“INTRODUCTION TO DISCIPLE-MAKING”
The word “disciple” describes a learner, a pupil, a student, a scholar, an intern, an apprentice, an adherent (one who binds himself like adhesive tape to another, to capture his heart and his vision and to learn his expertise and his skill). In the New Testament, a disciple is a Christian-in-training, enrolled for life in the school of Christ, and under the tutelage of a maturing discipler. At least one text in the book of Acts indicates that a new believer in Christ was expected to become a disciple at the moment of his faith in Christ (Acts 14:21, where the word translated “taught” in the KJV is the Greek word for “discipled”).
From the moment of his conversion, the new believer is expected to maintain a student attitude throughout his remaining life on earth. This “student profile” calls for him to be a regular attendant in the required “classes,” a notetaker who retains in writing the truth so that he can study through it again and again, and a practical model of the things he is learning. What parent of a first-grader would send him to school without a notebook, pencil, and other materials, and expect him to return in time with a textbook and assignments, etc.? Every Christian should see himself as a lifetime “student in the school of Christ,” following the same vocational regimen as a serious student in school.
Thus, the disciple’s very first vocation is to “learn to learn.” It is amazing to note how many college graduates were never taught somewhere along the way how to study and how to learn. It is equally amazing to see the difference in the life of a person who knows how to study, how to learn, and how to maintain studying and learning as lifetime habits after graduation from school (in fact, many accelerate the pace of their learning after graduation; I was one of them). Blessed indeed is the believer in Christ who has had a Christian discipler who has early-on introduced him to the basics of the Christian life and walked him through the learning process with a Bible, a notebook, a prayer list, and books for basic Christian reading. Hopefully, these exercises will lead him to a lifetime vocation of learning, one of the distinctives of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
One of my favorite writers is C. S. Lewis, the great British scholar of Renaissance literature and lay-apologist for the Christian faith. At every reading of one of his books, I have been impressed with the sheer mental genius of the man. Early on, I purchased the big book of personal letters which Lewis exchanged with Arthur Greeves, a young man of similar mind and literary tastes, a volume entitled They Stood Together. One of the great values of the letters was that they exposed Lewis’ growth stages, or his growing edge, in the early part of his life. One of his growing edges was in how he learned to learn. He received his greatest help from the atheistic headmaster (what a sense of humor God has!) of a boys’ school he attended, a stern man whom Lewis affectionately called “the Great Knock” (so-called because, as they said, he knocked the inability to think out of his pupils and the ability to think into them). This man, William T. Kirkpatrick, systematically attacked slouchy thought and slouchy expression in his students. Lewis learned to think with steel-trap logic, to learn, and to be perfectly reasonable in expressing himself under the iron hand of this early teacher. All the while, God was using this time of learning to prepare him for the arena of faith and the battles to be fought and won there. Lewis’ testimony has challenged me again and again to “learn and re-learn to learn.”
When Jesus said, “Learn of me” (Matthew 11:29), He meant either “learn from Me” as your Teacher, or “learn about Me” as your Subject. He probably (surely) meant both. By definition, a Christian disciple is one who fulfills that mandate, pursuing both possible meanings. There is one additional proviso. The New Testament installs two intermediaries between Jesus and the believer in the process of a believer’s learning One is the indispensable Teacher, the Divine Holy Spirit, and the other is the human agent who “makes disciples” (Matthew 28:19). These two assigned teachers should work in close association in advancing the learning of the disciple. The Holy Spirit has enlisted the disciple-maker, and the disciple-maker should know and practice absolute dependence upon this “Stay-within Friend,” the Holy Spirit. The discipler is a kind of assigned tutor or mentor, an agent of the Holy Spirit, who qualitatively triggers the process of total Christian learning/incarnating/living/testifying/soul-winning/teaching/disciple-builing into the life of a new Christian. Jesus played this role with His Twelve, as did Peter with John Mark and Paul with Timothy and many others. The dimensions of this role are so many, so big, and so dynamic that face-to-face communication is required in small-scale settings where assignments, give-and-take, accountability, etc., can be maintained. When Jesus did this with His twelve men, He often spotlighted one or two of the twelve for special attention, determined by their personal needs or the demand of special occasions.
I am personally persuaded after much careful study and much experience through many years that Christ’s Model is definitive for fulfilling His Mandate to “turn people into disciples.” While being very deliberate and intending to be very alert in observation, I have never seen any other model produce the full-blown New Testament disciple on a consistent basis, but I have never seen His Model fail, when followed carefully. Jesus ministered to the masses, teaching (the imparting of Divine information), preaching (the imparting of Divine information, inspiration and invitation) and healing (Divine intervention to correct the many “diseases” of life), but He recruited selectively for His Kingdom’s sake and concentrated almost all of His private ministry (which someone estimated to be maybe 85% of His total ministry) on Twelve Men. Many recent students, teachers, preachers and evangelists (including Billy Graham) have advised pastors and leaders to re-institute this model in their ministries. Since Jesus did not explain the meaning of “turning people into disciples” when He gave the Great Commission, and since His hearers had been subjected to The Process for at least two and one-half years of day-and-night qualitative disciple-making, we may be absolutely sure that His Model was intended to provide their understanding of Their Mission.
However, most Christians today are so oriented to auditing lessons in Sunday School and auditing sermons in an auditorium that they unwittingly abort the intention of Heaven for the communication of truth. Note the take-off on the words for “listening” (auditing, auditorium). This “listening” in an “auditorium” (place of listening!) typically ends with the moment of listening and has little or no future productivity beyond that moment—which means that, when the staggering potential is considered for future productivity through such a moment of teaching/preaching and audience hearing/learning, God largely “wasted His breath” in speaking in that service. Obviously, passive, casual listening (listening that has none of the vast productivity He calls for in communicating His truth) has replaced active (true, dynamic), controlled and committed listening, the listening that generates dynamic active study and repetitive teaching—and inferior replacement is just the beginning of the sterility that proceeds from such reduced listening. No wonder that Jesus talked so much about “hearing,” and said such strange and devastating things about it!
In 1978, English actor Alex McCowan did a theatrical performance in New York City of the Gospel of Mark. Time magazine reported that it was “a feat of remarkable skill.” It seems that McCowan strolled on stage casually dressed, opened his mouth, and dramatically recited the entire Gospel of Mark from memory. Time called it “compelling theater that is at the same time non-theatrical.” The final paragraph of the reporter’s article said, “As delivered by McCowan, Mark is a triumph of the human voice and of the English language.” It was apparently quite good theater, but the words hadn’t taken root. They really weren’t supposed to. After all, they were part of a performance delivered by an actor in a theater. They were spoken for dramatic, theatrical effect, not for practical results. Can such a thing happen in church as well?? Not only can it happen, it almost always does, at least for a great majority of the people, because they have never learned to learn (and repeat) according to the standard of Jesus. They unwittingly sin through presumptuous listening—every time they go to church! When this happens, Christians become crippled in their ears, and the ailment tends to spread through their other spiritual “senses,” getting worse with each new trip to church (see James 1:22ff). Judged by the test of “a fruitful crop” (God’s stated standard), it is evident that many regular attendants in church have tragically not learned to learn (that is, they have never been qualitatively discipled after the Model of Jesus). I would like to invite you to email me for the study on “how to hear,” the one subject to which Jesus devoted more of His attention than any other single subject.
God’s intent in broadcasting His truth in any setting is the same as His intent in sending His Son, Jesus—the Word given is to become flesh so that it can return to (articulated) Word again through a redeemed person on its way into the “flesh” of another person , and the movement is to be Word-to-flesh-to-Word-to-flesh-to-Word-to-flesh, ad infinitum. Most auditors-in-church have never really “learned to learn” in such a way as to make them the multi-generational multipliers of other disciples mandated in the New Testament.
Consider the potential of the truth shared in a teaching/preaching setting as contrasted with the actual result. Suppose each auditor had learned to capture the truth (by taking notes, holding himself accountable to master that truth so that he can repeat it without notes, then actually repeating the truth heard as soon as possible and as often as possible to potential disciples/disciplers/world-impactors) with total world impact as his goal. This is Biblical procedure. “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:8, and note the context) It is God’s intent that the Word proclaimed be preached into the heart and mouth of every listener (and a third crucial part of “spiritual anatomy,” the feet, are mentioned purposefully in the same passage; Romans 10:15), with eternal fruit being the goal (and fruit naturally multiplies itself). Someone said, “Most church attendants are like Halloween pumpkins, or Jack’O Lanterns—a lot of smiles, but no feet.” What pastor/evangelist/preacher/teacher would not rather know that his sermon/study session was skillfully repeated a thousand times beyond the service where it was first heard, and to the ends of the earth, with massive soul-winning and disciple-building results, rather than that it be merely audited in church, never to be thought of or mentioned again shortly after the service? This is a part of a disciple’s learning to learn. Quite obviously, it seldom happens unless people are discipled into it.
Every Christian is intended to see himself functioning in a vocation (Ephesians 4:1). The Latin word is “vocare,” and that word is an education in itself. You can easily detect the similarity between the Latin word and our word “vocal.” The word “vocation” involves: (1) A speaking. For a Christian, God is the Speaker, though He often speaks through assigned human speakers as well. (2) A hearing. For a Christian, this entails the in-depth listening commanded by Jesus. (3) The acceptance of a “calling” (which is the Christian understanding of the word “vocation”). Dear Christian, you are in a vocation, not on a vacation! On a vacation, everything is done on a luxury and leisure basis. There is plenty of leisure on a vacation, and vacations are essential, but they should be temporary, not the lifestyle of a Christian listener. In a Christian vocation, everything must be done on a Lordship basis. Vocational workers apply themselves in learning and in living. They are always “on call,” they are never merely “on their own.” I hope that you will take this book in hand as a vocational catalyst, or as a vocational readjustment—and that you will join the enlarging army of disciple-makers who will impact the world to the ends of the earth until the end of time. Indeed, an enlarging army of such people are already incredibly impacting the world. Praise be to God, who “gives the increase”!
May I say it plainly: every Christian is commanded by Jesus to “turn people into disciples,” and is expected (again, a command) to have multi-generational impact for Him (II Timothy 2:2). The verse cited here is by no means the only place in the New Testament where multi-generational disciple-making is seen. Let me remind you that the verse just cited from Paul’s letter to his own disciple, Timothy, was written to a man who went from “Mr. Timid” to “Mr. World-mover” through the discipling of Paul. Let the timid Christian of today who would “begin to make excuse” realize that there are many ways to “turn people into disciples,” and to learn the way to which he is best adapted—and to practice it continually--is a part of learning to learn. Do you begin to see how qualitative is the process of teaching the disciple so that he will learn to learn?
Several years ago, I wrote the prequel to Fox Fever, a primer on disciple-making entitled, Tally Ho the Fox. It was a simple and stumbling effort to express my findings about being a disciple of Jesus and about building other disciples of the same kind. The book is not marketed at large in Christian bookstores. It is only marketed out of our home in Memphis, Tennessee. With that limitation and without publicity except through the words and efforts of disciples/disciple-makers, I have been astounded to watch as the book has travel into many, many places throughout the world. Many individuals have ordered entire boxes of the two books (again and again), and have given them to other Christians whom they see as potential disciples/disciplers/multipliers. The first book has already been used as a textbook in two Christian colleges in classes on missions, evangelism and disciple-making. Almost daily, I receive letters, notes, requests and contacts from the most distant and unexpected places as people inquire about the book and seek copies of it. It has now gone through five printings. I see this as a miracle of the Holy Spirit. It also reflects the vast number of surrendered Christians who want to obey Jesus in the true fulfillment of His Great Commission, which commands each follower to “turn people into disciples in all nations.” I have become increasingly convinced that it is incumbent upon every disciple who understands the Commission to aggressively carry the Strategy and Standard of Jesus into every nook and cranny of the globe—to “the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As I write, I have just returned from an eighteen-day trip to the Philippines and China, where the team saw miracle after miracle of communication and transformation. My partners on that team remained in China after my departure, joined there by five other teaching team members and intending to penetrate three or four more teaching venues for another six days of teaching before returning to the U.S. It has been my personal privilege to travel some 168 times at this date to foreign countries to train pastors, teachers, leaders and “laymen” in being and building disciples. On most of these trips, I have been attended by teaching disciples who have been “equipped” (Ephesians 4:12) through the disciple-making process. On such trips, I “tandem-teach” or “round-robin teach” with these capable disciples/disciplers. These efforts have been remarkably anointed and blessed by the Holy Spirit, and a world-wide network of disciples/disciplers/multipliers has emerged. The email network that keeps us in contact with thousands of them has become almost impossible to handle. Our goal on each of these trips is to see at least one motivated disciple and aspiring disciple-maker emerge from the trainees (we will take ten or one hundred, but you can’t have two until you have one, so we ask for at least one), and thus to begin a movement of disciple-making that will soon begin to impact the churches and the culture around them.
