Pass It On Week 2

Opening

What does it mean to pass on your faith within the church community?

How do you learn the things about your Christian Faith?

What have been the most effective ways in which your faith has grown and matured?

Opening Truths:

Passing on your faith is a process, not a singular event.

Passing on your faith is more than just evangelism. Passing on your faith consists of evangelism, mentoring, discipleship and service.

The journey of growth and maturity does not take place in a straight line. The path consists of twists and turns, roundabouts, and detour. Steadfast commitment to the journey and dependance upon God’s grace are the necessary tools to journey well.

What Does God Say?

Matthew 28:18–20 (NIV)

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.”

The clearest commission of the Lord to invest in one another is found in Jesus’ final words to his disciples. Go and multiply yourselves. Multiplication takes place as we intentionally go and invest in others by showing them what it means to follow Jesus, how to obey what He has commanded, and how to lean into the Lord and trust in His grace and presence.

James 2:14–17 (NIV)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Faith kept to ourselves is dead. Faith is meant to be intentionally shared within the community of believers. This sharing serves as the foundation for deeper dependance upon the things of God because the stories and testimonies of faith shared within the community proclaim the evidence of our faith.

1 Thessalonians 2:7–12 (NIV)

Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Passing on our faith is more than just sharing the gospel message. It includes the sharing of our very lives with one another. It includes nurturing, encouraging, comforting, and urging one another to live lives worthy of God.

Psalm 71:17–18 (NIV)

Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Revelation 12:11 (NIV)

They triumphed over him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

Our testimony defeats the enemy!

Application

Two Kinds of Relationships:

Iron Sharpens Iron

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

As iron sharpens iron,

so one person sharpens another.

Iron Sharpens Iron relationships are characterized by both individuals investing in one another from mutually mature positions. This process of iron sharpening iron is messy, demanding and difficult. The very process involves the literal transformation of one another’s very identity. Like iron changing to steel through the process of heating, welding, and cooling, these relationships seek to change the identity of each individual from fallen man to redeemed follower.

Who are the Iron Sharpens Iron Relationships in your life?

Discipleship

Titus 2:1–15 (NIV)

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

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. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 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.

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Discipleship relationships seek to invest what the Lord has revealed to us through experience, trial, His word and His people with another who has not yet experienced or endured well through trials. The aim of a discipleship relationship is to point one another toward Christ as they grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

Who are or need to be the discipleship relationships in your life?

Creating the Environment for Relationship

Passing on our faith is a process, not a singular event.

The effectiveness of iron sharpens iron and discipleship relationships is determined more by consistency than content. Continually pointing one another toward Christ will result in movement. Remember, every step on the journey is one step closer to Christ.

Ideas for beginning these relationships:

· Pray. These relationships take the guidance, patience, and leadership of the Holy Spirit.

· Set a schedule for meeting. These relationships will not take place by happenstance.

· Set tangible and reachable growth goals. Growth goals provide accountability and motivation.

· Do not forget about fellowship. These relationships are meant to be life on life. Life is more than just study.

Final Thoughts

Pray continually. Guiding someone else on the journey of growth and maturity in Christ is a worthy undertaking. It is also a journey that requires dependance and surrender to Christ and the Holy Spirit. Constant communication is necessary.

Use your resources. The task of passing on our faith is called of us by God. Just as the Lord calls us to invest in one another, He has been faithful to supply resources and the church body to aid us in our undertaking. Please do not hesitate to reach out and be open to resources that may help focus your time together.