Day 20 — Walk with Someone

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” — Acts 2:42

(NIV)

Jesus never intended discipleship to be something we simply study but something we live. Jesus didn’t hand His disciples a book, tell them to complete the lessons, and send them away.

He invited them into His life and they walked with Him. They ate with Him and listened to Him teach. They watched Him pray and saw Him heal the sick. They watched Him love people others rejected. They asked questions and made mistakes.

Jesus corrected them and encouraged them. He taught them and gave them opportunities to do what they had watched Him do. Eventually, He sent them out after Jesus returned to the Father and the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, this same relational pattern continued in the early church. Acts gives us a picture of disciples who were not simply attending meetings. They were doing life together.

Acts 2:42 says: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the (NIV) breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Then Acts 2:46 tells us: “Every day they continued to meet together…” (NIV) They learned together, prayed together, ate together, they worshiped together. They opened their homes and shared what they had. They cared for needs and they witnessed the power of God. They carried the gospel into their communities and encouraged one another and as the gospel spread, more disciples were made.

This was not merely a weekly event. This was a way of life.

We are not trying to invent a new model of discipleship. We are learning to live out the pattern Jesus established and the early church continued in the book of Acts.

Gathering with the church is an important part of following Jesus. We need worship. We need biblical teaching. We need fellowship and yes, we need the body of Christ but simply sitting in a church service does not automatically mean someone is being discipled. Discipleship becomes personal and we need people who know us. We need people we can ask questions and who will pray with us. We need people who encourage us and who lovingly correct us when necessary. We need people who remind us of truth when we become discouraged and people who model what following Jesus looks like in everyday life. Then eventually, something changes…. We become that person for someone else and that is multiplication!

The thought of discipling someone can feel intimidating. You may begin to think…. I don't know enough Scripture. What if they ask me something I can't answer? I'm still learning myself. Who am I to disciple someone?

But discipleship is not saying: “I have arrived. Follow me.”

It is saying: “I am following Jesus. Come walk with me.”

Paul wrote: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”— 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

The qualification is not perfection; the direction is Jesus. You should never pretend to know something you do not know and if someone asks a question you cannot answer, say: “I don't know.” Let's find out together.” Open the Bible and read the scripture, ask mature believers and seek wise biblical teaching. You know? You can always learn together! A disciple is always becoming more like Jesus while helping someone else do the same.

Discipleship often begins with an invitation. “Would you like to get coffee?” “Would you like to read through a Gospel together?” “Do you want to come to church with me?” “Would you like to pray together once a week?” “Why don't you come with me?”

It does not have to begin with a formal program and sometimes it begins around a kitchen table. Over coffee, during a walk, in a living room, at lunch or through a weekly phone call. The early church opened their homes and their lives to one another.

Discipleship requires enough relationship for someone to see what following Jesus actually looks like.

People need more than information. They need relationship! Walking with someone means learning their story, listening, praying and encouraging. Walking with someone means celebrating growth. Walking through struggles and speaking truth with love. Being willing to have honest conversations and it means showing up consistently enough that trust can grow. You are not becoming someone's Savior.

Jesus already holds that position. You are simply walking beside them and continually pointing them toward Him.

Think about what you have learned during these twenty days. 1. You have learned to follow Jesus. 2. Seek Him first. 3. Recognize His voice. 4. Obey Him. 5. Trust Him when you do not understand. 6. Walk by faith. 7. Remain in Christ. 8. Allow Him to transform you. 9. Pray. 10. See people through the eyes of Jesus. 11. Live set apart. 12. Walk by the Spirit. 13. Depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit. 14. Represent King Jesus. 15. Respond to the prompting of the Spirit. 16. See the one. 17. Share what Jesus has done. 18. Pray boldly for others. 19. You already have something you can share.

You do not have to teach everything at once. Just take what Jesus is teaching you and give it away. Open Scripture together and talk about what you are learning. Ask: “What is God showing you?”

“What does this Scripture teach us about Jesus?”

“Is there something here we need to obey?”

“How can we put this into practice?”

Discipleship helps truth move from the page into someone's life.

Jesus did not only tell His disciples what to do. He showed them. They watched Him pray; they watched Him forgive. They watched Him serve and they watched Him respond to people. They watched Him obey the Father and they saw what He did when He was tired, interrupted, challenged, and opposed.