Let no one misunderstand this goal. Some distant observers have said that we surely must neglect or ignore evangelism in emphasizing disciple-making. Nothing could be further from the truth! I have personally taught in disciple-making sessions again and again some three or four tools or standards for soul-winning, and have personally used one of them hundreds of times in witnessing to and/or winning people to Christ. On several overseas trips, I have seen thousands of people respond to the Gospel invitation. In a team effort of some thirty lay evangelists on one trip stretched over ten days and climaxed with a weekend crusade, we saw well over 5,000 people register “decisions for Christ.” In another church-centered crusade, I saw 2,300 people respond to my own preaching backed by the team effort of thirteen lay-evangelists. On one trip to Sri Lanka, I even saw six pastors in the discipleship training sessions respond to an impromptu Gospel message (oh, it was strongly prompted by the Holy Spirit!) on Hebrews 7:25 on a Thursday afternoon, with each of these four men brokenly declaring that they had never been saved and were coming to Christ in repentance and faith that day. This was my third trip to Sri Lanka, so I asked for one of the pastors who had been thrice-trained in intensive disciple-making sessions to begin immediately to disciple these four men. A very capable pastor who had also become a skilled disciple-maker took them into a side classroom and spent the rest of the day, probably four or five more hours, discipling them! Anyone who knows my heart knows that I have never neglected evangelism. It is my heart to “witness to everything that moves and looks human” in any setting. That motive and practice are crucial parts of the disciple-making process. When these lay-teachers go on a trip with me, they always preach in services (at least) on Sunday, preaching evangelistic sermon(s) which I have discipled into them. The entire standard is the most gratifying ministry I have ever been involved in over some 55 years of being a Christian, with 54 of them spent in the preaching/teaching ministry.
When a person is first exposed to the life-transforming strategy of Jesus, certain questions are invariably asked. “How do I/we do this?” “What do I do with a disciple?” “Just exactly what procedure do you follow in building a disciple?” These questions simply cannot be answered in propositional form; the answer must be finally seen in practice. Christian strategy is incarnational (remember the Word-to-flesh formula) before it is informational (remember the flesh-to-Word formula); it is personal before it is propositional. Dynamic processes do not easily reduce to formulas. Jesus’ training was done on-the-job and on-the-move. One writer has written of “Jesus’ mobile Bible college.” The word “college” sounds almost too institutional to accurately reflect the practice of Jesus, but you get the idea. Again, do not misread me at this point. I believe that the local church is the focus of Christ’s purpose and movement in a community and in the world, but I believe that it is to be more the base for the movement than the place of the movement. I am sure that Jesus intended tidal waves of influence and impact to emanate from the local church and from each individual Christian (with no exceptions, no exemptions and no exclusions!), and I believe that this spiritual tsunami is to inundate the entire world. The problem is that most “Christians” are spectators instead of participants, observers instead of actors, mere supporters instead of mighty catalysts for world impact, local pew potatoes instead of global strategists. This is a total caricature, a full-fledged distortion, of the standard of Jesus. He will never encourage or endorse that strategy—for any of His followers.
I have sought to follow the admonition which God gave to the prophet Habakkuk as I have written this book. Habakkuk wrote, “The Lord said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2). Here are the “eight Rs” of Habakkuk 2:1-3 for planting and implementing the disciple-making vision: Revelation (vision), rebuke, repentance, ’ritin, readin’, repeatin’, runnin’, and ’rithmetic” (multiplication). I have sought to “write the vision….plain upon tablets.” I pray that it is plain enough, and motivating enough, “that he may run who reads it.” And I pray that he may understand the strategy well enough that God will use him (you personally) to create an army of multiplying disciples who will impact the world to the ends of the earth and until the end of time.
Some years ago, I saw the movie, Camelot. I was absolutely captivated by two scenes in the movie because of their illustrations of the Gospel. One was the scene of King Arthur in heavy inner conflict at the Round Table because of the betrayal of the two people he loved most in all the world—his wife, Guinevere, and his favorite knight, the idyllic Lancelot. Arthur was in the throes of agony because of the dilemma their betrayal thrust him into: “Shall I spare them because of my love for them, and thus destroy the righteous foundation of my kingdom; or shall I judge and destroy them for their sin, thus protecting the kingdom, but thus, also, torturing my own heart with the endless agony of being bereft of the two people in all the world I love most?” The poignancy and pathos bleeds through the scene as Arthur tearfully ponders his choices. How like God’s dilemma—how to be just and yet still be the justifier of sinners (see Romans 3:26). Arthur was too weak to resolve the problem, and the Camelot dream faded. It was indeed a problem that suited a God, and the God of the Bible solved it like the God that He is. The glorious Gospel of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the Divine Resolution to an “impossible” dilemma.
The other memorable scene in the movie, the closing scene at the end of Camelot, will remain long etched on my memory. Arthur’s weakness and inability to resolve the conflict in him about Guinevere and Lancelot have ended the “impossible dream” of the Camelot eutopia. As the story closes, the entire plot is captured in the last scene as Arthur and his remaining loyalists are waiting, in fog and mist, the questionable outcome torturing everybody’s heart.
A young boy who calls himself “Tom of Warwick” appears in the scene, a “volunteer” for the Camelot dream. Arthur explains the dream to the boy, and then gives him an assignment. Arthur refuses the boy his request to fight as a knight of the Round Table, and tells him instead to go and tell the Camelot dream to others, and thus keep the dream alive. He tells the boy to run, to run and tell the dream. The film dies from your sight with the throaty voice of good King Arthur shouting at the departing boy, “Run, boy, run! Run, boy, run! Run, boy, RUN!”
How I wish we could hear our Good King Jesus shouting in our souls today. “Take the Mandate of My Commission as your personal assignment, and Run, child of Mine, run! Run…child…RUN!” Godspeed, dear Christian, as you read and run.
“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). “Sanctified” to Whom? Sanctified to what? Set apart to Him, to be sure, but also set apart to His revealed Purpose. The word “sanctified” is as much a utilitarian word as it is a personal piety word. Biblically, things, places, days and persons are called “holy” or “sanctified”—and three out of those four don’t even have a moral nature at all! Those things are sanctified to a Person, certainly, but they are also sanctified for a specific practical sacred purpose. This is true also of every believer in Christ, and surely one of the ultimate practical purposes for each believer is defined by the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. No human being is Biblically “sanctified” who is not ready for any use to which the Sanctifier may want to put him.
I hope these words have whetted your appetite (as they have mine) for this “whirlwind tour” through some ideas about the theory and practice of being and building disciples in obedience to the Great Commission command of Jesus.
(Copied from Herb Hodges)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
THE TERMS OF DISCIPLESHIP
The path to true discipleship begins when a person is born again. It begins when the following events take place:
• When a person realizes that he is sinful, lost, blind and naked before God.
• When he acknowledges that he cannot save himself by good character or good works.
• When he believes that the Lord Jesus Christ died as his Substitute on the Cross.
• When by a definite decision of faith, he acknowledges Jesus Christ as his only Lord and Savior.
This is how a person becomes a Christian. It is important to emphasize this at the outset. Too many people think that you become a Christian by living a Christian life. NOT at all! You must first become a Christian before you can live the Christian life.
The life of discipleship is a supernatural life. We do not have the power in ourselves to live it. We need divine power. Only when we are born again do we receive the strength to live as Jesus taught. Before reading any further, ask yourself the question, "Have I ever been born again? Have I become a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus?"
If you have not, receive Him now as your Lord and Savior. Then determine to obey Him in all that He has commanded, whatever the cost may be.
True Christianity is an all-out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Savior is not looking for men and women who will give their spare evenings to Him - or their weekends - or their years of retirement. Rather He seeks those who will give Him first place in their lives. Nothing less than unconditional surrender could ever be a fitting response to His sacrifice at Calvary. Love so amazing, so divine, could never be satisfied with less than our souls, our lives, our all.
The Lord Jesus made stringent demands on those who would be His disciples - demands that are all but overlooked in this day of luxury-living. Too often we look upon Christianity as an escape from hell and a guarantee of heaven. Beyond that, we feel that we have every right to enjoy the best that this life has to offer. We know that there are those strong verses on discipleship in the Bible, but we have difficulty reconciling them with our ideas of what Christianity should be.
We can accept the fact that soldiers give their lives for patriotic reasons. We do not think it strange that Communists give their lives for political reasons, But that "blood, sweat and tears" should characterize the life of a follower of Christ somehow seems remote and hard to grasp. And yet the words of the Lord Jesus are clear enough. There is scarcely any room for misunderstanding if we accept them at their face value. Here are the terms of discipleship as laid down by the Savior of the world:
1. A supreme love for Jesus Christ.
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26). This does not mean that we should ever have animosity or ill-will in our hearts toward our relatives, but it does mean that our love to Christ should be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison. Actually, the most difficult clause in this passage is the expression, "yes, and his own life also." Self-love is one of the biggest hindrances to discipleship. Not until we are willing to lay down our lives for Him are we in the place where He wants us.
2. A denial of self.
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself..." (Matthew 16:24). Denial of self is not the same as self-denial. The latter means foregoing certain foods, pleasures, or possessions. But denial of self means such complete submission to the lordship of Christ that self has no rights or authority at all. It means that "self" abdicates the throne.
3. A deliberate choosing of the cross.
"If any man come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross ..." (Matthew 16:24). The cross is not some physical infirmity or mental anguish; these things are common to all men. The cross is a path that is chosen deliberately. The cross symbolizes the shame, persecution and abuse which the world heaped upon the Son of God, and which the world will heap on all who choose to stand against the tide. Any believer can avoid the cross simply by being conformed to the world and its ways.
4. A life spent in following Christ.
"If any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). To understand what this means, you simply need to ask yourself, "What characterized the life of the Lord Jesus?" It was a life of obedience to the will of God. It was a life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was a life of unselfish service for others. It was a life of patience and longsuffering in the face of the gravest wrongs. It was a life of zeal, of self-control, of meekness, of kindness, of faithfulness, and of devotion (Galatians 5:22, 23). In order to be His disciples, we must walk as He walked. We must exhibit the fruit of Christ-likeness (John 15:8).
5. A fervent love for all who belong to Christ.
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35). This is the love that esteems others more than one's self. It is the love that covers a multitude of sins. It is the love that suffers long and is kind. It is not puffed up. It does not behave unseemly; seeks not its own, is not easily provoked; thinks no evil. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (I Corinthians 13:4-7). Without this love, discipleship would be a cold, and legalistic.
6. An unswerving continuance in His Word.
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.(John 8:31). For real discipleship there must be continuance. It is easy to start off well, to burst forth in a blaze of glory. But the test of true discipleship is endurance to the end. Any man who looks back after putting his hand to the plow is not fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Occasional obedience to the Scriptures will not do. Christ wants those who will follow Him in constant, unquestioning obedience.
