Discipleship

Intro-Just imagine a factory in the USA of about 40-50 employees;• The aim of that factory is to produce shoes.• To help the factory become a success;• The management has invested great sums of money;• And many man-hours into the plant to produce the finest shoes possible.• Money has been spent on salaries for the employees,• Machinery for shoe making,• And materials from which the shoes are to be made.• The plant is in operation and many of the workers can be seen scurrying to and fro.• Machines are running full blast,• And activity is at a maximum.• Then one day the owner of the factory asks the production manager,• “How many shoes have we produced so far?”• To his surprise the production manager answers: “None”• So the factory owner exclaims; “How long have we been in operation?”• The production manager replies: “Years and years.”• The factory owner can’t quite believe his ears and comments:• “Did you say years and years? And still no shoes?”• The production manager says:• “That’s right, no shoes, but we sure are really busy.• In fact, we have been so busy that we are all worn out”• We all know what would happen in that situation:• The factory owner would not just be concerned,• He would probably fire somebody, and try to find out what the problem was.• TRANSITION:• Now if we now put a cross on top of that building;• And transform it into the church in Glendale, Arizona!• Our church, we will find much activity going on.• Men and women are working hard.• But…what is our end product…how many shoes/disciples are we producing?• Now I know people are different from a product;• And yet surely we should see results from time, money and effort invested!• Remember that the objective of this local fellowship is to produce disciples.• To help people of all ages and from all backgrounds come to a real faith in Jesus Christ;• And to help them grow in their faith!• The biblical word for that is discipleship!• That is our purpose as a Church – to bring folks to Jesus (make converts);• And then to bring them closer (make disciples).Quote: Alan Redpath the late great British evangelist, pastor and author."The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."• Quote: "The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,• but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."Becoming a Christian, a follower of Jesus starts suddenly; as soon as you invite the living Christ to be your saviour & Lord!• But the learning process never ends this side of eternity!

• The aim of that factory is to produce shoes.• To help the factory become a success;• The management has invested great sums of money;• And many man-hours into the plant to produce the finest shoes possible.• Money has been spent on salaries for the employees,• Machinery for shoe making,• And materials from which the shoes are to be made.• The plant is in operation and many of the workers can be seen scurrying to and fro.• Machines are running full blast,• And activity is at a maximum.• Then one day the owner of the factory asks the production manager,• “How many shoes have we produced so far?”• To his surprise the production manager answers: “None”• So the factory owner exclaims; “How long have we been in operation?”• The production manager replies: “Years and years.”• The factory owner can’t quite believe his ears and comments:• “Did you say years and years? And still no shoes?”• The production manager says:• “That’s right, no shoes, but we sure are really busy.• In fact, we have been so busy that we are all worn out”• We all know what would happen in that situation:• The factory owner would not just be concerned,• He would probably fire somebody, and try to find out what the problem was.• TRANSITION:• Now if we now put a cross on top of that building;• And transform it into the church in Glendale, Arizona!• Our church, we will find much activity going on.• Men and women are working hard.• But…what is our end product…how many shoes/disciples are we producing?• Now I know people are different from a product;• And yet surely we should see results from time, money and effort invested!• Remember that the objective of this local fellowship is to produce disciples.• To help people of all ages and from all backgrounds come to a real faith in Jesus Christ;• And to help them grow in their faith!• The biblical word for that is discipleship!• That is our purpose as a Church – to bring folks to Jesus (make converts);• And then to bring them closer (make disciples).Quote: Alan Redpath the late great British evangelist, pastor and author."The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."• Quote: "The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,• but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."Becoming a Christian, a follower of Jesus starts suddenly; as soon as you invite the living Christ to be your saviour & Lord!• But the learning process never ends this side of eternity!

Our passage this evening is a reminder that discipleship is a process!

