Discipleship The workings of God in you — Prophet Cherub Obadare

week. As we study this evening, you will open our understanding, you bring light into our spirit. In Jesus mighty name we have prayed. Amen. Amen. Praise God. I welcome everyone of us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Um last week we started a study um on discipleship, the walkings of God in you. Discipleship, the walkings of God in you. And we saw that um one of the first call God gives um a believer is the call to discipleship. After you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and you become born again, the first call you receive is a call to be a student, to learn at the feet of Christ. Unfortunately, many never responded to this call. Many never um accept this invitation of being a disciple of Christ. Um after you become born again, you must before you receive a call to be a pastor, uh receive a call to be in any of the offices in the five-fold ministry, you are first called to be a disciple. But some people today have have tried to skip that first call, and now some of them are pastors, some of them are prophets, they skip the discipleship um call and invitation to learn. You see so many people who have not been discipled, who are pastor in churches, who are leaders of ministries, they are not discipled. Now, um discipleship is not only for those in the five-fold ministry. Every believer should be discipled, every believer should be discipled. So, after you become born again, the first call you receive is called to learn. is called Who is a disciple? A disciple is a learner, a disciple is a student, a disciple is an apprentice, somebody who is submitted or who had submitted himself for teaching, for learning. The Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 3, and from verse 15, "from thy childhood thou hast known the scripture, which is able to make thee wise unto salvation. For the scripture is profitable for learning, for doctrine, for teaching, for reproof, for instruction unto righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works." So, Apostle Paul talking about his mentorship on Timothy, he said, "Timothy has been a disciple from his childhood, from the childhood from thy childhood." Remember, he spoke about his grandmother and his mother, how they discipled him before he came into the ministry of Paul. So, Timothy was discipled from his teenage age. He did not just come all of a sudden to become the pastor of the Ephesian Church. He was discipled. Timothy went through the discipleship class. That was why Paul was able to talk about him, "My son Timothy, from thy childhood you have known the holy scripture, which is profitable for doctrine." He said, "It is important for you that you know it for doctrine." Now, if you check 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 5, you will see where Apostle Paul was making reference to how Timothy was discipled. Timothy did not just got did not just get born again, it didn't just get born again. He went through training. He was taught. He was trained. He was um built up in the word of God. Look at 2 Timothy 1 and verse 5. "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that was in thee, which dwelleth first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice; I am persuaded that is indeed also." Now, he was telling Timothy, he said, "I know that you have gone through different stages of discipleship. His grandmother and his mother passed, you know, discipleship unto, you know, the mother, the grandmother discipled the mother of Timothy, the mother of Timothy who happens to be Eunice, discipled Timothy." Now, there's something we call family discipleship. You can actually disciple your children. You can disciple your wife. It can be passed on. And so, um we must understand that it is a requirement in the kingdom of God that a believer be discipled. The reason we have all kind of rebellious believers, ignorant, you know, people who mock the church, mock ministers of God, some of them who happens to be workers in churches, is because they have skipped the stage where God, you know, should have worked on them before they are, you know, given assignment in the kingdom. They all of a sudden, they find themselves, you know, around one job or the other and they are there just doing one thing or the other. So, you will see that it is important, all through the Bible, you see how Apostle Paul discipled Timothy, he discipled Titus. He was the one that discipled Titus. And all of these people pass the same, you know, doctrine of discipleship on to the other generation. And so, one one of the things that is a big challenge in our generation is that the um discipleship is gradually leaving the church. It's a big challenge today that we have teachers who have never been students, and they are teaching the Bible. Social media is aiding their activities. We have people who want to lead, but they have never been led. We have people who want to discipled they want to disciple others, but they have never been discipled themselves. And so, they they they they produce men of their likes. They produce people like them who don't The Bible says in the last days, men will have itching ears. This is what is happening now. Itching ears means the refusal to learn. They don't want to learn. And discipleship is about learning. Discipleship