7. A forsaking of all to follow Him.
"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:33). This may be the most unpopular of all Christ's' terms of discipleship, and may well prove to be the most unpopular verse in the Bible, theologians can give you a thousand reasons why it does not mean what it says, but this writer assumes that the Lord Jesus knew what He was saying. What is meant by forsaking all? It means an abandonment of all one's material possessions that are not absolutely essential and that could be used in the spread of the gospel. The man who forsakes all works hard to provide for the current necessities of his family and himself. But since the passion of his life is to advance the cause of Christ, he invests everything above current needs in the work of the Lord and leaves the future with God. In seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, he believes that he will never lack food and clothing. He cannot conscientiously hold on to surplus funds when souls are perishing for want of the gospel. He does not want to waste his life accumulating riches that will fall into the devil's hands when Christ returns for His saints. He wants to obey the Lord's injunction against laying up treasures on earth. In forsaking all, he offers what he cannot keep anyway, and what he has ceased to love.
These are the NON-NEGOTIABLE terms of dicsipleship! Are you willing and ready to accept these terms? I pray that we all are willing and able to be true disciples of Christ.
The path to true discipleship begins when a person is born again. It begins when the following events take place:
• When a person realizes that he is sinful, lost, blind and naked before God.
• When he acknowledges that he cannot save himself by good character or good works.
• When he believes that the Lord Jesus Christ died as his Substitute on the Cross.
• When by a definite decision of faith, he acknowledges Jesus Christ as his only Lord and Savior.
This is how a person becomes a Christian. It is important to emphasize this at the outset. Too many people think that you become a Christian by living a Christian life. NOT at all! You must first become a Christian before you can live the Christian life.
The life of discipleship is a supernatural life. We do not have the power in ourselves to live it. We need divine power. Only when we are born again do we receive the strength to live as Jesus taught. Before reading any further, ask yourself the question, "Have I ever been born again? Have I become a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus?"
If you have not, receive Him now as your Lord and Savior. Then determine to obey Him in all that He has commanded, whatever the cost may be.
True Christianity is an all-out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Savior is not looking for men and women who will give their spare evenings to Him - or their weekends - or their years of retirement. Rather He seeks those who will give Him first place in their lives. Nothing less than unconditional surrender could ever be a fitting response to His sacrifice at Calvary. Love so amazing, so divine, could never be satisfied with less than our souls, our lives, our all.
The Lord Jesus made stringent demands on those who would be His disciples - demands that are all but overlooked in this day of luxury-living. Too often we look upon Christianity as an escape from hell and a guarantee of heaven. Beyond that, we feel that we have every right to enjoy the best that this life has to offer. We know that there are those strong verses on discipleship in the Bible, but we have difficulty reconciling them with our ideas of what Christianity should be.
We can accept the fact that soldiers give their lives for patriotic reasons. We do not think it strange that Communists give their lives for political reasons, But that "blood, sweat and tears" should characterize the life of a follower of Christ somehow seems remote and hard to grasp. And yet the words of the Lord Jesus are clear enough. There is scarcely any room for misunderstanding if we accept them at their face value. Here are the terms of discipleship as laid down by the Savior of the world:
1. A supreme love for Jesus Christ.
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26). This does not mean that we should ever have animosity or ill-will in our hearts toward our relatives, but it does mean that our love to Christ should be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison. Actually, the most difficult clause in this passage is the expression, "yes, and his own life also." Self-love is one of the biggest hindrances to discipleship. Not until we are willing to lay down our lives for Him are we in the place where He wants us.
2. A denial of self.
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself..." (Matthew 16:24). Denial of self is not the same as self-denial. The latter means foregoing certain foods, pleasures, or possessions. But denial of self means such complete submission to the lordship of Christ that self has no rights or authority at all. It means that "self" abdicates the throne.
3. A deliberate choosing of the cross.
"If any man come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross ..." (Matthew 16:24). The cross is not some physical infirmity or mental anguish; these things are common to all men. The cross is a path that is chosen deliberately. The cross symbolizes the shame, persecution and abuse which the world heaped upon the Son of God, and which the world will heap on all who choose to stand against the tide. Any believer can avoid the cross simply by being conformed to the world and its ways.
4. A life spent in following Christ.
"If any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). To understand what this means, you simply need to ask yourself, "What characterized the life of the Lord Jesus?" It was a life of obedience to the will of God. It was a life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was a life of unselfish service for others. It was a life of patience and longsuffering in the face of the gravest wrongs. It was a life of zeal, of self-control, of meekness, of kindness, of faithfulness, and of devotion (Galatians 5:22, 23). In order to be His disciples, we must walk as He walked. We must exhibit the fruit of Christ-likeness (John 15:8).
5. A fervent love for all who belong to Christ.
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35). This is the love that esteems others more than one's self. It is the love that covers a multitude of sins. It is the love that suffers long and is kind. It is not puffed up. It does not behave unseemly; seeks not its own, is not easily provoked; thinks no evil. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (I Corinthians 13:4-7). Without this love, discipleship would be a cold, and legalistic.
6. An unswerving continuance in His Word.
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.(John 8:31). For real discipleship there must be continuance. It is easy to start off well, to burst forth in a blaze of glory. But the test of true discipleship is endurance to the end. Any man who looks back after putting his hand to the plow is not fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Occasional obedience to the Scriptures will not do. Christ wants those who will follow Him in constant, unquestioning obedience.
7. A forsaking of all to follow Him.
"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:33). This may be the most unpopular of all Christ's' terms of discipleship, and may well prove to be the most unpopular verse in the Bible, theologians can give you a thousand reasons why it does not mean what it says, but this writer assumes that the Lord Jesus knew what He was saying. What is meant by forsaking all? It means an abandonment of all one's material possessions that are not absolutely essential and that could be used in the spread of the gospel. The man who forsakes all works hard to provide for the current necessities of his family and himself. But since the passion of his life is to advance the cause of Christ, he invests everything above current needs in the work of the Lord and leaves the future with God. In seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, he believes that he will never lack food and clothing. He cannot conscientiously hold on to surplus funds when souls are perishing for want of the gospel. He does not want to waste his life accumulating riches that will fall into the devil's hands when Christ returns for His saints. He wants to obey the Lord's injunction against laying up treasures on earth. In forsaking all, he offers what he cannot keep anyway, and what he has ceased to love.
These are the NON-NEGOTIABLE terms of dicsipleship! Are you willing and ready to accept these terms? I pray that we all are willing and able to be true disciples of Christ.
Friday, September 25, 2009
THE DEMANDS OF DISCIPLESHIP
Luke 6:40
During the recent Christmas season I made extra effort to communicate what it means to become a Christian. In the next few weeks I would like to preach on the Biblical concepts of Discipleship and Church Membership.
If you haven't realized it before there are demands made of the disciples of Jesus Christ. You see, if there is true faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD, then certain attitudes and actions are expected and required of us.
Stephen Olford wrote a book a number of years ago entitled Committed to Christ and His Church. I like to use some of his ideas and couple them with a quick survey of the New Testament teaching on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We'll look at Jesus' own teachings about what it means to be His disciple.
The term "disciple" has as its basic meaning to be a "learner" or "pupil" which implies there is a Master or Teacher from which the student learns. In the ancient world, the word "disciple" referred to an adherent of a religion or the follower of a particular teacher. In those times it was the task, or job, of the disciple to learn, study, and pass along the teachings of his master.
We still do this today, in the skilled professions. We have apprentice, journeyman and master levels for such trades as carpenters, plumbers and electricians but we have forgotten the concept when it comes to being disciples of Jesus Christ.
In Luke 6:40 we have recorded the words of Jesus, "A student is not above his teacher but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." This verse speaks of the relationship of a disciple with the master or teacher.
The Bible always describes our relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ in terms of faith. In the New Testament "faith" is used with the primary meaning "trust" or "confidence" in God. Faith is the trusting commitment we place in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from the penalty of death for our sins.
Faith is also the living out of our beliefs—it is Christianity in action. The concept of faith is primarily that of a personal relationship with God which then determines the priorities of our lives. Our English word "faith" came to mean loyalty and faithfulness to a person to whom we are bound by promise or duty such as in marriage. So, faith is fidelity.
The Demand of a disciple of Jesus is a relationship of faith, trust, dependence and allegiance to Him as Teacher, Master, Savior and Lord. Once that relationship is established, Jesus says in John 13:35 that there is a certain Recognition of His Disciples.
How do we recognize the disciples of Jesus? In John13:35 Jesus says, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." The kind of love He is talking about is unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another person. What Jesus is commanding is not an emotion but our decision and commitment to seek what is best for others.
In the 1800's Rev. Joe Roberts arrived by stagecoach in Wyoming to minister to the Indians there. Soon after he arrived, the son of the Indian chief was shot by a soldier during a brawl. This chief vowed to kill the first white man he saw which of course would lead to a long and bloody feud.
Rev. Roberts decided to take action. He rode 15 miles into the mountains through winter snows to find the chief's teepee. When the chief came out, Roberts said, "The other white men have families but I am alone. Kill me instead of them."
Amazed, the chief asked, "How do you have so much courage?" And Joe Roberts told him about Jesus Christ's teachings. When Joe left, the chief of the Shoshones had renounced his vow to kill a white man and resolved to become a Christian because he had seen love for others, in action.
If we call ourselves "Christian," the next step is to decide what we can do to make love visible in our homes and churches. When there is a proper relationship of faith with Jesus Christ, His disciples will be recognized by the love, they show for each other and the world around them.
Now, the result in the life of a disciple is that faith and love are expressed in faithful service. Jesus said in John 15:8 "This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples." The word fruit in the scriptures means something more like "harvest," and often indicates a thought very close to our word "results."
The fruit of the Holy Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23, is the result of the Spirit's workings in the lives of believers. We might speak of these results as manifestations or expressions. The result of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is expressed by these qualities manifested in our lives.
Galatians 5:22 and 23 says "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." When chemists analyze wine, there are nine different ingredients which make up "fruit of the vine." The interesting thing is that good wine cannot be made with just a few grapes. It can be produced only from full clusters of grapes because not all ingredients are found in each grape. The fruit of the Holy Spirit which produces the wine of discipleship must include all nine ingredients—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
When we add up all of these qualities they amount to Service. The fruitfulness Jesus is talking about is not just inward qualities but it is outward Service. When we possess these inward qualities of the Spirit of God they will be evidenced, exercised and expressed outwardly in service to those in the church and those outside the church.
So, the relationship of a disciple is expressed as faith in Jesus. We recognize disciples by their love for others. And, the result of being a disciple is fruitfulness, shown in service to others.
Now what about the responsibilities of a disciple? John 8:31 gives Jesus' own teaching on the responsibilities of His disciples. John 8:31 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples." The King James translation is a little clearer, "If you continue in my word then are you my disciples, indeed."
Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man–So and so, tells me that he was one of your students. The teacher answered, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students." You see, there is a world of difference between attending lectures, and being a student. There is a great difference between attending church and being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Every disciple of Jesus has the responsibility of being a real student of the Scriptures. We need to be reading, studying, learning, and memorizing God's Word. What distinguishes a nominal believer (one who only mentally assents to the facts) what distinguishes a nominal believer from a real disciple is how much time and energy they spend in the Word of God studying how to be Jesus' disciple.
We must do more than just know the facts which are in the Bible. We must also Obey what we know. Obedience is to hear God's Word and behave accordingly. That is why the NIV says in John 8:31, "If you hold to my teachings"–if you hear and obey what I say, then and only then are you My disciple.
So to really hear God's Word is to obey God's Word. True disciples do the will of God. Jesus said "Not everyone who says to me ''Lord, Lord,'' will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father" (Matthew 7:21). We believe God has spoken through the Scriptures so, if we say we are His disciples then we must obey His Word.
