Following the Father’s Heart

By Sidharth Mohandas

In my previous teaching, I presented to you certain aspects of why we are so prone to be distracted easily from the goal of discipleship. Each part of our being has its place and function.  They complement each other, but they are not meant to take each other’s place.  The spirit will never take the place of the soul. Being led by the spirit does not mean that you stop thinking, and everything becomes mystical and supernatural. Nor does being led by the spirit mean that you stop expressing emotions and become stoic and stiff.  Angie Vickery (Imrah Administrator) is a physical trainer, and recently she was telling me how important it is that we use the right muscles during weight training. Using the wrong muscles for certain exercises, could cause all sorts of problems to your body, resulting in your body not functioning fully as it should. In the same manner, when you and I learn to use the faculties of our being rightly, we can enjoy true liberty and freedom in our walk with the Lord.

There are groups of people who get carried away with doctrinal arguments. If you listen to some preachers, their message is all about doctrines. Now don’t misunderstand me. Doctrines are vital. They give clarity and framework in the faith. But they are not the goal of discipleship. They are means by which we work towards the goal. Paul emphasizes the importance of elementary doctrines in Hebrews 6:1-2, but then he goes onto say “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and press on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1, Please read Hebrews 5:11-14).

Our Father is a very active and vibrant personality. You can’t just put Him in a box and predefine His every movement with religious texts. We must learn to move along and see what He shows us in the spirit. If we don’t see in the spirit, we cannot move. Jesus moved with the Father’s heart. He acted only on what He saw in His spirit. Sadly, many people make ‘settlements’ out of spiritual movements. For example with the Charismatic movement came different miraculous manifestations, some edifying and others distracting. But the main problem is, these have conditioned people to be seekers of these manifestations, rather than seekers of the Lord. Even while studying Scripture, we tend to develop filters that get excited about sensational events, but can then neglect things that are necessary for the development of character and maturity.

A typical example is seen in the Gospel according to John. One of the main focuses of the author, John is to present miraculous signs for the purpose of revealing to the readers spiritual realities of the Person of Jesus Christ.

In John chapter 6, we read of the miraculous sign of the breaking of bread to feed the multitudes (John 6:1-12). After Jesus performs this sign, you find Him withdrawing from the crowd because they wanted to make him king (John 6:14-15). He then disappears and later appears walking on water to His disciples who were travelling to the other side of the lake on a boat. During this time, the crowd goes crazy searching for Jesus. Finally when they find Him on the other side of the lake, they ask, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:25). Jesus responds and says, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” (John 6:26). These people were not the least bit concerned what the miraculous sign was pointing to. They just wanted to be blessed! Jesus continues and explains to them the miraculous sign: “I Am the bread of life.” (John 6:35).

It is so important we see this and realign our goal in discipleship to pursue the One to whom the signs point to.

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