1. INTRODUCTION.
I commenced discipling some 20 years ago as a
result of reading Mt. 28:18-20. I didn’t know how to do it and I found no
information on the subject at the time. What I was seeing in the church didn’t
correspond with what I saw as discipleship in the scriptures therefore I turned
to the Bible and started from there. I have made mistakes and errors along the
way and it has been a long journey. I have seen results. Those results have
caused me to continue to press on.
In this guide you will note that I speak frequently
on the miraculous and hearing God’s voice. Do not be put off by this. I am not
talking about the “spectacular” in relation to the “miraculous”, or about
fanaticism with regard to hearing God’s voice. The miraculous and intimacy with
the voice of God form an integral part of Christianity. If you find this
disconcerting then stop praying because when prayer is answered, you are
experiencing both the miraculous and the supernatural. Christianity was birthed
in the miraculous and will always be a miraculous relationship.
Through the years I have observed various methods
of discipleship, but none of them have adhered to the example set by Jesus
Himself. We found that many attempts at discipleship by the church were both
controlling and rigid. The vast majority required a lot of “sitting” and very
little “doing” until a predetermined time, set by someone, was achieved and
only then, permission granted for the disciple to do something like, give the
announcements or pray the opening prayer at a meeting.. To help understand what
I am saying, let’s look at a work scenario:
Let’s say that a contractor or business decides
they need to hire an electrician. An electrician responds to the advertisement
and submits his references. The manager reads the electrician’s references and
decides that the electrician has the necessary qualifications for the job and
hires him. On the first day of work, however, the manager informs the
electrician that he is to sit on a chair in the office for the first 6 months.
At the end of that period, the manager will determine if the man is indeed an
electrician or not and only then will be be allowed to do real electrical work.
This sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Yet we do this to people who come to our
churches with an anointing or gifting. We also do this to new believers. We
tell them that they must sit and we will watch how well they behave and then
possibly we might let them be of use to Jesus. Discipleship is not about
teaching people to sit. It is about empowering and making someone into a son or
daughter of God. Discipleship looses people to walk with the Lord and be free.
I was introduced to George Paterson about 4 years
ago and as I read through his material, I found in written format much of what
I had been doing for years. This caused me to pursue discipleship further, and
the power of it through which Heaven could be brought to bear on earth. It
motivated me to continue to be persistent as I knew discipleship would assist
the church to produce what Jesus commanded, to reach the world with the Gospel.
Shortly after we had encountered George’s
teachings, my wife and I went to a Strategic Co-ordinators’ Training Seminar
run by Training Nomads in
Through this
time The Lord brought all I had been doing over the years together in an
outline form. I had an overpowering revelation on discipleship and intimacy,
how they worked together. I completed a teaching outline and in
Whether we
believe in healing, deliverance and the continued presence of Jesus or not; He
remains the same yesterday, today, and will forever. He started His ministry with
the miraculous and by calling and making disciples. His aim was training them
and leaving them to do what He started. The preaching to the multitudes was
part of their training and His goal. Yet His focus was on the 12 and getting
them to a place where they could take over what He had begun, reaching the
multitudes, after he won back man’s rightful place with God and authority in
this world..
I wonder what the church would look like today if
the leaders spent more time, or even some time, discipling like Jesus did? WE
all long for Jesus to show us who He is yet we want to do it our way. I have
found that it is when I change He shows up. We don’t see the things we desire
because we won’t do what He has commanded us to do. We want to continue to do
what we have always done and yet expect different results. It won’t work. We
will only get the same things.
In all of its simplicity, discipleship is the
revealing of a multifaceted diamond. It brings brilliance out of the dull. It
reveals hidden worth in people by bringing them into a place of purpose and
fulfilment. It fulfils the need in their hearts to be seen as having worth and
value. It releases the light and life of Jesus to be seen in others.
Discipleship empowers Christians to shine as radiant lights in a dark place. It
takes time, sacrifice, dedication and Jesus’ help. When we make discipling more
important than our traditional method of evangelism, we will find ourselves
seeing more people come to the Lord in one year than we will see in several
years of traditional evangelism. The 2Tim.2:2 method of training reaches the
lost more rapidly and more effectively than does our traditional evangelism
that makes converts but leaves them out in the cold after a moment of His
touch. To be saved is one thing but if you are a disciple, you will be making
disciples. (You cannot be a true disciple without training someone else and
causing them to do the same). A disciple is not just a knowledge gainer, he
must be a doer and a giver also.
2. THE GREAT COMMISSION from
a foundation of LOVE.
What can wash away the dullness of the church and
cause it to show forth the brilliance of Jesus? One starting place is to return
to the biblical demands of Jesus to obey and make disciples. We will have to
see that the commission to “GO” in
Mt. 28:18-20 is not merely a suggestion but truly is a command.
Matt 28:18 - Matt 28:20 (NKJV):
18And Jesus came and spoke to
them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.” Amen.
It says when we GO and teach people to “go and do”,
that He will accompany us-- Always! If we want to see Jesus and experience the
book of Acts in our lives, we should start with obedience to His desires and show
Him our love.
John 13:12 - John 13:17 (NKJV):
12So when He had washed their
feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know
what I have done to you? 13You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say
well, for so I am. 14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet15For I have
given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16Most
assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he
who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17If you know these
things, blessed are you if you do them.”
Wash one another’s feet? Do we really appreciate
what He has done here? He has placed the disciples’ needs above His authority.
He served them therefore, we are to do the same for one another. How can we
begin to do that?
Matt 22:37 - Matt 22:40 (NKJV):
37Jesus said to him, “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And
the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On
these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
In the early church the disciples had three things
in their favor: the Holy Spirit, obedience
and no apparent fear for their lives. They appeared to understand the
precepts of God’s love as being: Honor,
obedience and sacrifice. They also understood how to acknowledge, accept, and appreciate those they were to disciple. We
must return to this foundation if we are to see the move of God we desire. God
is love, therefore, we must become love. Love is not just words, and Jesus love
was always accompanied by the power of God’s presence to bring change.
1 John 4:20 - 1 John 4:21 (NKJV): Definitions
added are mine and come from Strong’s concordance.
20If someone says, I love (to love
(in a social or moral sense):—(be-) love --embracing especially the judgment
and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle,
duty and propriety) God, and hates ( to detest (especially to persecute);
by extension to love less:—hate (-ful). his brother, he is a liar;
for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom
he has not seen? 21And this commandment we have from Him: that he
who loves God must love his brother also.
Teach us to be love to your people the way
they need to be loved and not in the way we want to. In the early part of my life I had no
idea of what love was or how to show it. I was so self-centered that I thought
the world revolved around my needs. I almost lost my wife, Dana, because I
didn’t have any idea of what love was. I had pushed her out of my life by being
a selfish and independent fool. After having all but destroyed our
relationship, I realised that I needed her. She was God’s choice for me. She
gave me two weeks to prove my love for her. She knew that I could not do it,
and so did I. I stepped out the door of our house after having begged her to
let me stay and prove my love for her and prayed this Prayer:
“God, I don’t know how to love. I have no
idea. God, teach me to love Dana the way she needs to be loved, not the way I
want to love her. Help me to love her in a way that will show her and let her
feel my love”.
We have been
married 28 years and we keep falling more in love each year. That was the best
prayer I have ever prayed. One time, while I was praising Jesus for Dana and
for teaching me to love her, He told me that He had not just taught me to love
Dana in the way she needed to be loved, but He had taught me the way in which
He loved the world. His love is selfless and serves the needs of others because
it is His nature. Sacrifice should have no sting.
3. DISCIPLESHIP FACTORS.
With the foundation of love established, what is
discipleship and how do we disciple?
A disciple is not someone who listens to lectures
all day. He is a student but more than that, he is actively becoming like his
master as his master serves his needs, imparting his own being into the
disciple, and empowering him. The thought indicates one becoming like his
teacher or going even further than his teacher by what the teacher has
imparted. Discipleship is more than knowledge.