The relationship of a disciple is expressed as faith in Jesus. We recognize disciples by their love for others. The results of being a disciple is fruitfulness in service to God and others. The responsibilities of a disciple are to know and obey God's Word.
But there is also the requirement of a disciple. In Luke 14:27 Jesus says, "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple." There is the requirement, and there is a definite cost, to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He expects lifelong allegiance and He requires total dedication until death.
Kamikaze is the Japanese word for "divine wind." In the Second World War, the Japanese organized a suicide force of Kamikaze pilots. These pilots slammed their bomb-laden planes–and themselves–into American ships in the Pacific. Twelve hundred pilots killed themselves taking out 34 U.S. ships during the war. Today we need "Christian Kamikazes" who will take the faith anywhere the "divine wind" blows regardless of the cost.
The symbolic meaning of Jesus' call to take up our crosses and follow Him is a call to complete surrender to God. He used it five times as the symbol of true Discipleship. Jesus'' followers would have understood His metaphor, completely. Every person they had ever seen take up a cross carried that cross to the place of their execution–they carried it to their death. It was a one-way journey–no turning back. Jesus says we cannot be His Disciples unless and until we are willing to serve Him completely for all the rest of our lives.
When an immigrant comes to America, before he or she can become a citizen, they must renounce all their commitments and allegiance to their former homeland and pledge 100 percent allegiance to the United States. Then, and only then, will the U.S. Government grant them citizenship. That's the way it is with Jesus.
What does it mean practically to take up our crosses and follow Jesus? It means no rivals for Christ’s love in our lives. We must give our love, loyalty, submission and obedience to the Kingdom of God. Anything less than that is treason. To do anything other than what He wants, shows that I have a rival in my life–it shows that I am a traitor to Him. About 35 years ago, I enlisted in the Sea Bees. Once I have done that, any disobedience to any rule or command was actually treason against my country. I had decided and swore to obey.
Taking up our cross also means that there will be no refusals. We will determine to try to always obey His every command and never refuse any request. And taking up our cross certainly means that there is no retreat–no turning back, once we have begun. This is a one way trip!
Dietrick Bonhoffer, who spent much time in Nazi prisons for preaching the Gospel of Christ, said "When Christ calls us to follow Him, He calls us do die."
After graduation from high school, young William Borden, heir to the Borden Milk fortunes, was sent on a cruise around the world. He became brokenhearted by the spiritual needs of the people he met. So he committed his life to serve the Lord Jesus Christ as a missionary. He wrote in his journal "Say ''no'' to self, ''yes'' to Jesus, every time." He headed for China but contracted spinal meningitis and died less than a month later. Three phrases were found written inside the cover of his Bible: No reserves, No retreats, No regrets. That is what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
In James 2:14 we have this question put to us, "if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds can such faith save him?" And the implied answer is "No" it cannot! The demands of discipleship are that "faith works," it does deeds, consistent with its belief.
We were reminded in that even the demons of Hell believe there is only one true God. But, they do not obey Him therefore they are not saved. Neither are we saved if we claim faith but do not learn of, follow and obey the Master. Jesus said bluntly in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, ''Lord, Lord,'' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father." You see, the old hymn is correct: We must not only trust God and Jesus Christ but we must obey.
Luke 6:40
During the recent Christmas season I made extra effort to communicate what it means to become a Christian. In the next few weeks I would like to preach on the Biblical concepts of Discipleship and Church Membership.
If you haven't realized it before there are demands made of the disciples of Jesus Christ. You see, if there is true faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD, then certain attitudes and actions are expected and required of us.
Stephen Olford wrote a book a number of years ago entitled Committed to Christ and His Church. I like to use some of his ideas and couple them with a quick survey of the New Testament teaching on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We'll look at Jesus' own teachings about what it means to be His disciple.
The term "disciple" has as its basic meaning to be a "learner" or "pupil" which implies there is a Master or Teacher from which the student learns. In the ancient world, the word "disciple" referred to an adherent of a religion or the follower of a particular teacher. In those times it was the task, or job, of the disciple to learn, study, and pass along the teachings of his master.
We still do this today, in the skilled professions. We have apprentice, journeyman and master levels for such trades as carpenters, plumbers and electricians but we have forgotten the concept when it comes to being disciples of Jesus Christ.
In Luke 6:40 we have recorded the words of Jesus, "A student is not above his teacher but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." This verse speaks of the relationship of a disciple with the master or teacher.
The Bible always describes our relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ in terms of faith. In the New Testament "faith" is used with the primary meaning "trust" or "confidence" in God. Faith is the trusting commitment we place in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from the penalty of death for our sins.
Faith is also the living out of our beliefs—it is Christianity in action. The concept of faith is primarily that of a personal relationship with God which then determines the priorities of our lives. Our English word "faith" came to mean loyalty and faithfulness to a person to whom we are bound by promise or duty such as in marriage. So, faith is fidelity.
The Demand of a disciple of Jesus is a relationship of faith, trust, dependence and allegiance to Him as Teacher, Master, Savior and Lord. Once that relationship is established, Jesus says in John 13:35 that there is a certain Recognition of His Disciples.
How do we recognize the disciples of Jesus? In John13:35 Jesus says, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." The kind of love He is talking about is unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another person. What Jesus is commanding is not an emotion but our decision and commitment to seek what is best for others.
In the 1800's Rev. Joe Roberts arrived by stagecoach in Wyoming to minister to the Indians there. Soon after he arrived, the son of the Indian chief was shot by a soldier during a brawl. This chief vowed to kill the first white man he saw which of course would lead to a long and bloody feud.
Rev. Roberts decided to take action. He rode 15 miles into the mountains through winter snows to find the chief's teepee. When the chief came out, Roberts said, "The other white men have families but I am alone. Kill me instead of them."
Amazed, the chief asked, "How do you have so much courage?" And Joe Roberts told him about Jesus Christ's teachings. When Joe left, the chief of the Shoshones had renounced his vow to kill a white man and resolved to become a Christian because he had seen love for others, in action.
If we call ourselves "Christian," the next step is to decide what we can do to make love visible in our homes and churches. When there is a proper relationship of faith with Jesus Christ, His disciples will be recognized by the love, they show for each other and the world around them.
Now, the result in the life of a disciple is that faith and love are expressed in faithful service. Jesus said in John 15:8 "This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples." The word fruit in the scriptures means something more like "harvest," and often indicates a thought very close to our word "results."
The fruit of the Holy Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23, is the result of the Spirit's workings in the lives of believers. We might speak of these results as manifestations or expressions. The result of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is expressed by these qualities manifested in our lives.
Galatians 5:22 and 23 says "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." When chemists analyze wine, there are nine different ingredients which make up "fruit of the vine." The interesting thing is that good wine cannot be made with just a few grapes. It can be produced only from full clusters of grapes because not all ingredients are found in each grape. The fruit of the Holy Spirit which produces the wine of discipleship must include all nine ingredients—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
When we add up all of these qualities they amount to Service. The fruitfulness Jesus is talking about is not just inward qualities but it is outward Service. When we possess these inward qualities of the Spirit of God they will be evidenced, exercised and expressed outwardly in service to those in the church and those outside the church.
So, the relationship of a disciple is expressed as faith in Jesus. We recognize disciples by their love for others. And, the result of being a disciple is fruitfulness, shown in service to others.
Now what about the responsibilities of a disciple? John 8:31 gives Jesus' own teaching on the responsibilities of His disciples. John 8:31 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples." The King James translation is a little clearer, "If you continue in my word then are you my disciples, indeed."
Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man–So and so, tells me that he was one of your students. The teacher answered, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students." You see, there is a world of difference between attending lectures, and being a student. There is a great difference between attending church and being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Every disciple of Jesus has the responsibility of being a real student of the Scriptures. We need to be reading, studying, learning, and memorizing God's Word. What distinguishes a nominal believer (one who only mentally assents to the facts) what distinguishes a nominal believer from a real disciple is how much time and energy they spend in the Word of God studying how to be Jesus' disciple.
We must do more than just know the facts which are in the Bible. We must also Obey what we know. Obedience is to hear God's Word and behave accordingly. That is why the NIV says in John 8:31, "If you hold to my teachings"–if you hear and obey what I say, then and only then are you My disciple.
So to really hear God's Word is to obey God's Word. True disciples do the will of God. Jesus said "Not everyone who says to me ''Lord, Lord,'' will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father" (Matthew 7:21). We believe God has spoken through the Scriptures so, if we say we are His disciples then we must obey His Word.
The relationship of a disciple is expressed as faith in Jesus. We recognize disciples by their love for others. The results of being a disciple is fruitfulness in service to God and others. The responsibilities of a disciple are to know and obey God's Word.
But there is also the requirement of a disciple. In Luke 14:27 Jesus says, "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple." There is the requirement, and there is a definite cost, to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He expects lifelong allegiance and He requires total dedication until death.
Kamikaze is the Japanese word for "divine wind." In the Second World War, the Japanese organized a suicide force of Kamikaze pilots. These pilots slammed their bomb-laden planes–and themselves–into American ships in the Pacific. Twelve hundred pilots killed themselves taking out 34 U.S. ships during the war. Today we need "Christian Kamikazes" who will take the faith anywhere the "divine wind" blows regardless of the cost.
The symbolic meaning of Jesus' call to take up our crosses and follow Him is a call to complete surrender to God. He used it five times as the symbol of true Discipleship. Jesus'' followers would have understood His metaphor, completely. Every person they had ever seen take up a cross carried that cross to the place of their execution–they carried it to their death. It was a one-way journey–no turning back. Jesus says we cannot be His Disciples unless and until we are willing to serve Him completely for all the rest of our lives.
When an immigrant comes to America, before he or she can become a citizen, they must renounce all their commitments and allegiance to their former homeland and pledge 100 percent allegiance to the United States. Then, and only then, will the U.S. Government grant them citizenship. That's the way it is with Jesus.
What does it mean practically to take up our crosses and follow Jesus? It means no rivals for Christ’s love in our lives. We must give our love, loyalty, submission and obedience to the Kingdom of God. Anything less than that is treason. To do anything other than what He wants, shows that I have a rival in my life–it shows that I am a traitor to Him. About 35 years ago, I enlisted in the Sea Bees. Once I have done that, any disobedience to any rule or command was actually treason against my country. I had decided and swore to obey.
Taking up our cross also means that there will be no refusals. We will determine to try to always obey His every command and never refuse any request. And taking up our cross certainly means that there is no retreat–no turning back, once we have begun. This is a one way trip!
Dietrick Bonhoffer, who spent much time in Nazi prisons for preaching the Gospel of Christ, said "When Christ calls us to follow Him, He calls us do die."
After graduation from high school, young William Borden, heir to the Borden Milk fortunes, was sent on a cruise around the world. He became brokenhearted by the spiritual needs of the people he met. So he committed his life to serve the Lord Jesus Christ as a missionary. He wrote in his journal "Say ''no'' to self, ''yes'' to Jesus, every time." He headed for China but contracted spinal meningitis and died less than a month later. Three phrases were found written inside the cover of his Bible: No reserves, No retreats, No regrets. That is what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
In James 2:14 we have this question put to us, "if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds can such faith save him?" And the implied answer is "No" it cannot! The demands of discipleship are that "faith works," it does deeds, consistent with its belief.
We were reminded in that even the demons of Hell believe there is only one true God. But, they do not obey Him therefore they are not saved. Neither are we saved if we claim faith but do not learn of, follow and obey the Master. Jesus said bluntly in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, ''Lord, Lord,'' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father." You see, the old hymn is correct: We must not only trust God and Jesus Christ but we must obey.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
TO BE TRUE DISCIPLES
John 15:4-8
There are wax fruits and there are true fruits. There are paste jewels and true jewels. There are fair-weather friends and there are true friends. There are true statements and false statements. Jesus discovered that there are disciple wannabes, false disciples, and there are true disciples. Jesus wants all who follow Him to do so sincerely, unconditionally, and truly. So what does it take according to his text to be true disciples?
I. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST REMAIN IN JESUS:
A. The word "remain" means "not to depart from." It was used in the sense of continuing to live in a place or to remain in a certain condition. We must live in continual relationship to, and in contact with, Jesus if we'd be true disciples.
B. If we live near to Jesus and it doesn't matter whether we live on the mountain of honor or in the valley of humiliation. It doesn't matter if we live in a mansion or a hovel. What matters is that we live close to Jesus. All issues of life become secondary compared to the worth of relationship to Him. How do we stay in Him?
1. Be an active part of His body the church.
2. Stay in communication with Him through His Word and Prayer and Worship.
3. Think about Him and take Him into consideration in all of life's issues.
4. Keep every part of your life connected to Him and His will.
C. How does this play out in life? How does it benefit us?
1. Living in Jesus keeps us close to God and in His constant care.
2. Living in Jesus means putting ourselves under His authority. If you live in Canada, you are under Canadian law; if you live in England, you are under English law; if you live in Christ, you are under His governance.
3. Living in Jesus means that we disallow anything or anyone to separate us from Him.
4. Living in Jesus means that we do not simply enjoy an interview now and then, but that we can always enjoy His company. Jesus is not just us a friend who calls upon us now and then, but one with Whom we walk, and talk, and live forever.
5. Living in Jesus allows us to draw constantly from the grace, mercy, strength, power, wisdom and peace He alone can give.
D. I read recently an article by Charles Simpson. He wrote that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He wrote that if you confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. That also happens to some Christians. Some remain little six-inch Christians who swim around in a confining pool - the pool of materialism, or pride, or lust, or anger. But when they live in a larger milieu - constant and abiding relationship with Jesus - they can become true disciples.
So, to be a genuine, tried and true disciple, remain in Jesus.
II. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST RETAIN GOD'S WORD:
A. His word is to remain or abide in us. You see, it is one thing to have a Bible in your home; it is another thing to have the Bible in your hand; it is yet another thing to have the Bible in your head; but it is a totally different thing to have the Bible in your heart, the center of your willing, feeling and acting. Listen to these texts about internalizing God's Word:
1. "How can a young person stay pure? By obeying Your word and following its rules. I have tried my best to find You - don't let me wander from Your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Psalms 119:9-11 (NLT).
2. "My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store My commands in your heart," Proverbs 3:1 (NLT).
3. "Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise." Colossians 3:16 (NLT).
4. "Salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is the message we preach - is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, 'The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.'" Romans 10:8 (NLT).
B. Have you considered the benefits of God's Word abiding in and working through you?
1. It will give us victory over sin: "I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:11 (NLT).
2. It will make us wise: "Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise." Colossians 3:16 (NLT)
3. It will lead us to salvation. Paul said to Timothy: "from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:15 (NASB).
4. It will show us the way to live, rebuke us when we stray, show us the way back, and train us in godliness. Paul wrote, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT).
5. It will equip us to do the work God calls us to do. "It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." 2 Timothy 3:17 (NLT).
6. It produces and deepens faith. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:17 (NASB).
7. It is the way to know Jesus. "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; John 5:39 (NASB).
8. It is the litmus for all teaching. The Bereans were noble because when Paul taught them, "they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." Acts 17:11 (NASB.
C. Deliberately and carefully let the Word remain in you. There are things that, if you let them, will strip the Word from you. Jesus told a parable about that and explained it. "The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts. The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word. The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced. The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message and produce a huge harvest - thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT).
D. One man represents misunderstanding of retaining God's Word in himself. He was a ruler in Africa. He developed the surrounding kingdoms into modern Ethiopia with himself as emperor. The emperor had one strange eccentricity. Whenever he was feeling ill, he would eat a few pages of the Bible, insisting that this always restored his health. One day while recovering from a stroke and feeling extremely ill, he had the entire book of Kings torn from a Bible, ate every page of it - and died. You don't get the Word into you that way! You read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, apply it, and make it the rule of your life. Then it dwells in you richly, and you can become a true disciple.
So, to be a genuine, tried and true disciple, remain in Jesus, and you must retain His Word.
III. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT:
A. Jesus wants us to be fruit bearers. But what is this fruit?
1. On the one hand, it is the works and deeds we perform for Him. Paul wants us to be filled with wisdom, so that we "may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work" Colossians 1:10a (NASB).
2. On the other hand, it is the kind of language or speech we utter. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:33-34 (NIV).
3. On another hand, it is to lead others to Christ; other disciples are the fruit. Paul wrote, "And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles." Romans 1:13 (NASB).
4. Yet again, it is the product the Holy Spirit brings forth in us: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:23 (NLT).
B. A fruitless Christian is like a lightless lamp or an odorless scent. A fruitless Christian is an anomaly, a cull, a waterless spring.
C. Think about it. When have you been the most fruitful? Isn't it when you have lived closest to Jesus, when you have been faithful in prayer, when you have lived by the simplicity of your faith, when your mind has focused on the Lord, and you have remembered where your strength comes from - has not it been then that your fruit has increased?
D. My dad used to love growing figs. Now, personally, I hated those fig trees. They smelled bad, they attracted wasps and figs don't taste really good unless they are dried. But dad loved them. I used to think he was goofy, though. He'd whack those trees back until they were mostly stumps. He'd killed them for sure. But next spring, they would grow rapidly and produce figs like crazy. Dad wanted trees that produced a lot of fruit. So does Jesus.
I challenge you today to determine to be a true disciple, not just a wannabe. That means remaining in Jesus, retaining His Word and producing much fruit. Everybody wants to live a life that means something. Jesus calls us to that kind of life. He offers us life that is abundant here and eternal hereafter. But He offers that only to those who become His disciples; to those who follow Him in faith and obedience; to those who surrender their wills to His. To be a disciple means it is not all about us, it's all about Him; it is no longer what we want but what He wants; it is no longer our way, but His. If you choose to be His disciple, then stand and sing to Him, "Have Thine Own Way!"
John 15:4-8
There are wax fruits and there are true fruits. There are paste jewels and true jewels. There are fair-weather friends and there are true friends. There are true statements and false statements. Jesus discovered that there are disciple wannabes, false disciples, and there are true disciples. Jesus wants all who follow Him to do so sincerely, unconditionally, and truly. So what does it take according to his text to be true disciples?
I. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST REMAIN IN JESUS:
A. The word "remain" means "not to depart from." It was used in the sense of continuing to live in a place or to remain in a certain condition. We must live in continual relationship to, and in contact with, Jesus if we'd be true disciples.
B. If we live near to Jesus and it doesn't matter whether we live on the mountain of honor or in the valley of humiliation. It doesn't matter if we live in a mansion or a hovel. What matters is that we live close to Jesus. All issues of life become secondary compared to the worth of relationship to Him. How do we stay in Him?
1. Be an active part of His body the church.
2. Stay in communication with Him through His Word and Prayer and Worship.
3. Think about Him and take Him into consideration in all of life's issues.
4. Keep every part of your life connected to Him and His will.
C. How does this play out in life? How does it benefit us?
1. Living in Jesus keeps us close to God and in His constant care.
2. Living in Jesus means putting ourselves under His authority. If you live in Canada, you are under Canadian law; if you live in England, you are under English law; if you live in Christ, you are under His governance.
3. Living in Jesus means that we disallow anything or anyone to separate us from Him.
4. Living in Jesus means that we do not simply enjoy an interview now and then, but that we can always enjoy His company. Jesus is not just us a friend who calls upon us now and then, but one with Whom we walk, and talk, and live forever.
5. Living in Jesus allows us to draw constantly from the grace, mercy, strength, power, wisdom and peace He alone can give.
D. I read recently an article by Charles Simpson. He wrote that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He wrote that if you confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. That also happens to some Christians. Some remain little six-inch Christians who swim around in a confining pool - the pool of materialism, or pride, or lust, or anger. But when they live in a larger milieu - constant and abiding relationship with Jesus - they can become true disciples.
So, to be a genuine, tried and true disciple, remain in Jesus.
II. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST RETAIN GOD'S WORD:
A. His word is to remain or abide in us. You see, it is one thing to have a Bible in your home; it is another thing to have the Bible in your hand; it is yet another thing to have the Bible in your head; but it is a totally different thing to have the Bible in your heart, the center of your willing, feeling and acting. Listen to these texts about internalizing God's Word:
1. "How can a young person stay pure? By obeying Your word and following its rules. I have tried my best to find You - don't let me wander from Your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Psalms 119:9-11 (NLT).
2. "My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store My commands in your heart," Proverbs 3:1 (NLT).
3. "Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise." Colossians 3:16 (NLT).
4. "Salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is the message we preach - is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, 'The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.'" Romans 10:8 (NLT).
B. Have you considered the benefits of God's Word abiding in and working through you?
1. It will give us victory over sin: "I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:11 (NLT).
2. It will make us wise: "Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise." Colossians 3:16 (NLT)
3. It will lead us to salvation. Paul said to Timothy: "from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:15 (NASB).
4. It will show us the way to live, rebuke us when we stray, show us the way back, and train us in godliness. Paul wrote, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT).
5. It will equip us to do the work God calls us to do. "It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." 2 Timothy 3:17 (NLT).
6. It produces and deepens faith. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:17 (NASB).
7. It is the way to know Jesus. "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; John 5:39 (NASB).
8. It is the litmus for all teaching. The Bereans were noble because when Paul taught them, "they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." Acts 17:11 (NASB.
C. Deliberately and carefully let the Word remain in you. There are things that, if you let them, will strip the Word from you. Jesus told a parable about that and explained it. "The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts. The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word. The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced. The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message and produce a huge harvest - thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT).
D. One man represents misunderstanding of retaining God's Word in himself. He was a ruler in Africa. He developed the surrounding kingdoms into modern Ethiopia with himself as emperor. The emperor had one strange eccentricity. Whenever he was feeling ill, he would eat a few pages of the Bible, insisting that this always restored his health. One day while recovering from a stroke and feeling extremely ill, he had the entire book of Kings torn from a Bible, ate every page of it - and died. You don't get the Word into you that way! You read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, apply it, and make it the rule of your life. Then it dwells in you richly, and you can become a true disciple.
So, to be a genuine, tried and true disciple, remain in Jesus, and you must retain His Word.
III. TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE, YOU MUST PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT:
A. Jesus wants us to be fruit bearers. But what is this fruit?
1. On the one hand, it is the works and deeds we perform for Him. Paul wants us to be filled with wisdom, so that we "may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work" Colossians 1:10a (NASB).
2. On the other hand, it is the kind of language or speech we utter. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:33-34 (NIV).
3. On another hand, it is to lead others to Christ; other disciples are the fruit. Paul wrote, "And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles." Romans 1:13 (NASB).
4. Yet again, it is the product the Holy Spirit brings forth in us: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:23 (NLT).
B. A fruitless Christian is like a lightless lamp or an odorless scent. A fruitless Christian is an anomaly, a cull, a waterless spring.
C. Think about it. When have you been the most fruitful? Isn't it when you have lived closest to Jesus, when you have been faithful in prayer, when you have lived by the simplicity of your faith, when your mind has focused on the Lord, and you have remembered where your strength comes from - has not it been then that your fruit has increased?
D. My dad used to love growing figs. Now, personally, I hated those fig trees. They smelled bad, they attracted wasps and figs don't taste really good unless they are dried. But dad loved them. I used to think he was goofy, though. He'd whack those trees back until they were mostly stumps. He'd killed them for sure. But next spring, they would grow rapidly and produce figs like crazy. Dad wanted trees that produced a lot of fruit. So does Jesus.
