Discipleship Conversations: Season Wrap-up

[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the YA podcast. Lean in as we dive into the practicals of life with Jesus as spirit filled young adults. Welcome back, everyone, to season five of the Young Adults Podcast. We are here on our very last episode for this season and we are very excited to be talking all things discipleship and really just to bring a bit of a reflection and conclusion on all of the episodes we have. And I am joined here by the one and only Alicia. [00:00:46] Speaker B: Hi, everyone. [00:00:47] Speaker A: You've heard her voice before. Hopefully if you've listened to all of our episodes, I will give you a virtual high five. You would have heard Alicia a couple of times and myself as well. And we, we've had a lot of fun, haven't we? [00:00:58] Speaker B: We have. And we've had some great people on this season. [00:01:01] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I know. I just, I just love our community. I love our leaders. Yeah, me too. And just getting to have these conversations has been really fun and really beneficial, even just for me being part of it. So. [00:01:13] Speaker B: Yeah. And getting to know people's stories, because walking by saying hi, you don't have the opportunity to go up and be like, tell me your God story. [00:01:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:21] Speaker B: So having this platform to be able to hear others just journey to where they are now has just been incredible. [00:01:27] Speaker A: Yeah. It's so good. And I hope you all as listeners have been really encouraged by that of maybe some people that you've known from afar and like, getting to actually hear their story and how they got to be where they are today has been really cool. So I hope that you've enjoyed that. As always, please share your feedback, Please share your thoughts, testimonies. We want to hear it. Comment on Instagram, send us a message. And we also like, you know, being the end of this season of discipleship, we want to hear like, what do you guys want in future seasons? What does that mean? Give us your feedback. We want to know, like, what's going to be beneficial, what, what do you love to listen to and what encourages you in your walk with the Lord? Because we really, we do this for you guys. [00:02:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:10] Speaker A: Yeah. So today we're talking about, really a reflection on every conversation that we've had thus far. And so what are some of the things that you've loved, Alicia? What are some of the themes that you've noticed throughout, like, the conversation of everyone's different stories of discipleship? [00:02:28] Speaker B: I think a huge common theme would be that a lot of people's journey started with them just spending time in the word of God. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:38] Speaker B: So they position themselves to be discipled by holy Spirit first and understanding that, understanding the life of Jesus and how he imitated or basically wrote the rule book for discipleship and then went and sought out people for themselves to disciple them in their own journey. Yeah, yeah, I think that's a huge highlight for me. [00:03:01] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's so true. I've loved how everyone's journey is so unique and so different. Like, obviously, there's a lot of parallels and similarities between different people's stories, but there's also such a uniqueness, and I think that's really good for us as, like, as individuals to go, ah, okay, that's. I don't have to have the exact. [00:03:21] Speaker B: Same story as a cookie kind of approach to discipleship. [00:03:25] Speaker A: We're all unique. God made us all completely like, he made us all different. And so we all have a different journey. And so we can't necessarily copy and paste the things that we can learn. I'm definitely. I've definitely seen a lot of initiative that expression has taken. It's been like their initiative to do it, obviously, and we've talked about this on the previous episode, but, like, Jesus called his disciples, they still had to say yes. Like, he. He called out to them and they saw something in him worth following. Like, who just leaves their whole life behind, leaves their nets, their livelihood, everything they've ever known, their family, and follow someone that you've never met before. Like, obviously seeing something in them that you want and taking that initiative. So, yes, you know, let's use Peter, for example. Jesus called him, but he still had to take the initiative to go, I want to follow that. Yeah, that's right. And that' been cool, seeing how. Yeah. And everyone's through. There's been that element of like, oh, I see something I want and I've got to actually go after that. [00:04:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:20] Speaker A: Myself with, you know, with other people calling things out and. Yeah, all that. [00:04:25] Speaker B: I think initiative is. Is so important because we can be so caught up in a consumer mindset of me, me, me all the time. People are busy, they have busy lives. They've got so many different things that they're juggling. If there's something on their life that you can see that you're like, I want that. I want to be discipled in that gifting. I want to be discipled to that level that they are at. Yeah, just go and ask them. [00:04:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:52] Speaker B: But be okay with rejection. [00:04:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. So I think the fear of rejection is going to be. I think really a lot of