The aim of that factory is to produce shoes.• To help the factory become a success;• The management has invested great sums of money;• And many man-hours into the plant to produce the finest shoes possible.• Money has been spent on salaries for the employees,• Machinery for shoe making,• And materials from which the shoes are to be made.• The plant is in operation and many of the workers can be seen scurrying to and fro.• Machines are running full blast,• And activity is at a maximum.• Then one day the owner of the factory asks the production manager,• “How many shoes have we produced so far?”• To his surprise the production manager answers: “None”• So the factory owner exclaims; “How long have we been in operation?”• The production manager replies: “Years and years.”• The factory owner can’t quite believe his ears and comments:• “Did you say years and years? And still no shoes?”• The production manager says:• “That’s right, no shoes, but we sure are really busy.• In fact, we have been so busy that we are all worn out”• We all know what would happen in that situation:• The factory owner would not just be concerned,• He would probably fire somebody, and try to find out what the problem was.• TRANSITION:• Now if we now put a cross on top of that building;• And transform it into the church in Park Gate, Southampton!• Our church, we will find much activity going on.• Men and women are working hard.• But…what is our end product…how many shoes/disciples are we producing?• Now I know people are different from a product;• And yet surely we should see results from time, money and effort invested!• Remember that the objective of this local fellowship is to produce disciples.• To help people of all ages and from all backgrounds come to a real faith in Jesus Christ;• And to help them grow in their faith!• The biblical word for that is discipleship!• That is our purpose as a Church – to bring folks to Jesus (make converts);• And then to bring them closer (make disciples).Quote: Alan Redpath the late great British evangelist, pastor and author."The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."• Becoming a Christian, a follower of Jesus may start suddenly;• Can happen this morning, if you are willing to take a step of faith;• And invite the living Christ to be your saviour & Lord!• But the learning process never ends this side of eternity!

• Just before we look at the four pictures of a solider, athlete, farmer, and victor :

• I want you to notice two things from verses 1-2;FIRST:

• A disciple is someone who has come to faith i.e. conversion;

• That is where the process of discipleship starts.

• This letter was written to Timothy;

• Who was the Pastor, one of the leaders of this local Church

.• In the previous chapter (2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 5) we are told:“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also”.

• Timothy had a big advantage in his life that I for one did not have:

• He had a Christian parent and grandparent.

• He had a Jewish grandmother called Lois, who was converted to Jesus Christ.

• She was the first one in the family to come to faith.

• He also had a Jewish mother called Eunice;

• She too became a follower of Jesus Christ.

• As for his father we know very little;

• All we can glean about him in the Bible was that he was a Greek.

• The important bit is that:

• Timothy heard the truth of the Christian faith from family members and believed.

• For him the process of discipleship had begun!

Quote: BILLY GRAHAM who said:“Children will invariably talk, eat, walk, think, respond, and act like their parents.Give them a target to shoot at. Give them a goal to work toward. Give them a pattern that they can see clearly, and you give them something that gold and silver cannot buy”.

• Timothy’s mother and grandmother had given him something that gold and silver cannot buy.

• A sincere faith, that brought him into contact with the living Christ.

• Notice that although his mother Eunice & grandmother Lois

• Had sown the seed of faith in his heart(chapter 1 verse 5)

• It took a travelling preacher, the apostle Paul to come along and reap that harvest

• It was Paul the visiting preacher who led Timothy to the Lord

SECOND:

• And we need to share that faith with others i.e. evangelism.

• That is one of the signs we have faith

• We looked at the words of Jesus at the very start of this series on discipleship

• Where he commanded us to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’. (Matthew chapter 28 verse 19)

• A disciple should have a desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ with other people.

• It is not only a privilege to receive the Christian faith - it is also a duty to transmit it.

• If we want folks to be saved we must speak out the gospel to them

• Question:• When did you last speak ‘one to one’ to a stranger, family member or friend?

• Maybe that should be the first practical application from this evenings talk!

• A disciple should have a desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ with other people.

• It is not only a privilege to receive the Christian faith - it is also a duty to transmit it.

• If we want folks to be saved we must speak out the gospel to them

• Every Christian is called to be a witness:

• Quote: “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread”

Now let’s look at the four metaphors in the passage:

• In this chapter the apostle Paul presented a number of pictures

• There are four of those word illustrations in this short passage.

• I am going to be very disciplined this evening and only choose one or two applications from each of the four pictures mentioned.

(1). The soldier (vs 3-4, 8-13):

Give an example of being in the Marines that ties in to the following statements.

• Sometimes the pathway of the Christian life will appear to be a smooth-surfaced road

• Other times it will be a stony uphill track.

• That is why the apostle Paul told these Christians to “Endure hardship”.