I challenge you today to determine to be a true disciple, not just a wannabe. That means remaining in Jesus, retaining His Word and producing much fruit. Everybody wants to live a life that means something. Jesus calls us to that kind of life. He offers us life that is abundant here and eternal hereafter. But He offers that only to those who become His disciples; to those who follow Him in faith and obedience; to those who surrender their wills to His. To be a disciple means it is not all about us, it's all about Him; it is no longer what we want but what He wants; it is no longer our way, but His. If you choose to be His disciple, then stand and sing to Him, "Have Thine Own Way!"
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
THE SCRIPTURAL MANDATE: “MAKE DISCIPLES”
We begin with this illustrative citation from Walter Henrichsen:
“Let’s say for example that a gifted evangelist is able to lead 1,000 people to Christ every day. Each year he will have reached 365,000 people, a phenomenal ministry indeed.
Let’s compare him with a disciple who leads not 1,000 people a day to Christ, but only one person a year. At the end of the year, the disciple has one convert; the evangelist, 365,000. But suppose the disciple has not only led this man to Christ, but has also discipled him. He has prayed with him, taught him how to feed himself from the Word of God, gotten him into fellowship with like-minded believers, taken him out on evangelism and showed him how to present the Gospel to other people. At the end of that first year, this new convert is able to lead another man to Christ and follow him up as he himself has been followed up.
At the start of the second year, the disciple has doubled his ministry—the one has become two. During the second year, each man goes out and leads not 1,000 people per day to Christ, but one person per year. At the end of the second year, we have four people. You can see how slow our process is. But note, too, that we do not have only converts, but disciples who are able to reproduce themselves. At this rate of doubling every year, the disciple leading one man per year to Christ, will overtake the evangelist numerically somewhere in the 19th year. From then on, the disciple and his multiplying ministry will be propagating faster than the combined ministry of dozens of gifted evangelists (Walter Henrichsen, Disciples Are Made Not Born, 141-42).”
Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (NIV)."
Let’s first consider what we are commanded to do. Let’s read verse 19-20 again, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
It looks like there are 4 commands in here: go, make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them.
1. In the Greek structure are there four commands?
The heart of the Great Commission is one command explained by three participial phrases. The only command of this passage is to make disciples. The three participial phrases are: going, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey. These phrases describe the process of making disciples which includes evangelizing, edifying, and equipping.
going – (having gone, when you go, wherever you go, as you are going) tells us that making disciples is a matter of lifestyle that takes place as we move about in the world and proclaim the Gospel to those we meet. This phrase describes the lifestyle of continually working to evangelize the lost for Christ.
Baptizing them – is a reference to the formal act of publicly demonstrating repentance and faith in Christ through water baptism. The word “in” is literally “into” which signifies that the subject of baptism is brought into fellowship with and under the authority of Him in whose name he is baptized as God’s own possession. For us, the phrase, compels us to help people become rooted and established in the faith after they come to salvation in Christ. It means edifying or building them up in their spiritual growth as new believers.
Teaching them to obey – is the process of equipping people to put their faith into action. A disciple is one who chooses to follow his master and desires to become like him. Equipping goes beyond teaching someone the Bible. It involves developing skills, attitudes, and actions consistent with the life of Christ. It includes equipping people to make disciples of their own peers.
Are you beginning to catch the dynamics of these words? They cover the entire process of making disciples: evangelizing, edifying, equipping. This process begins when we go to where people are, explain the Gospel to them, gather those who repent and ground them in the faith, and teach them to share Christ and His truth with others. There is a profound balance in this process; nothing dominates to the exclusion of other priorities.
So, there is one command to make disciples and the rest describe the process of making disciples.
2. What in the world is a disciple?
Disciple is a term that applies to every believer. It is someone who is a learner and a follower. And just as disciple refers to every true believer, so the Great Commission is Jesus’ mandate for every believer—the pattern of the normal Christian life.
One author wrote, “The word ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times in the New Testament. ‘Christian’ is found only three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples . . . . The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian—especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God.”
So, a disciple is a learner, pupil, or someone who learns by following. That makes since why Jesus’ followers were called disciples because they were learning from Him.
3. What are a few of the things that Jesus' disciples learned from Him?
They learned to make the kingdom of God their priority.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matt 6:33, NKJV).
They learned that Jesus was establishing His church.
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18, NKJV).
They learned that to follow Jesus would entail great sacrifice on their part.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom (Matt 16:24-28, NJKV)."
From this passage of Scripture, the disciples learned four truths about discipleship:
1. They were to submit to the requirements of discipleship, v. 24.
2. They were to understand the reason for discipleship, vv. 25-26.
3. They were to realize the reward for discipleship, v. 27.
4. They were to remember the royal source of discipleship, v. 28.
So, they learned to find their place in God’s universe and God’s plan to redeem it.
There were a variety of things that Jesus’ disciples learned from Him. In the context we are reading in Matthew 28 he has already died and resurrected and is about to ascend into Heaven. This is one of the last commands he leaves with them---Make Disciples
4. Why do you think Jesus leaves them with this parting command?
Because this is how we fulfill our role in the Messianic program. God wants a kingdom of redeemed humanity to live forever with Him worshipping and enjoying Him forever.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev 5:9-10, NASB).
This is what the Abrahamic Covenant is all about: God is calling out a people for His name.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:1-3, NASB).
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner’ ” (Luke 14: 15-24, NASB).
So from the divine perspective, the Great Commission is the greatest priority in this present age. If we believe that, then we should make it our greatest priority.
Now someone may object saying that the primary purpose of the Christian is to glorify God and the Great Commission is only one way of glorifying God. In essence, I agree. But what’s the best way to glorify God during this life on earth? John Piper said, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When people from all nations are before the throne, missions ends. Missions is a temporary necessity, but worship is eternal.
They were to carry out the work here on earth. Disciples were not just going to happen or just going to be born that way they were going to have to be ‘made.’
5. What did this look like in the New Testament?
Well, Paul’s relationship with his younger disciple Timothy is a good model for us. Paul set the pattern that he wanted Timothy to follow.
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2, NKJV).
Consider the following passages of Scripture written by Paul in which he mentions Timothy. The following samples are from letters the apostle Paul wrote to local churches. (The following Scriptures are from the NASB.)
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him . . . (Acts 16:1).
Timothy my fellow worker greets you . . . (Rom 16:21)
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Cor 4:17).
Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am (1 Cor 16:10).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia (2 Cor 1:1).
For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him (2 Cor 1:19).
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus . . . (Phil 1:1)
But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition . . . (Phil 2:19).
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother . . . (Col 1:1).
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (1 Thess 1:1).
. . . and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith . . . (1 Thess 3:2).
But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you . . . (1 Thess 3:6).
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (2 Thess 1:1).
To Timothy, my true child in the faith . . . (1 Tim 1:2).
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight . . . (1 Tim 1:18).
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you . . . (1 Tim 6:20).
To Timothy, my beloved son . . . (2 Tim 1:2).
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother . . . (Phlm 1:1).
What immediately strikes you about the previous passages? Did you get the impression that Paul was very involved in Timothy's life? If so, then you're getting the picture. Paul discipled Timothy, not with a discipleship workbook, but by bringing him into his ministry, passing it on to him to duplicate it in the lives of others who would then also reproduce themselves. This is primarily a relational endeavor.
In Titus 2:3-5 Paul says,
“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
Here we have a picture of women mature in the Lord training other women to love and take care of their families and to live Holy lives.
6. Considering these examples could we say that discipling someone is sort of like mentoring someone?
Yes, and Jesus is the model discipler and becoming like Him is the goal of discipleship.
Now we know that discipling someone is basically investing your life in their life let’s go back to Matthew 28.
7. This was a command given to the disciples. Isn’t making disciples just for super Christians like pastors, missionaries or teachers?
Mention of “disciples” in the Great Commission causes many Christians to breath a sigh of relief, thinking that it doesn’t pertain to them. Many think of disciples as super-Christians who are more dedicated and spiritual than “normal” Christians.
Most Christians acknowledge the weaknesses of their faith and inconsistencies of their lifestyles and therefore wrongly assume that they are only “normal” Christians who will never attain the level of a disciple. As a result, they believe that the G. C. must not apply to them since they are not able to “make disciples” of others when they themselves are not true disciples. Through the logic of this confused perspective, the Great Commission has been stripped of all relevance and power. Christians who have this view have no passion for outreach because they cannot see themselves in these words. When you read the Great Commission, be sure to place yourself in it. Don’t excuse yourself by thinking, “The Great Commission is the most important job in the church for someone else to do.” Don’t exempt yourself from the Great Commission.
So, it is a command given to every Christian. OK, now that we all have come to the realization that it is a command that we are all to follow, what does it look like in our lives what are we supposed to do?
7a. Isn’t this just for college ministries to do? Where did such an idea come from?
7b. Don’t cults do this like the LA Church of Christ? These kinds of groups exert control or manipulation , they might call someone three times a day to see where they are at. Or they might have to approve every decision the disciple makes. How is biblical discipleship different?
We cannot allow the church’s greatest priority to be stolen from us just because some people have perverted it. Cults also pervert the teachings of the Bible, but we don’t throw away the Bible. We must be careful to make disciples biblically, which is leading by example, servant leadership, and training others to live the way Jesus lived. We pour our lives into the ones we disciple, we love them sacrificially, we hold them accountable to biblical principles, and we encourage them to find their place of ministry in the church and carry out the process of disciple-making themselves.
8. What does this look like?
This process begins when we go to where people are, explain the Gospel to them, gather those who repent and ground them in the faith, and teach them to share Christ and His truth with others.
9. Where do I start?
Look around and see if the Lord has already put someone in your circle of influence that you can begin to disciple. Maybe that person is already a believer, but has not matured in his/her faith. Or, it may be that the person is not a believer and you can begin to spend time with that person just hanging out and over time patiently and persistently share the gospel with them. Either way, spend a lot of informal time with the person. Just get to know each other. Then take the person into your life. Take him/her with you when you go to church or Bible study. Take him/her witnessing. Pray with the person. Share the wisdom God has given you in your walk with Him. Encourage the person to cultivate spiritual disciplines in their own life. Go through a book on Christian growth with them such as Fundamentals of the Faith, or Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Don Whitney, or Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. Teach the person to become a committed disciple of Jesus. Then eventually encourage this person to begin to do with someone else what you’ve done with them.
10. I Thessalonians 2:8 says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” Talk about how discipling someone isn’t just about sharing information but sharing your life with them?
When we think about the way Jesus trained the twelve or the way Paul mentored Timothy, it wasn’t just a formal program of teaching like we do today in schools and classrooms. Jesus said to His disciples, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour (John 1:37-39, NASB).
And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach (Mk 3:14).
Someone said, “Christianity is more caught than taught.” While I believe teaching is absolutely necessary, there’s some truth in that statement. The seeing eye is always a better pupil that the hearing ear.
So, a lot of time could also be spent just hanging out together, meals together, church together, doing ministry together. We are not only trying to teach truth but model truth for them in our own lives.
Conclusion:
You may be a Christian and say, “But my life is not perfect, I can’t disciple someone else.” We are to aim for perfection but if we wait until we reach it before we serve the Lord then we will never serve. You might not think you have much to offer others, but actually you do. You may think, “But I don’t know the Word of God enough.” Now is a great time to start. Start by repenting of your failure to know God’s Word as you should. Repent of your lack of involvement in the life of the church and being involved in other peoples’ lives. Now that you know what the Lord’s plan is for us, let’s set our minds to doing it.
What we are asking you to do is ‘make disciples.’ We want you to be intentional about it. It isn’t just going to happen out of the blue. You have to be intentional in investing in someone’s life. You might say, “Yeah, but who?” Do you know of anyone at work that you could invest in, at school, at the park, relatives, etc. If you do not know of anyone then begin to pray and ask the Lord to help you find someone.