us are just afraid of. Yeah. Of rejection, afraid of failure and that really keeps a lot of people bound. So if you listen to this, please be encouraged that failure is a part of life. Failure is a, is a. Actually there's this guy called Brian Ellis, if you haven't heard of him, would recommend his stuff. Very successful guy. Anyway, he says that failure is the prerequisite to success. And so if we want to see, if we want to see breakthrough, if we want to see success of finding the right person, discipleship, or stepping out and becoming the person we want to be, there always has to be steps of failure in order to get there. And so we've got to use that as a, as an example to learn, an opportunity to learn. Like, I'm thinking about it, like, why, why in the church do we expect everything we do the first time to work or that's going to be perfect? Or that like, someone's just going to come to us and it's magically going to work out? Like, of course, miracles. We believe in miracles, but it's like it's. That's not necessarily. When we're talking about believing in miracles, that's not the kind of thing it doesn't mean. Be lazy and wait for someone to come to you. Like, if you're like, hey, I want to get fit. You're not waiting around for a personal trainer to notice you. You're like, hey, I want a personal trainer. I'm gonna go find someone. That's right. Like, Google it. Y. Find the person. [00:06:10] Speaker B: Join a gym. [00:06:10] Speaker A: Join a gym. Like, you're actually putting in the initiative yourself. Yes. That person will, will be the one to lead you, but you still have to go and seek that out. So the fact that sometimes in church we don't take that initiative, it's like. [00:06:23] Speaker B: We expect, we expect leaders to, to know it all and to come and find us. But yeah, resilience is built out of failure. That's what I think. [00:06:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:32] Speaker B: So if you want to be a resilient person, then be okay with getting a rejection, getting hearing the. The word no and just go, okay, God, let's go back to the drawing board. Who, who else. Who else is willing to disciple me? [00:06:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:48] Speaker B: And get God's perspective on it. I think it's so important. So many times we see people that we want to be discipled by, but are they the right fit for you? Have you asked the Lord? Are they the one to partner with for this season of your life? [00:07:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:02] Speaker B: Because you don't know what they are going through and they may not be in a position to disciple you. [00:07:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:07] Speaker B: They may be discipling others and they are just at capacity at the moment. So ask the Lord. Lord, who is it that you want to disciple? Me? Because I need to be discipled. So highlight that person and show me why. Be okay asking the Lord, wrestling with the Lord. [00:07:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:22] Speaker B: Especially if it's someone that you would never experience or you may have had previous interactions and you're like, no, I cannot get along with this person. [00:07:31] Speaker A: Or. [00:07:31] Speaker B: But are you willing to lay down your agenda and pick up what God wants you to pick up? [00:07:37] Speaker A: Yeah. That's really good. And even on the. On the point of failure, like, this might sound a little bit silly, but, like, even if you're asking the Lord, hey, who do you want me to ask? And then he puts someone and then you ask them and they say, no, let's say that that situation happens. It doesn't mean that you have heard wrong or that you shouldn't have done it. The Lord just wants to ask them. Maybe he's just building your resilience. [00:07:58] Speaker B: He's testing your obedience. [00:08:00] Speaker A: Yeah. And we can sort of fall into the trap of thinking that, like we. What God means when he says something. [00:08:05] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:05] Speaker A: Just obey. Ask and obey. Ask him. Okay, who do you want me to speak to? Who do you want me to follow? Ask him. Just even pray before church on Sunday. Lord, who am I looking out for today? There was a plethora of incredible people that walk through outdoors, that sit in our services, that worship alongside us, that we just don't know their story. We don't know their journey with the Lord. We don't know where they've been and where they're going. And if we would just ask God, hey, give me open eyes to see them and then just patiently, slowly move around through the foyer, the auditorium, and talk to people and hear stories, you might actually be surprised and you might meet an incredible person that could. [00:08:44] Speaker B: That's right. You could meet your next best friend. [00:08:46] Speaker A: Exactly. And you know, retreats only a week away, so you could meet your next best friend there. You could meet next disciple or disciple there too. But. Yeah, what are some of the other things that have. That we've seen? [00:09:00] Speaker B: I think consistency is another one. The cost of discipleship. I think people. I think that could be another factor. Why people fear discipleship is the cost. [00:09:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:12] Speaker B: The cost of laying down what they want out of life, whether you are being discipled or discipling others. And vulnerability. People don't like to be vulnerable. [00:09:25] Speaker A: Yeah, scary. Yeah, vulnerability is scary because people can hurt you. But also if you don't open up your heart, how will