THE CHURCH ON PURPOSE – PART TWO: DISCIPLE

THE CHURCH ON PURPOSE – PART TWO: DISCIPLE Acts 18:18-28 Aug 28, 2011 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Monastery story. This morning we will be picking up where we left off last Sunday in our study of “The Church on Purpose.” That was a look at the first aspect of discipleship: Draw, which simply means that one of the things we do in obedience to the Great Commission of Christ is to DRAW others to Him. We do that, the Bible says, by life and lip. We live in way that offers the world evidence that Jesus is changing us into His likeness, and we take every opportunity we can to share the gospel with people. This morning, in part two we will consider the next description of our work as the church: to “disciple”. This, of course, goes right to the heart of the Great Commission, because Jesus’ very words were “God and make disciples.” That imperative is actually on word: MATHETEUO, “make disciples”. Text – Acts 18:18-28 I would like for us to refer to a passage of Scripture I have long held dear to my heart. It is not a “teaching text” at all, it’s a bit of anecdotal history from the first century church. But in many ways this is one of the key passages my mind gravitates to when I consider what the church is and what her mission is. Read it with me. Read text. As I said, there is no thrilling exhortation here, no ready-made 3-point sermon outline and hardly anything quotable. But there is fire here. There is something smoldering under these words Luke penned in his journal entry about a short episode in the young life of the early church. Let’s dig in and see what’s burning. There are elements of discipling ministry that come through in this story—some incidental comments that reflect what the church was like, what Christian were like in those early days. Key Words First, notice the words that are used to describe the ministry of discipleship carried on by these believers: It says of Paul in verse 19 that he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. Paul and the other Christians “reasoned”—they dialogued with others about the gospel. They didn’t sit in church and wait for unbelievers to just show up. They sought them out, went to where they were (in this case, the synagogue) and “reasoned” with them. So intrigued and involved were the Jews they asked him to spend more time with them. (18:20) That’s another thing they did: they spent time with others who did not yet believe in Christ. Paul traveled throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Another very important part of the ministry of discipleship is building one another up in the faith. It happens through good Bible teaching, healthy discussion and testimony around the truths that are discovered, and, most especially through the lives of faithful Christians who serve as examples for those younger in the faith. Discipleship ministry happens within the church and in the world outside the church. It says in verse 24 that one of the Jewish converts, Apollos, had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and verse 25 explains that He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. There was intense teaching going on in the church back in Alexandria. This young convert with a lot of promise was taken aside by other believers and taught.   They invested themselves in Apollos. And once he was further discipled (which was apparently done in short order), what did this well-instructed convert do? He began to speak boldly, verse 26 says. Just as soon as he moved to Ephesus, he went to the synagogue and started teaching others )and not believers—these were Jews, as yet unbelievers), and he taught accurately! When a couple of Paul’s disciples heard him they were pretty excited about his teaching ministry, but they also were concerned because he was a little confused in his teaching about baptism. So what did they do? Verse 26 says they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. They didn’t brand him a heretic and start spreading rumors about his lack of maturity, they took him under wing and discipled him further. And it wasn’t just Priscilla and Aquila. Verse 27 says when Apollos was led to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and endorsed his ministry to others, and he went there and was a great help to those who by grace had believed. One more observation. Look at verse 28 – he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Look at that! The whole church busy about the work of discipling one another to maturity and discipling unbelievers to faith. And when someone among them demonstrated a peculiarly strong gift in teaching or evangelism, they worked extra hard to train and support them, so they could go elsewhere doing the same thing. Discipleship is not just a part of the program of the church—it is the church’s mission, period. That’s the church. That’s discipling ministry. I want us to mark it well not only that the Christians were DISCIPLING, but also WHOM they were discipling. Three categories: fellow believers who needed to grow, unbelievers who needed to be shown, and seekers who wanted to know. Three outstanding principles We should sift this passage and all the other similar passages from the book of Acts and the epistles to see three important principles. The first principle: Everyone is involved in discipleship – Paul, Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila, the brothers and sisters in Alexandria and Ephesus and Achaia. Everywhere you went you found believers busy about the task of discipling. They were not satisfied to “go to church,” drop a twenty in the offering and bless the Sunday School class by dropping in once a month. They were standing in line to teach, eager to encourage, meeting in homes—studying to equip themselves, sharing their faith with those not yet in the church. There was teamwork and individual effort. It was their “magnificent obsession” to disciple people. "A man is what he thinks about all day long." – Ralph Waldo Emerson The centrality of the mission—discipling people—was a consuming passion for the church. They took to heart the great commission of Jesus to “make disciples of all nations.” For them, sharing their faith, growing in their faith and helping others to grow was not a “take-it-or-leave-it” option; it wasn’t an elective class; it wasn’t a hobby; it was their life—all they thought about. Wouldn’t Christ be honored today if a band of believers in the St. Louis metro-east began to take seriously his call and command, and began to exhibit the fire of their convictions? Would it bring praise to Him if a hundred of us would scrap lesser things and prioritized this singular call? Believers are discipling others all over the place - Here’s what it’s like when a community of Christians begin to take seriously what Jesus wants: believers are busy discipling others all over the place – in the home groups, in the neighborhoods, at the supermarket, on the job, at the ball games, among their families, among strangers (because they believe they met them not by accident, but by divine appointment). Believers are being discipled by other believers - I tell you what else it looks like: they are not just know-it-alls telling others; they are students of the Word, fellow learners, vital members of the fellowship of saints. And they’re doing all they can to grow personally so they have more to share. They’re not satisfied until they’re sanctified; they never graduate from their study of the Word because there’s always more to learn. They’re thrilled to learn, because they dish it out to others just as fast as they take it in. Jesus did not command the whole world to go to church, but He did command His church to go to the whole world. Diagram Each believer (not an evangelism committee and not just elders and Life Group leaders—but each and every believer) is obedient to the Lord’s command to disciple others. So they each are busy sharing Christ and His Word with anyone and everyone they can get to listen to them: other believers who need to grow, unbelievers who need to be shown and seekers who want to know. And in such an environment, every person, including believers, unbelievers and seekers, is being discipled by the believers around him, in accordance to their needs. They shovel it into the believers, spoon feed the unbelievers and spread the table for the seekers. I’ve said it earlier—and I will say it again, and again. The ministry of discipling is to be received by everyone within reach of the Christians, and discipling is to be received and given by the entire church. Why? It’s very simple . . . 1. . We are Commanded by the Word of God - Jesus gave an imperative to make disciples of all nations, Philippians 2:15 reminds us that He sent us to shine like stars in a crooked and perverse generation as we hold out the Word of life… We are to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15) 2. We are Compelled, Led and Empowered by the Spirit of God – And He did not send us on our own power. He gave us His own Spirit to motivate us, lead us and empower us in that great work. We’re not like the poor Cardinals, relying on their own strength and skill. He said, After the HS fills you, you will be my witnesses. He promises that if we are His we are led by His Spirit, and His Spirit will do the work of convicting. John 15:26 – When the Spirit of truth comes…he will testify about me; John 15:27 – but you also must testify. Without His Spirit, we can’t; without us, He won’t. 3. We are Constrained by the Love of God - It is too easy for us to ignore the Bible’s teaching on Hell.Hell is a real place, and real people go there. Jack Dowden: Sin is sin, hell is hot, and forever is a long, long time. We must care about what God cares about. In the next 365 days over 250,000 people in the greater St. Louis area will die. Statistically, at least three-fifths of them do not trust in Christ. They will go to a Christ-less eternity. 2 Cor. 5:14, that we studied last week, says Christ’s love compels us… The scariest thing I’ve thought about in a long time - In Revelation 1, the Lord tells the apostle John in an open vision that He has seven lampstands, representing the seven churches of Asia Minor. That they are called lampstands symbolizes how Christ sees His churches—as witnesses that bring the light of the glory of the gospel to their areas. In chapter two, the church at Sardis is accused by the Lord as having forsaken her first love, and having fallen from a great height. They are told to Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. I have been saying what I believe the Lord is revealing to us, that if a church is not faithfully devoted to making disciples, that church forfeits its very identity as a church. I want the lampstand to remain in this church, and know you do. The most important thing of all: Get it done! I believe we as a church are under orders to find the way to get it done—this task of discipling as many as He gives us. This is what our Prayer and Visioning season is all about—discovering His direction and leading. I hope you’ve been praying. That’s what your church leadership has invited you to do. Prayer is the first order of things. By it we will not only know His direction, but we will also ready our hearts for the work He wants to do among us. On April 10, 1912, Captain Arthur Rostin of the ocean liner Carpathia received a distress signal from the Titanic: “The ship is sinking, people are going to die.” He immediately turned his ship and headed for those who were perishing. He ordered his ship to proceed at full speed in spite of the danger of icebergs, even turning off the ship’s lights so every bit of power could be directed to the engines. They did save the 705 survivors who were in the lifeboats, But they were too late for the 1,500 who perished in the frigid water. Captain Rostin was criticized by many of his peers for what they called rickless endangerment of his own crew and ship to get to the scene of disaster. Rostin’s reply was this: When the distress cry goes out and people’s lives are hanging in the balance, it’s not reckless—it’s rescue! Conclusion One of the things we simply have to do if we would be obedient to the Lord and serious about our Magnificent Obsession is to stop our idolatry. We are, quite simply, afraid to confront lost people with the gospel because we think it might offend them. Which is really saying, we don’t want them to think us crazy. This is idolatry—putting our self-concerns above our concern for the will of God. We must pray—if for no other reason than we need to subjugate our self-concern to His Lordship. If you saw a deaf man standing on the RR tracks and a freight train bearing down on him, you would hit him as hard as you could to get him out of the train’s way, even if it meant breaking his arm or hip. Yet we are afraid of offending someone who is bound for the Lake of Fire, the Second death? C.S. Lewis wrote, We can’t love the whole world. But we should remember that God has placed us in our particular community at a particular time. And we are called to love and serve those around us. They are lost, and we have directions straight from God! Howard Hendricks said it this way: In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering. Do you feel you are unable to speak for God? Good. That means you will have to humble yourself and ask Him to change you—always a good thing. It means you will not have to struggle with pride because you are not confident in yourself. It’s the perfect recipe: you are totally dependent on God and you’re asking Him to work through you. That’s just where He wants you. Get ready – ask Him to fill you. Video Song Prayer     [ Back to Top]