is not about leading. It's not about preaching. It's not about um um being an activist in the church. Discipleship is about learning. He said, in the last days, men will have itching ears. They will look for teachers to tell them what meaning they will not want to be submitted. They will not want to submit themselves on to true discipleship. That's what the Bible says, that it will be it will be it will be one of the major challenge in the last days that men will refuse discipleship. Let me read that scriptures to you. In 1 Timothy chapter 4 from verse 1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith." Many reasons why many people will err, why many people will go into error in this last days is refusal to be discipled. When you refuse discipleship, the Bible says men will depart from the faith, meaning they would once be in the faith, but refusal to submit themselves onto true tutelage, true discipleship, they would depart from the faith. He said he giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. If you refuse discipleship, you will always give heed to something. If you are not learning the truth, you are learning something. Yeah. If you are not submitted for true discipleship, you are you a man is always being led by something. You cannot be left as an islander. Something is leading you by time. So, if you are not being led by true the teachings of the of Christ, through discipleship, a rebellious spirit can take possession of you. That's why we see all kind of rebellion all around Christendom today. Men have given heed to seducing spirits. The Bible says they will depart from the faith. They will depart from the faith. People that can boldly mention names of fathers in the in the faith and insult them on social media, you know they are not taught. A child that is taught will never abuse his father. He was talking to Timothy. He said he said treat He said, "Do not rebuke elders. There are elders. Timothy was discipled by Paul, in his mentorship over Timothy, was telling him that don't rebuke elders. He said, 'Entreat them, counsel them, give your advice to them with humility.'" But in the last days. So, you can see what is happening in the body of Christ today. Discipleship is gradually being you know, you know, evaded, being removed. People are just imagining from nowhere. You just see somebody all of a sudden, he just imagine, he calls himself all kinds of names. He's a prophet, doctor, apostle, bishop, JP. You don't know who taught him. You don't know who who discipled him. He will just imagine all of a sudden. And he's before you know it, he start leading, he will start leading people in the same path. Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines, meaning doctrines means teachings. Now, how many of you know that discipleship is about teaching? It's about a teacher and a student. So, if you're not going through or submitting yourself to true discipleship, then you are submitting yourself to the teachings of the devils. So, you see, somebody can be born again and not be discipled. It's a matter of time. He will depart. He's a man. He can be gifted. He can have ability to see vision. Now, we should stop equating spiritual gifts to discipleship. There are two different things. The reason we have a lot of people using spiritual gifts to to to to manipulate people and merchandizing them the the gift of God is because they skip the class of discipleship. And so they are there, they see vision and use vision to to to to to manipulate to to to to manipulate people. Truly, they have the gift, but they have not been mentored. They have not been discipled. I'm going to give you a case study today. I'll give you a case study. Now, verse 2 says, "Speaking lies in hypocrisy, this is a product of someone who would not any believer." After you become born again and you would not submit yourself to thorough discipleship, you would not submit yourself under teachings that will make that will allow God to brood on you, incubate you. He took three years for Jesus to incubate the disciples, three years of thorough teachings day and night. Three years. The Bible says in Luke chapter 6 and verse 12, it said, "He prayed all through the night." Verse 13 says, "And he called to himself the disciples, and they were with him for three years." While he was disciplining them, something happened. They brought a boy that was possessed that they should cast out the devil that was in that boy. But because they have not completed their class, they could not. Now, listen to me. Lack of our fruitfulness is traceable to lack of thorough discipleship. You cannot be fruitful in the kingdom if you are not thoroughly taught. If you are not thoroughly discipled, you can't produce. The Bible says until a seed of corn falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. It cannot multiply. Discipleship is dying to yourself. You are taught how to die to self. Self pride. Self um you know glory. We are the one doing it if not for us in this church, you are yet to die. Praise God. So, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having conscience, their conscience seared with hot iron. Now, these are some of the things that happens when somebody becomes a teacher and has not been disciples. They start teaching doctrines you cannot find in the Bible. Start bringing all kinds of ideologies that are not that don't have biblical base. Why? The the Bible's Paul was talking to Timothy about them. He said they are teachers who who do not understand what they are even teaching. So, discipleship is preliminary. Discipleship is a requirement and you must be submitted. Now, it it doesn't have um there's no need for um age that maybe I'm too old to disciple, I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm you know, I I can be discipled again. There's no You can actually One of the challenges that we have people in the in in in in starting churches, they can tell you the history of the church, but they have never been discipled. They will tell you the first pastor that pastor the church, how they fought the pastor, how they chase the pastor away. They have not been discipled. They are aging, so they become principalities. That's a product of what you would see in them. Principalities they are always against anything that will not give themselves glory. Anything that will not announce them, they will fight it. So, it's a it's a major thing in the body of Christ today that we have to restore discipleship. Let's stop um celebrating gifts. One of the challenges in the church today is that gifted people are quickly celebrated over being discipled. So, after some time, they begin to see the the that there will not be need for them to be discipled, they gave because they have been to celebrate it. Remember when Jesus gave the disciples the opportunity to go exercise spiritual gifts, in Matthew chapter 10, the Bible says when they came back they started celebrating, say calm down. He say, "Only celebrate that your name has been. Say, 'Don't it's not time to say you're still learning.'" He calm them immediately. They were rejoicing that demons listened to them. They cast out demons and they healed the sick. Immediately, he called their attention back. Anywhere gift is celebrated above training and teaching of the word of God, you will produce men with pride. Who who who use the gifts to destroy themselves and destroy the people. Now, look at it. Three years of discipleship, yet one of them still fell away. As I was studying, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, said Judas was following, but with, but was not yielding. You can actually be following and not be yielding. Such that anytime your leader looks back, he sees you, but your heart is not with him. There was no way Jesus was going that Judas will not follow. No wonder when Jesus want to show certain things that he needs confidentiality, he mentioned Peter, James, and John and people like Judas are left out. Because he saw his heart. Remember in the last supper, he saw his heart. He said the person that will betray me is here with us. He's eating. He said quickly do what your heart. What the devil is telling you do. Go and do it now. So, was Judas following? Yes, he was following not for the learning, he was following not for the ministry, he was following for what he can get. So, he was not a disciple. When you find people who are following for what they can get, they are not disciples. Discipleship is a call to death. You are taught how to die. Self-pride, self um you know glory. We are the one doing it, if not for us in this church, you are yet to die. Praise God. So, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having conscience, their conscience seared with hot iron. Now, these are some of the things that happens when somebody becomes a teacher and has not been disciples. They start teaching doctrines you cannot find in the Bible. Start bringing all kinds of ideologies that are not that don't have biblical base. Why? The the Bible's Paul was talking to Timothy about them. He said they are teachers who who do not understand what they are even teaching. So, discipleship is preliminary. Discipleship is a requirement and you must be submitted. Now, it it doesn't have um there's no need for um age that maybe I'm too old to disciple, I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm you know, I I can be discipled again. There's no You can actually One of the challenges that we have people in the in in in in starting churches, they can tell you the history of the church, but they have never been discipled. They will tell you the first pastor that pastor the church, how they fought the pastor, how they chase the pastor away. They have not been discipled. They are aging, so they become principalities. That's a product of what you would see in them. Principalities they are always against anything that will not give themselves glory. Anything that will not announce them, they will fight it. So, it's a it's a major thing in the body of Christ today that we have to restore discipleship. Let's stop um celebrating gifts. One of the challenges in the church today is that gifted people are quickly celebrated over being discipled. So, after some time, they begin to see the the that there will not be need for them to be discipled, they gave because they have been to celebrate it. Remember when Jesus gave the disciples the opportunity to go exercise spiritual gifts, in Matthew chapter 10, the Bible says when they came back they started celebrating, say calm down. He say, "Only celebrate that your name has been. Say, 'Don't it's not time to say you're still learning.'" He calm them immediately. They were…