you get discipled? You don't. Like, you can't receive love either. Yeah. [00:09:36] Speaker B: You're putting a cap. Love it. [00:09:38] Speaker A: You've. [00:09:38] Speaker B: Yeah, you've blocked something by not opening yourself up. And, and we're not saying here, here, us, when we say this. We're not saying, share your full life story. First up, if that's not what you're comfortable with, I think there's wisdom and discernment that needs to happen through discipleship, whether you are being discipled or discipling others. Um, because there's a time and a place for every conversation. So throughout my experience of discipleship, there is stuff that I haven't told certain people in my life through just because it just never reached that point in our discipleship journey. But then there's others where early on, I'm so comfortable sharing it because this is. There's just something there that I'm like, yeah, I can truly trust this person. [00:10:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:28] Speaker B: And I won't go any further in my discipleship journey with this person if I'm not vulnerable to a certain level. [00:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:36] Speaker A: And I think, like, our personalities are all different. Some people are more naturally vulnerable than others and like to share more than others do. But I think listening to the Holy Spirit and bringing him into that is foundational. [00:10:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:50] Speaker A: Because, like, you know, I'll share an example. I shared something with someone discipling me that I did not want to share at all. I did not want to share that. I was like, oh, that piece of information is not going to be shared with them. And as I'm praying because it's something that I was wrestling, like, I actually need to know. I'm praying about this thing. And then the Lord said, you need to share it with them. And so just being obedient, and I'm really thankful that I did. And just having, covering is really important. Whether, you know, whatever the thing that you're wrestling with is, whether it is sin, whether it's, you know, just something, a frustration point or, you know, attention in your life. Like, don't be afraid to. To share that stuff with wisdom and ask the Lord, do I share this with this person or not? [00:11:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:41] Speaker A: Yeah. And look, people are going to disappoint us. We're not putting all of our hope in them. [00:11:45] Speaker B: Don't try looking for a perfect person. [00:11:47] Speaker A: Yeah. And for, like, expecting all the answers in the solution, I think. Yeah, I've been discipled by people and I've discipled people. That has Led to disappointment. Like as in, I haven't been everything they wanted me to be. But we're only human. That's why our. And I think this has come through in everyone's story as well, is that you're not entirely dependent on the person, you're dependent on the Lord. It's imitate me, I imitate Christ. [00:12:09] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:10] Speaker A: So you're both looking at Jesus. You're just walking alongside each other. You're walking a couple of steps behind that person and following them towards him. So you're not all your hopes and dreams are in this person discipling me and them giving me the answer to every problem. Their job is to point you back to him. [00:12:24] Speaker B: That's right. And if they're not doing that, then they're probably not the best person to disciple you. [00:12:29] Speaker A: Yeah. And just be honest with each other. I think have cultivate a space of honesty and vulnerability. That's good both ways. Yeah. You're talking about the cost and the price. And it made me think of. In Isaiah 55, there's a. I mean, my Bible titles it an invitation to abundant life. And it's this call to salvation. But there's this line that, that is interesting that said there, it says, come to the waters. You have no money. Come buy and eat. And I think that that strange paradoxical sentence is really saying, okay, come buy with no money. You have no money, but come by and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. It's. It's so costly. But then it also doesn't cost us anything. Yes. Completely free. Yeah, like discipleship is completely free. Our salvation is completely free, but it costs us everything when we're in it. [00:13:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:13:30] Speaker A: And so I think maybe some of those blockages to just crossing the line of actually receiving discipleship, maybe fears, maybe putting too much pressure on it, or maybe unrealistic expectations. Expectations or just like discipleship is big word, big scary sounding thing. And so there's like this. We almost make it really difficult for ourself. When the door is open, all we got to do is walk through it and it'll be costly on the other side. So let's not try and make the entryway more difficult because the journey is the difficult part. You know what I'm trying to say? [00:14:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah, yeah. Just discipleship should just be part of our lifestyle. [00:14:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:09] Speaker B: Full stop. That's it. It's just. Yeah, it's. We are created to imitate the life of Christ and he was the ultimate discipler so let's just live our life discipling others and being disciple and being intentional about it. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And that's something that's come through a lot of the conversations we've had as well, is that we. We are being discipled constantly. [00:14:34] Speaker B: That's right. [00:14:35] Speaker A: You know, through social media, through influences. They're just people in our world. Through the podcasts that we listen to, the sermons we listen to Sunday preachers, all this stuff is already discipling us. [00:14:47] Speaker B: Correct. Yeah. [00:14:47] Speaker A: So if we actually get a paradigm shift of discipleship is not. When I sit down with my pastor over coffee for an hour, discipleship is how I'm being formed every day. The thoughts that I think, the TV shows, the Netflix that I watch. [00:15:02] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:03] Speaker A: Everything that is inputting into me is forming me. So how do I just put myself in more environments that are going to form me into the kind of person that I want to be? [00:15:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:14] Speaker A: You know, if I'm. If I'm sitting down on a Friday night and I'm just like, this happens to me often, deciding between, you know, will I watch a movie or will I read My Word or read a book or something like that. It's like, what's going to form me in that moment. [00:15:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:27] Speaker A: And actually going. Well, my discipleship is not just when I sit down with. [00:15:32] Speaker B: With someone. [00:15:33] Speaker A: With someone that is speaking into my life, but it's also those moments, every factor of life. Yeah. [00:15:38] Speaker B: Even your work. [00:15:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:15:40] Speaker B: Your work. Work. You know, we hear this comment a lot. Work, life, balance. There's a lot of truth in that. If you can't let go of work after you've left the office. [00:15:52] Speaker A: Hmm. [00:15:53] Speaker B: It's consuming you too much. [00:15:55] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's. [00:15:56] Speaker B: It's affecting your life. It's affecting your thoughts, it's affecting how you conduct yourself. [00:16:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:02] Speaker B: Because you're so caught up in it. [00:16:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:05] Speaker B: And I've watched it affect families. I've watched it, I've lived it. Yeah. [00:16:12] Speaker A: And anything that forms us doesn't just form us in the moment, but it forms us. Like it forms a legacy. So what you're saying, like, if someone works a job for 10 years and they're overworking every day, when they leave that job, they haven't necessarily left behind, left behind that pattern of life that's right into the next thing. So circumstantial change doesn't always actually bring a solution. So it. We want the kind of discipleship that is good formation, that leaves a legacy in our life. If we look at the disciples, they spent three years with Jesus before he was crucified, but after he died, it wasn't. And, and you know, rose again and ascended to heaven after that. It wasn't like, okay, I work here is done. We'll go back to our lives now. Obviously we do read the story in John 21 where Peter is out fishing again. But he hadn't given up on his faith and Jesus had actually was, was coming back in that moment. Whether he believed it or not, Jesus was coming back to meet him. But when we read Acts, we actually see that the legacy continues because of that investment of Jesus. And that's what discipleship should do in us. You know, if I sit down with someone for, for two years and they're speaking into my life, that should leave such a legacy in me that I continue on in the things that they've taught me and I continue on in that. Yeah, forever. It's like, you know, that we're probably. Everyone loves to quote, like, raise up a child in the way that they should go. And when they are old, they won't depart from it. It's this investment that, that what you've taught a child. When they're young, they're going to remember, even if they do walk away from the Lord, they act, they can't escape. They can't escape the Holy Spirit, the pursuit of the Lord that is after them. And so that's the kind of legacy we want to see. Not just to be like, oh, well, in this moment and being formed, but to actually continue on in our lives in the things that we've been formed through. Totally gone off topic of what we're. [00:18:08] Speaker B: But I was just thinking back to when you were talking about when you look at the Book of Acts, one man just intentionally discipled 12 people. [00:18:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:20] Speaker B: Who then went on to disciple nations. For me, I don't know about you guys who are listening, but when I see someone who I've had, doesn't matter how long, whether a year, six months, even maybe a month, I've discipled them and I see them flourishing in the kingdom of God. It brings me such joy. I'm such a proud. I'm not, not a mum yet, but yeah, a spiritual mum. As a spiritual mum, it just brings me such joy and pride to see someone just flourishing. I'm like, yeah, you go, you stand on my shoulders and you go and disciple whoever God brings. Because whoever you disciple will be more than I can reach. [00:19:04] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. [00:19:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:06] Speaker A: And that's the life that we're called to live as believers. It's like, so much more than us. It's so much more. It's so much beyond us. And those are the kind of lives that we should be called to live. Like, I'm exactly the same. I've got friends that I invested into years ago and some of them, I, I never saw the, I never saw the fruit of a minute. [00:19:23] Speaker B: Yeah. But