Discipling

Intro:

baby food

No one in here can tell me they would rather eat baby food for every meal

it isn’t nurishing

it isn’t good

our pallets have changed

So far we have covered the importance of

praying

Reading (your Bible)

getting rid of idols and sin that separates you from God

Sharing the Love and Message of Christ with Nonbelievers

Depending on God

We touched on expecting the miraculous, but I want to expand on that expectation today

much of our faith is tied into the miraculous

THE LIFE OF FAITH IS NOT A STATIC EXPERIENCE.

The Word of God repeatedly admonishes us to continue to grow and mature as Christ’s followers.

2 Peter 3:18 NASB95

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

The Christian walk is not a single event-

it is a progressive journey.

Yes, there is the initial fact of one receiving Christ as Savior and entering into the Christian life.

But there is so much that God desires to do in the life of the believer following that entrance.

To describe this call to spiritual growth,

the Scriptures use the analogy of a child.

Think of your own child or that of a close relative.

When he or she is born, there is great joy in the family and in the heart of the parents.

But if that child does not grow consistently in the following weeks and months,

there is reason for concern.

A lack of growth reveals serious medical problems.

Examine your relationship with the Lord.

Are you seeking to grow in your communion with your Savior?

Are you looking for opportunities to serve Him in a greater capacity?

Are you seeking out those who need to hear the gospel

and doing all you can to share the good news?

Let’s consider together these and other dynamics of spiritual growth.

Growth Comes in Stages

The human body follows a progression of growth and development

-childhood,

adolescence,

young adulthood

mid-life, and

later-life seasons.

During our lifetimes, we do more than grow in physical strength;

we gain wisdom

and experience

and new skills.

In our Christian walk we should observe a similar progression.

Matters that were difficult for us when we first became believers should no longer be as challenging,

because there has been development on our part.

This development is expected of us,

and the Bible warns against a lack of such growth.

Hebrews 5:12 NASB95

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Scripture says we must not go back to the beginning facts of what happened when we first became a believer

Hebrews 6:1 NASB95

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

This may seem counter to the entire premise of my sermon series

but think of it like baby food

No one in here can tell me they would rather eat baby food for every meal

it isn’t nurishing

it isn’t good

our pallets have changed

This places an element of responsibility on our shoulders.

Spiritual growth is not something we automatically absorb without effort.

And unless we make that effort,

we are prone to stagnation

and even regression.

Am I describing a gospel of works? No.

I am saying there must be the determination on our part to grow in the Lord

and develop in God

so that we become spiritual adults;

we become grown-up in the Lord.

We become strong,

we become mature in Christ.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago,

the baptism in the Holy Spirit

and His continued work in us

provides the enabling power for that growth.

Our spiritual growth isn’t something we put on like a coat and take off; it’s something we work to develop all the time. In all life’s circumstances there should be evidence we have grown and are continuing to grow in Christ.

I can look back over the years and see where the Spirit of God was at work in my life and brought maturity and increased wisdom. You can do the same. As you commit your life, your dreams, and your ambitions to God, you’ll be able to look back and say the things that once troubled you as a new Christian no longer trouble you. You have grown in grace; you have become strong.

For too many followers of Christ it is a very different story. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready” (1 Corinthians 3:2). The Corinthians were spiritually lazy. They had become prematurely content. Yes, the Word tells us, “Godliness

referring

with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). This is g to a settled faith in God in whatever circumstance He places us. But we are commanded at the same time, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23).

Many today have been content to remain babies in Christ when they should have become adults and shoul- dered adult responsibilities in the body of Christ. The goal of Christian living is to become grown-up and mature in Christ so that we are His productive servants and a vibrant witness to our world, as He has called us to be.

Growth Involves Mentors

Our physical, emotional, and mental growth is encour- aged and channeled thanks to the mentors God brings into our lives. Think of your kindergarten teacher leading you into the rudiments of reading and writing. Think of your math or science teachers opening your mind to the world around you. Think of that coach who helped you develop physically.

These teachers in our daily lives have wonderful coun- terparts within the church. God has designed His church so that more mature members are to reach out and nurture the spiritual growth of new believers and younger Christians. We call this process discipleship, and the seed of its application can be seen in the disciples into whom Jesus poured His life, with the intent they would continue that responsibility with others.

The Book of Acts gives us powerful examples of disci- pleship in action. Acts 2, after recounting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the dramatic expansion of the Early

Church in Jerusalem, closes with this observation:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ...Every day they continued to meet together in the tem- ple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42,46,47).

What was happening here? As men and women came to faith in Christ, they followed closely the continued teaching of the church leaders, the apostles. The new believers made these teachings integral to all they said and did. Their lives were all about growing in their walk of faith. And as these new followers of Christ grew in faith, their lives became a testimony so even more people came into fellowship with the church.

Too often, churches today lose sight of this principle. We easily become consumed with a list of weekly activities and programs. We forget that there must be regular inter- action between the members of the body of Christ in daily life, with opportunities for more mature believers to help believers who are younger in their faith. It is important that new converts in the church are not just given a pep

talk at the altar, but are assigned to someone mature who

will mentor the new convert.

People who have just been saved don’t know what is expected of them. They don’t know much, if anything, about the Bible and how it applies to their lives. They are infants just learning to crawl, and if they are to grow and learn to walk in faith, they will need the loving help of more mature brothers and sisters in Christ.

One of the great indictments on the church is this: When a person comes out of the world and becomes a believer, many times that person can look back on more fellowship in the world than they experience in the church. That ought not to be. New followers of Christ are now a part of a new family. They need new friendships and new relationships. That’s the church’s responsibility.