It has associated with it interaction and empowerment by actually doing what
the teacher does.
By following Jesus as He walked with His disciples,
observing the method of instruction He used, and seeing what He imparted to His
followers we can begin to see discipleship with a greater biblical
understanding. Jesus was not interested in making the people he discipled into
“good” people; He wanted them to become “God” people. Good has one too many
“O’s” in it. “Good” often interferes with God and how He wants us to live
(depending on our interpretation of “good”). Jesus said that there was only One
Who was good and that was God.
Matt 19:17 (NKJV)
17So He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No
one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter
into life, keep the commandments.”
We need to redefine “good”. It needs to align
itself with obedience.
Let’s start
with two basic scriptures:
Matthew 28:18-20 and in 2 Tim 2:2 -- we need to see the command and
content of discipling in these two foundational verses. Even though we call the
first scripture the “Great Commission”, we have made it optional for
Christians. It should be called the “Go Disciple” Command. “Excuses will not be
accepted” should be added to it as excuses are nothing more than invalid
reasons for neglect of duty. Discipleship is “our” duty. Jesus set the example
and He meant what He commanded - we are not to make it less than that. Grace
does not give us the right to do what we want. It gives us the position and
authority to do what is right.
Matt 28:18 - Matt 28:20 (NKJV):
18And Jesus came and
spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age. Amen.
2 Tim 2:2 (NKJV):
2And the things that you
have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will
be able to teach others also.
Both of these scriptures tell us we should teach or
commit what we have learned to others in specific, as disciples, and that those
we teach must in turn teach others. This practice is to be continued until the
end of the age.
In these verses we also find 3 words that tell us a
lot about discipling:
·
TEACH - to instruct
or train;
·
COMMIT -give
authority with responsibility to do what you teach;
·
OBSERVE –look
intently, guard, maintain keep, hold
fast, to obey or do in a continuing way, not just once but make it a part
of life. If you observe the Laws of the land you keep them. To teach someone to
observe what Jesus taught is to pass on obedience to what He taught.
He said He had been given all authority. He is now
sending us in that authority. In the domain of family, we “lovingly” do things
that keep the peace in the house. In relationships, we behave in a way that
meets the needs of the other person because we love them and want their love or
acceptance in return. Sometimes, without any ulterior motive, we do things
because we know that if we don’t the relationship will suffer. I think that
obedience to the commands of Christ must stem from the same basis of attitude,
but with more commitment than even those within relationships with other people.
He is God after all. These following scriptures go with Matt. 28:18-20.
John 14:15(NKJV):
15If you love Me, keep My
commandments.
John 15:14(NKJV):
14You are My friends if you do
whatever I command you.
John 17:18(NKJV):
18As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world.
John 20:21(NKJV):
21So Jesus said to them
again, “Peace to
you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Just as the Father sent Him, Jesus sends us.
Something we tend to forget is that Jesus equipped the disciples with power;
and not only power but authority, the same He had on earth He now gives to us.
We are sent in authority, under HIS authority, by THE Authority. I don’t know
precisely what that means though I would love to walk in the fullness of these
statements. I do know that we don’t need to understand them to obey, yet, when
we obey we will begin to understand. Obedience puts me in a place of trusting
or having faith in Him. When I start to operate in faith then Jesus shows up
and gives me more.
Faith is both risky and addictive because it works
by Love (Gal.5:6). Love leads us to intimacy with Jesus and the Father. Love
will cause us to do things that are outside of what is considered normal
behavior. Most of what we do in the world is done to find or feel love or be
needed on some level. We will do some
pretty radical things to obtain or feel loved.
Discipleship is love in action and it multiplies
the expression of God’s love in the church. The essential purpose of
discipleship is to train disciples to live and walk like Jesus. As we impart
all we know to them, they can go on from where we are, building on what we have
discovered and training others in what they have come to know. Eventually
someone will walk in the “fullness” of Christ. The only way to finish a “house”
is to not return to the beginning every time. Each one should lay something
upon which others can build. Therefore we should teach and disciple them in the
following basic areas:
·
PRAYER - How to
pray with authority and in humility as sons and daughters.
·
EVANGELISM - How Jesus
evangelized and how to walk naturally supernatural.
·
DISCIPLESHIP - how to
mentor someone else as they grow until all come to the fullness of the stature of Christ.
·
FELLOWSHIP - The
importance of family, community and unity of purpose.
·
WORSHIP - The many
forms of worship and the power of it in love and warfare.
·
GIVING – God’s
provision in all areas through acts of selfless giving to others.
·
LOVE - What is
God’s love and how they can grasp it and be Children of God?
Our calling
is to be children and ambassadors of Christ's kingdom. We are to take what is
His and bring it to bear on earth. We are not to merely exist - we are to be
co-creators with Him, completing the church. We have great and precious
promises given to us. We are required to pass these on to others.
2 Pet 1:2 - 2 Pet 1:8 (NKJV)
2Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3as
His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who
called us by glory and virtue, 4by which have been given to us
exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5But also for this very
reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6to
knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness, 7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love. 8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are to be
partakers of the divine nature, living in the fullness of Christ and
manifesting that on the earth as Sons and Daughters of God.
1 John 3:2 (NKJV)
2Beloved, now we are
children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know
that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
We have so many promises that say we should be like
Him, now, not just in heaven. Why do we shy away from them and make
excuses for not being like Jesus? We need to pray more and talk less until He
shows up and we become like Him.
3.2 WHAT WE TEACH DISCIPLES.
In discipleship there are many aspects to shaping
the disciple. We need to watch what we teach them. If we are not alert, we will
tend to teach our traditions and who we are instead of Who Jesus is and what He
wants them to be.
A disciple will acquire our heart attitudes in
spite of what we teach. If we have a plaguing sin or something we draw back
from or any negative attitude, it will manifest in some way in those we teach
or those who are “under” us. We also tend to place more importance on things
that have little or no value in making people like Christ - things that make us
feel comfortable.
Here are the levels of authority that should be in
our lives, and that should be imparted to our disciples through our living and
teaching. Living by Grace does not exempt us from obeying Jesus’ commands.
Grace gives us His ability and the position in Him to keep them.
·
Three levels of authority that should
rule our lives:
1. New
Testament COMMANDS (Jesus’ commands). If these are not a part of
your life then you can’t teach them or impart them as Jesus did. Your students
will know this and your lack will give them the excuse to live below what
should be a part of their lives.
Mt.22:37-38, 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-18;
Jn.14:15, 15:14 represent a few basic commands to look at.
We obey New Testament commands without
question or voting. They are not open for discussion. We must be examples of
obedience in order to lead others into obedience. We should never hinder or
needlessly delay anyone from being obedient to Christ’s commands.
2. New
Testament PRACTICES that are not commanded but are examples of
obedience and should be the second level of principles that govern our lives.
These are the examples and principles set by those who have preceded us. The
book of Acts is still being written. We have more examples than those indicated
in the Bible. We have the men of faith who followed the disciples of Jesus, and
in turn, those who followed them, etc.2Tim.2:2 (discipleship).
We should follow and practice them in
principle. They are the methods and ways the disciples lived in order to keep
Jesus’ commands. They are not commands. We do not have to do things exactly the
way they did but we are to follow the principles they set forth.
We must not prohibit creativity or force
people to follow these practices precisely as only Christ has this authority.
We are to free people to follow Christ and are not to control them. A person
who disciples must be an encourager and an equipper of others so that they can
do the work of the ministry. We want to see others walk in the fullness of
Christ.
3. Customs
or CHURCH TRADITIONS which have little or no New Testament basis. These
should be the third level of principles we should have as Christians (however
not as primary principles). A tradition is an activity that is practised a
certain way by a group of people time after time. We all have Christian
traditions, family traditions or ethnic traditions. Let me clarify -- not all
traditions are bad. We need to be at ease with some of the customs or
traditions that establish who we are ethnically and socially. However, the
traditions that stop a church movement because they are rules that keep us in
the safety of our comfort zones are the ones we need to address. They keep “us”
in control of what is happening in an endeavour to maintain religious order. We
need to nullify any traditions that delay, hinder or replace obedience to God’s
commands, practices and standards.