then years later, then you see. [00:19:25] Speaker A: It, then you see it and it's like, oh my gosh, it's amazing. It's like there's no better thing. The pain made sense and, and that's, that's life, isn't it? The pain, the process, the journey. It's difficult sometimes, it's costly, it requires sacrifice. But then in the end, when you see the reward of it, and we won't always see the reward of it, but when you do, like, what that brings out, like, oh, so much purpose in it. [00:19:53] Speaker B: Sit there and you just, just watch them and you're like, wow, you go, yeah, go chase after God. [00:19:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:00] Speaker B: Go run through those open doors. [00:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And like, it's also cool seeing people not have to deal with the same problems that you did. [00:20:10] Speaker B: Like just thinking, yeah, like, oh, I've. [00:20:13] Speaker A: Got so many precious people in my life that I'm like, oh, man, I see a lot of myself in them when I was there. Right? Yeah. Like, how do I help them to be, you know, in, let's say, someone that's 21, I'm 27. So in six years time, how do I help them to be ahead of where I am now? So if I look at a 20 year old and I see what I was like when I was 21, I'm like, okay, I see these markers and I don't regret anything that I've done. [00:20:38] Speaker B: The past six years. [00:20:39] Speaker A: I don't regret my life or any of the journeys the Lord has taken me from through and the lessons that I've learned. But how do I actually help them not go through some of the pain and. And be further ahead than I am? [00:20:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:50] Speaker A: That's the goal. Right. And using my difficulties and my lessons and then imparting that to them. I think we all have that to give. [00:21:00] Speaker B: That just reminds me, I started watching War Room last night for anyone who knows what I'm talking about. And the old lady was sort of coming across like she was interrogating her real estate agent. [00:21:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:15] Speaker B: And asking about her faith journey and her church commitments and. And her response was like, oh, I occasionally go to church and I do know the Lord. And. And then she ended up Getting a little bit frustrated. And she asked this old lady, she was like, why are you asking me all these questions about my faith? I'm here to sell your house. And this lady's response was, so you won't have to walk through the landmines. I did, yeah. [00:21:43] Speaker A: Wow. [00:21:44] Speaker B: And I just was like, that's discipleship. [00:21:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:48] Speaker B: In some. Like, in summary, that's discipleship. [00:21:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:51] Speaker B: The journey that you've been on and the stuff that you've broken through, the people after, you shouldn't have to break through the same things. Whether that's generationally. Thank you for helping me with my English in a biological sense or just in a spiritual sense as well. They shouldn't have to go through the same things you did because you broke through. [00:22:12] Speaker A: Yes. Every generation should build on the last. [00:22:15] Speaker B: Correct. [00:22:16] Speaker A: And so, I mean, we've kind of flipped the switch there, but, like, let's go there. That we should be the. We should be the sort of people that can disciple others into who they need to be in Christ. And that we should be able to go, hey, don't go through the same pain that I went through. Like, you're going to go through your own pain anyway. [00:22:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:33] Speaker A: So let's help you through some of these things. [00:22:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:36] Speaker A: And impart our lives. And we all have something to give. [00:22:40] Speaker B: We do. [00:22:41] Speaker A: We all. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:42] Speaker A: I mean, if we want to take seriously the scriptures, the words of Jesus, the words of Paul that say that we are one body, that we are all members of one another, that we all have a role to play, then I have no right to withhold the thing that God has given me from someone else. If I got saved last week, I've had seven days of encounter with Jesus. [00:23:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:05] Speaker A: That I have no right to withhold from my unsaved friend. [00:23:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:08] Speaker A: If I've been a Christian for 10 years, I have no right to withhold what God has given me as part of his body from someone else. We all are called to make disciples. And so please hear this, guys. Stop disqualifying yourself. [00:23:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:24] Speaker A: Stop saying, I don't have it all together. I still sin. I still mess up. I'm like, if. If we were waiting for the perfect person, you would not be hearing my voice right now. Oh, my. I'm so far from it. But I have embraced the call to say, jesus, I know that you've given me something to give someone else. I have to. [00:23:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:42] Speaker A: How can I not? How can I. When I've encountered the power of Jesus? How can I not impart that? How can I Not share that with someone else. [00:23:50] Speaker B: Let's not be selfish Christians. [00:23:52] Speaker A: Yeah. That should be an oxymoron. That shouldn't even. We can't even say those two words together. [00:23:58] Speaker B: I know, but why