How do you start? Tell someone that you would like to encourage them in the Lord and teach them some things from the Bible and you want to meet with them on a regular basis. Now understand that this takes time and it isn’t always pretty. These are people who are new in the Lord and they are growing into maturity. It takes a great deal of patience.
“What if someone says ‘no’ or starts and then stops wanting to do this?” Don’t push them or make them feel guilty but move on to invest in someone else.
If you are a new believer or maybe even an unbeliever, you can have someone disciple you and train you in the ways of the Lord. This is so crucial for you to grow into being more like Jesus.
Whether you are discipling someone or being discipled you will experience so much joy. You can come to the end of your life and look back on the people you have invested in and impacted for eternity.
We begin with this illustrative citation from Walter Henrichsen:
“Let’s say for example that a gifted evangelist is able to lead 1,000 people to Christ every day. Each year he will have reached 365,000 people, a phenomenal ministry indeed.
Let’s compare him with a disciple who leads not 1,000 people a day to Christ, but only one person a year. At the end of the year, the disciple has one convert; the evangelist, 365,000. But suppose the disciple has not only led this man to Christ, but has also discipled him. He has prayed with him, taught him how to feed himself from the Word of God, gotten him into fellowship with like-minded believers, taken him out on evangelism and showed him how to present the Gospel to other people. At the end of that first year, this new convert is able to lead another man to Christ and follow him up as he himself has been followed up.
At the start of the second year, the disciple has doubled his ministry—the one has become two. During the second year, each man goes out and leads not 1,000 people per day to Christ, but one person per year. At the end of the second year, we have four people. You can see how slow our process is. But note, too, that we do not have only converts, but disciples who are able to reproduce themselves. At this rate of doubling every year, the disciple leading one man per year to Christ, will overtake the evangelist numerically somewhere in the 19th year. From then on, the disciple and his multiplying ministry will be propagating faster than the combined ministry of dozens of gifted evangelists (Walter Henrichsen, Disciples Are Made Not Born, 141-42).”
Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (NIV)."
Let’s first consider what we are commanded to do. Let’s read verse 19-20 again, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
It looks like there are 4 commands in here: go, make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them.
1. In the Greek structure are there four commands?
The heart of the Great Commission is one command explained by three participial phrases. The only command of this passage is to make disciples. The three participial phrases are: going, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey. These phrases describe the process of making disciples which includes evangelizing, edifying, and equipping.
going – (having gone, when you go, wherever you go, as you are going) tells us that making disciples is a matter of lifestyle that takes place as we move about in the world and proclaim the Gospel to those we meet. This phrase describes the lifestyle of continually working to evangelize the lost for Christ.
Baptizing them – is a reference to the formal act of publicly demonstrating repentance and faith in Christ through water baptism. The word “in” is literally “into” which signifies that the subject of baptism is brought into fellowship with and under the authority of Him in whose name he is baptized as God’s own possession. For us, the phrase, compels us to help people become rooted and established in the faith after they come to salvation in Christ. It means edifying or building them up in their spiritual growth as new believers.
Teaching them to obey – is the process of equipping people to put their faith into action. A disciple is one who chooses to follow his master and desires to become like him. Equipping goes beyond teaching someone the Bible. It involves developing skills, attitudes, and actions consistent with the life of Christ. It includes equipping people to make disciples of their own peers.
Are you beginning to catch the dynamics of these words? They cover the entire process of making disciples: evangelizing, edifying, equipping. This process begins when we go to where people are, explain the Gospel to them, gather those who repent and ground them in the faith, and teach them to share Christ and His truth with others. There is a profound balance in this process; nothing dominates to the exclusion of other priorities.
So, there is one command to make disciples and the rest describe the process of making disciples.
2. What in the world is a disciple?
Disciple is a term that applies to every believer. It is someone who is a learner and a follower. And just as disciple refers to every true believer, so the Great Commission is Jesus’ mandate for every believer—the pattern of the normal Christian life.
One author wrote, “The word ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times in the New Testament. ‘Christian’ is found only three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples . . . . The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian—especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God.”
So, a disciple is a learner, pupil, or someone who learns by following. That makes since why Jesus’ followers were called disciples because they were learning from Him.
3. What are a few of the things that Jesus' disciples learned from Him?
They learned to make the kingdom of God their priority.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matt 6:33, NKJV).
They learned that Jesus was establishing His church.
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18, NKJV).
They learned that to follow Jesus would entail great sacrifice on their part.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom (Matt 16:24-28, NJKV)."
From this passage of Scripture, the disciples learned four truths about discipleship:
1. They were to submit to the requirements of discipleship, v. 24.
2. They were to understand the reason for discipleship, vv. 25-26.
3. They were to realize the reward for discipleship, v. 27.
4. They were to remember the royal source of discipleship, v. 28.
So, they learned to find their place in God’s universe and God’s plan to redeem it.
There were a variety of things that Jesus’ disciples learned from Him. In the context we are reading in Matthew 28 he has already died and resurrected and is about to ascend into Heaven. This is one of the last commands he leaves with them---Make Disciples
4. Why do you think Jesus leaves them with this parting command?
Because this is how we fulfill our role in the Messianic program. God wants a kingdom of redeemed humanity to live forever with Him worshipping and enjoying Him forever.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev 5:9-10, NASB).
This is what the Abrahamic Covenant is all about: God is calling out a people for His name.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:1-3, NASB).
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner’ ” (Luke 14: 15-24, NASB).
So from the divine perspective, the Great Commission is the greatest priority in this present age. If we believe that, then we should make it our greatest priority.
Now someone may object saying that the primary purpose of the Christian is to glorify God and the Great Commission is only one way of glorifying God. In essence, I agree. But what’s the best way to glorify God during this life on earth? John Piper said, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When people from all nations are before the throne, missions ends. Missions is a temporary necessity, but worship is eternal.
They were to carry out the work here on earth. Disciples were not just going to happen or just going to be born that way they were going to have to be ‘made.’
5. What did this look like in the New Testament?
Well, Paul’s relationship with his younger disciple Timothy is a good model for us. Paul set the pattern that he wanted Timothy to follow.
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2, NKJV).
Consider the following passages of Scripture written by Paul in which he mentions Timothy. The following samples are from letters the apostle Paul wrote to local churches. (The following Scriptures are from the NASB.)
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him . . . (Acts 16:1).
Timothy my fellow worker greets you . . . (Rom 16:21)
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Cor 4:17).
Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am (1 Cor 16:10).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia (2 Cor 1:1).
For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him (2 Cor 1:19).
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus . . . (Phil 1:1)
But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition . . . (Phil 2:19).
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother . . . (Col 1:1).
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (1 Thess 1:1).
. . . and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith . . . (1 Thess 3:2).
But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you . . . (1 Thess 3:6).
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy . . . (2 Thess 1:1).
To Timothy, my true child in the faith . . . (1 Tim 1:2).
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight . . . (1 Tim 1:18).
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you . . . (1 Tim 6:20).
To Timothy, my beloved son . . . (2 Tim 1:2).
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother . . . (Phlm 1:1).
What immediately strikes you about the previous passages? Did you get the impression that Paul was very involved in Timothy's life? If so, then you're getting the picture. Paul discipled Timothy, not with a discipleship workbook, but by bringing him into his ministry, passing it on to him to duplicate it in the lives of others who would then also reproduce themselves. This is primarily a relational endeavor.
In Titus 2:3-5 Paul says,
“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
Here we have a picture of women mature in the Lord training other women to love and take care of their families and to live Holy lives.
6. Considering these examples could we say that discipling someone is sort of like mentoring someone?
Yes, and Jesus is the model discipler and becoming like Him is the goal of discipleship.
Now we know that discipling someone is basically investing your life in their life let’s go back to Matthew 28.
7. This was a command given to the disciples. Isn’t making disciples just for super Christians like pastors, missionaries or teachers?
Mention of “disciples” in the Great Commission causes many Christians to breath a sigh of relief, thinking that it doesn’t pertain to them. Many think of disciples as super-Christians who are more dedicated and spiritual than “normal” Christians.
Most Christians acknowledge the weaknesses of their faith and inconsistencies of their lifestyles and therefore wrongly assume that they are only “normal” Christians who will never attain the level of a disciple. As a result, they believe that the G. C. must not apply to them since they are not able to “make disciples” of others when they themselves are not true disciples. Through the logic of this confused perspective, the Great Commission has been stripped of all relevance and power. Christians who have this view have no passion for outreach because they cannot see themselves in these words. When you read the Great Commission, be sure to place yourself in it. Don’t excuse yourself by thinking, “The Great Commission is the most important job in the church for someone else to do.” Don’t exempt yourself from the Great Commission.
So, it is a command given to every Christian. OK, now that we all have come to the realization that it is a command that we are all to follow, what does it look like in our lives what are we supposed to do?
7a. Isn’t this just for college ministries to do? Where did such an idea come from?
7b. Don’t cults do this like the LA Church of Christ? These kinds of groups exert control or manipulation , they might call someone three times a day to see where they are at. Or they might have to approve every decision the disciple makes. How is biblical discipleship different?
We cannot allow the church’s greatest priority to be stolen from us just because some people have perverted it. Cults also pervert the teachings of the Bible, but we don’t throw away the Bible. We must be careful to make disciples biblically, which is leading by example, servant leadership, and training others to live the way Jesus lived. We pour our lives into the ones we disciple, we love them sacrificially, we hold them accountable to biblical principles, and we encourage them to find their place of ministry in the church and carry out the process of disciple-making themselves.
8. What does this look like?
This process begins when we go to where people are, explain the Gospel to them, gather those who repent and ground them in the faith, and teach them to share Christ and His truth with others.
9. Where do I start?
Look around and see if the Lord has already put someone in your circle of influence that you can begin to disciple. Maybe that person is already a believer, but has not matured in his/her faith. Or, it may be that the person is not a believer and you can begin to spend time with that person just hanging out and over time patiently and persistently share the gospel with them. Either way, spend a lot of informal time with the person. Just get to know each other. Then take the person into your life. Take him/her with you when you go to church or Bible study. Take him/her witnessing. Pray with the person. Share the wisdom God has given you in your walk with Him. Encourage the person to cultivate spiritual disciplines in their own life. Go through a book on Christian growth with them such as Fundamentals of the Faith, or Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Don Whitney, or Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. Teach the person to become a committed disciple of Jesus. Then eventually encourage this person to begin to do with someone else what you’ve done with them.
10. I Thessalonians 2:8 says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” Talk about how discipling someone isn’t just about sharing information but sharing your life with them?
When we think about the way Jesus trained the twelve or the way Paul mentored Timothy, it wasn’t just a formal program of teaching like we do today in schools and classrooms. Jesus said to His disciples, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour (John 1:37-39, NASB).
And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach (Mk 3:14).
Someone said, “Christianity is more caught than taught.” While I believe teaching is absolutely necessary, there’s some truth in that statement. The seeing eye is always a better pupil that the hearing ear.
So, a lot of time could also be spent just hanging out together, meals together, church together, doing ministry together. We are not only trying to teach truth but model truth for them in our own lives.
Conclusion:
You may be a Christian and say, “But my life is not perfect, I can’t disciple someone else.” We are to aim for perfection but if we wait until we reach it before we serve the Lord then we will never serve. You might not think you have much to offer others, but actually you do. You may think, “But I don’t know the Word of God enough.” Now is a great time to start. Start by repenting of your failure to know God’s Word as you should. Repent of your lack of involvement in the life of the church and being involved in other peoples’ lives. Now that you know what the Lord’s plan is for us, let’s set our minds to doing it.
