The Test of Discipleship
By Ron Clouzet
Back in 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their 2-year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa, to what was then called the Belgian Congo. They met up with another young Scandinavian couple, the Ericksons, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of great sacrifice, they felt the Lord leading them to set out from the main mission station and take the gospel to a remote area.
At the village of N’dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town, for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts. They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. The only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood, a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall, decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead him to Jesus. So day after day, she told the boy about Jesus and the God of heaven.
Meanwhile, malaria continued to strike one member of the little band after another. In time, the Ericksons decided they’d had enough and returned to the central mission station. David and Svea Flood remained near N’dolera to go on alone. Then, of all things, Svea found herself pregnant in the middle of the primitive wilderness. She gave birth to a tiny girl, whom they named Aina. The delivery, however, was exhausting, and Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria. She died seventeen days later.
David couldn’t take it anymore. After digging a crude grave to bury his wife, he took his children back down the mountain to the mission station and handed them over to the Ericksons. “I’m going back to Sweden…. God has ruined my life,” he snarled.
However, eight months later, both the Ericksons got sick and died. The children were then passed on to American missionaries. Aina’s name was adjusted to “Aggie.” Eventually they were brought back to the states.
How could so much go wrong, when all they wanted to do was serve God in faith? But God had worked through His servant Svea.
Years later, Aggie was grown and married to a pastor who was the president of a Christian college. One day a Swedish religious magazine appeared in her mailbox. Although she couldn’t understand the words, within the magazine was a photo that stopped her cold. There in a primitive setting, was a grave with a white cross, and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD. Immediately she rushed to find someone who could translate the Swedish article.
“What does it say?” she asked eagerly.
Her friend summarized the story about the missionaries to N’dolera long ago, the death of Aggie’s young mother, the contact with the African boy, and the fact that many Christians were living in the area now.
A few years later, Aggie and her husband were attending a high-level evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from the Republic of Congo. The superintendent of the national church spoke eloquently about the gospel’s spread in his nation. Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood. What she heard brought tears of joy and thankfulness to her eyes.
“It was Svea Flood who led me to Jesus Christ,” he smiled. “I was the boy who brought eggs to your parents before you were born.”
Svea Flood’s love and Christlikeness and her earnest desire to bless the boy made an eternal impression on him. He accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. After he grew up, he persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village. He led all his students to Christ. Then the children led their parents to Christ, and eventually even the chief himself became a Christian. Today, hundreds of Christian believers live in that one village—and throughout Congo there are hundreds of thousands of believers.
A Christlike life and a Christlike ministry is the result of true discipleship. This is why the Spirit gives us gifts—and we can then bear fruit of His power and grace. This is the reason for His ministry in our lives—to become disciples, to share the gospel with the world.
Ron E. M. Clouzet, DMin, is the former ministerial secretary for the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. He currently pastors in Tennessee, United States. This devotional nugget was taken from chapter 8 of his book Adventism’s Greatest Need: The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
What It Means to Be a Disciple | Study
Welcome to another session of Back to the Altar | 100 Days of Prayer
For today’s Back to the Altar study, we are going to start off with a fun little activity. You are going to need a partner for this activity.
1. Connect Activity
If you are able, find a partner, whether it’s someone studying this lesson with you, a family member, or just a friend nearby. Ask them to close their eyes and trust you on a blind walk. Be nice. Don’t do anything that would hurt them. Just have them keep their eyes closed as you lead them around a room, or around some obstacles on the floor or ground. You are not to touch them, but you can walk beside them. They simply need to follow your voice to know where to walk. After a minute or so, switch roles and ask your partner to do the same for you.
This might seem like a strange activity, but do it, and you will understand in a moment, why this activity is significant.
(Do the above activity before going further in today’s lesson!)
Wasn’t that fun? Chances are you both had some good laughs through that little exercise.
Now ask yourself, “How does this little trust walk teach me practical lessons on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?” (Write down your thoughts or share them with your friend or family member.)
Do you long to walk every day as a trusting disciple of Jesus Christ?
You may be wondering: What is a disciple of Jesus? How do I trust Him more? Thankfully, the written Word of God answers this question.
2. Lessons from the Disciples of Jesus
It’s time to open our Bibles and learn together what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
In your notebook, or on a piece of paper write: “A Disciple of Jesus…” and then start making a list based on the following Bible passages.
Read/Reflect on Matthew 4:18-22 – How many characteristics of a disciple of Jesus can you find in this passage?
As you reflect on this passage, we will watch a short video to help take this passage deeper.
Now read and reflect on the following passages of Scripture.
Read/Reflect on John 13:35 and John 15:7-8 – What is a disciple of Jesus based on these two passages?
Read/Reflect on Matthew 16:24 and Matthew 28:19-20 – How many characteristics of a disciple of Jesus do you find in these two passages? (There should be 6 or more.)
How is this study speaking to your heart?
We are learning that a disciple of Jesus follows Jesus wherever He leads, even if it’s uncomfortable. A disciple looks like Jesus, lives like Jesus, loves others, and sacrifices self to bring others to Jesus.
Perhaps you feel like you don’t have enough experience to bring others to Jesus. You are just barely walking with Him yourself. Or maybe you have lots of experience, but you are tired and weary and feel like you’ve lost your first love.
Let’s take a few minutes to watch a precious testimony about how God can use even a child to be a disciple calling a whole church to revival. If God can use a child, He can use any one of us.
What a precious testimony. The question we should consider is, “What is Jesus asking of me right now?”
3. Personal Practical Application
Here are three practical Back to the Altar challenges for this coming week.
• 1st Challenge: Study the Bible passages again on your own, that we covered in this lesson. Those passages are Matthew 4:18-22, John 13:35, John 15:7-8, Matthew 16:24 and Matthew 28:19-20. For each passage, ask God how He wants to apply these principles of discipleship to your life.
• 2nd Challenge: Take a step of faith and follow Jesus in a way that you never have before.
Next week, we are going to start sharing short revival lessons from the life of Elijah. It’s a study that you do not want to miss as we continue this Back to the Altar journey! Invite family and friends, even neighbors.
What It Means to Be a Disciple | Prayer Focus
Bible Promises to Claim as you Pray
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6
“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4
“Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.” Desire of Ages, p. 195
Prayer Focus for Week 3
1. HUMBLE: Pray that God would strengthen us as a church family to humble ourselves as little children at the foot of the cross, to put away our quarrels, our grievances, to press together, and to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ soon coming. (Claim Isaiah 57:15)
2. DISCIPLES: Pray that we would be true disciples of Jesus—in our home, in our workplace, in our school, in our business, and in private where no one sees but God. (Claim Romans 2:28-29, 1 Samuel 16:7)
3. WORSHIP: Pray that no distractions would keep us from daily worship and that we would live at the altar, both individually and as families, with all our heart and soul. (Claim 1 Chronicles 16:29)
4. WITNESS: Pray that the General Conference session theme, “Jesus is coming, I WILL GO” will be acted upon with urgency by every believer around the world, starting with ourselves. (Claim Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah 43:10)
5. DEEPER: Pray that each delegate and attendee at the General Conference session will experience a renewal of their “first love experience” with Jesus once again and be forever changed. (Claim Revelation 2:4, Mark 12:30)
6. HONOR: Pray for the logistical details and planning that is going on right now behind the scenes, for General Conference session. Pray that everything will fall into place for the glory and honor of God. (Claim Matthew 7:7-8, 1 Corinthians 10:31)
7. OUTPOURING: Pray that these upcoming General Conference meetings will be a turning point in our church history, that will help usher in the Latter Rain. (Claim Luke 11:13, Acts 1:8)
Download This Week 3 – What It Means to Be a Disciple