are we waiting for the people who have been given a platform, position, or the. The right, if you want to put it that way, to hold a mic on. On a Sunday morning to be the ones to disciple people. You can't leave it all to them. [00:24:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:14] Speaker B: You have a role to play in the body of Christ. [00:24:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:17] Speaker B: Own your role and be okay with it. [00:24:20] Speaker A: Our job as ministers is to equip every believer for the work of ministry. [00:24:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:27] Speaker A: It is not for the paid pastor to disciple everyone or your life group leader. Yeah. [00:24:34] Speaker B: All those volunteers. [00:24:35] Speaker A: Every person. Every person is living that life. And I've said this before, and I'll say it again, but when you disciple someone else, when you serve someone else, the formation that happens in you is unmatched. So much of who I am today. [00:24:52] Speaker B: Learn more about yourself. Yeah. [00:24:54] Speaker A: So much of who I am today is not just because of what I've received, but it's also because of what I've given. [00:24:58] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:00] Speaker A: And I wouldn't be able to lead now if I hadn't led in other seasons. [00:25:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:06] Speaker A: If I hadn't just found other kids in the playground that I was sharing the gospel with. If I hadn't just, you know, been in those environments as well. Whether it's kids ministry, youth ministry, young adults, whatever it is. Like, whatever ministry it is, whatever space it is, whatever people that I'm investing into, like, those form you. They really form you, if not more than receiving discipleship. [00:25:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I would agree. Yeah. Because it really challenges you to disciple someone because you will get questions you. You would never even. Even prepare for or expect. But it requires you to humble yourself and not have an answer straight away all the time. [00:25:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:43] Speaker B: But actually take it to God and get his perspective on it and then come back to the person you're discipling and give them a response. [00:25:50] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:25:50] Speaker B: Right. And you've been transformed through the process. [00:25:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:53] Speaker A: I mean, that's what we're saying. You don't have to be the perfect person. So someone comes to me with a question that I don't know how to answer. I mean, look, it's a little bit awkward. I'm like, oh, I should have the answer. But, you know, as I always say, embrace the awkward. Take that and go, okay, I'm going to find that out. Yeah. Let's go on this journey. Let's Find out the truth together. Let's go to the Word of God. The Word is our foundation. That's how we live our life. [00:26:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:14] Speaker A: Let's go to the Word and let's find the truth together. And then look, now this person's been formed and I've been formed too. It's a win. Win. [00:26:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:23] Speaker A: Like, I don't know, I feel like I'm trying to sell. I'm trying to sell discipleship to you guys, but I'm like, how can you not catch this? How can you miss this? [00:26:29] Speaker B: It's like, stop making it so complicated. [00:26:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:33] Speaker B: It's not a complicated process. It's just doing life with people intentionally. Yeah. [00:26:38] Speaker A: It's loving them. We're all called to love. We all can love people. So can you love the person in front of you if you can't? Pray for a heart of compassion. Pray for the Father's heart. [00:26:47] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:26:49] Speaker A: Love the people around you. Ultimately, everything we talk about comes back to that. [00:26:54] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. [00:26:55] Speaker A: Love the person in front of me. Really learn to love them. [00:26:59] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:00] Speaker A: Get God's heart in everything you do. Pray for his wisdom. Bring every decision to him, and then just go do it with others. [00:27:10] Speaker B: Yes, that's right. [00:27:12] Speaker A: So good. Sorry. Okay, what. What are some little takeaways we can give to everyone out of this? What is. What's like, not a to do list in a sense? What are some, like, practical things? Like, okay, take this. Now what are we calling them to do? [00:27:27] Speaker B: Go disciple people? [00:27:30] Speaker A: Yeah, pretty much. [00:27:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Just don't make it complicated. Just go. Okay, go. What do I have to give? Yeah, yeah, I think that's a great starting question is going, God, what do I have to give? I don't see my life as the same as someone else's. And that's okay. Be okay with that being okay, not being like someone else. And stop comparing. Because your life is worth its weight in gold. Like it's worth Jesus dying on the cross for you so you have something to give your fellow brother and sister. [00:28:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:28:03] Speaker B: So ask God. What is it that you have to give and who is it that you need to disciple? I've said this before and I'll continue to say it because it's been something that has stuck with me. Early on in my discipleship journey, when I finished