• Following Jesus Christ is tough at times!

• So if you want an easy life don’t follow Jesus; and yet if you want a full life, a purposeful life then follow him wholeheartedly!

• Clearly Paul saw in the life of the soldier a picture of the life of the Christian.

• This is not surprising since he lived under the military occupation of the Roman army

• At times when he was in a Roman prison or under house arrest

• He was chained to a soldier, often more than just one!

• He saw Roman soldiers ‘up close and personal’ and when he needed an illustration he was able to draw on his experience.

He describes for us in these verses, various characteristics of a "good soldier of Jesus Christ”:

• And when he needed an illustration he was able to draw on his experience.

• We could focus on the fact that a good soldier (verse 3a): ENDURES HARDNESS: “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

• Jesus himself was persecuted cruelly, and warned his followers to expect the same. He was unjustly accused, and subjected to violence and degrading execution.

• The New Testament describes the persecution endured by the early Church:

• It included: imprisonment, flogging, seizure of property and death.

• The persecution facing Christians today; is one of the largest human rights violation issues in today’s world.

• It is estimated that 200 million Christians in at least 60 countries; are denied fundamental human rights solely because of their faith.

• The most common forms of persecution of Christians are:

• Violence against people and property, exclusion from education and employment, and removal of access to housing, Bibles or food and water.

• This kind of persecution occurs in countries; where Christians form a minority of the population; or in countries where the government regards any religion as a threat to their authority.

ENDURES HARDNESS: “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

• Because that is a normal part of the Christian life; sooner or later we will all face tough times for our faith!

Notice verse 4: A soldier is consecrated; Set apart (verse 4a).

• “No-one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs”

• When the Roman soldier joined the army he took the sacramentum

• This Latin word ‘sacramentum’, means an ‘oath of allegiance'.

• A Roman soldier made a ‘sacramentum’ to the Emperor.

• It was the public seal upon his promise of loyalty & change of Lordship!

• The soldier's supreme promise that he no longer lives for himself; but for the emperor he now serves.

• The Christian too must be loyal to Jesus Christ,• We have to have taken a ‘saramentum’, we have died to self and we now live for him!

• And our objective as verse 4 puts it is: “to please his commanding officer.”Once a man or woman has enlisted in the army

• He or she can no longer live as a civilian - living for the ordinary things of this life

• The Christian has different values, different attitudes, different priorities and a good soldier of Jesus Christ; never forgets that he or she is always on duty, concentrating on their service!

• Shortly after joining the Marines, I asked my officer for a pass so I could attend a wedding. My officer gave me the pass, but informed the young man he would have to be back by 5 a.m. Monday. I said, “You don’t understand, sir, I’m in the wedding.” “No, you don’t understand,” the officer shot back. “You’re in the Marines!”

• The first duty of the Christian is obedience to the voice of God

(2). The athlete (vs 5):“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.”

• Paul often used athletic illustrations in his writings: He mentions wrestling, boxing, running, and exercising.

• The Greeks and the Romans were enthusiastic about sports, and the Olympic and Isthmian games were important events to them.In his first letter (1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 7-8).

• Paul had urged Timothy to exercise like an athlete.

• Now in these verses Paul admonished him to obey the rules like an athlete.

• The key quality here is honesty, Christian character is being like Jesus, That is to ‘walk the talk!’ and practice what we preach.

Give an example of Usain Bolt’s teammate who used steroids in the last Games and they were stripped of a metal

The apostle Paul is telling Timothy:

• What is the point of winning the race (in our case getting to heaven)

• Only to be disqualified later on! (i.e. lose our reward – not our salvation!)

• Paul was saying to young Timothy, uou are not running the race to please people, or to get fame. You are running to please Jesus Christ! He is your motivation and he is your example and inspiration! So play fair, be honest!

• As disciples of Jesus Christ let us be honest in our words; and honest in our actions.

• Let’s live according to the rules of honesty & truth!

(3). The farmer (vs 6-7):The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

• A farmer and farming is another favourite image found in Paul's letters.

• Again there are some simple analogies that we can draw on.

• But for the sake of time I will focus on just one: Serving Christ is hard work, requiring total commitment

Give an example of hard work when working in the field growing up

Timothy would face suffering as he preached and taught, but he should be able to endure. Paul illustrated this point with soldiers, athletes, and farmers who must discipline themselves and willing to sacrifice to achieve the results they want.