Our lives teach too. Someone may learn as much from watching the way you treat your family as they do from what you tell them during Bible study. They may learn about forgiveness by watching you forgive. They may learn about generosity by watching you give. They may learn about prayer because they hear you pray. They may learn how to treat people because they watch the way you treat the cashier, the waiter, the stranger, and the person who disagrees with you. We will not model perfection, of course you can’t be perfect, and when we fail, we can even model repentance. “I was wrong. Please forgive me.” That teaches something too.

Now, this is where discipleship becomes activation. Don’t only tell someone how to pray. Pray together.

Do not only tell them to read Scripture. Open the Bible together.

Do not only tell them to serve. Serve together.

Do not only tell them to share Jesus. Take them with you.

Do not only explain how to pray for someone who is hurting. Pray with that person together.

Do not only tell them that the Holy Spirit can use them. Give them opportunities to step out.

This is the pattern we see in Jesus.

First the disciples watched and then they participated. Then Jesus sent them. Discipleship moves from: “Watch me.” to: “Let's do this together.” to: “Now you do it.”

There is an important difference between discipling someone and making someone dependent upon you. This can be difficult, so it is healthy to set boundaries.

The goal is not for someone to need your answer for every decision. The goal is to help them know and follow Jesus. Instead of always saying: “Here's what I think you should do,” teach them to ask: “What does Scripture say?” “Have you prayed about it?” “What is the Holy Spirit showing you?” “Does this agree with the character and Word of God?” “What would obedience look like?”

Teach them to seek Jesus and teach them to open Bible and read Scripture. Teach them to pray and to recognize His leading and teach them to obey. You are not trying to become the voice of God in someone's life. You are simply helping them develop their own relationship with Jesus. They should learn to hear Holy Spirit for themselves. A healthy disciple-maker continually points people away from dependence upon themselves and toward dependence upon Jesus.

Eventually, the person you are walking with needs opportunities to step out themselves. Let them pray. Let them share. Let them serve and let them ask the questions. Let them encourage someone. Let them pray for the sick. Let them share their testimony and let them make mistakes and keep learning. You can encourage them and correct gently when needed. Celebrate their growth.

Then say: “Now who can you walk with?” Because discipleship was never supposed to stop with us.

The gospel spread throughout Acts because disciples kept carrying what they had received to others. When one person encountered Jesus, that person told someone else. Believers gathered, learned and prayed.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit and were then sent. They carried the gospel into another place and more people believed. More disciples were formed and then those disciples carried Jesus somewhere else. This is how the Kingdom multiplies.

Not only through platforms, or through pastors and missionaries, but through ordinary believers who understand: What Jesus has given me is meant to be given away.

Remember this simple discipleship rhythm:

INVITE- Invite someone into relationship.

WALK - Build genuine relationships and walk through life together.

TEACH - Open Scripture and share what Jesus has taught you.

MODEL - Let them see what following Jesus looks like in your actual life.

DO TOGETHER - Pray, serve, share, minister, and obey together.

SEND - Give them room to step out and encourage them to begin walking with someone else.

This is not about collecting followers. We are making followers of Jesus.

Today, ask God: “Lord, who could I begin walking with?” Do not immediately think you need to start a class. Just think of one person. Maybe it is a new believer or maybe someone has been asking you spiritual questions. Maybe someone recently returned to church or maybe someone wants to grow but does not know where to begin. Maybe someone is already in your life and simply needs an invitation.

Ask the Holy Spirit to bring someone to mind. Then take one simple step. Send the text, make the phone call or invite them for coffee. Ask if they would like to read Scripture together. Invite them to pray with you.

You could even say: “I've been learning what it really means to follow Jesus. Would you like to walk through some of it together?”

Then begin. You do not need to know everything. You simply need to keep following Jesus and invite someone to walk beside you.

Do I view discipleship as a program, or as a way of life?

Who has helped me learn what following Jesus looks like?

Am I willing to open my life enough for someone else to learn alongside me?

Do I feel like I must know everything before I can help someone follow Jesus?

Am I pointing people toward dependence on Jesus or dependence on me?

Who might God already have placed in my life for me to walk with?

Am I willing not only to teach someone, but to do it with them?

Could I eventually send that person to disciple someone else?