school, the leader who was raising. Raising a group of us up to be leaders and release us into the university space at my previous church, he told me, he said, you have two hands. Don't make sure they're not empty. You have the capacity to disciple at least two people at a time. And then those then when they are released, have two. Two people that they can disciple and then you can take two more. So there's a chain effect. Yeah, Chain reaction in the discipleship process. And yet that's it. [00:28:55] Speaker A: That's what I would say. It's so good. I mean. Yeah. I look around and I see countless people that I'm like, I wish I could invest into every person. Yeah. Like everyone listening to this, our entire young adult community. I'm like, I wish I just had all the hours in the day for all of you. But if we all took it seriously. [00:29:12] Speaker B: And played our part, and played our. [00:29:14] Speaker A: Part, then I wouldn't need to wish that because everyone would be being loved and being discipled. And I don't want to undermine any work that anyone is doing currently. I thank every person listening to this, whether you're a life group leader, whether you're just a new convert and you're investing your life into someone else. Thank you. Yeah, The Lord sees that and he will reward you in heaven. If you don't see on this earth, you will see your reward in heaven. And thank you for your investment. Don't stop. Like it gets hard. Sometimes it gets hard. But let your resilience be formed in those hard moments. And I just want to encourage you to keep going, keep doing what you're doing, keep learning, loving. Yeah, I would, I would encourage everyone listening, like, pass on the things that you've learned. Don't let, don't let your failures go to waste. Then let your lessons go to waste. The Lord, he uses everything that the enemy meant for evil and he turns it around for good. He uses every situation in our life and we can use that to impart to others. I've been, I've had some real interesting situations in my life, and they are the best because I can use them as a story to encourage others. And I just, just. I love that. And so don't let those moments go to waste. [00:30:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:29] Speaker A: And I, I really don't want to say this without empathy because I know people have been through some really dark and horrible situations in their life, and the Lord did not cause that. I don't want you to think that, like, that. That the Lord is like, you know, forced you to go through something hard, but he is so kind that he would use even those things as an opportunity for you to invest into someone else. [00:30:51] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. [00:30:52] Speaker A: And to bring life. Because you are a testimony. You are here today and you're alive and you're loving Jesus and you're a testimony. So let your testimony prophesy life into someone else. Pass that on and be intentional. Pray. Ask the Lord, who do you want me to speak to this week? You know, whether it's someone I'm going to disciple or someone that's going to disciple me, I would encourage you set a timer for, you know, whatever period of time and sit down and pray and ask the Lord. Yeah, who is it? Yeah, who is this week? Who are you opening my eyes to? Who do I need to talk to? Yeah, that's good and lamely do. Because he knows better than yeah. Amen. Let's pray for everyone as we wrap up this, this season and everything that we've talked about and everything that the Lord has spoken through us. Yeah, we just want to leave everyone feeling encouraged, feeling empowered and equipped to go be a disciple and a disciple maker. So would you pray? [00:31:52] Speaker B: Of course. [00:31:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:53] Speaker B: Lord, we just thank you for everyone within our young adult community, God, I thank you that they have a heart for you, Father, and that you see each and every one of them wherever they're at, God. And Lord, I just pray that you would just sow a desire for discipleship within each of our hearts, God, a desire to seek out those who are a little bit ahead of us. Lord Jesus, would you highlight the right people for the right season to God? And would you make us comfortable with vulnerability to just humble ourselves and even just ask that. Ask others to disciple us, God, but also God, would you give us a boldness to. To know and to see the value within us, God, to. To step out and to go and disciple others as well, Lord Jesus, would you show each and every one of us what we have to offer for the kingdom, Lord God? Because what we have, our lives, Lord, are living testimonies for you, Lord Jesus. So every. Every story has a purpose, Lord. Every story has an impact. So, God, I just pray that you would open the right doors for each and every one of us to be discipled, but to also disciple others in Jesus name. Amen. [00:33:03] Speaker A: Amen. Amen. [00:33:05] Speaker B: Amen. [00:33:06] Speaker A: Thank you so much, Alicia. [00:33:07] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. [00:33:08] Speaker A: All the episodes that you've been part of hosting and being a guest as well, it's just been so fun to do this with you. So thank you. [00:33:16] Speaker B: Thanks. [00:33:16] Speaker A: And thank you, everyone listening. We pray that this has encouraged you. We pray that this has empowered you and that you would go and you would take it and you would run with it and take initiative, be a disciple. Because that's what you're called to be. And we love you. And we'll see you at young adults retreat 22. See you there. Bye, Sam.