Members Message June 2026
Members Message
Discipleship Made Easy: Part 1
The Discipleship No One Wants To Talk About
This two-part mini series, Discipleship Made Easy, Bruce Billington explores one of the most overlooked aspects of spiritual growth—the daily discipline required to become like Christ. Moving beyond shallow ideas of discipleship, he reminds us that transformation is not achieved through willpower alone, but through cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit while faithfully showing up for the process.
In this first episode, The Discipleship No One Wants to Talk About, Bruce challenges the tendency to blame external obstacles for our lack of spiritual progress, arguing instead that our greatest battle is often with our own undisciplined nature. Drawing on Scripture, personal experience, and insights from Christian thinkers such as Dallas Willard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he shows that Christ-like character is formed through ordinary acts of obedience, self-denial, perseverance, and faithfulness in everyday life.
Key Takeaways
- Your own lack of discipline—not the devil—is typically your biggest spiritual obstacle. Rather than blaming external enemies or Satan, Bruce emphasises that believers' undisciplined nature is often what tempts them to quit and fail spiritually.
- Spiritual transformation happens through daily, mundane tasks, not just prayer. Redemption unfolds in ordinary existence—marriage, work, family, responsibilities, and everyday choices—making every moment an opportunity for Christ-like character development.
- Perfection is a lifelong pursuit meant for now, not just the afterlife. Believers are called to actively pursue Christ-likeness throughout their lifetime as their highest goal, even though complete perfection will only be fully realised in eternity.
Introduction
If all the Lord and others can tell us is that we must be holy and do this and that, it will only cause us to despair. We may start off well, but after a few failures, we will decide that we cannot do it.
But if Jesus Christ can impart His own holiness into us, then we can begin to understand what He means when He says we have to be holy. Although we still need to turn up for training, we will be able to see the change at work in our hearts, and this is really encouraging.
Be Empowered
The baptism in the Holy Spirit, which follows the Ascension, is a process in which Jesus Christ imparts to anyone who wants it, the hereditary nature He Himself possesses. All the standards He requires of us are based on that nature—His teaching is meant to be applied to the life He puts within us. The proper response on our part is simply to agree with God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ, and embrace the power of the resurrection through the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 describes this powerfully.
The New Testament teaching on transformation is that when a person is struck by their own sense of need and comes to Christ, He will put His Spirit - the Holy Spirit- into their spirit, and their spirit will be energised by the Spirit of the Son of God. His Spirit goes to work and does not stop “until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).
The miracle of redemption is that God can put a new nature into us through which we can live a totally new life. When we finally reach the edge of our need and know our own limitations, then Jesus says, “Blessed are you…” (Matthew 5:11). But we must get ourselves to that point.
Just as the nature of sin entered into the human race through one man, the Holy Spirit entered into the human race through another Man (see Romans 5:12–19). And redemption means that we can be delivered from the hereditary pathway of sin, and that through Jesus Christ we can receive a pure and spotless heritage that has been reserved for us in the Kingdom of God.
So all the foundational work is done. Everything is ready for us, made available to us and is waiting for us to say “let’s do this.” But we have to keep seeking it, and we also have to hold on to what we have already gained. So let’s look at this a little further.
Our Perseverance or Endurance
Luke 21:19
- By your steadfastness and patient endurance, you shall win the true life of your souls (AMP).
- By standing firm, you will win your souls (Living)
- In your patience possess ye your souls (KJV).
- By your endurance, you will gain your lives (NASB)
Constructing a way of life and character that becomes more like Christ each day and reflects the new life that Christ has put within us will require our endurance. Often, we try to pray our weaknesses away. After all, this comes from our fallen nature, right? Well, yes, but the answer is not found in prayer. Nike stole their answer to this from us when they made the now-famous comment – “Just do it.”
Our bad attitudes or moods only go away when we kick them away. We must tell it to go because it will never produce what Jesus wants for this particular time or day.
If we refuse to stand up to our moods, they end up sapping our energy and motivation, and hurting those we are in family or community with.
