The Making of a Disciple - 7 Days of MentorshipSample

The Road of Discipleship—Unity and Confidence

God’s aim has and always will be to unify His people, the body of Christ, with Himself. Jesus was speaking in Mark about being one and unified. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” God is One; He is not divided in anything. Staying in unity starts with you being undivided within yourself. You cannot be divided within and profess to love and be one with God and others. Loving means loving what God loves and has created and being willing to lay our life down as Christ did. When we do not love ourselves properly, we become divided; a divided person cannot stand or give themselves entirely to the Lord. When there are damaged or unhealed areas in a person’s life from abuse, neglect, or rejection, a basic instinct of self-preservation forms as a protective barrier from being hurt again; this is called a stronghold. The noun for self-preservation is the protection of oneself from harm or death, especially regarded as a basic instinct in human beings and animals. Self-preservation is the basic instinctive behavior used by Adam and Eve when God confronted their disobedience. 

“So, Adam said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 

Hearing God’s voice under the law of sin while in disobedience allowed fear to enter into humanity: “Adam was afraid.” Fear and self-preservation are shown clearly in Adam's actions; he hid from fear of consequence and tried to preserve himself from the result of disobedience. We see three dynamics of darkness entering into humanity, sowing discord between man and God, fear, and self-preservation. All three dynamics are used to isolate creation from the creator. Unhealthy fear and self-preservation are killers of faith, confidence, and unity between man and God. This type of division births doubts in God. When there is a division within oneself, it is impossible to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Before a disciple can become one with God, they have to be one within themselves; you cannot hate what God loves and then love God and others. When you are genuinely one within yourself and the body of Christ, you will know the heartbeat of God and see the direction in which God is pointing. Sensitivity to the Spirit of God begins to develop, and the mind of Christ is obtained. An effective disciple of Christ has a foundation of faith in God; unity; and confidence in themselves, the body of Christ, and in God. The foundation has to be maintained aggressively and unwaveringly. Confidence and unity are crucial to moving forward in making an effective disciple for the kingdom of God. 

Sample prayer:

Father, I thank you for Your Love and example of what unity looks like. Please help make me whole by showing me what is divided within me. Please help me to keep unity in the body of Christ, my home, my job, my family, and myself. I love you, and thank you for all You are doing and what You are about to do in my life. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.