with a clear conscience, and to realize our place in His story, somewhere between the first establishment of the passover meal and the future marriage supper of the Lamb.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Just as Paul asked the Ephesian church, “have you received the Holy Spirit,” we must also ensure that new believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in power and holiness. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, people will not be able to live a victorious Christian life. Of course, different parts of the body of Christ hold different beliefs about this baptism. Nevertheless, it must not be overlooked in our discipleship.

Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance

We must ensure new believers also understand that there is an enemy who hates them and wants to drag them back to every sinful way they have left behind. Some of them will need deliverance as they enter the Christian life, but more than that, all believers must be equipped to live a lifestyle of victory spiritual warfare, ensuring the enemy will never be able to win them back or hold them down. 

The Kingdom of God

As people grow in the Lord, we must teach people how to live as ambassadors in the Kingdom of God, seeking to see revival and awakening come into this world. We must teach them to pray that the Kingdom will come “on earth as it is in heaven;” to know what the Kingdom looks like, and how to live as representatives of that Kingdom in their communities. 

We must show them their role in reaching others with the gospel early on, so that it will become a natural part of their Christian walk, throughout their lives.

In conclusion, please realize that this is just a general list of new discipleship topics to get you started. I am sure there are plenty of great pre-written curriculums available online or in Christian book shops near you that can help you go further in this area, but at least now you are thinking about the marks of a mature believer, and beginning to see what it will take to lead people there.

In our next post we will discuss Level 3 Discipleship, in which we help people to begin maturing themselves through personal bible study and prayer.

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Level 1 Discipleship: Share the Gospel

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As I shared in my last post, there are four levels of interaction that take place when making disciples. The first level is the starting point of the gospel, as we go into the world preaching the gospel to the lost.

While we will not spend much time in this series on the practicals of outreach, I feel it is necessary at this point to discuss how to present the gospel to the lost, as this is the place where their discipleship begins – the point of salvation.

Briefly, I want to share with you two methods of gospel presentation, that will enable you to keep the story of the gospel in mind in any opportunity to share with non-believers. Each of these methods will utilize four key words that will keep you on track for sharing the gospel. They are not original with me, but have been effective for years in my own mission work.

After sharing these two methods, I also want to share with you the importance of incorporating your personal testimony in your outreach efforts.

Method 1: The Ground-Level Gospel

I call this the Ground-level gospel because it keeps the story very personable to the people we are sharing with. Though using scripture is always necessary, this method doesn’t go as deep into the history of the bible as the second method will. It is very simple, and may have even been the method used by the person who led you to Christ. 

The four keywords for this method are GOD – MAN – CHRIST – RESPONSE. As I have written in our ministry’s team training handbook:

“In this way of presenting the Gospel, you begin by explaining who God is; that He is perfect and holy, and that when He created everything in the universe He made it ‘very good.’ Because God is perfect and holy, He cannot associate Himself with the unholy. This brings us to the second point.

“Man, though he was created holy in the image of God, chose to disobey God’s command and eat of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. With this one action, sin entered the world and man lost his connection with God. The judgement came with the curses pronounced in Genesis 3, as well as eternal separation from God in this life and in the next.

“This is where Christ comes in. When you have a Holy God, and a sinful humanity, there has to be a major move on both sides in order to make reconciliation. So when Jesus was born, what happened is that God took on flesh and became a man. He lived a sinless life according to the law of God, then died in our place, taking our punishment for sin, and offering us new life and righteousness through faith in Him.

“With these three things in mind, the person being ministered to is then called to a response. Will they accept Jesus as their Savior and be reconciled to God through faith in Christ, or will they reject Christ as Savior and continue in life separated from God?”

Method 2: The High-Level Gospel

Though the first method is simpler, and can be used for a quick presentation of the gospel, the second method is, by far, my favorite. This method uses the full story of scripture to lay out God’s beautiful plans, the problem of sin in humanity, and the reason for which Christ came into the world. It can also be shared conversationally when giving an explanation of your faith, without adding the immediate pressure of a response, if the person is far from getting saved. Instead, it can act as the starting point to impart faith in God, that may lead to a later decision.

The four keywords for this method are CREATION – FALL – REDEMPTION – RESTORATION. Again, let me share form our ministry’s training manual:

“God created all things in the beginning and made them good. He put humanity in charge of His creation, giving him authority to rule as a steward of God’s universe. Again, this creation was perfect and holy, and man himself was righteous having been created in the image of God.

“When mankind first sinned against God, known as ‘the fall,’ not only was man affected with the curse, but the whole creation as well. This is why everything we see in the world is not as it was originally intended to be: war, famine, violence, natural disasters, etc.

