Leading for Living and Discipling Among the Lost
Posted on 14 May 2022
Adam (alias)
"After hearing from what was shared by the speakers at the fourth session of the APEL (Asia Pacific Emerging leaders) workshop, I was better able to connect how God revealed Himself to Israel throughout history to the implications of discipling the nations.
For me, the principle that impressed upon my mind the most was from Glen Morris’ message (Glen is part of the Asia Pacific Leadership team).
Putting it in my own words: the tabernacle is not just a fancy tent for humans to worship God in, but the very instrument God chose to live among men to disciple us according to His statutes.
God knew that Mount Sinai was not enough to disciple Israel, as majestic and earth-shattering as it may be.
God wanted to recreate the Sinai experience for all Israel to experience year after year. As they witnessed the divine cloud coming down again over the tablets of the testimony, they were reminded of God’s mighty hand of salvation and their vows of dedication to Him at the original Sinai.
In the next epoch, as Israel was backsliding in their faith by and large due to worthless shepherds and crooked leaders, God’s plan of discipling Israel seemed to have failed. Again, God chose to commune among us and recreate Sinai in a tent of flesh and blood through Jesus His Son.
In the final epoch, God uses His children, all believers, as His tabernacle and temple among the nations. This is where I fit in.
The believing community and I must follow God’s method of discipling by pitching our Holy Spirit-filled tent among the lost. It is tempting for me to just fall back on telling people about God through digital means in this age.
Still, the message was clear, 'People need to experience God and not just be told about God.'
I felt God reinforcing what I am to do as I join Him in a new missions field: Setting up my ‘tent’, living among them with the hope of revealing God’s glory to them through individual and communal living.
I am praying for my language study, visa entry and a long-term opportunity to live and disciple amongst the under-reached nations."
Eve (alias)
"From the APEL workshop, I was reminded of the Navigators’ calling: ‘Advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost.’
There is a need for generations of labourers to live and disciple among the lost. This is crucial for the gospel to be advanced because the good news is passed from life to life.
Jesus himself modelled it. He made God known by living and discipling among the people so that He could share life with them, and in the process, they could experience the good news of God.
More than any other way, God uses our words, actions and lives to pass the good news on to others.
It is important for me to live an open life among people so that I can pass on this good news in my life, so that others may experience it. I can achieve this by being a witness and showing hospitality to those in my natural sphere of influence.
I also learnt about the 4 key roles of our labourers in advancing the gospel:
Pioneers, Local Leaders, Local Labourers and Mobile Alongsiders.
Despite their different roles, all of them work together towards a greater goal. The overarching goal is to help the local labourers, so that they can live out the good news and advance the gospel into the nations.
I reflected that in my journey of following Christ, I had played different roles, be it at the same time or in different seasons of my life. In this season of my life, I need to be discerning and hear from the Holy Spirit regarding the different opportunities He calls me to and ascertain what I can contribute in.
The most important key in my opinion is to develop the local labourers."
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