Embracing God's Presence: The Journey of Discipleship

all through this day invoke the presence of God that is just simply to keep reminding myself keep reminding yourself God you are right here God you are watching God you are listening God you are present God you you care as I look at the world around me and I see the beauty of it when I look at other people and think I've Got Friends I have people that love me those are constantly reminders God you're here God you're here I want you to be here to invoke God's presence mean both that I am aware of it but I invite it [00:00:20]

as soon as you have a task to do and life presents itself as a series of tasks ask Jesus how can I do this instead of Simply being passive or running on autopilot Jesus how can I make what I'm doing right now useful to somebody else how can I bring Flair to it how can I do it with Pizzazz How can there be some creativity to it to it how can I make this a gift of love to other folks [00:00:56]

and if you do those two things today invoke God's present constantly and then continually ask for his help with whatever task you face next what you are doing is being a disciple of Jesus and that's the essence of it it's not all of it also life involves different practices that we're engaged in in the process of transformation and so but this is the centrality of it [00:01:27]

the person who has helped me and lots of other folks understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus particularly as Dallas Willard and one of the words that he would say is actually a better word for disciples something that helps us understand it better is the word apprentice and that the old uh Greek word that's used in the New Testament for disciple methetes was also used for apprentices [00:01:49]

to be an apprentice of the master is not a passive thing it doesn't mean well I'll just sit and wait and see if Jesus fixes the doorknob uh I call the one under whom I am apprenticing and then he will give me appropriate guidance and he will know what kind of risks I ought to take and what it's safe for me to try it very very often I will fail [00:04:24]

if you want today to live as a disciple of Jesus part of what's wonderful about this is you don't even have to believe to any particular level you don't have to conjure up a lot of faith you can have all kinds of doubts and still be an apprentice Dallas Bullard writes this in the Divine conspiracy that people when they're asked are they apprenticing to a musician or a lawyer a screenwriter or a politician would not need to think one second to respond [00:04:47]

for to be a disciple in any area or relationship is not to be perfect one can be very raw and incompetent beginner and still be a disciple it is part of the refreshing realism of the gospels that we often find Jesus doing nothing less than balling out his disciples you of little faith he will say how long must I put up with you that however is very far from rejecting them it is in fact a way of being faithful to them [00:05:50]

a good Master takes his apprentices seriously and therefore takes them to tasks as needed that's what a good coach does that's what a good leader does so a disciple or an apprentice is simply someone who has decided to be with another person under appropriate conditions in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is [00:06:30]

he's good at living in the awareness and the presence and fellowship with and under the guidance and empowering of his father and applying that to life for the good of others and uh that's what he invites us to do as well now if I'm a disciple of Jesus then I'm with him not to try to live his life but to learn from him how to live my life [00:07:14]

he said our growth does not depend on changing our works often people think I must do something else something that's more religious or more important no no no no it doesn't depend on changing it works but in doing that for God's sake which we commonly do for our own in doing that for God's sake that I commonly do for my own sake [00:07:41]

and if you do that if you walk through this day God you're right here right now now how can we do this together and then Jesus help me let go of the outcome so that I can walk into the next moment and be fully present there and make my life as much as possible a blessing to other people because that power and Grace is flowing through me into them [00:09:28]

you will be a disciple an apprentice of Jesus and that remains the greatest opportunity that has ever been offered to the human race at first I thought I can't do this and then there's kind of an interesting identity issue that goes on at a certain point when you become Apprentice you cease to say I'm the kind of person who could not do that and you say well actually I'm in the process of learning [00:09:51]