Making Disciples Inside-Out

Big Idea:

Tension: How does the Bible teach that disciples are made?

Resolution: By disciples who are themselves growing in Christ.

Exegetical Idea: The Bible teaches that disciples are made as disciples themselves grow in Christ.

Theological Idea: Evangelism is the fruit of discipleship. Those who are disciples almost compulsively make disciples. It is “inside-out.”

Homiletical Idea: Evangelism is the fruit of discipleship. Those who are disciples almost compulsively make disciples. It is “inside-out.”

Outline

Introduction: Matthew the Tax Collector (Matt 9:9-13) - Now, we looked at this passage in some detail last week. So I don’t need to rehash too much of it. But I do want us to see that here, Matthew has a deep ardent love for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has forgiven him. Jesus Christ has resurrected him. And so therefore, Matthew the tax collector invites all of his friends and clients to come and meet this Jesus, the shepherd of his soul.

Salt and Light (Matt 5:13-16)

What is the “Salt and Light”? It is nothing other than Jesus Christ himself. He is the salt and the light. Centering on teh gospel.

The church that does not keep its salt.... the Church that loses the gospel is good for nothing.

But the Church that does holds it high - But the Church that does is evident. It is at the center of everything. This is why we preached the “scandalous church” series. I was trying to show you that the gospel is at the center of all of our practices. When that happens, when the center of the church’s life is the gospel, when it permeates everything, there are three important things that happen.

This church will glorify God. Ultimately, God has created the Church and given us the gospel and called us to discipleship and sent us to share the good news of the gospel for his glory. That is the purpose of disciopleship, the purpose of evangelism, is what, it’s worship. At teh end of all eternity, we want to say with all the saints and the angels, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Or, as we pray in teh Lord’s prayer, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” There is no one else, no thing else, which is worthy of our glory.

This church will produce good works. - In other words, it has fruit. As people are confronted by the grace of God, they will be changed and transformed. It will be like Matthew the Tax Collector, who when he meets Jesus has love for God spark in his heart and his whole life changes.

This church will evangelize. It will share the good news of Christ. It will baptize. It will witness. It will reach out to those who are far from God and welcome the prodigals home. This is why it says that others will see the good news and give glory to the Father who is in heaven.

So the question I want us to ask today as we’re coming before God’s Word is, what does it look like when the church aims to “make disciples” in a way that brings glory to God? And instead of pointing you to one primary passage, today I want to show you a lot of passages that show you how evangelism works in the NT.

Jesus’ Evangelism

Fishers of Men (Matt 4:18-22) - Now, I believe, and I think we could go to some other passages to point this out, that Peter and his brother Andrew had already heard the preaching of Jesus. So here, Jesus is doing a little visitation, perhaps after his preaching, and he comes to them and calls them. Jesus calls the first disciples with the intention that they themselves would become evangelists. Here we see that if Peter and Andrew are going to be the disciples of Jesus, they’re going to have to share the gospel.

Philip and Nathaniel (John 1:43-51) - I also love the example of Philip and Nathaniel. I think you could probably say that Philip, like Peter, had probably already heard the preaching of Jesus. And when Jesus came and called him, Philip went and found Nathaniel and he tells him about Jesus of Nazareth. But Nathaniel asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? And Philip sidestepst he whole question and says, “COme and find out!” So Nathaniel comes and sees Jesus. Jesus says, “Ah, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” Which I think is sarcastic, because he just had guile. ANd Nathanael said, “How do you know me” And Jesus says “Before Philip called you, (who I called), I saw you under the fig tree.” And so because Philip had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, he then shared the gospel with Nathaniel who himself had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

Demoniac (Luke 8:26-39) - One of my favorite stories about someone becoming a passionate preacher of Jesus is the story of the Gerasene Demoniac in the gospel of Luke, chapter 8. Here we see that this guy had been possessed by demons. IN fact, he was so possessed by demons that every time they tried to bind him, he woudl break the binds and run off into the desert. And when Jesus asked the name of the demon, it said, “Legion”. So Jesus sent it into a herd of pigs, who ran off into the lake and drowned. ANd of course, the owners of hte pigs went off screaming at Jesus who had cost them a bunch of money. So the town sent Jesus away. ANd the Demoniac begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus told him to go what God had done for him. So the Demoniac who had been profoundly changed by Jesus Christ, went away declaring how much Jesus had done.

The Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) - There is another great story from Mark 2 about four friends who have a paralyzed friend. And they put him on a litter and they carry him up on the roof. And they remove the pieces of the roof and they lower him down on a litter before Jesus. And everyone’s looking to see what Jesus will do. ANd Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” Not-you’re healed. Not-you’re well. Not-here’s a million dollars. ANd of course, the Pharisees say, “Oh, like Jesus can forgive sins.” And Jesus says, “SO that you will know that I have the power to forgive-” and he heals him. ANd that is to show that the healing ministry of Jesus is primarily to show that he is able to forgive. Because the healing of Jesus is always a pointer to his forgiveness of our sins.

The Woman at the Well (John 4:1-30) - Of course, who could forget the story of the woman at the well. This story is great. Jesus and his disciples show up to this well. And the disciples go into town to purchase some food, and there is this woman from teh twon who comes up. And Jesus dignifies her by asking, “Could I have some water?” ANd so he strikes up this conversation with her. She asks, “How can a Jew ask a Samaritan for water?” ANd Jesus says, “Well if you knew hwo was talking to you, you would ask him for living water.” And she says, “Well how in the world can that be, because you don’t have a cup.” Jesus, ignoring hte question, goes on to tell her that his water will cause someone to never thirst again, to which she says, “give me some of that water.” SO Jesus says, “GO call your husband.” And she says, “I don’t have a husband.” And Jesus says, “Well, you’ve had five husbands, technically, and now, you are cohabitating with somebody. So I guess you’re right.” And she says, “Okay, so we know you’re a prophet. Who is right, the Jews or the Samaritans?” ANd Jesus says, “Well techincally the Jews, but it won’t matter anymore soon because I’m going to establish the way.” And she says, “Well that’s what the Messiah will do.” And he says, “WHo do you think you’re talking to?” And it’s amazing. THis woman after meeting Jesus runs into town and finds all her acquaintances, her enemies, her fiends and says, “Come meet hte man who told me all I ever did.” Again we see that someone who has a life-changing encounter with Jesus can’t help but share Jesus.

Philip and the Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40) - I also love the story of Philip with the Ethiopian Eunuch. This is a different Philip, by the way. But Philip gets this command from Jesus to go out to the desert high way that runs between Jerusalem to Gaza. So Philip does this, and lo and behold, there’s this chariot going by. And it’s this guy who is very clearly really important, he’s an official with lots of money and wealth. And the Spirit tells Philip, “Go over there and see what’s going on.” So Philip runs up and sees he’s reading the Old Testament and says, “Do you understand that?” And the Eunuch says, “No.” And so Philip goes on to explain how Christ is the fulfillmlent of this passage and everything. and the Eunuch gets baptized in the water, and Philip gets led by the Spirit elsewhere and the EUnuch goes on his way rejoicing.

Paul and the Disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7) - The last story that we’ll highlight htis morning is the story of Paul when he meets the disciples of John the Baptist. So Paul is journeying and he’s going to set up this church in Ephesus, which is probably the 3rd biggest city in the Empire at this point. And while he’s there, he meets some people who think they’re Christians. They seem to speak like Christians, and have Christianish language. But when he probes in deeper he finds out they’re not really saved. They’re false disciples. So Jesus baptizes them in the name of hte Lord Jesus, and they become the core group of his church.

So, now these are 8 stories from across teh 4 gospels and the book of Acts. And I think there are a lot of different things about these stories. Some of them seem really mundane, right. Like Philip finally bugs Nathaniel until Nathaniel comes to church with him. And some are miraculous. Some are not. Some are educated people, some are high school drop outs. Some are really pious, some are really not. Some are men, some are women. Some are smooth. Some are awkward. Some are unexpected. But here is what all of them have in common: someone who has had a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ shares the gospel with those who haven’t. Listen, if you have had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, if he is your Lord, if he is your Savior, how can you not share him? What we see in Scripture is not that people have a class and they learn 5 steps to evangelism. What we see in Scripture is that someone meets Jesus and they can’t help but share Jesus with others. That’s the way it works. The closer you grow to Jesus, the more you ought to want to share him with others.

I would say this is so true that if you have no desrie to share Jesus with others, if you have no desire to spread the gospel. If you’ve never asked someone where they will spend eternity. If you’ve never pressed that relative to see if they are genuinely a believer, then chances are you are not a genuine Christian yourself. Because disciples make disciples. The Bible knows of no other kind of disciple than that disciple who makes disciples. One of the best fruits to tell if you’re a Christian is if you share Jesus with others.

Now, perhaps at this moment you are thinking, “Ah! But doesn’t Jesus say ‘I will build my church.’? Why does it matter if I share the gospel.” So certainly, Jesus builds his church. And this is how: through disciples who have had a life-changing encounter with him sharing him with others. In other words, Jesus builds his church as you and I share the gospel. This is why Jesus tells the disciples in the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and maek disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and behold I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

This ought to be incredibly freeing. Because at the end, it doesn’t depend on how good you are at this. It depends on him. So what that means is that what Jesus wants from us is faithfulness. He wants us to share teh gospel with others. He wants us to pray for the lost. He wants us to preach the good news. But, at the end of the day, we trsut him with teh results. We do all we can to reach the lost. And in the end, we trust the results to him.

Application:

What does this look like? Near and Far, Unbelievers and the Backslidden.

IF we are going to be the church that God has called us to be, we’re going to need to be teh church that is passionate about sharing the gospel.

4 ways the Holy Spirit has equipped you to share the gospel

If you’re going to make a disciple, first you have to be a disciple.

Trust Providence

One of your greatest tools in evangelism is your local church. Why do you think that the Spirit of God can’t work through the people of God?

Prayer. Who can you be praying for?

Conclusion: