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Discipleship
Discipleship
Good Evening
I want to start with asking a question:
What is a disciple?
What do you all think?
In Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus told his own disciples that they were to go and multiply themselves, or replicant themselves, whatever current wave of discipleship is being sold to the christian world as a whole.
But what is a disciple?
A disciple is a follower.
In Mark Dever’s book “Discipling” he had this to say:
“You can do that (be a follower) by following someone’s teaching from afar, like someone might say they follows the teaching and example of Gandhi. And being a disciple of Jesus means at least that much. A disciple of Jesus follows in Jesus’s steps, doing as Jesus taught and lived.
Dever would add:
But it means more than that. Following Jesus first means you have entered into a personal, saving relationship with him. You have been “united with Christ”, as Phil 2:1 puts it. You have been united through the new covenant blood. through his death and resurrection, all the guilt of sin that is your becomes his, and all the righteousness that is his becomes yours.”
Being a disciple means that you are a follower.
and in our context— you are a follower of Christ.
When you hear this word in churches this is the usage they use.
A disciple is a follower of Jesus.
Meaning they have given their lives to Christ.
When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior you become a disciple instantly.
You are not waiting for a medal or a certificate, or even a class— no you are a disciple the moment you say yes to Jesus.
The moment you heard Him say follow me— and you followed.
There are no Christians who are not disciples and there are no disciples who aren’t christians.
This may be new to you or it maybe that you never thought of it this way before—
Like when you are asked what religion you are there is not a box that says disciple of Jesus—it says Christian so that becomes our identity when it comes to Christ, but Disciple carried a different weight.
Jesus had 12 disciples but yet we see them as very different from us.
Those men they left eveything behind to follow Jesus, to be his disciples.
We read about the first disciples being called.
As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat putting their nets in order. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
We read this about those disciples and when we came to faith we didn’t sell everything and follow Christ, it would seem that we kept much of who we are and followed Him.
And I’m not saying that in a bad way, i think it is just interesting that we don’t refer to ourselves as disciples of Jesus.
The reason why I bring this up is because in many churches today and in Christian circles disciple and discipleship is mentioned a ton but the follow through is what seems to lack.
Because being a disciple does not stop once you are saved— it is an on going growing in your relationship with Christ process
Because when you become saved your life begins to transform into the image of Christ.
You die to yourself.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
And being a disciple starts with living a transformed life.
A life that begins to reflect that of Jesus.
So what does a disciple of Jesus look like?
Great question:
A disciple of Jesus is someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.
Let’s break these down a bit:
Someone who is following Jesus:
This stems from Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I think it is important that we are to be a witness to the world as we hear this command from Jesus and we will cover this in a bit, I think it is also important for us to understand that this is something that we are to do as well.
Be a disciple who is baptized and who is observing all that Christ had taught, and of course make disciples.
This was not just a call for his current disciples, but it was a call for all who have received salvation to follow and go.
Secondly being changed by Jesus:
This goes back to living a transformed life.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Jesus told his disciples that they were going to be changed.
When he called them out of the boats and while walking on the shore, he said I will make you become… fishers of men.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Jesus is in the life changing business, if you want to stay the same, I’m sorry that is not possible if you are in Christ.
And Thirdly joining the mission of Christ:
I know we keep going back to Matthew 28:19-20 but this is vital to understanding our role as a disicple.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus gave a mission to the disciples that still hold true to the disciples of Jesus today.
He said to go and make other disciples.
To go and replicate the disciple process.
“It is a natural process: we follow Jesus, we are changed by Jesus, and— as we follow the one who spent 65-90% of his time make disciples— we too commit to make disciples as he did.”
How do we know that we are growing as a disciple?
I think there are a couple of ways to see this in our own life and we have spent some time here already but I think it is important to note.
1). You Love God
2). You bear fruit
3). You love people
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment— it is that you love God with all of you and then some— Fully committed to God.
That is one way and the second is that you bear fruit:
Mark Brinkmann spoke last week on the Holy Spirit and Gal 5, i want us to take a look at his passage.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
If you are a disciple of Christ who has the Holy Spirit living inside of you— you will bear the fruits of the spirit— you will have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
These fruits will be evident in your life.
And they will keep getting better.
It is not an all at once you are amazing at these things, but I think this is a good measuring stick if you are continuing to grow as a disciple of Christ.
Thirdly:
You love people.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I know I sandwiched the fruits of the spirits in between Love God and love people.
But the first two are actions that involve the individual person while the third evidence of us being a true disciple is that we love people.
