Discipleship: Discover Your Identity in Christ

Discipleship

Discover Your Identity in Christ

Anton Labuschagne

Copyright © 2023 by Anton Labuschagne

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/ resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

To my beautiful wife Anita and my four children for their support and believing in me while writing this book. A special thanks and appreciation to my wife for trusting God with me that this book will become a reality.

Congratulations!

You are starting a journey toward a deeper relationship with God.

Let me begin by thanking you. By picking up this book, you are saying a few things:

That you want to grow in your relationship with God.

That you take the command of Jesus according to Matthew 28:19 seriously.

That you have the burden to leave behind a legacy by touching the lives of others.

That you make it a priority to become a disciplined follower of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel came to us as believers because it was already on its way to someone else. The blessings, promises and power that are part of this incredible relationship with our heavenly Father are designed to be shared with everyone around us.

I have found that very few believers have had someone in their lives who accepted the responsibility of equipping them in the foundational doctrines, principles, and practices of faith. Most churchgoers today have never experienced the benefits of personal discipleship with accountability in a small group environment.

But this is changing for you today.

This book should not be read and then abandoned on a shelf; it is a resource meant to help you make disciples for years to come. Please write your personal notes in it and record the testimonies of what God is doing in your life.

May you walk in the blessings of the Lord and may He keep you and make His face to shine upon your life.

Foreword

Discipleship changed my life!

This course took veil after veil from my eyes and left me gaping in awe at the Master and what He did for me! Could this be true? I wondered countless of times, yet Scripture confirmed it. The joy of finding out who I truly am in Christ has liberated me and given me an awesome security. I am left with the knowledge that my Father in heaven is a good, good God who loves me (and His bride) unconditionally!

Madelein Murray

Thank you to our Father God for the opportunity to have this book as a study guide. It is surely inspired by the Holy Spirit and it helped us to understand the Finished work of Jesus on the cross. The truth really set us free!

Francois and Nolene Coetzee

The layout, content, and context of the discipleship book was unbelievably designed. The interaction with the team was an eye opener and helped to unearth wonderful deep biblical truths and revelations. Without doubt the discipleship raised my spiritual bar and of course that of my members.

Maurice Vukeya

The book on discipleship meant a lot to me: it added a value and means for me as a leader in a local Church to make more disciples. It has become an instrument for my own edification before I get to edify others. I have used it many times to write some of my sermons. In short, it’s a powerful instrument for the leaders and congregants who aimed to be made disciples that will enable them to make other disciples.

Jean-Claude Ndagano

During the discipleship, my spiritual life has grown in big steps. Constant learning of the Word, by the way of memorizing key verses from the Word of God, played a big role in it. I have learned that the love of God, through the sacrifice of Jesus, placed me in right standing with my heavenly Farther. Now I know that He is my loving Father and will never harm me.

Chris Murray

The discipleship program has been an enriching experience for me. I have been honored to know God in a deep, engulfing, personal way beyond what words can express.

Laura Owosuyi

Introduction

Ibelieve we all sometimes go through a time in our lives where we want to grow in our faith and in our relationship with God but just don’t know how. I grew up with a Bible next to my bed and my parents were dedicated churchgoers, which I really appreciate, but I did not understand the heart of God through His Word—even though I was reading it every day.

I heard people pray but did not know how to communicate with my Father in heaven. I struggled to understand the true value of the cross and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and was completely ignorant of the work of the most important person on this earth—the Holy Spirit.

I had friends that went to church; some lived dedicated lives, and some lived compromised lives. Both sides were pretty much acceptable to me as I was just living for every day with this false sense of hope that things would get better without being challenged, in spite of my commitment to step up and possess those things that Jesus paid for on the cross. Things like salvation, divine healing, provision, forgiveness, and victorious living.

There was a time when I wanted to hide the Word of God in my heart but was unable to memorize it. It was as if I heard it, received it with joy, and then forgot all about it the next day. Remember the parable Jesus told about the sower and the seed that fell on the wayside and on the rock? (Matt. 13:18–23). I wanted to share my testimony about what God did for me when he saved me from a terrible place in my life, but I did not know how to do that. I read the scriptures diligently but did not know how to apply them.

All of this brought me to a place where I became interested in what it really means to be a disciplined follower of Jesus Christ. I committed my life to this process and today realize the incredible effect it had on my relationship with the Lord, my fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and my confidence in being able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness.

This book has the potential to move you into a much deeper relationship with the Lord, but it will challenge your commitment, discipline, sincerity, and most importantly, your love for God.

