Philippians 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Discipleship is a vital activity within the church. It must be done and it must be done properly. It is not enough to say I saw and I did. Hearing, learning, and seeing sound examples are important but the most vital of all elements here is receiving.

I can speak the truth in love but if you receive it as from a man where is the glory to God? There has to be a receiving from the spirit and a giving of the spirit. Discipleship is a spiritual discipline, not a human effort.

Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

Why does that seem to be lost on us who take on the task of discipling others? Is that how we were discipled? Were you discipled? If not, then you must learn to do it without a human example to lean upon.

Philippians 4:17 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

To properly understand this verse, think in this way. Did you take the train to New York or did the train take you to New York?

Being in Christ and being in the Spirit is like getting on the train, you do not take Christ or the Spirit anywhere, they take you, carry your, move you.

Our expression of that truth does not always reflect the actual exercise of that truth. In discipleship we are both on the train discussing our journey, ever mindful of the train more than what we see out the window.

James 1:23-24 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

A dear brother once told me that not everyone is introspective. I found that amazing, not because of the truth of the matter, but because I couldn’t imagine a life lived without introspection. My failing to those people is that I don’t understand them. I have always been introspective. My problem in my earlier years is that I did not like what I saw in myself.

James tells us to be reflective, to see if we can look at ourselves in the mirror and notice change. Having done that, can you hold that image in your mind as you leave the mirror? The issue here is consistent behavior. Are you the same person alone that you are in public? No one tell you that except yourself. An honest evaluation of self is required to do that.

I have never lied to myself. Much of my life I was disappointed in myself. I lived a life of regret because I couldn’t find the strength within myself to act any other way. I even said this is the way God made me, get over it. That was true and yet not the whole truth. What was missing was Christ in me who could and would strengthen the inner man, to do what is right.

Ephesians 3:16-19 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Know Christ in you.