Does spiritual growth just happen?

Walking with Christ every day is a conscious effort of surrender to His Will. No one becomes a mature follower of Christ by accident. Jesus called His disciples to leave everything and follow Him. The conditions that he set were numerous as they followed Him throughout his earthly ministry. Christ called the disciples to surrender their lives for the sake of the gospel.The first condition of discipleship is self-denial. Jesus called the disciples to drop everything and deny themselves and follow Him. This means for personal devotion to Christ alone.

The second condition of discipleship is renunciation. Christ calls us to put our treasures in Heaven and not upon earth. It is to put away the cares of the world and the greed that consumes the culture. Christ promises to provide all of our needs because He is the provider of everything. The call of God is not partial but one that demands the denial of self and of the love of materialism.

The third condition is to leave everything in order to follow Christ. It is to put Christ in front of the family. It sounds difficult but Christ has called disciples to put Him first and the family second in priority. In order to say “yes” to Jesus, it takes a sincere devotion to making the gospel the center of one’s life. It is not to discount relationships with family, but to place the cause of Christ as the priority for life. It is living with a central focus to put away the cares of the world and replace it with a kingdom focus to see people know Christ.

The fourth condition is to be steadfast. It is to be immovable when it comes to standing for the truth and love of God. A mature disciple will not crumble when the storms of life hit, but will respond with perseverance. Christ called the disciples to hold fast and be bold and courageous. In order to be steadfast, one must be dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ has given disciples a yoke that is easy and burden that is light if we trust and obey Him.

The fifth condition of discipleship is fruitfulness.  A disciples goal in life is to bring glory to God. Christ calls disciples to shine the light of love into the world so that their fruit points to the glory of God. A good tree will bear fruit that remains and multiplies. Christ established the condition to set forth laborers into the harvest that would spread the seed of the gospel. The disciples were to reveal their love for God by loving other people. A disciple that remains connected daily with Christ will bear fruit and mature.

The final condition of discipleship is love. God is the definition and action of love. Christ called the disciples to love one another as a family. Instruction was set out from the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry to be examples of love to the lost and broken. Jesus came to seek and save the lost through the cross (Luke 19:10). In order for a disciple to grow spiritually, they must deny themselves and obey God’s Word with passion and devotion. When people obey the truth of God’s Word, it changes lives for eternity.