You will find times when the Holy Spirit will reveal truths to your heart that will blow your mind. You might find yourself in a place where you ask questions and, through your study, these questions will be answered. This book is written in a way that will take you deeper and deeper as the Holy Spirit will reveal and unveil the Word of God to you.

Before you even start to read the first chapter, make a commitment.

That you will continue to study all twenty-two chapters no matter how you feel. (The enemy will want you to stop halfway.)

That you will discipline yourself to study one chapter per week.

That you will follow the five-day reading plan at the beginning of each chapter. Finish the reading before you start the next chapter.

That you will memorize the scriptures listed at the beginning of each chapter. You can write them on a card if you want to and carry them with you every day to help you to remember them. Find a friend you can quote these scriptures to on a regular basis.

That you will diligently study each chapter with scripture reference. Get yourself a highlighter and highlight the scriptures in your Bible. As you page through your Bible, you will get to know your Bible much better.

That you will declare the Word at the end of every chapter over your life.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will write the truth of the Word of God on the tablets of your heart and that your life will never be the same, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

1

The Word of God

God’s Word is the only undeniable truth and should be trusted even if it is contrary to the facts we might face in life. Because God our Father, in His infinite love for us, is not only willing but also able to do the impossible, it is a key to victorious living that I set my faith only on His opinion. The truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life sets the foundation for us as Christians to make His Word the highest priority in our lives. Through this chapter, you become acquainted with and will be enriched by powerful characteristics of the Word. As additional reading you will be able to study seven dispensations or periods of time, which can be identified from Genesis to Revelation.

May you fall in love with the Word of God all over again through this study.

First week, five-day Bible reading schedule:

The Importance of the Word in Our Lives

The Word of God is the only foundation on which we can build our lives successfully. Jesus said that he who hears His word and does it is like a man who builds his house on a rock.

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matt. 7:24–25)

The house represents my life, and it was the opinion of Jesus Himself that I should build my house on Him and His Word so that I’m in a strong position to face the storms of life that are designed to make me fall or fail. Please note that the wind and rain that beat against your life are not there to make you stronger but are sent to destroy your life. The only answer is the Word of God in your mouth and in your heart. I pray that the following truths will motivate you to passionately study His Word.

Settle in your heart today that studying His Word diligently is necessary to know who Jesus really is (John 5:39–40). It is sad to hear people talk about Jesus with completely different opinions of His character and His dealings with us as His children. No book on the shelf and no TV program can substitute the Bible. Nothing in this life should receive more attention than the Word of God. It is important that you personally study His Word and trust the Holy Spirit to reveal it to your heart. I always ask God to increase my hunger for His Word because I know that is how I will grow in my love for my heavenly Father and how I will defeat the onslaught of the enemy in my life. Ephesians 6 says the Word is the Sword of the Spirit which we use to win the battles of life (Eph. 6:17).

Timothy was Paul’s student and the commission to Timothy as a young man was to study the Word of God. That was the only way he could show himself approved as someone who could rightly teach the Word of truth. We are not supposed to give our opinion of what God says unless we have gained sufficient understanding through our study of the Word of God.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.(2 Tim. 2:15)

The Bible very clearly says that Jesus is the Word. While studying the Word of God, I grow in my understanding of His person which is important to defend Him in a conversation and to oppose the lies of the enemy.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.(John 1:1–2)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and truth.(John 1:14)

The Word is necessary to transform our lives. Being born again means my spirit has been renewed (2 Cor. 5:17), but the next step is to transform my life. The following scripture uses the word mirror to describe the Word of God which reflects the truth to us as we read and study the Word.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.(2 Cor. 3:18)

The Word is necessary to transform my mind. Chapter 5 will deal with this in detail. This transformation is only possible through studying and believing the Word of God.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that The Word of God good and acceptable and perfect will of God.(Rom. 12:2)

The Word is life giving. Studying the Word will make me feel energized and ready to face the challenges of life.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.(John 6:63)

Knowing and understanding the Word of God is vital to our freedom. The more I know, the more free I am. No wonder the enemy wants us to believe that receiving the Word second-hand is good enough for us. First hand is my personal study of the Word (John 17:17).

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.(John 8:32)

The Word of God keeps me focused on the truth that I am part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This means that it is more important to me what the King of this kingdom says than what the media or people around me say. In studying what God says I will stay positive and will not allow the negative opinions around me to steal my faith that God can and is willing to do the impossible things in my life.

Challenge yourself by fasting from television for seven days and use that time to read your daily devotionals and study the Word. You will experience the freedom and life it brings to your heart.

How the Word of God Is Structured

The Word of God consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Old Testament

Before the Fall: Genesis 1 and 2

Man was in a perfect relationship with God.

Man was innocent, not guilty of anything and