“Another downside of the fall was that the authority over the earth which God had given to mankind was then delivered to the devil, who has become ‘the God of this world’ and ‘the prince of the power of the air…at work in the sons of disobedience (lost man).‘

“Redemption is a theological word meaning that on the cross, not only did Jesus die for our sins, but that He also came to break the curse over creation and reclaim what was lost in the fall. According to Luke ‘…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ This goes beyond just the salvation of souls, but also the the redemption of righteousness and justice in the earth, and ultimately the authority over creation. This is why after the resurrection, Jesus tells the disciples that now, He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

“This is where personal salvation comes in. If Jesus is the Redeemer of all things, that means He also redeems us, and brings us back to our original intended relationship with God the Father. He also gives us new life and restores our ability to walk in holiness by faith in Him. Though we are not completely perfected in the moment of salvation, we now recognized Jesus as the Lord of our life and submit to Him. As we work to build our relationship with Him, we also begin to be conformed to His image once again, just as we were originally created to be in the beginning.

“This presentation of the gospel also looks forward to the day Jesus returns and we will see the final restoration of all things back to the way God intended them to be in the beginning. Sin and death and the devil will be dealt their final blow. Jesus will judge the world according to whether or not their faith was in Him, and then He, along with all those who believed in Him as Savior will see all things finally made right. There will be a new heaven and new earth, and all the promises from the Bible will finally be fulfilled. This should get us excited.“

One final note about this narrative: even if you do not use this method for reaching the person in salvation, it is an important story for them to understand once they are saved. Therefore, if the person gets saved using method 1, then method 2 should be used at the beginning of their Level 2 Discipleship.

No matter which method you use to preach the gospel, what must be made clear is that our goal in Level 1 Discipleship is to take a lost person and lead them to salvation in Christ. We must be bold to share the gospel, and we must give them the opportunity to accept Christ as their personal Savior. 

Using Your Personal Testimony in Sharing the Gospel

Let me once again share from Sozo Ministries’ training handbook:

“It is not enough to know the gospel story with your head. You must also know it to be true and effective with your experience for your words to carry any meaning to those you are sharing with.

“Your testimony is your personal connection to God’s story in human history and is a tool He will use for leading others to Himself. 

“The Hebrew word for testimony, ‘edut,’ and the Hebrew word for witness, ‘ed,’ both come from a root word meaning ‘to duplicate or repeat.’ This means that in sharing our testimony, we are asking God to repeat the action in the lives of those we share with. This can be our salvation testimony as well as our testifying to other works of God in our life. It is a way of saying, ‘If God did it for me, He can do it for you.’ This honors God by giving Him credit and raises faith in the person making a way for God to do it again for them.

“If sharing a testimony is declaring ‘Do it again, Lord,’ then is it any wonder that all throughout the Old Testament God commands His people to share the testimonies of His faithfulness with the next generation? Psalm 119 continually talks about remembering God’s testimonies and delighting in them. It is also the privilege of the Christian that we get to be Jesus’ story-tellers as we are called to be His witnesses to the world. Remember, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Sharing your personal testimony requires you to know where you were before Christ found you, how the gospel came into your life, and the change God has brought in you now.

I am not the man I was before Christ saved me at 16 years old. I was a teenage slacker, alcoholic, trying drugs and experimenting sexually. Even in church, I was a hypocrite, drinking with my youth leader on Saturday nights. Thank God, He used a man bold enough to preach the gospel to me, and though I knew the stories of Jesus my whole life, I finally put my faith in Christ to be saved. Today, I am free from all those addictions and perverse lifestyles. I am faithfully married, and have the privilege of sharing this gospel all around the world.

What is your Gospel story? It is not a shame to share what your lost self did before Christ saved you, as He will use it to bring others to Himself. We must know the gospel in our heads and with our lives. Then God will use us to reach others as well.

(Click here for Level 2 Discipleship – The Basics of the Faith.)

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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4 Levels of Disciple-Making

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As we continue our discussion on creating a strategy for discipleship within your church or ministry, I want to look at four levels of growth people go through in the discipleship journey. (Click here for part 1 of our discipleship strategy series.)

These four levels will give us a grid for how to view our interactions with others, determined by where they are in their own journey with Christ. As we learn to keep disciple-making at the forefront of our minds in every interaction with others, this will help us to see where they are, and inform our efforts to help them draw closer to Christ and to maturity in Him.

Of course these four levels could be broken down even further into many sub-categories, but keeping it simple will enable us to grasp the challenges and opportunities we have with each group, and form a plan for raising them up.

1. The Non-Believer

While this is not technically a level on the discipleship spectrum, I want to include it here because it is the place all of us start from. In our efforts to make disciples, it is necessary to view every person in relationship to where they are in Christ, and so we might simply say these people are pre-Christ. They haven’t met Him yet. Which tells us how we need to be interacting with them .

Jesus loves the world so much that He gave up His own life to redeem ours. In Him, all of humanity has been called back to the Father and has a divine opportunity to be conformed to the image of Christ. Our interactions with non-believers should be intentional to speak in love, offering the life-giving gospel to them as the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity.

