Deeper, Stronger, Further

God gave me a prophetic picture for the Church. I saw a picture of a seed being planted, and it was growing into a strong and a healthy tree. First, I saw the roots growing down. Then I saw the trunk growing up. Then I saw the branches growing out. Finally, I saw lots of fruit on this tree! I was aware that before there was fruit, there were roots growing down, a trunk growing up, and branches growing out.

Father is more pleased with our spiritual growth than he is with a static spiritual position. God is calling the Church back to three truths in regard to deeper, stronger, and further.

DEEPER

Deeper is DISCIPLESHIP – the roots growing down.

The starting point of discipleship is found in the following well-known verse:

Matthew 4:19 (NIV) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Discipleship is all about following Jesus. To be clear, following Jesus means that He is leading us. And this brings us to a very interesting verse. To the disciples who had been following Jesus for some time, Jesus brings a clarification of what following Him should look like. Here’s what He said:

Matthew 16:24 (NIV) Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

This instruction was spoken just after Peter tried to tell Jesus that He didn’t need to go to the cross. Peter tried to lead Jesus, and many times, we can do the same. It is an easy trap to fall into if we tell God why He has got it wrong. Disciples follow Jesus, they don’t lead Him.

Here’s two statements that are worth meditating on as we consider growing down deeper in discipleship:

If we are not denying ourselves and taking up our cross, then we are not following Jesus.
If we are doing everything that we want to do, then we are not following Jesus.

STRONGER

Stronger is PERSEVERANCE – the trunk growing up.

Some time ago, I remember saying to God, “Lord, I want it to be easier.” His reply to me was immediate and it left me nowhere to hide. He said, “I want you to be stronger.” God had my attention!

Ephesians 6:10 (NIV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

I had a revelation: If I’m not being strong, maybe it’s because I’m not in the Lord. It is so easy to go from being in the Spirit to being in the flesh, and then going back and forth between the two, even in a single conversation. What is needed is for us to learn to remain in God.

John 15:5 (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

One of the keys to becoming stronger through perseverance is learning to respond towards God, rather than to react against people or circumstances. This is easier said than done, but it most definitely is possible in God.

I then heard the words, “Trees grow towards the sun.” I knew this was the Lord speaking so I Googled what I heard, and I found out about phototropism – plants grow towards the source of light. As persevering disciples of Jesus, we too grow up towards the light of the Son of God as we keep our eyes fixed on Him.

FURTHER

Further is EVANGELISM / MISSION – the branches growing out.

Luke 19:10 (NIV) “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

This foundational reality is a central truth of our faith that Father is reestablishing. Lost people matter to God, and they must matter to us too. As the church, we do not exist for ourselves. Our focus must not remain on us simply enjoying God and His presence. Let’s go back to our opening verse:

Matthew 4:19 (NIV) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

When Jesus called people to follow Him, He made it clear that following Him would result in disciples that fished for people. One evidence that we are following Jesus is that we are fishing for people. Conversely, if we are not fishing for people, are we in fact actually following Jesus?

John 15:1-2 (NIV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

God is restoring the Church to deeper discipleship (deny yourself), stronger perseverance (take up your cross), and further evangelism and mission (follow Jesus). The result will be even more fruit for the glory of God!

Listen to the audio message from Steve – Deeper, Stronger, Further