Disciples Matter

2022-07-31 Ft Greely

Theme – Disciples Matter

Text – Matt 28:18-20 , Luke 10:1-5,

Doctrine- # V. 21(2) and (7)

(2) Pressing upon the attention of the unsaved the claims of the gospel, inviting them to the house of the Lord, and trying to compass their salvation (Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:14–16; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20).1

(7) Attending faithfully all the ordinances of God, and the means of grace, including the public worship of God (Hebrews 10:25), the ministry of the Word (Acts 2:42), the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23–30); searching the Scriptures and meditating thereon (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14–16); family and private devotions (Deuteronomy 6:6–7; Matthew 6:6).1

1 Blevins, D. G., Rodes, S. J., Seaman, J. E., Sowden, T. S., & Wilson, D. P., eds. (2013). Church of the Nazarene: Manual, 2013–2017 (pp. 38–39). Nazarene Publishing House.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Matthew 28:18-20

Luke 10:1-5

Acts 4:24-30

Acts 2:42

I.    Introduction

1.  Welcome in the name of the Lord Almighty, who was and is, and is to come. Holy is His name.

2.  I’ve prepared a message to beseech you to yet again revisit the idea of a follower and disciple, but more so how important that is in a day and age where information has little trust to it anymore, and truth is hard to find. Once found the heart is so hardened by ourselves or by the enemy’s influence that we become calloused hearts of stone.

3. The Lord has called us from a heart of stone, to a heart of flesh. He who came in the form of man to be our sin offering, has perfected us with his one sacrifice for sin so that we’re free from such a cold stone heart... and receiveth life in his Name.

4.  To all who are loved by God and called to be saints, we are commanded to do more than just revel in our newfound freedom. To do more than just positive attitudes, nice greetings, and affiliate with all things “Christian”. We are to be come his followers, his disciples, and to go and give the good news so others can live.

II.    Scripture

A. Matt 28:18-20 , Luke 10:1-5

B.  Additional references - Acts 4:24-30, Acts 2:42

III.     Background

A.  Supplement #1

1.  If we have the gift of faith, repented of our sins, and asked the Lord Jesus to be in charge of our life, then we can become disciples.

2. Main beginning of all followers of Christ, His disciples? Baptism (Matt 28:19) identifying with his death and resurrection.

3. Then maintaining each other and growing in the Spirit of Christ through the study and teaching of His Word.

B. The word “disciple”

LEMMA

μαθητεύω mathēteuō  - be a disciple

BDAG - to be a pupil; teach

LSJ - to be pupil; to

 ---

ROOT | ESV

μανθανω manthanō learn 294

μαθητής mathētēs disciple 261

μανθάνω manthanō learn 25

μαθητεύω mathēteuō be a disciple 4

ἀμαθής amathēs ignorant 1

καταμανθάνω katamanthanō observe; learn 1

μαθήτρια mathētria female disciple 1

συμμαθητής symmathētēs fellow disciple 1

SENSES

to be a disciple   2 of 5

to disciple   2 of 5

to be discipled   1 of 5

Created 7/30/2022 6:09:13 PM

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 6:09 PM July 30, 2022.

IV.    Disciples are baptized students of Christ

A.  Obedient in their ‘first witness’ by receiving baptism.

B.  Active in community AND church, to the extent of their gifts & calling.

C. Ones who follow the Lord not just in word, but also loving his Word

D. A Disciple is one known for Mercy, Prayer, Bible seeker, and Loving servitude.

V.    Disciple making has changes over the years

A.    An abridged reading from the 3rd chapter of Robert Schnase’s book: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations 

“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

1. In a remote village a half-day's walk outside of Jerusalem, a woman fed dried branches into a fire as she prepared to make bread for the day. Since her husband's sudden illness and death, she had felt abandoned and alone in ways she could barely fathom. As she felt the cool water trickle through her fingers, she thought about the story she had heard the night before as she gathered with her neighbors for prayer and supper.

Word spread about his [Jesus’] horrible death (he had been only a couple of years older than her husband when he had died), and then, amazingly, about his being alive and about his followers gathering first in Jerusalem and then here and there in other villages. There were stories of Jesus spoken in the Temple that were retold in the streets and talked about in the homes among her friends. She began to listen, and what she heard amazed her. And the people who told the stories invited her into their homes. Her. Into their homes. She could hardly believe it.