Church or Christian traditions should
always be examined against Jesus’ commands. We need to be on guard against
establishing any tradition that will hinder what Christ wants to do. There are
traditions in every church, not one is free or exempt from some form of
tradition. Let me reiterate, not all traditions are bad, only those that hinder
obedience to God’s Word or Jesus commands.
We, as the church, have established
traditional methods of baptism, communion, leadership qualifications, ushers,
evangelism methods, prayer, etc. When we see the anointing of God upon a
particular activity, we have a habit of making it a rule that we do that
activity the same way each time thereafter. Traditions are usually established
with the thought of maintaining a move of Christ, but they end up limiting or
stopping it unintentionally. The
emphasis on tradition is bad as it takes people away from the freedom of being
obedient to Christ. Traditions are restrictions that give leaders or groups
control while taking away the intimacy and spontaneity of Christ in the church.
I know we need some order but we err by placing order on what needs to be left
free. Our definition of order generally contrasts that of Jesus’. Paul tells us
what a typical church service should be like in 1 Cor.14. Yet how many church
services do we see like that? Paul instructs that ‘these things’ are to be done
in decency and in order. We aren’t even doing the “those things”, so how can
what we are doing be in “order”? Let’s practise what we SHOULD be doing as part of our church meetings and then when those
things are happening we can worry about order.
Examples relating to TRADITIONS:
PRAYER.: How do you pray? What do you pray?
Who should pray? Where do you pray? I once had some people challenge me for
standing up in a restaurant full of Christians and saying: “ok let’s all be quiet and offer prayer for
this ice cream we are about to eat”. Do you know who was angry? The pastor
and some elders because I was not under their control-- therefore I was out of
line. After that evening, several people told me how wonderful it was to see
someone bold enough to stand up and pray in public. Many wanted the freedom I
had but felt pressurised by leaders to sit down.
In some places it is wrong to receive
prayer while wearing your shoes. One ministry wanted me to pray for people and
as I started to pray, the leaders would tell the ones I was praying for to
remove their shoes, believers and unbelievers. I could not get it through to
the leaders that it was ok for a person to receive prayer with their shoes on.
It was a huge issue for them. Others are concerned about praying in various
postures like praying with your hands folded or kneeling. Some say that only
ordained ministers or commissioned elders should pray for the sick. I could go
on and on with things that we have established about prayer that are really not
biblical at all but simply church tradition.
CLOTHES
and VOCABULARY: It is
the emphasis we place on our traditions that cause a problem generally, not the
tradition. We elevate the traditions above the command of Jesus. Some people are
offended if someone they encounter does not use the right Christian vocabulary
in prayer. One gang kid we discipled, called God “Big G” and this upset more
than a few people. Another incident related to the “dress-code” of a church. A
young street kid wore a tie on a tee shirt to church which offended several
people. As far as he was concerned, he was putting on the best clothes he had.
He borrowed the tie because he wanted to look smart in church. The elder in
that church, really offended the young man by telling him that the tie was in
bad taste and he should take it off. He never went to church again. The
religious traditions we establish of what is right or wrong can seriously stop
people from wanting to be a part of the church. These adversely affect new
believers and the world. In one church there was a requirement to wear a suit
if you served as a deacon. I was asked to be a deacon and at the meeting, I was
told that I had to wear a suit. I didn’t own one and had no intention of buying
one. They gave me a suit so I would fit in but I gave it back to them. I wasn’t
interested. You may say I was rebellious, and that is fine, but I didn’t see
what wearing a suit had to do with being a deacon. Their traditions were their
priorities and not wearing a suit was mine.
SUNDAY
WORSHIP: the order of
worship on Sunday morning. Who says we can only have worship in church on
Sunday to begin with? If you don’t do things just right, have all the right
songs and the right number of events in the right order how can it be called
church? What happens if you don’t have communion on the correct Sunday night or
someone other than an elder was to officiate it? Or if you had no songs at all?
Can that be church? What happens when no offering is taken up? Or if you didn’t
commence the service with prayer? And if the sermon came first instead of being
toward the end? How about no sermon at all?
A lot of what you do says more than what
you say. If you are more concerned about these traditions (that really
shouldn’t matter to us as much as they do) than Jesus’ commands, your disciple
will have the same concerns.
Traditions create a form of godliness but they destroy
the real authority and power of Christ and the Gospel. If what we do has no
power then all we have left is another religion. We have nothing of worth to
offer the world which already has its fill of religion. Christianity was
birthed in the miraculous and must always be naturally supernatural. This is
what Christ, the Apostles and Paul taught.
Luke 4:18 - Luke 4:19 (NKJV)
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the
blind,
To
set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord.”
John 20:21 (NKJV)
“Peace to you! As the Father
has sent Me, I also send you.”
Acts 4:29 - Acts 4:30 (NKJV)
29Now, Lord, look on
their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak
Your word, 30by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and
wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
1 Cor 2:3 - 1 Cor 2:5 (NKJV)
3I was with you in
weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4And my speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive
words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that
your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Cor 4:18 - 1 Cor 4:20 (NKJV)
18Now some are puffed up,
as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you
shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are
puffed up, but the power. 20For the
Jesus’ concern is in what you believe and where you
are heading, as this will greatly influence the discipling process. What is
more important to you? Obeying God or making sure the people are in order with
your traditions and that they stay comfortably quiet? What we do and how we do
it is important to those following us because what we model they will do. Example; having to shut your eyes while
you pray.
Jesus didn’t teach traditions. He did things
differently – each occasion was actually the first time yet each was done with
authority and in power. He was versatile and He taught that versatility by the
way He walked. Jesus was unpredictable and we should be too. We should be
“dangerous”, good, but not always nice; loving, but not always safe.
3.3 BASIC COMMANDS.
There are some basic commands that we should follow
and also teach others to follow. These commands remain our basic Christian
foundation even though through them other aspects of Christianity are taught.
We can teach them as we walk with our disciples, meet their needs and answer
their questions. It does not have to be done religiously. We can instil these
commands while letting people have the freedom to learn from that which is
important to them. They may be particularly interested in the book of
Revelation, therefore use their interest in end times to teach them these basic
commands while answering all the questions they have about the end times.
We do and teach these commands out of our love for
Him. See Jn.14:15; 15:14. Remember Jesus called His disciples and then immediately
gave them things to do.(John 4:1) It is important to get people to do and not
sit. So don’t teach them to sit first, get them doing things.
Don’t be fearful that they will do something wrong
because they will. Simply use their mistakes to direct and teach but not to
stop them.
These 7 commands are GENERAL and INCLUSIVE of much
more:
(Look at Heb. 6:1-2
to see what Paul said was the elementary principles of Christ.)
1. Repent, believe and receive the Holy Spirit (be
saved) (Mk.1:15; Jn.3:15-17; Jn.20:22)
2. Be baptized (Mt.28:18-20)
3. Have the Spirit of Power upon you, signs
following (Mk.16:15-18; Lu.24:49; Acts1:4)
4. Celebrate the Lord’s supper (Mt.26:26-28; I
Co.11:23)
5. Love God, neighbors, brothers, and enemies
(Lu.10:25-37; Jn.13:34-35; Mt.18:21-35)
6. Pray (Jn.16:24; Lu.18:1; Lu.21:36; Mt.7:7; 1
Thes.5:17)
7. Give (Lu. 6:38; Lu.16:10-13)
Make disciples (Mt. 27:37-38; Mt.28:18-20; 2Tim.2:2)
is one of the resurrection commands of Jesus. We use, do and teach the first 7
basic commands to fulfil the resurrection command so that we walk like Him and
fulfil His desires.
God’s servants must be
available to Him for supernatural use. They must be willing to make mistakes,
fail and then get up and go again.