What would have happened if you had walked into your kindergarten class each day and your teacher simply left you to your own devices? What if your math or science teachers had expected you to learn theorems and natural laws by yourself? What if your coaches had expressed no concern for your physical development and athletic ability?

You would have failed.

How many people have made a profession of faith at an altar, but because no one followed up on them, no one mentored them, no one walked with them, no one prayed with them, no one fellowshipped with them, no one cared for them, no one took an interest in them, they didn’t

know what to do and consequently didn’t the Lord? This is heartbreaking.

say to you

go on to serve

In Matthew 13, Jesus used the example of seed falling upon good ground, thorny ground, and stony ground to illustrate different people’s response to the gospel. But I would that from God’s perspective each of us has the potential of being any one of those types of soil. He sees all of us as potentially being good soil because He is not willing that any of us perish (2 Peter 3:9). Much of the means whereby our hearts can prove to be good soil depends on the nurturing the cultivating, if you will- by concerned and loving brothers and sisters in Christ.

We, in turn, must look to the lost as a fertile field wait- ing for the seed of the gospel. Once the seed has been planted, once they have made a decision to accept Jesus Christ, we must come alongside them and water and nur- ture and cultivate and care. As we are patient and help them to understand the deeper truths of Scripture, they will get up, after stumbling, and recover and continue growing in their faith.

We have needed mentors in our lives. God expects us to be mentors, disciple makers, in His kingdom.

Growth Requires Nourishment

Most of us are familiar with the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all cre- ation” (Mark 16:15). We readily picture the evangelist and

missionary, in partnership with our financial and prayerful support, obeying this command. But that is not all Jesus commanded. “Go and make disciples of all nations, bap- tizing 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.” (Matthew 28:19,20). That com- mand to teach is a command to make disciples.

One of the great rewards of serving the Lord is that we can bring somebody else along with us in this Christian walk and in spiritual development. And that’s the privilege of every believer, that’s the privilege of the church today. This process of encouraging spiritual development will include things you keep them from and things you promote.

The mentor will be on the alert for the temptation and spiritual compromise that Satan would try to introduce into the new believer’s life. We may spare new converts and young Christians from the snare of the enemy if we forewarn them. The Scripture says Satan goes about like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is not a red-suited, horned caricature to be made fun of. He is a powerful spirit being. He is clever. He is a convincing liar. He is a thief and a murderer, constantly devising ways to steal away the spiritual life someone has discovered in Christ. We, as mentors, are to help men and women in their early walk of faith so that they become strong believers. They in turn are to disciple others.

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” We win people, we disciple them, and then they win and they disciple.

And, we can see a marvelous spiritual harvest, if we are doing what God has called us to do.

Discipling also means offering the nourishment the new believer needs in order to grow. Years ago I served as chairman of Billy Graham’s crusade in Detroit. We had training sessions for the altar workers, and Brother Graham taught us to tell new converts four things they must do:

1. They must read their Bible every day. Start with the Book of John. Don’t start with a difficult book such as Deuteronomy or Revelation. The Book of John, and then the other Gospels, will acquaint them with the Author, Jesus, who has now come to live within their hearts.

2. They must pray every day. They cannot be sustained in their Christian walk if they don’t learn to pray. Prayer is a conversation with the Lord like one would talk to a friend, because that’s exactly what He is.

3. They must attend church and pursue fellowship

with other believers.

4. They must tell someone else they are Christians.

I’ve watched over the years as a pastor. Those who establish these basic principles of discipline as new con- verts are those who will grow. And the disciple maker must come alongside the new believer, encouraging and promot- ing each of these principles.

younger believers

The disciple-making process itself is tied most closely with that fourth point of telling others you are a Christian. The disciple maker is affirming to other again and again his or her own relationship with Christ. The Scripture says, “They [believers] overcame him [Satan] 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” (Revelation 12:11). When a person testifies of what Jesus Christ has done in his or her life, it strengthens one’s resolve. Do you want increased spiritual victory in your life? Do you want to grow your own level of faith? Do you want Christian walk, and greater greater joy and purpose in your strength in the face of satanic attack? Be a disciple maker.

Growth Should Be Natural

If you follow professional sports, you will on occasion read about bizarre attempts of top athletes to trick their bodies into performing beyond natural limits. These are faulty avenues to unnatural growth. Bodybuilders abuse steroids. Baseball sluggers take human growth hormone. This is not healthy.

There are unnatural, unhealthy attempts to force spir- itual growth as well. We saw in some circles what was called the “shepherding movement.” But it was not bibli- cal shepherding. It was unnatural control of other people’s lives. The person who wants to dictate the minutiae of another person’s day-to-day activity is not operating in the wisdom of the Spirit or in the love of Christ.

دو

you,

you

When people want to control your life and tell “Here’s what God is telling me to tell you,” you need to be careful. First of all, God can speak to you directly. You must believe that. If the Lord has spoken to you on a mat- ter and you want to see if you understand His leading cor- rectly, go to someone of spiritual maturity or someone in leadership, and share with that brother or sister what believe God is speaking to you. That person will either give you a word of confirmation or a word of caution. If it is a word of caution, many times it is just a small matter of clarification. You don’t have to abandon what you felt God leading you to do. Perhaps you just need to be more sensi- tive to God’s timing and detailed direction. You may also receive a word of confirmation. What you have heard from the Lord is good and is biblically sound. God never works outside the framework of His Word.

This gentle spirit of godly encouragement and influence should be the hallmark of those to whom you go for advice, and should characterize the way you disciple other believers.

As you rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you can trust Him to lead you to that man or woman in need of a spiritual mentor. The Spirit will give you the wisdom to help that brother or sister in the faith. He creates spiritual matches, spiritual duets, and from those relationships forges new members of His body who in turn will effec- tively share the greatest truth of all with a lost and spiritu- ally dying world.