You know the sayings that kick in when we are meant to do something.
- Something has come up.
- I don’t feel that good.
- I had a bad night’s sleep and am too tired.
- I will do it tomorrow.
- I have a sore arm, leg, back, neck, etc.
If we stand firm in obedience to the Lord, if we obey him rather than our own natures, He will guide us and empower us to build a life that harmonises perfectly with the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
We have to accept that we are living in an age when all sorts of make-believe fantasies about who we can become or who we want to be are constantly presented to us through movies and social media. These fantasies promise us shortcuts, information and opportunities to get somewhere without the discipline of training. But this is not the way of the Lord.
The point I am making is that if we stand firm in our resolve to live obediently to the Lord, He will guide us in dealing with our stuff and in building a life that harmonises perfectly with the Holy Spirit within us. The Christian life is one of deep conviction and determination.
We are not talking about so-called spiritual things only – the above shows up in our marriage, on the sports field, in the classroom or at work, and in raising our children, should we have any.
A Cry From Our Hearts
Jeremiah 6:16 – “Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.”
Although this is on offer for every believer today, the problem with it is that it cannot be found without diligently pursuing God, and it doesn’t look like the ways of the world – it has an element of suffering and self-sacrifice built into it by God’s design. It is found on the pathway of discipleship.
The Example of Paul
The Apostle Paul had the finest upbringing and training. He sat at the feet of one of the most renowned Hebrews of their day (Gamaliel) – he spoke several languages, held a Roman citizenship, and knew the Scriptures backwards.
He was then filled with the Holy Spirit, which enabled him to bring all this into a kingdom context and to be commissioned and empowered for his calling. He also spent a considerable period in the presence of the Lord, being trained for his calling.
Yet, despite all this, he states in 1 Corinthians 9 that he constantly disciplines his body to avoid missing what God intended for him. If Paul had to work so hard at staying in the disciplined way of the Lord, why would we ever think we don’t?
Standing Firm
Self-Denial
The surrendering of our immediate desires is a considerable component of discipleship. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so succinctly states, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
But this invitation is conspicuously absent from the gospel of consumer Christianity. The latter promises joy and new life, a healthier marriage, more obedient children, a more balanced life, more money, and less anxiety about the future—all good things—but nowhere do we hear that these promises require self-denial.
No one is telling us that we must deny ourselves. That is a value entirely at odds with consumerism: the great champion of personal desire. But we cannot achieve these things in the way God intended unless we are prepared to deal with and deny ourselves.
This is not Jesus being cruel. He knows that surrendering our immediate desires is how we can take hold of an even greater joy. He illustrates this by describing the kingdom of heaven as a treasure hidden in a field. When a man stumbles upon it, he joyfully sells everything he has to buy the field.
We are not being asked to act foolishly or to abandon our desires. In fact, Jesus is calling us to do exactly the opposite. He wants us to lay hold of them. Any rational person would trade something of little value for something of greater value. Jesus is offering us a great trade-up deal – but what we are trading is present satisfaction for something greater.
Facing the Trials
Life as a true disciple is full of trials. Dallas Willard calls them the trials of “ordinary existence.” It means they are things we all face – and disciples are called to discover their redemptive side.
We may confess to God the impulses of our immediate desire, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me", and sometimes God will do that, but we should not forget that the Spirit of Christ living within us is also the one who prays, "nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done."
A Tranquil and Quiet Life
1 Timothy 2:2 tells us to live a quiet and tranquil life!!
This means we should live in moderation, monitor what we allow ourselves to have and do, and step off the terrible pace of life to slow everything down to a level where we can do all things in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The basic principle of discipleship is that it is about God, His Kingdom and His people. The end of Psalm 17 gives us our goal in a nutshell.
Psalm 17:15 – “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”
We must never be fully satisfied until we awake in the likeness of Christ, no matter what it takes.
God bless you.
Bruce Billington
God bless you.
Bruce Billington