Like soldiers, we must give up worldly security and endure rigorous discipline. Like athletes, we must train hard and follow the rules.

Like, farmers, we must work extremely hard and be patient, but we keep going despite suffering because of victory, the vision of winning, and the hope of the harvest.

These applications are appropriate to the text because this is the application of the military, athletic, and agricultural images.

As Christians, we understand the power of the Holy Spirit, but if don’t apply these images to our life then we are not truly dedicated to the Lord and committed to His work.

The result of this is the channels through which the Holy Spirit wants to work will be clogged and atrophied.

On the other hand, when we do apply these images we will see that our suffering is worthwhile when we achieve our goal of glorifying God, winning people to Christ, and one day living eternally with Him.

ONE COMMON THING IN ALL THREE PICTURES.

• The soldier is upheld by the thought of final victory.

• The athlete is upheld by the vision of the crown

• The farmer is upheld by the hope of the harvest. Each submits to the discipline and the toil for the sake of the glory which shall be. So to with the Christian.

• The Christian life & the Christian struggle is not without a goal; it is always going somewhere.

• The Christian can be certain that after the effort of the Christian life

• There comes the joy of heaven; and the greater the struggle, the greater the joy!

(4). The victor (vs 8-13).

• In this last picture the apostle Paul now focuses in on Jesus Christ!

• Our greatest example.

13Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now—but God's Word isn't in jail! That's why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:If we die with him, we'll live with him;If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there's no way he can be false to himself.Paul has used various pictures to encourage and inspire Timothy:

• A Steward. A Soldier. An Athlete. A Farmer.

• Now he comes to the greatest appeal of all-“Remember Jesus Christ”.

• Even if every other appeal to Timothy's gallantry should fail

• Surely the memory of Jesus Christ cannot.In the words which follow, Paul is really urging Timothy to remember three things.(1). Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead.

• The tense of the Greek does not imply one definite act in time, but a continued state which lasts for ever.

• Paul is not so much saying to Timothy:

• "Remember the actual resurrection of Jesus"; but rather:"Remember your risen and ever-present Lord."The risen ever present Christ is the Christian’s constant inspiration.

• We do not depend on the memory of Jesus, however great. We enjoy the power of his presence.

• What an encouragement this is:

• Who knows what task, what circumstances, what difficulties await us this week?

• When a Christian is summoned to a great task that he cannot but feel is beyond him

• They go to it in the certainty that they do not go alone, but that there is with every Christian

• The presence and the power of his risen Lord.

• When fears threaten, when doubts assail, when inadequacy depresses

• Paul tells Timothy (and us) “Remember the presence of the risen Lord”.(2). Remember Jesus Christ born of the seed of David.

• This is the other side of the coin.• "Remember," says Paul to Timothy, "The humanity of Jesus."

• We do not remember one who is only a spiritual presence; an ever present deity.

• We remember one who entered our world, lived this life, faced struggles and difficulties, and who therefore knows what we are going through.

• We have with us the presence not only of the glorified Christ, but the Son of man who pitched his tent and lived amongst us!

• The Christ who knew the desperate struggle of being a man; and who was willing to follow to the bitter end the will of God.

(3). Remember the gospel, the good news. The message of Jesus!

• At times sharing the message of Jesus demands much

• It is not always easy to make a stand or be a witness.

• So remember that the message we share is more than words; it is more than information, it is a person!

So Paul kindles Timothy to heroism by calling upon him to remember Jesus Christ:

• To remember the continual presence of the risen Lord

• To remember the sympathy which comes from the manhood of the Master

• To remember the glory of the gospel, share Jesus

• To a world which has never heard it, might not want it, but is in desperate need of it!

Quote: The great missionary, J. Hudson Taylor, often said,"It is not by trying to be faithful, but in looking to the Faithful One,that we win the victory."

In Conclusion (Prayer): The process of discipleship requires:

• First: We come to Faith.

• Second: We are willing to share that faith.

• Third: We endure hardships.

• Fourth: We are honest & truthful.

• Fifth: We are patient.

• Sixth: We remember that the living Jesus Christ is with us always!