How can we do this?
Because of how much God loves us.
God’s love for us begins a chain reaction that involves us loving others.
We know the love that God as for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you have experienced this love then you are able to offer this love.
Not on your own but through the power of the Holy Spirit who has given you the fruit of love.
Loving people is the second greatest commandment that Jesus spoke about.
How do we love people well?
If you love people you will share with them the truth of the Gospel— so they too can become followers of Jesus—
This is what being a disciple looks like.
If you have a saving faith, you have received that free gift of salvation then you are a disciple of Christ.
You are a follower of Jesus.
That is not where being a disciple ends.
And this is where we move into discipleship.
I want to begin this section with asking a question what is discipleship?
When you hear this word what goes through your mind?
I’m asking that question:
Mentor, Christ follower,
Biblical Discipleship is helping others to follow Jesus by doing deliberate Spiritual good to them.
This largely takes place in and through the local church.
When we begin to talk about discipleship a common thought is that I must first be discipled by someone in order for me to disciple others.
I think there is some wisdom to this.
If you have come to faith and you are really new to your faith and the church as a whole, it would be wise to grab someone who is further along in their faith to teach you all that Christ has commanded and what it means to follow Jesus.
I think there is some amazing wisdom in that.
But
Mark Dever in his book discipling again states this:
“Maybe you thought that you really need to be discipled before you can disciple. It is certainly crucial to be a disciple. But Jeus gave the command to make disciples to you. Part of growing in maturity is helping others grow in maturity. God wants you to be in churches not merely so that your needs are met but so that you will be equipped and encouraged to care for others.
He would go on to say:
Christianity—the religion of the Bible— is not for the rugged individual, the self made man who needs no one else. It’s a religion for disciples of Christ, followers who lead others to do the same.”
I think it goes without saying that if you are a disciple of Christ and you love people then making disciples will be on your heart.
Discipleship will be on your heart.
Why is discipleship vital to your life?
Because Jesus said it was.
If it was important enough for Jesus to say it before he ascended into heaven then maybe we need to give it a bit more of a spotlight in our lives.
And over the years I have read and seen lots of different forms of discipleship.
From deep studies and curriculums to siting down and reading a book together.
I think the point of discipleship is that we are intentional about it.
I personally believe that everyone should have someone who is discipling them and someone who they are discipling.
And you have have more people pouring into you and you may be pouring into more people then just one. But at the very least one pouring in and one you are pouring out.
That part is not a commandment but more like a good rule of thumb.
I was at a conference this past week and a guy named Tim got up and laid out what a mentor should be to someone they are mentoring.
And he used mentor and discipleship interchangeably.
And I think they will be helpful for us today.
It spells out mentor if that helps.
Model Godly behavior
This was more a question that Tim asked us, do you live a life consist with what you believe.
Do you live out your faith, show that to the person you are discipling.
Encourage and affirm
Applaud steps of growth
Be supportive and optimistic
Never Cease Praying
Pray for the person you are discipling.
Take Advantage of teachable moments
Spend time together and when life happens share that with the one you are discipling.
Offer Godly console and accountability
You are there to offer help when going through struggles and everyday life.
Hold them accountable, talk about sin and temptations
Ready to ask deep questions
Not a yes or no question
Great question… what do you think?
Share Spiritual insights
Share what you are learning about God
Identify spiritual gifts
Serve together
In reality this is an outline— to disciple someone but the truth is just keep it simple.
Meet with them, read a Bible passage, talk about it, pray with them, hold them accountable and be consistent.
But don’t stress if you missed one meeting, but don’t miss two.
Now while as we talked about discipleship and pouring into others I do believe that there are other ways that help as grow too.
It involves the church, as Robert mentioned tonight already.
We are not meant to be in isolation.
We are meant to be in a Christian community.
Why be part of a Christian Community?
I believe that being part of a Christian community helps one learn, grow, be encouraged, be cared for, be loved on, be affirmed, be held accountable, be prayed for, and have a sense of belonging.
And you can be all those things to others.
So what are some ways to we see Christian community play out?
Community
It would be beneficial to look at Acts 2 before we dive into the ways we see Christian community.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
This is after the Holy Spirit has entered into the disciples at Pentecost.
All the believers were coming together and becoming a Christian community.
What did this look like?
The believers came together:
Devoted to the teaching and fellowship of the apostles together.
Eating with one another
Praying with one another
Giving to each other
Praising God together
Attending the temple together.
It is clear that the early church or the early Christian community was not lonely.
People were present and they were active in each other’s life.