3.4 CHOICE.
Something else that needs attention in discipling
is the power of Choice. CHOICE is the act that creates your future. Whether you
make a choice or not, it remains a choice and will determine your future. Our
choices change our world and our options in the future. They can even change
our destination. God is always the same but creation continues to grow and
change. Since we are not complete we also need to grow and change.
Have you changed, grown or matured over the years?
What decisions did you make that brought you to the place you are today? What
choices and subsequent consequences caused you to make the decisions that
created who you are? All actions are the result of decisions or
“non-decisions”— and whatever the action, it is —A CHOICE!! If we fail to make
a decision out of our lack of will, we have willingly surrendered our
initiative and made a choice to let others or our circumstances determine our
course of action and the outcome. Some of the actions we take or choose to
take, need to be put to death (stopped or changed). When some things die they
make room for others to grow, often becoming the compost for new growth. With
choices it is impossible to eliminate uncertainty. Therefore all
choices/actions we make must be based on incomplete, inaccurate or even
contradictory information. Since we must make choices to live, risk is always a
part of choice.
3.5 RISK. Discipleship takes risks.
RISK is a vital part of the choices that determine
our quality of life. Risk is also a part of discipleship. There are many who
have risked all to leave us with the inheritance we have. A section covering
risk will be found further on in the notes.
3.6 CHANCE.
CHANCE should not be seen as a threat but an
opportunity that we must be ever ready to exploit. Chance is a place for choice
to change the future. What we call chance is often the hand or providence of
God bringing to us an opportunity to show to the world our trust in Him.
4. BEARING FRUIT.
John 15:5 - John 15:8 (NKJV)
5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me,
and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6If
anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and
they gather them and throw them into
the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8By
this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My
disciples.
To be the disciple God wants us to be we should
bear much fruit. It is important to us as disciples and in discipling others.
-- What is fruit?
Most of you would say that an orange or mango is
the fruit of their respective trees. I know this as I have asked this question
many times. You are wrong. What you call fruit is nothing more than a seed. The
true fruit of any tree is another tree. What is the “fruit” of a male and
female sheep? A lamb. What is one of the reasons that a man and woman marry? Is
it not to have children? (If the couple can’t have children they will go to a
doctor to find out why). In nature, fruit is: producing after its own kind. It is “natural”. Likewise, in Christ
it should be natural to reproduce. It is not natural to be unproductive, or
non-producing, even in Christianity.
Following on from this, what do you consider the
fruit of a pastor to be? Or a church? Shouldn’t it be natural for them to
produce after their kind? We tend to have the concept of one pastor, one
church. This is one of our worst Christian traditions and it has taught us that
being unproductive or not making disciples is acceptable. Many say we don’t
have to produce or do works because we live under Grace. Living under Grace does
not do away with keeping the commands found in Grace. We should be producing
something every year and not be satisfied with anything less. To be
unproductive is wilful sin. It is a choice made with the intent of
self-comfort, not obedience and love toward Jesus.
What do we know about wilful sin? Or of faith
without works as being dead or worthless? The works that we are to do should
declare our love for Jesus and the Grace under which we live. Anything that we
love we will talk about and/or do. If you look in the New Testament, beginning
with Ananias and Sapphira, there was and is judgement under grace. Grace gets
us into the kingdom and grace will cover our sins but to disobey any of Jesus’
commands is a wilful sin just like adultery or lying.
Our wilful sin of disobedience in not making
disciples has cost the church dearly and we are paying a high price for our
neglect of duty. We need to repent for not obeying the command to make
disciples. It is sin! God’s character has not changed. He is still a jealous
God. He is jealous for our love, intimacy and souls. IF we seriously think we
will see what the disciples saw in the book of Acts, but don’t obey Jesus, we
are fooling ourselves. Our disobedience to disciple shows that we only want to be comfortable and take it
easy. It takes obedience to love, preach and disciple. It will take sacrifice
to see what they saw and no-one is exempt from the command to go, regardless of
our circumstances or desires. What you or I believe to be true will not change
the truth, but when we face or accept the truth it will change us.
5. THE PROCESS OF DISCIPLESHIP.
Since we are commanded to disciple, the first thing
that must happen is for us to select a disciple. What should the requirements
be for someone we’re going to disciple? Put some thought into it. What would
you consider as the appropriate characteristics for a disciple? Usually when we
teach this in person there is quite a list. It usually includes: must have
integrity, be trustworthy, teachable, a believer, level-headed, educated in
some way, etc. the list usually goes on. A group of theological students had
the longest list. I asked them, “Can any
of you meet those requirements”? They laughed. I didn’t. We tend to put
more requirements on others than we do ourselves when it comes to following
Jesus. We want grace but give judgement. We always want someone to disciple
worthy of our time and who won’t embarrass us or Jesus.
Let’s look at the people Jesus chose and see if
they meet all of our requirements. Firstly, Peter, what do we know of him? Was
he level-headed, teachable and trustworthy? Wasn’t he the one that always put
his foot in his mouth? Wasn’t it said to him: “get behind me satan”? Didn’t he curse Jesus, deny Him three times
and cut off the servant’s ear with a sword at the time of the crucifixion? Why
would you pick him? Secondly consider, John and James? They were called the
sons of thunder. What does that say about them? Maybe they were a little rowdy?
Thirdly, Nathanial? Wasn’t he the one that they found lying under a tree and
weren’t his first words “can anything
good come out of
Why - because you aren’t the one selecting the
disciples - the Father is. Jesus was following the Father. Jesus says in
several places that He does nothing but that which the Father tells him to do.
It is quoted all through the book of John in different ways. Jesus heard from the
Father and was willing to obey and trust what the Father said to do, knowing
that the Father had a plan. (this is the
reason we must have intimacy with the Father and the Son).
Only God the Father and Jesus can show you who to
disciple so you must hear from them to begin discipleship. You must have
intimacy and be able to hear from Them through the Spirit. They will choose the
right people for you to disciple because They know everyone’s heart and They
have a purpose for your life. Jesus did not happen on His disciples or on the
way He trained them. There was a purpose in each case- the Father’s purpose.
John 4:34 (NKJV):
34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of
Him who sent Me, and to finish His work
John 5:19 (NKJV):
19Then Jesus answered and
said to them,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He
sees the father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner
John 5:30 (NKJV):
30I can of Myself do nothing. As
I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own
will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 6:38 (NKJV):
38For I have come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me
John 8:26 (NKJV):
26I have many things to say and
to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world
those things which I heard from Him.”
John 8:28 (NKJV):
28Then Jesus said to
them, “When you
lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing
of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
There are many verses that tell us that Jesus did
what the Father told Him to do. When Jesus selected His disciples the Father
had a plan, He had one from the foundation of the world. The plan is still good
today. We are sent like Jesus, not to do our will but His. The Father knew
before Jesus commenced His ministry, what He wanted the disciples to be.
John 15:16 (NKJV):
16You did not choose Me, but I
chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your
fruit should remain,
John 17:18 - John 17:21 (NKJV):
18As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I
sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 20“I
do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through
their word; 21that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me,
and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that
You sent Me
If only we would listen, trust and obey we can be a
part of God’s plan and be ONE with the Father and Jesus.
5.1 PROCEDURE OF DISCIPLING.
In discipling the way Jesus did, you can’t birth
what you are not. What you want the disciples to be you need to become
yourself. You must train them from the beginning to obey His commands just like
He obeyed the Father’s commands. In order to obey you must be able to hear and
willing to walk in the supernatural, dependant on The Father. If you can’t hear
His voice you can’t train like He did. You can’t teach them to hear what you
don’t hear. It is not a matter of what you do or don’t believe. It is about
having a loving, trusting relationship with Jesus and the Word, intimacy that
counts.
A good trainer does not teach his students what
they can learn for themselves by watching, listening and doing with Jesus. From
the beginning, point them to Jesus and teach them that they can also hear, obey
and walk in authority with Him. Teach them to trust the relationship.
The Bible does not teach us to hear God’s voice, it
reveals to us that we CAN hear His voice.
There are many promises and references to the fact
that we can hear Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We will look at John 10:3-5, 16,
27.
