Introduction

We are continuing our talk about discipleship.  I hope you have been able to put some of what we have discussed into practice!  Today I would like to talk about the importance of focusing on the Spirit over our skill in discipleship.  A lot of emphasis is given to a disciple maker’s skills.  Certainly, we do need to have some ability when it comes to making disciples.  Skill and ability do help, but they are not the totality of what is required to make disciples.  Rather than focusing solely on skills or abilities, disciple makers need to focus on the power of the Spirit.  Too often we come to discipleship with an emphasis on our own skills—“I have studied this passage; I have been to Bible college or seminary; I am the teacher and you are the student.”  Skills are great—we need skills.  I have spent ten years in college and seminary education to be able to hone my own skills.  But when God wants to use an individual in discipleship, He does not look merely for someone with skills; He looks for someone with the Spirit’s power!

Biblical Basis

How do I know this?  Think about who Jesus used as His disciples.  Many of them were fishermen.  They were not known for their intellect or public speaking abilities; all they were known for was their ability to fish!  If Jesus wanted skills, He could have tried to invest in a pharisee or religious leader.  He could have found other men who had more knowledge or education to offer, but He did not.  He chose simple men through whom the Spirit could work.  This factor comes out in the Acts 2 episode at Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and empowered them to speak for God, and their message was heard in each of the many languages represented at the occasion.  Luke tells us that the people were astonished because these men were Galileans.  The people even noticed—the disciples were not specially educated men, but they were men through whom the power of the Holy Spirit flowed.  We need to remember this truth!

Final Thoughts

When seeking to do discipleship and get involved in the lives of others we face a strong temptation to focus on our skill.  We might think “I need to know more; I have to have something to say to them; the weight is on my shoulders to help them grow.”  But the reality is all you need to make disciples is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God—discipleship is not about you!  Rather than focus on our skill, we need to focus on the power of the Spirit.  We need to spend time in communion with God seeking His face so that we are filled with the power of the Spirit in the disciple making process.  More than skill, we need the Spirit!  I hope that you will take time today to emphasize the role of the Spirit in your life and ministry of discipleship and plead with Him to empower you for the task to which God has called you!