Ship Shape: Discipleship

Ship Shape: Worship

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sanctity of Life Sunday

PowerPoint presentation on unborn babies in our church

Sermon series: Ship Shape.  What are the necessary elements for a God-honoring, orderly and effective ministry.  What “ships” must be in order if we are to please the Lord?

Worship

    We worship for who he is and for what he does

    We should never come to worship empty-handed: we bring sacrifices

            Sacrifice of praise

            Sacrifice of good works

            Sacrifice of our resources

            Sacrifice of ourselves – living sacrifices!

Fellowship

    The essence of fellowship is love

    The extent of fellowship is with believers (do not be yoked together with unbelievers)

    The elements of fellowship

            We’re yoked together

            We have things in common

            We live in harmony

            We stand in agreement

    God is the one who established fellowship with his creation through his Son, Jesus Christ

Next Sunday: Stewardship

Today: Discipleship

[It’s the one on fire]

   A customer-service rep for a car-rental company took a call from a driver who needed a tow. He was stranded on a busy highway, but he didn't know the make of the car he was driving.
   The rep asked again for a more detailed description beyond "a blue four-door."
   After a pause, the driver replied, "It's the one on fire."

That’s my prayer for Hope Church – we’re the one on fire!

In churches all across America this morning, pews are filled with men and women, boys and girls, who would probably rather be somewhere else, maybe anywhere else; where the only thing that makes them different from those of the world is simply their location for a few hours on a Sunday morning.

In many ways the church in America is like the church in Laodicea: Read Revelation 3:14-22. 

Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold.  I wish you were one or the other!  So because you are lukewarm (tepid) – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit (vomit) you out of my mouth.”

The church in Laodicea – lukewarm, like the church in America

      Those whom I love I rebuke (convict) and discipline (correct)

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance.  But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Acts 2:1-4 “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”

Jerry White, former international president of Navigators….

Ship Shape: Discipleship – page 2

Jerry White, former international president of Navigators, stood before a crowd of college students at a Navigators meeting at CO State University and said

God, the Word of God, the souls of men… According to the Bible, these are the only things that will last eternally.  To the extent you are involved in these three things, you are involved in eternity.”

May we be a church on fire for the eternal: on fire for God, on fire for the Word of God and on fire for the souls of men.  This is what discipleship is all about.

I’ll let you know from the start that my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will prompt you to respond in either one of two ways to this message:

1.  I need to be discipled

2.  I am ready to be a disciple-maker

Discipleship is our mandate and it’s Hope Church’s mission:

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted (28:16-17)

Worshiped him:

Romans 1:1-4 “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God – the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Some doubted:

Disciples and the women’s report (Luke 24:9-12)

Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)

Encounter with the disciples (Luke 24:36-49)

      Jesus to the disciples: Why do doubts rise in your minds?

Thomas (John 20:24-29)

      Jesus to Thomas: stop doubting and believe (John 20:27)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (28:18)

Jesus – Son of God, fully God, has always had authority over all

Jesus – Son of Man, Messiah; doing the Father’s work, submitting to the Father’s will, so the Father gave His Son all authority to continue his work here on earth through His body, the church.

Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority:

Matthew 8:9 “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes.  I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Authority:

Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ has come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.’”

Therefore go…

Ship Shape: Discipleship – page 3

Therefore go… (28:19)

Go = going, traveling, walking, accompany, as you journey through life

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Make disciples of all nations… (28:19)

Disciple = a disciple of one; follow his instructions, precepts; student, follower

Nations = tribe, people group, company, troop, race

Make disciples – where do I start?

*Start in the home – make disciples of your children

*Go next door – make disciples of your neighbors

*Make disciples of your co-workers, classmates

*Some of you may be called to other countries to make disciples there

As you go…make disciples – that is our mandate from the Lord!

Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (28:19)

Evangelism is an essential part of the disciple-making process

Baptism is an outward sign of God’s inward transformation

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance.  But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (28:20)

What do you do with new babe in Christ?  The kingdom of God is a whole new world for this new creation, as unfamiliar as a delivery room or your house is to a newborn baby.  We love, care for, protect these little ones.  We also teach, discipline, correct behavior, and train up our children.

Since the garden, every sin committed can be summed up in one word: disobedience.  All sin is disobedience to the will of God.  There must be repentance and new life before we teach them to obey.

Now as redeemed children of God, we need to train the disciples to obey

Luke 6:46-49 “I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is God-breathed (divinely breathed, inspired) and is useful (profitable) for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Teaching = instruction, doctrine, learning

Rebuking = reproof

Correcting = restoration to a right or upright state; improvement of life and character

Training in righteousness = discipline, training of a child

Here is the process of discipleship…

Ship Shape: Discipleship – page 4

Here’s the process of discipleship: teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteous

The outcome: men and women who are thoroughly equipped for every good work

Remember Jesus rebuke to the church in Laodicea: I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold.

And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. (28:20)

It seems an overwhelming task to make disciples of all nations, but Jesus goes with us.  We go under his authority and in his presence.

Where are you this morning:

Do you need to be discipled by someone?  If this is the Spirit is prompting you to do

      Pray that God would bring a person to mind

      Ask that person if he or she would disciple you

      Let me know what happens or if I or one of the elders can help connect you with someone

Do you need to be discipling someone?

      Pray that God would bring a person to mind

      Ask that person if he or she would being willing to be discipled by you

      Let me know what happens or if I or one of the elders can help you connect with someone

      We will make available discipleship materials if you would feel more comfortable going through          studies.

      As elders, we have an initial list of elements that should be covered in your discipleship that we can   make available to you:

            The person of Jesus Christ

            The word of God in your life

            Fellowship with the body of Christ

            Prayer

            Witnessing for Christ

Pray