John 10:3 - John 10:5 (NKJV):
3To him the doorkeeper opens,
and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. 4And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and
the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5Yet they will by no
means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice
of strangers
John 10:16 (NKJV):
16And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and
there will be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:27 (NKJV):
27My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me.
We need to understand and know that we can hear and
therefore follow Him.
5.2 TRAINING.
People learn more easily if they are given the
opportunity to discover the answers to their questions through what appears to
be their own efforts (with the Spirit’s guidance of course). Jesus did many
other things with the disciples besides the few that we will share here. As you
read the following scripture sections, look at what He taught and how He taught
it in context of the scripture preceding and after each section. Observe the
many ways that Jesus used to make His point and to share with His disciples
what he wanted them to receive.
One of the most important aspects of Jesus’
teachings is that from the very beginning, He uses His disciples to do things. He starts them off feeling
needed and useful. If people don’t receive emotional fulfilment, and begin to
sense that they are superfluous baggage, they will eventually quit and go home
as there is nothing in it for them. They will become frustrated and resentful.
Their commitment without any emotional reward will, after a while, be without
enthusiasm. Disciples are to be needed and valued.
People continue to do that which they want to do.
They want that which they perceive gives them some sense of fulfilment whether
emotionally, physically and/or spiritually. It is necessary to cause disciples
to want to be a part of what Jesus is doing and then make a way for them to do
it. You must become your disciples’ servant, fulfil their needs.
What did Jesus do:
1. Jesus
started His disciples with ‘doing’ and ‘obedience’, not great teachings.
John 4:1-2(NKJV)
1Therefore, when the
Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more
disciples than John. 2(though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His
disciples),
They are called and the next thing we
see is that they are baptizing others. (Not the way most of the church does it)
2. As they travelled together He asked them
questions that dealt
with heart issues,
Mark 9:33 - Mark 9:35 (NKJV)
33Then He came to
He knew their hearts
and what they were talking about even though He did not hear them. He gave them
the answer before they disclose what they were talking about. His question and
answer dealt with many more issues than merely the one question they had been
asking each other.
3. He answered their questions in private,
Mark 9:28 - Mark 9:29 (NKJV)
28And when He had come
into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it
out?”
29So He said to them, “This kind can come out by
nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Luke 8:4 - Luke 8:10 (NKJV)
4And when a great
multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a
parable: 5“A
sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and
it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6Some
fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked
moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with
it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and
yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let
him hear!”
9Then His disciples
asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10And He said, “To you it has been given to
know the mysteries of the
He had an intimacy with the twelve that
He didn’t have with the multitude. When they failed, He scolded them at times,
but not severely and when in private, He explained to them what they needed to
know. It is interesting to note that occasionally He waited until they had
failed at something before He revealed to them how to do what they had failed
at. He knew before hand what was going to happen but chose not to tell them
until they had tried. Before the incident they had no questions. Afterwards
they knew that they still had need of Him and of training. Now they had questions
and now they were ready to listen. WE
are always trying to answer the questions people have not asked.. If there is
no question, the answer you give is meaningless.
4. He did miracles with them,
Matt 14:13 - Matt 14:21 (NKJV)
14And when Jesus went out
He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed
their sick. 15When it was evening, His disciples came to Him,
saying, “This is a deserted
place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go
into the villages and buy themselves food.”
16But Jesus said to them,
“They do not need
to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17And they said to Him,
“We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18He said, “Bring them here to Me19Then He commanded the
multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two
fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the
disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20So they all
ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that
remained. 21Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
This incident is
generally taught as “Jesus multiplying the fish and bread”. But you need to read it a little closer.
He told the disciples to feed the multitudes. When the disciples had no idea
what to do, He took what they had and blessed it and handed it back to them.
They each had a part of a fish and a piece of bread. The people were fed by the disciples. The food multiplied in their
hands! Jesus helped them by blessing the bread but The disciples did the rest.
5. He
sent them out alone and empowered them
Luke 9:1 - Luke 9:2 (NKJV)
1Then He called His
twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons,
and to cure diseases. 2He sent them to preach the
Luke 10:1 (NKJV)
1After these things the
Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face
into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
Luke 10:9 (NKJV)
9And heal the sick there, and
say to them, ‘The
Luke 10:17 - Luke 10:20 (NKJV)
17Then the seventy returned with
joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
18And He said to them, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Behold, I give you the
authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20Nevertheless do not
rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven.”
(I skipped over some of the things He
said to do in these scriptures. The point I am trying to make is that ALL the
disciples were sent in power and authority. He also said that they were to not
be surprised or exalted in this. It is to be a natural thing. Pride was to be
avoided as they were to remember that they were given this authority through
grace).
We teach many things but we seem to conveniently
forget that Jesus empowered all those He
sent supernaturally. It was important to Him that His disciples walked in power
and in love then and He has not changed.
I don’t place a great emphasis on the miracles we see, but they are a vital part
of what happens. They reveal His heart and in so doing, draw people closer to
Him. It is a starting point and not the end. It is significant because it is
His nature and confirmation of the Word we speak. (Mk.16:15-20 and Acts 2:4-8.)
As they walked with Him, the disciples
were preaching, performing miracles, casting out demons and healing the sick.
He sent them out to do it by themselves, watching in the Spirit as they went.
On their return when they give their reports to Jesus, He didn’t correct or
chastise them. And finally,
6. He
then left them.
Luke 24:46 - Luke 24:51 (NKJV)
46Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus
it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached
in His name to all nations, beginning at
50And He led them out as
far as
He was heaven bound and His earthly work completed. Just prior to this, the
disciples had failed Him and run away. Peter had denied Him three times and was
a disgrace to the Lord. Judas had betrayed Him then killed himself, and John
had done nothing for the Lord. Jesus comes back from the dead and instead of
starting over with a new group, He returns and reveals Himself to them,
reproves them a little for a lack of faith and ministers to their needs. He
then leaves them to continue doing what He had began. He even gave to them all
the authority/power He had and tells them to go and make disciples
themselves--after they had received power from on high.
We would have kicked them out of the
church and banished them for all the trouble they had caused. We would have
told them, “You failed! You left me to be persecuted all alone. There
will be no further ministry for you.
You are a sad case of misplaced trust. I
should not have trusted you in the beginning. YOU will never do anything in
this church again or in this town”.
Jesus’ approach was totally different. He sent them
out to continue being His Presence on the earth. Maybe we need to learn a
lesson here and stop making “perfection” a requirement of those we teach? Maybe
we are looking at the wrong things? Maybe we are judging by the flesh and not
by the Spirit?
As you follow Jesus through scripture and observe
His relationship with His disciples, you will find He had a distinctive
approach: MODEL, ASSIST, WATCH, and
LEAVE
·
MODEL-Jesus always set the example first. He was the
example of Love, integrity, obedience, and power. He showed us that men could
hear the Father’s voice. He demonstrated His authority to heal and to deliver
those in bondage. He did what He wanted His followers to do.
·
ASSIST- If the disciples could not complete what they
were doing, Jesus would do it for them and teach them through the experience.
He helped them do the miracles He told them to do. (Matt. 14:14-21)
·
WATCH - He sent the 12 out by themselves and then the
seventy who were not immediately associated with him. The 70 were associated
with the 12 and learned from them. Prior to this chapter (Lu.10:1), the 70 were
not recorded as being part of the intimate times experienced by the 12. This
raises the question as to who trained them? They must have heard stories from
the 12. I am sure that they hung around and fed on the awesome teachings and
intimate sharing that those close to Jesus imparted what they knew and had
learned. Anyhow, Jesus watched in the Spirit as the 70 went out by themselves
after some time with Him.
Lu 9:1 and 10:1. When they returned, Jesus
said, “I saw satan fall like lightning
from Heaven….” More time passes and then;
·
LEAVE- He left and sat down in heaven, having completed
all the Father had for Him to do. He left the disciples to continue what He
started. Look at the results. They are still leading us on to be like Jesus
with the written record they left. Are we leading people on to being fulfilled
in Jesus?
