Dare to be a Disciple

30 Dec 2012 by Adeline Lum-

On December 29^th 2012, I visited FGA KL at 4-6 p.m., a new Saturday Service time made available until the renovation process ends. Jeremy, one of the leaders in FGA KL, leaped on-stage booming through the microphone, “Hello church, how are you today? Are we ready to worship the Lord?” to which the crowd echoed, “Amen!”

Today, I was privileged to hear from Rev. Rasik Ranchord, pioneer of the Abundant Life Centre in Wellington, New Zealand. It is a growing church with 75 percent Asian congregation including Indians, Sri Lankans, Chinese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos and Singaporeans, Pacific Islanders as well As Europeans.

“Every two to three years, we would pass by this special place. We knew Elder Ang Chui Lai (co-founder of FGA) way back when FGA started” said Ranchord. “I will be traveling with my wife, Lalita, to Singapore (after Malaysia), then Chennai and Mumbai. Our hearts are for Asia.”

Ranchord’s topic was extremely vital but often neglected in a Christian life, entitled ‘What are disciples?’ He chose this topic not out of randomness, but from his traveling experiences in observing the weakness and strengths of different churches relating to discipleship. In fact, he wrote a book entitled, “Dare to be a Disciple”, as a fruit of his 45 over years of research and reading the New Testament over and over.

So, he outlined his sermon into three parts: The Great Commission, The Great Regression and The Great Recomission.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“The Great Commission! Let’s look at the church at that time, everyone was so filled with the Spirit that every person was an evangelist, and they turned the world right-side up (metaphorically meant reaching upward to God by flipping and reading the pages of the gospel)!” exclaimed Ranchord. “In fact, the Great Commission is the job description of the church.”

Nevertheless, The Great Commission has become The Great Regression.

THE GREAT REGRESSION

Rev Dr. John Stott, elected as the top 100^th most influential people by Time Magazine in 2005, wrote in his book this excerpt:

There is no doubt of the phenomenal growth of the church in many parts of the world. The statistics of church growth are amazing. Explosion is no too dramatic a word to describe it… At the same time we should not indulge in triumphalism, for it is often growth without depth. There is superficiality of disciples everywhere, and church leaders bemoan this situation…This situation is serious because it is displeasing to God… Consider for example Paul’s critique of the Corinthian Church:

¹Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ²I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

“There has been not enough growth in disciples than numbers,” said Ranchord.

Ranchord explaining how church can grow without depth

In fact, according to Ranchord, Edmund Chan (Senior Pastor of Covenant Evangelical Free Church in Singapore) wrote four reasons that make discipleship impossible:

We live in the spirit of convenience. Anything that inconvenient us, we will not do.
We struggle in treating Jesus as the Lord of all. We want God’s blessings but we don’t want God.
We are too busy to be able or want to spend time to become disciples.
We live in a superficial world where there are three types of conversions including solid, shallow or pseudo-conversions. The latter two make discipleship impossible.

Ranchord also shared about John McDowell who explained the title of his book, The Last Christian Generation:

“I realize the title of this book may be shocking. But the decision to call this The Last Christian Generation was not made lightly nor was it done for sensationalism. I sincerely believe unless something is done now to change the spiritual state of our young people—you will become the last Christian generation!”

Recent findings by the New Zealand Bible Society in 2008, highligted by Ranchord were¹:

Eight million twenty something’s who were active churchgoers as teenagers will no longer be active in church by their thirtieth birthdays.
When deciding right from wrong in difficult situations, only 31 percent of Southern Baptist teens said they turned to God or the Scriptures. Almost an identical percent said they decided based on whether it made them feel happy or helped them get ahead in life.
Many teens (including conservative Protestants) reject the essential doctrine of salvation by grace; three out of five believe people can earn a place in heaven if they are generally good, or do enough good things for others.

THE GREAT RECOMMISSION

“God’s plan has not changed, so let’s go back to the Great Recommission. We do not need something new but rediscover what God has given to us in the first place,” said Ranchord.

WHO are the disciples?

1. People

There’s no more zeal and fire for the Lord anymore.

As one of the first Indians to accept Christ 50 years ago, Ranchord knew his family would opposed him but he was given the bible verse Matthew 10:37 which says:

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

“I told my parents… Mum and dad, in everything I do, I’d honor you but for this, I choose Jesus,” Ranchord said. “When do you retire? I don’t retire, I only refire and refocus!”

God loves people, and if you love God, you’d love people. We, as people, are very worthy in God’s sight because people are made in His image.

2. Called

Jesus called His twelve disciples, and now He’s calling you to be His out of the population to show Him to the world.

3. From every nation and generation

We only need one saviour for the whole world. The gospel is open to every nation and ethnic group before the end comes.

For Christ died for sins ONCE for ALL, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18)

Also, the commission is passed down from generation to generation, as disciple begets disciple.

4. Wholeheartedly committed to Christ

When you accept Christ, God’s work is not completed in you but has only begun. To accept Christ is to commit to a life-long process of becoming like Christ from the inside out. All evil proceeds from the human heart but God says:

“I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19b)”.

HOW do we become disciples?

1. By God’s Word

“According to the New Zealand Bible Society, out of all the church-goers, only 11 percent read it daily and 13 percent read it weekly. Only 6.5 percent of the populations read the Bible half an hour to an hour. Owning a bible is not enough but we need to meditate on His Words,” said Ranchord.

2. By God’s Spirit

The spirit is the second change agent apart from the Word.

3. Manifestation of likeness of Christ

a. In a maturing love for God and other’s supremely.

Do you see people as trouble? If you see them as trouble, then you don’t have love for them.

He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Luke 10:27)

b. In character and conduct

Character is shown through the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

Conduct is the change of our attitude into becoming Christ-like. As long as our behaviour is not changing, we are like a bad advertisement for Christ.

c. In our heart, mind and will

Your choice reflects your heart.

“¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21)

These bible verses also mean if you invest your treasures in things above, naturally your heart will gravitate towards that as well.

d. Ministry and Mission

When you exit the church, you enter into the mission field.

e. Fellowship with Christian community

Some of us think that we can do it all but we are not made to be a lone ranger. One member doesn’t make a body, one brick doesn’t make a building, and one member doesn’t make a family. You cannot be a Christian alone but by one spirit, we are baptised into one body.

WHY do we want to be disciples?

1. For the advancement of God’s kingdom

2. For the glory of God, not us.

“Have you ever thought about how much problem we have because of our ego? The Lord manages our ego. If you give yourself away, you will find out what life is about,” said Ranchord.

3. For the benefit of mankind.

WHEN does discipleship start?

Discipleship started in the Great Commission but it personally starts in you when you accept Christ. It is still continuing and it will only consummate at the Second Coming of Christ.

“Walking with God shouldn’t be boring. I have walked with God for so many years and my life had never been more fulfilling and satisfying!” Ranchord said. “I would like you to take what you heard today and challenge yourselves today in becoming a disciple after God.”

For more information about the book written by Rev. Rasik Ranchord, Dare to be a Disciple, please visit http://rasikranchord.com/default.asp?iId=HILHG

Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen.

Reference for article:

http://www.equip.org/articles/equipping-the-new-generation-theres-no-place-like-home/

Reference for pictures: