Impact of Discipleship: Harrison Breshears
/“I thought I knew a few things about the Christian life”
I was already a nerd when I began attending Midtown Baptist Temple. I knew that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God related to the Soul, Body, and Spirit of a human being. I had a wide-margin KJV Bible. I wore a “Word of God & Souls of Men” button on my inside out crewneck sweatshirt. After a few years of spending time with faithful men like Montana Rex and Brandon Briscoe, I thought I knew a few things about the Christian life. I was ready to take the 18 lessons of discipleship by the horns and ascend to spiritual greatness.
“...the word of God did the work of drawing me closer”
Although my enthusiasm led to some early victories in the process and set me on the right trajectory, God ultimately showed me through my disciplers that being a fundamental independent baptist geek did not equal being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
Luke 6:17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
Like the great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, in my walk of faith, I often come to hear Christ. I am fascinated by what I learn from studying the scriptures. I am fascinated to hear what expository preachers were shown from their time in the word, but the word from the Lord often fails to reach my feet.
As I began discipleship, I was introduced to two faithful men: Jonathan Kindler and Antonio Truong. God used both of these men mightily in my life. As we worked through the first few lessons of discipleship, it was nothing but fun and laughter. Both of these spiritual fathers put all their trust in the Lord and the word of God did the work of drawing me closer. These dudes loved God’s word and lived it, without thinking too hard about things that didn’t really matter. For two guys in very busy, stressful points in their life, they were okay with their only consistency being in a relationship with Christ where they spent time with him in his word and were faithful to obey what it said.
“All he desires is my reliance on him”
A few lessons into the discipleship process, my enthusiasm and nerdiness began to fail me. After catching feelings for a sister in Christ and realizing I could not trust in the power of my flesh to evangelize and love on the lost and the saved, I began to struggle with anxiety. My focus went from serving the Lord to pleasing others. I wanted to be who everyone expected me to be. I wanted to do things to make others happy. I wanted to be who everyone needed me to be, but I realized this created so much pressure and care in my life.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I was careful for everything! “What is she going to think of me?... what will my parents think of this?... what will this friend think of the gospel?... does this line up with the identity I’ve curated for myself?...” These were the questions I asked myself as I realized that I was not applying the word of God to my life. I needed to learn that God had every aspect of my life under control. All he desires is my reliance on him and the acknowledgment of all the gifts he’s already given me.
Jonathan likened a relationship with the Lord to a trust fall. One party (me) falls blindly, while another party (God) catches. The first party chooses to fall because he or she trusts that the other party will be faithful to catch. By trusting in the Lord’s peace, which passed all of my understanding, regardless of circumstance, social position, or perceived identity, I began to truly live. I closed my eyes, let go of my cares, and allowed the Lord to carry me without fear of loss.
“Peter walks on water when his focus is on the person of Jesus Christ”
My favorite Waxahatchee song is called “Silver.” The reason I am so drawn to it is a lyric that says, “I went out in the storm / and I’m never returning.” This points my mind to Matthew 14 when Jesus calls Peter to come out to him as he walks on the water. If you remember, there’s a raging storm going on at this point in the story. I’ve been learning in these last days of our dispensation that the Christian life is a Matthew 14 storm more often than not and Peter walks on water when his focus is on the person of Jesus Christ. But, to be completely focused on Christ, we must, like Peter, choose to exercise the faith of taking the trust fall or stepping out of the boat to pursue Christ.
I don’t know about you, but I’m never returning to the boat again.
Harrison Breshears is a member at Midtown Baptist Temple and is a part of C&YA. He serves on The Postscript team and is a part of Temple Worship.