6. DISCIPLESHIP POINTS.
There are several points I need to highlight:
·
Who
do you want your disciples to follow, Jesus or traditions?
·
If
you don’t have passion neither will they. Passion is a part of every intimate
relationship.
·
True
discipleship requires that we listen before we teach. The way you teach will
make them controllers or liberators.
·
Training
is to be designed for the disciple’s needs and not our agenda. Our revelations
should never surpass or be more important than their needs.
·
New
disciples need different teaching methods than do more mature ones.
·
Start
new disciples out to be obedience to the relationship of love they have
established, don’t lecture them, employ and empower them. We have in the past
thought that discipling meant sending people to school. This is not
discipleship. It is school. There is nothing wrong with getting more education
but discipleship in the way Jesus teaches the kingdom. It is not gained through
sitting down and getting more information. Maybe we should follow His example.
·
Jesus
didn’t “make” the disciples obey, He caused them to want to obey. We must do
the same and not fear that they will mess up what Jesus has to do, or embarrass
us. They will not make the church look bad. We look bad now. -- I like to take
a brand new believer or even just a seeker and get them praying for others and
telling others about what they have seen or discovered—from the first day!
Discipleship should change your priorities. Jesus’
priority was not building church buildings. Hello—Jesus’
priority was to raise up sons (disciples). His first acts after being baptized
and coming back from the desert was to call disciples. As He began His
ministry Jesus started training up 12 people to replace Himself. In three years
He left them to do what He had been doing. You know we should really think
about that. How long do we feel that someone must be trained before being allowed
to do anything, much less take over ministry for us? I think we have “trained”
our way out of God’s ways. I think we are eating from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil far more than from the tree of life, and we are feeding our
followers the same. We need to be eating from the tree of life and helping
others to do the same. Much of what we think is important I don’t see Jesus
discussing with His disciples at all. That is amazing. Maybe I should say, that
is revolutionary, or could be!
7. ‘NUTS AND BOLTS’.
Discipleship training or mentoring must be: Love motivated, obedience oriented and naturally supernatural. These
should be the norm and the basis of all we do:
·
Discipling
must be deliberate. Discipling must be something that is more than witnessing.
We should witness all the time but more than that, we should be bringing
someone up to be like Jesus on a continuing basis. It should not take years to
have others step up to our level and go beyond.
·
It
must be empowering. Discipling must give authority and power to the disciple.
It must not give and then take back.
·
It
must set people free to follow Jesus and not to be restrictive. They are to be
like Jesus, not like us. Let them do it their way and make their mistakes, but
don’t control or stop them when they do
make mistakes. Encourage and correct but don’t stop them. Encourage them to
continue.
·
It
must be oriented to the each person’s literacy level. Some of Jesus disciples
were not educated.
(Acts 4:13 (NKJV)
13Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and
untrained men, they marvelled. And they realized that they had been with
Jesus).
The way in which Jesus trained enabled
even uneducated people to understand and do what He taught.
The great command and commission does
not require education, it requires relationship.
·
Discipleship
must be based on the biblical examples we have in the New Testament. We must do
what Jesus or the disciples did or spoke. We should remember what Paul says
about the Gospel. (1Cor. 2:4 and 4:19-20) Jesus thought of walking in the
supernatural as something that was important and so did Paul. They both thought
that the baptism of the Spirit was relevant and important. Even John the
Baptist spoke in two of the Gospels that Jesus was coming to baptize us with
the Holy Spirit and fire. We should not compromise what God emphasises in His
Word. Matt 3:10 -
Matt 3:11 (NKJV) 11I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is
mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:15 - Luke 3:16 (NKJV) 16John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One
mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
·
The
whole discipleship process must be bathed in prayer that hears from the Lord
not superficial, religious jargon. We could talk all day about religious
prayers. Religious prayers are actually traditional ways of praying and are
devoid of power or real intimacy. We must find intimacy with the Father to be
effective and then pray from there; hearing and obeying what He says and
reveals to us. Read John 10 and note all the places that He tells us that we
will hear His voice. Read John 14:26, 15:26. and 16:13. These tell us that the
Lord will speak through the Holy Spirit and we will hear Him. The Holy Spirit’s
job includes guiding us into all truth and showing us things that are to come.
Let’s
look at this parallel example of the following or being led by someone: If you are in a room blind folded and
someone says “Follow me” and then
remains silent, can you follow the
person? If you can’t see them and they don’t speak, you are going to end up
probably getting hurt if you move much. Conversely, the One who asks you to
follow, speaks as you move. HE directs you across the room and around all the
obstacles. Ha - What a difference! We can follow His voice. We can’t see God
therefore we must hear Him if He is
to guide us. Hallelujah! When you hear from God in intimacy, you can pray with
faith and power. Prayer that “hears” is essential to all disciples and
discipleship methods. Our discipleship must be based on relationship and not on
knowledge-based teaching.
·
It
must produce after it’s own kind. (Trees produce trees.) If your disciple or
teaching doesn’t produce someone who is walking after Jesus and cause that
someone else to do the same, then you need to stop and re-evaluate what you are
teaching. If you want to judge what you are teaching, look at those you are
instructing and see what they are doing.
You
should realize that what they are doing is really what you have taught, no
matter what you thought you were teaching. If most of them are sitting, then you have taught
them that sitting is acceptable, not just permissible.
·
Discipleship must be passionate and
filled with Love. Passion is contagious, and love never fails. Passion is contagious! Passion will
move people by itself. Passion shows. Jesus was passionate about what He did
and it showed in the way He addressed people. Peter and John started off in the
book of Acts being passionate! Paul was passionate - you have only to look at
some of his writings. Have you ever been in someone’s presence who is passionate
about something? Can they be quiet? Can you get them to sit down? Are you
affected by them? We should be passionate about being intimate with Jesus. Our
relationship must be filled with passion. Love never fails. It keeps getting up
until there is victory. Love is the nature of God. It should be our nature. If
we walk in it we will bring life to the dead, healing to the lame and hearing
to the deaf. Love is never about self; it is to be given or made manifest to
and for “others”.
8. THE RISK FACTOR.
The definition of risk is: the possibility of loss or danger, taking a chance, to expose to
danger. Risk thinks outside of the box. Risk dares to go into uncharted
territory. One of our risks is that of persecution. Jesus said we will be
persecuted. When we obey Jesus, persecution will be normal and when you start
discipling and church planting, it will come FROM THE CHURCH as well as the
world. Risk stepping out into a place where anything can happen. There is
nowhere in the world where it is safe to be a Christian and it will get worse.
I work in some areas where the level of danger to the ones I teach and myself
is high. I don’t know all the risks involved but being beaten or killed
features strongly on the list.
In any
business or relationship there is risk. It is a part of life. How well you
handle risk will determine your life as a whole and many of the choices you
have to make. Risk thinks on the edge. It is always looking for a way when none
appear. It is accompanied by perseverance without which it will lead to
failure. Life will produce mistakes and give the appearance of being wrong
while doing what is right. Risk forges ahead in the face of obstacles. The fear
of failure stops people from taking risks and the fear of man stops most of what
God wants done on the earth. Though we are told many times in the Bible not to
fear, we seem to do it anyway. Risk steps through fear operating through faith
hope and love..
2 Tim 1:7 - 2 Tim 1:12 (NKJV):
7For God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8Therefore
do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but
share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9who
has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus
before time began, 10but has now been revealed by the appearing of
our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel, 11to which I was appointed a preacher,
an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12For this reason I also
suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have
believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him
until that Day.
There is
power in risk because it operates in faith working by love. Your passion and
love for the Lord produces the reason and ability to take a risk. Love doesn’t
look at what has been done, or what has been said as being impossible through
the traditions or control of men. Focus on Jesus and His commands and step
forward through the fear. Faith is found not in the absence of fear, but in
persevering and stepping through your fear to victory. It is living by love.