We are going to dive into someways that show the importance of community.
And first and foremost we have Life groups.
At Freshwater we see life groups as Christian Community that helps us disciple others.
Life group is where one goes to have community with believers from their church.
Life groups are a great way to get plugged in and begin to meet other believers and do life with like minded people.
Everyone will be influenced by those around you and in turn you will influence those around you.
We want to be in a community of believers that can be a part of each other’s lives.
At Freshwater there are 4 pillars to our life groups.
1. One is that each life group is a community.
They do things together.
They can count on each other.
That people can know that they are being prayed for.
That when life is challenging they have people in their corner.
2. Prayer is another pillar of life groups.
Each groups needs to spend time in prayer for each other and the church.
Praying out loud in a group setting is awesome and is a model we see in Acts 2.
3. Bible Study
Each life group is opening up God’s word; to learn, to grow, and to be challenged.
This is where iron sharpen iron.
This is where we take knowledge and add in application, we talk about how does this apply to me at work or with my family.
How does this apply to my everyday life.
Some life groups study a certain book of the Bible, other do sermon based teaching.
As in they take the sermon from Sunday and break it down further in the group.
4. On-Mission
It is the desire that each life group owns some sort of mission or community outreach where they are at.
It could be going to serve coffee at a school, or cleaning up a park, or supporting a missionary.
The idea here is serving the community together.
That is what makes up life groups here at Freshwater but life groups is not the only group that we see community in here.
We also see community with Wellspring and Basecamp
As well as Next-Up, divorce care, and grief share.
All of these groups center around God’s word, doing life together and loving on each other.
This is what community looks like at Freshwater and in most other churches.
We also see the need for Corporate Prayer
Corporate Prayer
We spent time last week talking about prayer, but coming together to prayer corporately I think it a big deal.
We read often that the disciples were praying together.
What is one of the only request Jesus makes to his disciples?
Will you pray with me— as he was getting ready to go to the cross.
Corporate Prayer is mentioned in the Bible.
It is one voice coming together to pray specifically.
Once a month we have a prayer and worship night.
We come together and sing praises to the King and then we lift up our prayers for others, for our church, for our city.
All together.
It is a beautiful picture of God’s people coming together.
Bible Study
We mentioned Bible study and being part of Christian community, I hope that this is part of not just you everyday life, but you are at times getting with others to study God’s word.
I think this is so important that we begin to study God’s word together.
That we can come alongside others and read and dissect God word and how it applies to our lives.
Personal quite time is awesome, I’m not taking that way, but a chance to get around other and gleam wisdom from other believers is amazing.
It gives you a chance to learn something that maybe you didn’t know or to teach something to someone else.
It can have a huge impact on your walk.
Living on Mission
Living on mission is serving.
How are you serving in the church?
I think a good question for us to ask ourselves is:
Do you only look for what you can get out of the chruch or do you also look for ways to give?
There are a ton of opportunities to serve here at Freshwater, and it is incredible to see the growth in people once they begin to serve.
It is like being surrounded by believers helps encourage them, and challenges them.
It really is something to see as people grow in their discipleship.
I know we have talked a ton about all of these and if you were to do everything individually then it would be impossible.
So I would say start out small.
1. Join a life group and get plugged into a community of believers who know you and you belong with them.
By joining a life group you knock out prayer, community, bible study and being on mission.
2. Find someone to disciple you.
And maybe you are further along in your faith and you have a peer to peer person that you are meeting with awesome.
And they does not need to be an every week meeting.
I understand that can be challenging and trying to balance eveything you got going is not easy.
3. Then find someone to disciple.
Same as above it doesn’t have to be every week, but maybe twice a month.
You take time to check in on them to pray for them.
To disciple someone is going to involve you spending time with them.
I started to disciple my freshmen guys while I was at my last chruch.
And I had them all come over to my house in the heart of the evening.
And my kids would play and Brittni was around and we met right in the middle of the house.
In all the chaos.
And it was intentional, because I wanted these freshmen boys to see how I interacted as a father and as a husband to my family.
I wanted them not just to come away with knowledge of the Bible but also see it in action.
We read the Bible and we prayed together.
We laughed and had fun and at times Evey would come up to me as a 6 year old share with me a drawing she did or to tell a story, and it was welcomed.
I think we make discipleship hard or overwhelming to some.
Just live your life pursuing the Lord and bring as many people as you can with you.
If I made anything tonight challenging, that was not my intention.
My intention was to give you very practical steps in discipleship and how you can find Christian community here at Freshwater.