The desired outcome of our time with these people is that as they would encounter Jesus through us, will be drawn to Him, and receive salvation.

2. The New Believer

Once someone has been born-again by putting their faith in Christ, the next step is to help them understand the foundations of the Christian life. They are no longer lost sinners, but unless there has been a supernatural breakthrough which brought them into salvation, they will likely still struggle with what it means to be a Christian.

It is at this stage that we must impart to the new believer the foundation of their new identity in Christ. The old man has passed away, and the new man is breaking through. Yet it is a process to see the new man come in maturity, so we must help them.

In developing a discipleship strategy for these men and women, it can be a good idea to use a topical approach in your discipleship meetings. We can use their hunger to grow, and take them to the basics of the Christian life. These would be things like:

  • what is salvation and repentance
  • how are we born again,
  • what does it mean to pray, 
  • how do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, 
  • why is Bible study important,
  • why they should join in a church fellowship.

This list can be much longer, depending on how the Holy Spirit leads you in developing your own teaching, and we will discuss this topic in more depth in a future post. But for now, we simply need to understand that the goal at this stage of discipleship is that these people would begin to leave the old life behind, and start taking steps to live as a follower of Christ.

3. The Growing Disciple

Once a person has integrated into the Christian life and is operating as part of the local fellowship of believers, there will come a day that topical lessons have less of an impact on their walk with the Lord. That is not to say that all believers cannot benefit from specific teachings on certain points of the Christian life. Simply that there will come a hunger for “the meat of the word,” and not the basic things – “the milk” – given to babes in Christ.

It is at this stage that we must ensure that these men and women can begin to walk out their own discipleship and growth, through the word of God and in intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

One practical way you can teach people to study the Word of God, as we have discussed in another post, is called the R.E.A.P. Method. While this is not original to myself, I love it because it is simple enough to teach and remember. You simply teach people that with every passage of scripture you should (R)ead, (E)xamine what it means and the principles it teaches, (A)pply these lessons to your life and decide how you will live them out, and then (P)ray for the Holy Spirit to help you do so.

As they are learning to pray for the Holy Spirit’s help, they must also be learning to hear His voice and discern His leadership in their lives. While your church probably has its own beliefs and convictions about how involved the Holy Spirit is in our daily lives, we must make sure we are not limiting Him through willful unbelief. We will discuss this topic in more detail in a future post as well.

The goal with believers at this stage is to let go of handholding Christianity, and enable believers to grow on their own. They will still need guidance along the way, but they cannot remain dependent on others for ongoing growth.

4. The Mature Leader

The final level of discipleship comes when a person has not only learned how to hear the voice of God and grow themselves in the Word of God, but they have a growing track record of practicing these things regularly.

When they reach the point of truly knowing who they are in Christ, and are living out a respectable level of Christian maturity, then the discipleship process turns to them becoming disciple-makers themselves. We might call this a vision-centered discipleship.

What I mean by this is that not only are they learning to walk in Christ more every day, but as their relationship with Him matures, they will begin to have God-given visions of gospel improvement to their family of faith, their neighborhoods and community, and even for national revival. They will no longer simply be pursuing their own growth in the Lord, but naturally they will being leading others toward growth in Him as well.

For these people, stepping into leadership may not be automatic, but it should be encouraged.

As far as it concerns a discipleship strategy, it is at this level that a church should be seeking to impart the vision and values of the ministry into the person, as they begin to lead others down the line. These people should learn what the greater vision God has given to the ministry and how the leadership strives to live it out.

For example, in my own ministry we have 5 “cultural values” which should mark every pastor, missionary, or leader in our ministry, and should be trickling down to every church member and short-term team member. These are things like “bible-loving” and “prayer-led,” which are vital to any ministry and to every maturing disciple. Yet we also have more distinct values such as “identity-driven” and “revival-longing.” Those things need pressed into people growing into maturity within our ministry.

Imparting things like their identity in Christ into the vision they have to serve others will prevent things like a spirit of competition or a poverty mindset. It is not simply a mental understanding of the new man that is necessary, but a practical outworking of their inheritance and authority as sons and daughters of God.

To teach them what it means to be revival-longing, is to impart the vision our ministry has for holiness, justice, community restoration, healing, deliverance, and mass salvations. These things drive how our ministry works from day-to-day, as well as how we pray and seek God as a team of ministers.

The point is that as a person begins to step up into spiritual maturity, our strategy must include a plan to help them become leaders within the church and community, and that means teaching not just the biblical theology and foundations of Christianity, but also imparting the specific callings and giftings that God has given to your ministry for your area of service. The goal is that they will continue the mission of making-disciples in the next generation of believers.

(Click here to begin exploring these four levels in depth.)

Photo by Andrej Lišakov on Unsplash

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