Jesus showed us the way, demonstrating His love with trust and faith in the
Father through His life, death and resurrection. Your true relationship with God is made manifest by the way you live
your life.
9. THE LEADERS ROLE in DISCIPLESHIP.
Leaders in the church are
to be different from those in the world. We have two scriptures in the New
Testament that I will use for this study. There are others that deal with our
conduct in the world and in church, but what I want to show here is the way
leaders are to lead and how that will impact the church. My wife and I have
taught approximately 1200 pastors on discipleship/intimacy with God in the last
3 years in 3-5 day seminars. In all that time, less than 10% of them actually
had disciples with them on a consistent basis before our teaching. If leaders
in the church are not discipling then how do we expect the rest of the church
to do it? Sheep follow sheppards.
1 Pet 5:2 - 1 Pet 5:4 (NKJV)
1The elders who are
among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of
Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2Shepherd
the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion
but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3nor as being
lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4and
when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does
not fade away.
The key to this passage is not that the people
should submit to the leaders, but that the leaders are to be an example to the
flock. They are to help the people find life in Jesus and not to be commanders.
The leaders are to be examples of how to walk with Christ.
Jesus says, John 13:14 - John 13:15 (NKJV)
14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you.
Paul writes in Eph. 4 about leaders:
Eph 4:11 - Eph 4:13 (NKJV)
11And He Himself gave
some to be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping
of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ;
The purpose of leaders is to serve the needs of
others so that they can walk in the fullness
of Christ! So that others may do the work of the ministry. Leaders are to
equip, edify, be an example to and serve the body of Christ. If you, as a
leader, do not obey the commands of Christ then what are you teaching your
followers or those you are building up into Christ? If you have no disciples
then why do you expect your followers to have any? If you are not serving
“others” and equipping them to do the work of the ministry and walk in the
fullness of Christ then how can you expect these “others” to do it? Leaders are
equipped to guide and lead others to the pasture but the pasture is for the
followers to feed in. If what you are doing makes no place for the “others” to
actually DO things with Christ, you are not equipping or building them up into
the place they are to be.
Eph.4:12 speaks of equipping people for ministry.
This is providing them with the tools with which to do the work. What are the
tools that Christ gives us? They are: His Name, the Holy Spirit, The Word, and
the Gifts of the Spirit. We use these to do the work of Christ. “Edifying
people” is to build them up into the nature of Christ.
Verse 13 says this will continue to happen until we
are “all walking in the unity of faith
and the knowledge of the Son, until we grow to the perfection and measure of
the stature of the Fullness of Christ.” That is such a powerful statement.
Leaders are to give those who follow them all the tools needed to walk like
Christ and then to build them up into the position or the fullness of Christ. Fullness has the meaning of being in the
exact image of Him or until they are doing everything He did. If you continue
in Eph. 4 13-21 you will see that we are to grow up in all things into Him -
Christ.
Leaders are to release people to walk as the Lord
would have them walk. If we are not being the servant of all then how will they
do it? Leaders must disciple and lead others by being examples to the flock.
They must obey Jesus commands in such a way that, like Jesus, people will
follow them also. The flock is not made for the shepherds or leaders but the
shepherds/leaders are made for the flock. Leaders are to help the flock
complete their visions and dreams. WE
MUST DISCIPLE.
Let’s look at two ministers as they start their
ministries. MOSES and JESUS.
9.1 MOSES and JESUS
Both Moses and Jesus were called,
equipped and sent.
MOSES’
MINISTRY starts: Moses is instructed by God to assemble
all the leaders at the tabernacle of the Lord. Moses duly informed the leaders
but they refused saying: “No, you go and hear for us and then we will obey
you”. (basic interpretation of the story). Moses accepted their response and
went to the tabernacle on his own with his servant.
The journey began, Moses was the only
one hearing God on behalf of the congregation. This proved to be exhausting.
His father-in-law came and admonished Moses to appoint leaders to help him do
the work of the ministry. Moses called others to help judge but continued to
carry the weight of the ministry on his shoulders. Whenever he needed to be
with God, there was no-one left who had experienced intimacy with God to step
in and keep the people in the right place during his absence. Consequently, the
people would return to sin and it resulted in a lot of problems.
JESUS’
MINISTRY starts: Jesus starts off differently, He
obeys all the Father tells Him to do.
Immediately after He has been sent, He calls together twelve apostles to work
with Him and gets them involved straightaway. When He is on the mount of
transfiguration with God and others, ministry is still happening during His
absence.
Unfortunately in the church today, we see too many
groups like the Israelites of old. When the leader leaves for a period of time,
the flock tends not to show up for church and they do as little as possible
because they have not been taught to be accountable for their behaviour, they
have no responsibility for the vision of Christ.. They have had themselves,
little or no experience of intimacy with the Lord. They expect the minister to
have the Word of God for them. Leaders have not followed the correct example as
set by the Chief Shepherd. We need to be empowering others and causing them to
want to be in the tabernacle of the Lord. Don’t be like Moses, trying to do
everything by yourself and carrying too much of the responsibility for what is
happening. Give away your authority like Jesus did, cause people to desire
intimacy with Him and multiply your effectiveness. Losing control over people will
not destroy the church but will empower them to be more like Jesus.
9.2 ENEMIES and ALLIES
Allies
and enemies of discipleship and being a servant to all. I am just going to list some of the
things that will be for or against you as you are faithful to disciple and obey
the commands of Christ.
·
The flesh, Rom.8:5-7 Jesus Name, Acts4.12 Phil.2:9-13
·
The world, Jms.4:4, 1Jn.2:15-17 Testimony
and blood, Rev.12:11
·
Satan, Jn.10:10 Authority, Lu10:19-20, Mk. 16:17-18
·
Your traditions, Mt;15:1-9 Word of God,
Heb.4:12, 2Tim.3:15-17
·
Small expectations, Mt.14:31 Faith,
Mt.19:26
·
Following man, not God, Gal.1:10 Follow God, Mt.4:19
·
Fear, 2Tim.1:7 Love, 1Co.13:8
·
Pride, Pro.16:18 Humility, Jms.4:7
·
Tongue, Jms.3:1-12 Words, Mt.12:36-37, Pro.6:2,12:6,14
·
Gossip, Jms.4:11 Prayer, Eph.6:18, Jms.5:16
·
Lack in anything Holy Spirit, Jn.14:26; 15:26; 16:13
10. PRAYER, DISCIPLESHIP and the CHRISTIAN WALK.
In discipleship I am
always talking about hearing from the Lord and prayer as being the key to it. I
am talking about a truly intimate conversation between two beings in a love
relationship. I have come to believe that prayer is not a part
of the Christian walk, it is the Christian walk. Without real practical focused prayer we will
never see what we desire to see to the extent we would like to see it. Prayer
is not just asking of the Father what you want but learning the Father’s heart
for what He wants. To be truly effective in prayer or spiritual warfare,
intimacy is the prerequisite:
It is not a one-way conversation. Jesus
did nothing but what the Father told or showed Him, so He must have been
communicating with Him (prayer).
I had a real struggle with praying without ceasing
like Paul says to in;
1 Thess 5:17 (NKJV)
17pray without ceasing,
but he is just repeating what
Jesus said in;
Luke 18:1 (NKJV)
1Then He spoke a parable
to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
I spent a lot
of time studying these passages trying to avoid having to pray (as I knew it)
at all times. How was I going to work or visit people? How was I going to be
able to have time with my wife or kids? It really bothered me as I wanted to
obey Christ but I couldn’t see how I would do this. One morning when going to
work and discussing this with the Lord, He asked, “Would I ask you to do something that is impossible?” He then asked
me why I wasn’t doing it. I replied to him with tears that I couldn’t do it.
His reply was: “What if you have the
wrong idea about prayer?” That stopped me and caused me to listen carefully
as He answered my plea and tears of desperation to please Him. He spoke quietly
to my soul.
“Prayer
without ceasing is simply keeping your heart open and in touch with the Father
and Me at all times.”