Whenever and wherever friends gathered to retell the stories, she was there, and she then retold them to her daughters and other neighbors. She loved learning more about Jesus, hearing about God, and building friendships with others. The stories carried her to the well and back each morning and sustained her through the daily task of feeding her family; and with the stories in her heart and friends at her side, the burdens felt lighter and the days more full of life.

_________

2. Seventeen hundred and fifty years later, in a small thatched-roof cottage in a village an hour's ride from London, a man held his small journal closer to the lamp as he wrote his account of the evening's gathering. It had been a long day. He began working the fields before sunrise and labored alongside other men from the village until after sunset. But unlike many of the others, his day did not end with his work in the field. Instead, he washed up as best he could and ate a quick meal so that he could prepare his home, reread the Scripture quietly to himself, and pray for the Spirit's guidance. As Methodist Class Leader, he prayed for each person he expected to come before they arrived. One by one they began showing up until his home was filled with the welcome and laughter, the blessings and good-natured chatter of a dozen of his friends and brothers.

Their congenial and affectionate greetings brought warmth beyond what his small hearth could provide. These men had also spent the day laboring, some in stables and fields and others in shops and kitchens. When everyone had arrived, he reminded them of Mr. Wesley's rules for classes and about the covenant they had made with each other in order to belong: to attend the public worship of God, including the reading and expounding of the Holy Scriptures and receiving the Supper of the Lord, and to commit to private prayer and the searching of Scriptures. Leaning toward the lamp, he read to them of their pledge to watch over the souls of one another, to practice diligence and frugality, to do good in every way, and to be merciful as far as possible to all people. Then he led them in singing and prayer, and began to describe how he had experienced the week, joys and sorrows, temptations and trials, and times when God had delivered him. He asked the others about the state of their souls, and each in turn spoke of his life and God's grace during the week past.

He shared the Scripture that he had prepared, and talked about the thoughts that had come to him about these verses while he had worked the fields during the day. He led them in praying for one another and then collected coins from each to give to the steward for the work of God, carefully recording the amount beside the name of each giver. He offered the blessing of Christ, and they bade him warm farewells to return to their own homes, leaving him with his journal. He noted attendance and marked his appraisal of the spiritual state of each member. Then he snuffed the lamp and took his rest. It had been a long day, but he felt grateful beyond words for his life, his faith, and his friends. He felt renewed, strengthened, and encouraged. By his work in the fields, he made a living. By this care of souls, he made a life.

_________

3. Two hundred and fifty years later, a young woman pulls into the church parking lot just before the session begins. She's running a little late. Like most Tuesdays she's still wearing her suit from work, going through her evening a blur of movement from office to school to soccer practice to drive-thru to church. Her son dumps his fast-food wrappings in the trash bin beside the door as he carries his schoolbooks into the building. He'll work on homework while Mom does her “Bible thing.”

She slips into the room as the video begins. Her closest friend is there and welcomes her into the seat beside her. They had signed up for this together, deciding to “just do it” after years of wanting to study the Bible. The class also includes two couples; two older women; a graduate student from the university; and the leader, recently retired from the bank. She didn't know most of these people before they signed up for DISCIPLE Bible Study, but she's been amazed at how much she's learned from them as they've shared their thoughts about faith and God and Scripture and about how much she's come to care for them as they've shared their lives.

The Tuesday evening study has become a time of refreshment for her each week, an oasis of encouragement, learning, and support.

She has so many questions about God. She wasn't sure she had time for this kind of study, and sometimes even now she thinks she's wasting her time. Moses seems way back then and way over there. Then the leader talks about Moses' call—the bush, the fear and humility, and the excuses and justifications given to avoid doing what God asks. Her stomach tightens as she hears people tell about times they've felt called by God to do something and have repeated the same excuses themselves. She looks at her own notes from her reading through the week, and sees the questions she wrote. “How does God call people? Sometimes I feel called, but I've never heard voices or seen burning bushes. Am I being called?” She shares her questions with others and discovers that they wrestle with the same thoughts. The evening ends with prayer, and after she drives home with her son, sends him to bed, and nestles herself into her favorite chair, she finds herself praying, asking, and hoping, “What would you have me do, Lord?”

Schnase, Robert. Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (p. 62). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition. 

VI.      To obey the Great Commission, is to work as a disciple 

A.   “Intentional Faith Development” “Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations practice Intentional Faith Development.”

Schnase, Robert. Ibid