What we are asking you to do is ‘make disciples.’ We want you to be intentional about it. It isn’t just going to happen out of the blue. You have to be intentional in investing in someone’s life. You might say, “Yeah, but who?” Do you know of anyone at work that you could invest in, at school, at the park, relatives, etc. If you do not know of anyone then begin to pray and ask the Lord to help you find someone.
How do you start? Tell someone that you would like to encourage them in the Lord and teach them some things from the Bible and you want to meet with them on a regular basis. Now understand that this takes time and it isn’t always pretty. These are people who are new in the Lord and they are growing into maturity. It takes a great deal of patience.
“What if someone says ‘no’ or starts and then stops wanting to do this?” Don’t push them or make them feel guilty but move on to invest in someone else.
If you are a new believer or maybe even an unbeliever, you can have someone disciple you and train you in the ways of the Lord. This is so crucial for you to grow into being more like Jesus.
Whether you are discipling someone or being discipled you will experience so much joy. You can come to the end of your life and look back on the people you have invested in and impacted for eternity.
WHY BOTHER WITH DISCIPLESHIP?
Written by Dallas Willard
If we are Christians simply by believing that Jesus died for our sins, then that is all it takes to have sins forgiven and go to heaven when we die. Why, then, do some people keep insisting that something more than this is desirable? Lordship, discipleship, spiritual formation, and the like?
What more could one want than to be sure of their eternal destiny and enjoy life among others who profess the same faith as they do. Of course everyone wants to be a good person. But that does not require that you actually do what Jesus himself said and did. Haven't you heard? "Christians aren't perfect. Just forgiven."
Now those who honestly find themselves concerned about such matters might find it helpful to consider four simple points:
First, there is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus' expense and have nothing more to do with him.
Some years ago A. W. Tozer expressed his "feeling that a notable heresy has come into being throughout evangelical Christian circles--the widely-accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need him as Savior and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to him as Lord as long as we want to!" (I Call It Heresy, Harrisburg, PA.: Christian Publications, 1974, p. 5f) He then goes on to state "that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures."
This 'heresy' has created the impression that it is quite reasonable to be a "vampire Christian." One in effect says to Jesus: "I'd like a little of your blood, please. But I don't care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see you in heaven." But can we really imagine that this is an approach that Jesus finds acceptable?
And when you stop to think of it, how could one actually trust him for forgiveness of sins while not trusting him for much more than that. You can't trust him without believing that he was right about everything, and that he alone has the key to every aspect of our lives here on earth. But if you believe that, you will naturally want to stay just as close to him as you can, in every aspect of your life.
Secondly, if we do not become his apprentices in kingdom living we remain locked in defeat so far as our moral intentions are concerned. This is where most professing Christians find themselves today. Statistical studies prove it. People, generally, choose to sin. And they are filled with explanations as to why, everything considered, it understandable to do so. But, even so, no one chooses to be a sinner. It is amusing that people will admit to lying, for example, but stoutly deny that they are liars.
We want to be good, but we are prepared, ready, to do evil--should circumstances require it. And of course they do 'require' it, with deadening regularity. As Jesus himself indicated, those who practice sin actually are slaves of it. (John 8:34) Ordinary life confirms it. How consistently do you find people able to do good and avoid evil as they intend.
By contrast, practicing Jesus' word as his apprentices enables us to understand our lives and to see how we can interact with God's redemptive resources, ever at hand. This in turn gives us an increasing freedom from failed intentions, as we learn from him how, simply, do what we know to be right. By a practiced abiding in his words we come to know the truth and the truth does, sure enough, make us free. (John 8:36)
Thirdly, only avid discipleship to Christ through the spirit brings the inward transformation of thought, feeling and character that "cleans the inside of the cup" (Matt. 23:25) and "makes the tree good" (Matt. 12:33). As we study with Jesus we increasingly become on the inside--with "the Father who is in secret" (Matt 6:6)--exactly what we are on the outside, where actions and moods and attitudes visibly play over our body alive in its social context. An amazing simplicity will take over our lives--a simplicity that is really just transparency.
This requires a long and careful learning from Jesus to remove the duplicity that has become second nature to us--as is perhaps inevitable in a world where, to 'manage' our relations to those about us, we must hide what we really think, feel and would like to do if only we could avoid observation. Thus, a part of Jesus' teaching was to "avoid the leaven, or permeating spirit, of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke 12:1)
The Pharisees were in many respects the very best people of Jesus' day. But they located goodness in behavior and tried to secure themselves by careful management at the behavioral level. However, that simply cannot be done. Behavior is driven by the hidden or secret dimension of human personality, from the depths of the soul and body, and what is present there will escape. Hence they always failed at some point to do what is right, and had to redefine, redescribe or explain it away--or simply hide it.
By contrast the fruit of the spirit, as described by Jesus and Paul, does not consist in actions, but in attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the "hidden" self, the "inner man." "Love" captures this fruit in one word, but in such a concentrated form that it needs to be spelled out. Thus, "the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Gla 5:22) Other such passages easily come to mind, such as II Peter 1:4-11, I Cor. 13, and Romans 5:1-5.
"Spiritual formation" in the Christian tradition is a process of increasingly being possessed and permeated by such character traits as we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus our teacher. From the inward character the deeds of love then naturally--but supernaturally--and transparently flow. Of course there will always be room for improvement, so we need not worry that we will become perfect--at least for a few weeks or months. Our aim is to be pervasively possessed by Jesus through constant companionship with him. Like our brother Paul: "This one thing I do! ...I press toward the mark! ...That I may know him!" (Phil. 3)
Finally, for the one who makes sure to walk as close to Jesus as possible there comes the reliable exercise of a power that is beyond them in dealing with the problems and evils that afflict earthly existence. Jesus is actually looking for people he can trust with his power. He knows that otherwise we remain largely helpless in the face of the organized and disorganized evils around us and unable to promote his will for good in this world with adequate power.
He is the one who said, "I have been given say over all things in heaven and earth. So you go...." (Matt. 28:18) Of him it was said that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38) We are called to do his work by his power.
However we may understand the details there can be no doubt, on the biblical picture of human life, that we were meant to be inhabited by God and live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life can never flourish unless it pulses with "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." (Eph. 1:19) But only constant students of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God's person for their time and their place in this world.
But, someone will say, can I not be saved--get into heaven when I die--without any of this? Perhaps you can. God's goodness is so great, I am sure, that He will let you in if He can find any basis at all to do so. But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of one whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of earthly existence. And he is, after all, One who says to you now, "Follow me!"
Reprinted with permission. Visit Dallas Willard's site HERE
Written by Dallas Willard
If we are Christians simply by believing that Jesus died for our sins, then that is all it takes to have sins forgiven and go to heaven when we die. Why, then, do some people keep insisting that something more than this is desirable? Lordship, discipleship, spiritual formation, and the like?
What more could one want than to be sure of their eternal destiny and enjoy life among others who profess the same faith as they do. Of course everyone wants to be a good person. But that does not require that you actually do what Jesus himself said and did. Haven't you heard? "Christians aren't perfect. Just forgiven."
Now those who honestly find themselves concerned about such matters might find it helpful to consider four simple points:
First, there is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus' expense and have nothing more to do with him.
Some years ago A. W. Tozer expressed his "feeling that a notable heresy has come into being throughout evangelical Christian circles--the widely-accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need him as Savior and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to him as Lord as long as we want to!" (I Call It Heresy, Harrisburg, PA.: Christian Publications, 1974, p. 5f) He then goes on to state "that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures."
This 'heresy' has created the impression that it is quite reasonable to be a "vampire Christian." One in effect says to Jesus: "I'd like a little of your blood, please. But I don't care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see you in heaven." But can we really imagine that this is an approach that Jesus finds acceptable?
And when you stop to think of it, how could one actually trust him for forgiveness of sins while not trusting him for much more than that. You can't trust him without believing that he was right about everything, and that he alone has the key to every aspect of our lives here on earth. But if you believe that, you will naturally want to stay just as close to him as you can, in every aspect of your life.
Secondly, if we do not become his apprentices in kingdom living we remain locked in defeat so far as our moral intentions are concerned. This is where most professing Christians find themselves today. Statistical studies prove it. People, generally, choose to sin. And they are filled with explanations as to why, everything considered, it understandable to do so. But, even so, no one chooses to be a sinner. It is amusing that people will admit to lying, for example, but stoutly deny that they are liars.
We want to be good, but we are prepared, ready, to do evil--should circumstances require it. And of course they do 'require' it, with deadening regularity. As Jesus himself indicated, those who practice sin actually are slaves of it. (John 8:34) Ordinary life confirms it. How consistently do you find people able to do good and avoid evil as they intend.
By contrast, practicing Jesus' word as his apprentices enables us to understand our lives and to see how we can interact with God's redemptive resources, ever at hand. This in turn gives us an increasing freedom from failed intentions, as we learn from him how, simply, do what we know to be right. By a practiced abiding in his words we come to know the truth and the truth does, sure enough, make us free. (John 8:36)
Thirdly, only avid discipleship to Christ through the spirit brings the inward transformation of thought, feeling and character that "cleans the inside of the cup" (Matt. 23:25) and "makes the tree good" (Matt. 12:33). As we study with Jesus we increasingly become on the inside--with "the Father who is in secret" (Matt 6:6)--exactly what we are on the outside, where actions and moods and attitudes visibly play over our body alive in its social context. An amazing simplicity will take over our lives--a simplicity that is really just transparency.
This requires a long and careful learning from Jesus to remove the duplicity that has become second nature to us--as is perhaps inevitable in a world where, to 'manage' our relations to those about us, we must hide what we really think, feel and would like to do if only we could avoid observation. Thus, a part of Jesus' teaching was to "avoid the leaven, or permeating spirit, of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke 12:1)
The Pharisees were in many respects the very best people of Jesus' day. But they located goodness in behavior and tried to secure themselves by careful management at the behavioral level. However, that simply cannot be done. Behavior is driven by the hidden or secret dimension of human personality, from the depths of the soul and body, and what is present there will escape. Hence they always failed at some point to do what is right, and had to redefine, redescribe or explain it away--or simply hide it.
By contrast the fruit of the spirit, as described by Jesus and Paul, does not consist in actions, but in attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the "hidden" self, the "inner man." "Love" captures this fruit in one word, but in such a concentrated form that it needs to be spelled out. Thus, "the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Gla 5:22) Other such passages easily come to mind, such as II Peter 1:4-11, I Cor. 13, and Romans 5:1-5.
"Spiritual formation" in the Christian tradition is a process of increasingly being possessed and permeated by such character traits as we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus our teacher. From the inward character the deeds of love then naturally--but supernaturally--and transparently flow. Of course there will always be room for improvement, so we need not worry that we will become perfect--at least for a few weeks or months. Our aim is to be pervasively possessed by Jesus through constant companionship with him. Like our brother Paul: "This one thing I do! ...I press toward the mark! ...That I may know him!" (Phil. 3)
Finally, for the one who makes sure to walk as close to Jesus as possible there comes the reliable exercise of a power that is beyond them in dealing with the problems and evils that afflict earthly existence. Jesus is actually looking for people he can trust with his power. He knows that otherwise we remain largely helpless in the face of the organized and disorganized evils around us and unable to promote his will for good in this world with adequate power.
He is the one who said, "I have been given say over all things in heaven and earth. So you go...." (Matt. 28:18) Of him it was said that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38) We are called to do his work by his power.
However we may understand the details there can be no doubt, on the biblical picture of human life, that we were meant to be inhabited by God and live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life can never flourish unless it pulses with "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." (Eph. 1:19) But only constant students of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God's person for their time and their place in this world.
But, someone will say, can I not be saved--get into heaven when I die--without any of this? Perhaps you can. God's goodness is so great, I am sure, that He will let you in if He can find any basis at all to do so. But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of one whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of earthly existence. And he is, after all, One who says to you now, "Follow me!"
Reprinted with permission. Visit Dallas Willard's site HERE
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