I could do
that!! It took a tremendous load off of me. I was so relieved! My prayer life
has never been the same. I can now be involved in prayer and talk to someone at
the same time. I can keep the line to him open all the time. It is like
dialling the number on the phone, putting the earphone into my ear and then not
hanging up. I just stay on-line listening for directions and communications. We
are able to communicate even while listening to all that is going on around me.
Prayer is not asking of
the Father what you want first. It should be getting the Father’s heart for
what He wants FIRST, then responding accordingly, while that thought is present
in your mind. To be truly effective in prayer or spiritual warfare, intimacy
needs to happen first. Discipleship
requires hearing from the Father all the time, so to disciple you must
establish intimate prayer first. You need to have His heart and His thoughts
regarding those you are training up to be like His Son.
The results of intimate
prayer, like Jesus and even Paul prayed, are that you will shake earth and hell
with Jesus’ Presence. It might just change your effectiveness!
It is one thing to have a
name that is written in Heaven as being a man of God, but it is quite another
to have your name known in hell as being God’s man. Acts 19:15
11. END VISIONING and DISCIPLESHIP.
As I near the end of this discipleship guide, it
would be remiss of me if I did not add something about vision. Our Father had a
plan from the foundation of the world. He is an “end-vision” God. He had
formulated a plan that He would walk out to its completion. He will not change
it or modify it. It will stand forever. He is committed to that which He has
spoken. We should and need to be the same. In one place, the Word says that: “without a vision the people perish.”
(Pro. 29:18 KJV). Let’s look at the New Testament:
Lu. 14:28 - Lu. 14:32(NKJV)
28 For which of you, intending to build a
tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—29lest, after he has laid the
foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going to make war against
another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is still a great
way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
We need to see what we are NOT accomplishing in
Christianity. We need to acknowledge that what we have been doing is not
winning the world to Jesus. We have come a long way but we are losing ground in
many other ways. We are failing to reach the unreached. In the
The word
tells us that Jesus wants us to be one with the Father and Him.
John 17:20 - John 17:23 (NKJV)
20“I do not pray for these
alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21that
they all may be one, as You, Father, are
in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may
believe that You sent Me. 22And the glory which You gave Me I have
given them, that they may be one just as We are one23I in them, and
You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know
that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Do you know what the word “one “ means? It means: to be one, singular, one. WE are to be
just like Jesus, and more than that, we are to be so intimate with Him and the
Father that we are seen to be Him. Even that is beyond what I can comprehend. I
do know this however, Jesus is not a liar and He would not tell us to be
something that we couldn’t be. We are not to shrink back from Jesus’ prayer but
step up to the challenge of being intimate with the Lord. We must begin to
build it into others who in turn, will go further than we have gone. Let’s get
back to the commands of Jesus and experience what will happen when we obey. It
will be interesting and exciting. Obedience is our victory. Jesus showed us the
way- we leave the results of our obedience to God the Father but expect His
Word to stand.
Preaching and discipleship are Jesus’ ways to reach
the world. They are the Father’s vision. He has determined the purpose. We must
simply trust and obey. God is a God of unity. He does nothing by Himself and He
expects us to follow His example. He says that the world will know us by our
love for one another. Love empowers and motivates. It is passionate. It never
fails. We need to become His Love. Look beyond your limitations and see what
could be done by multiplying who you are. Intentional discipleship, it could be
the heart of Love.
Whenever a leader disciples, he produces another
leader. Leaders always find people to lead. Whenever a sheep disciples, he
produces another sheep. A church will form or be involved as the sheep seek
someone to lead them. House groups, churches or cell groups form and the church
expands. No matter the climate or country, discipleship produces the same
effect: MULTIPLICATION IN THE CHURCH.
12. Partnering: In any area that you want people to partner with you or to be enthused
they must get a reward. I am not talking about a financial or superficial
substance. I am talking about an
emotional, physical, and spiritual satisfaction or reward. They need to feel
empowered and important. They need to gain something from what they are being
asked or guided to do. In raising up leaders in the church or discipleship it
is the same. The key to getting people to do or be a part of leadership or a
movement is found in this; that they get something relevant out of it. The
moment that they feel controlled or just a puppet they will begin to resent
what they are doing. If it is just a duty they may do it but not with their
heart, they will not be giving 100 percent. Jesus found a way to not only
empower them but to show them that they were needed. Even then when it came to
a real hard time they deserted him for a time. They didn’t have ownership in
the ministry still, but when they truly realized that they had a part in the
outcome of what would happen and found ownership in it, they did as Jesus—they
put their whole lives into it and then died for it just like He did. People
perish without a vision that they have ownership in. Many ministries endeavour
to get people to by into their vision and most times this fails. Leaders need
to come to the place where they realize that the ones that they want to fulfil
their vision have their own vision. When we as leaders fulfil their vision then
ours will be taken care of. We must serve them and cause them to realize their
importance to us. All of the time that Jesus spent with the disciples of his
time caused them to realize their true position and authority, along with His
need of them.
13. CONCLUSION? What
does discipleship look like when carried out? I have put a lot of general
direction in pages written. I have not given any specifics about how to carry
this out. I will try to give you a general example of how I do it. I don’t want
you to do exactly as I have done, so I will again try to impart principles of
what I do, not specifics.
In each case of discipleship that I have done and
continue to do, it is different. In all the cases I have to hear from the Lord
to start and walk it out. Jesus promises to guide us into all truth through the
Spirit. I trust Him. I start there. I can hear from the Lord. The Spirit really
does speak and guide me. I take nothing as chance. I, like David, take all
things from the hand of the Lord. Most of the discipleship I do starts with a
miracle (not usually the spectacular but, the miraculous) of some type. Jesus
shows up and I have a word for them or they are with me and see a miracle,--
something supernatural from the Lord happens in every case. Their interest in
what the Lord does generates questions and I don’t answer them. I send them to
scripture and prayer with their questions and then set up another meeting and
see what they have come up with. I work with them to see that they start to
know who they are from the beginning. I want them to have supernatural
experiences and see them as normal Christian living. I get them to pray for others as I start to
teach them that they can hear from the Lord. I encourage them to become
intimate with the Lord on a continuing basis. I get them to start reaching out
to touch others. Every question should be answered by having them find scripture to deal with the question and
then pray to hear from the Spirit what the scripture is saying. I encourage
them through what they find and direct them to what is important for them to
learn to be able to stand on their own. From the beginning I get them to reach
out to others and do the same with the ones they reach out to that I have done
in their walk. I encourage them in their intimacy by continually showing them
that they hear from the Spirit. I show them when they make mistakes and
challenge them to define how to tell the Spirit’s leading from other voices. I
laugh when they make mistakes and share some of my failings. I let them know
that it is ok and to just learn from the mistakes. Sometimes I am pretty hard
on them and speak hard things to them. I show them that not all of this walk is
easy and that persecution is normal. I show them how to react in love to the
hard things that happen. I teach them how to persevere in the face of trials. I
do this by continually directing them to hearing and knowing the Lord’s
presence. My goal is to get them to go further than I have with their walk. I
have them minister, testify, pray, witness. I will set up things that will
cause them to have to trust Jesus and their relationship. I continue to show
them my intimacy and my struggles. I don’t hide my disappointments or problems.
I am still doing this, still learning, still going and pressing in to the Lord
myself.
My hope is that what
has been shared will change your life or the living out of your Christianity.
If we make disciples like Jesus, we will reach our “world” for the Lord. It is
a much more effective way of reaching the lost and it moves Christians into
being used and needed by Him, therefore multiplying the workers in the Harvest.
If you do a multiplication table of discipleship versus traditional evangelism,
you will soon realize that over a period of time discipleship will see more
people in the kingdom than any other way. One person who disciples 3 and in a week
has them each discipling 3, and within a week they are discipling 3 –etc. You
will soon be in an expediential multiplication realm. Figure out how many will be
saved in a year. I know that it won’t work that fast but It is amazing what you
can see. Why not try it? Obedience to
God’s word will produce life and glorify Him.
Neil and Dana Gamble