The Disciple Making CHALLENGE

The Disciple MakingCHALLENGECongress of Apostolic Ministries

May 26, 2014

Introduction

Matthew 28:18-20Then Jesus came to them and said, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the

very end of the age.” (NIV)

Introduction

The word discipleship is never found in the bible.

Jesus didn’t say “go and develop discipleship programs” He said “go and make disciples”

Introduction:

In many churches we have created a dualism, where we distinguish between Jesus as Saviour and Jesus as Lord.

Jesus is both Lord and Saviour – you can’t have one without the other!

Introduction

“The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.”

Kyle Idleman in Not a Fan

Introduction

“Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus….but the reality is this: they have invited Jesus to follow them. They call Him Savior, but they’ve never surrendered to Him as Lord. And I was one of them. Trust me, I didn’t want to go anywhere without Jesus right there behind me. But I wanted Jesus to follow me, to serve my purposes, to do my will.”

Mark Batterson – in All In

Introduction

John 6: 53 “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you.”

John 6:66 “From that time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

I. Every Believer A Disciple:

Luke 9:23-25“Jesus said "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (NIV)


Self-denial means that:

•We adopt a biblical world view rather than a me centered world view.

•His purposes supersede our purposes.

•We live counter-culturally by adopting a Kingdom values & lifestyle.


Self-denial means that:

• We live with an attitude of “Nevertheless not my will but thy will be done.”

• We give Jesus the right to say “no” to our wants and desires.



Bill Bright (1921 – 2003)

“From this day forward, I am a slave to Jesus Christ.”


“…in every generation a few do follow Jesus. They deny themselves, they take up their cross, and they follow him. They lose their lives and save them – and along with their own, the lives of many, many others.”

Eugene Peterson, in The Jesus Way

I. Every Believer a Disciple:

Following Jesus isn’t about making a decision – it’s about dying.

Jesus doesn’t call us to a moment of surrender He calls us to a life time of surrender.


Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”


When he came there was no light

When he left there was no darkness

William Milne – Missionary


Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.

Faithfulness is not holding the fort. It’s storming the gates of hell.


The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal.

It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.


John 12:23-26“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:

Matthew 4:19 Jesus said “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

The purpose of all disciple making is to make disciples that will make disciples.


“Jesus devoted most of His life on earth to these few disciples. He literally staked his whole ministry upon them. The world could be indifferent toward Him and still not defeat his strategy. It even caused Him no great concern when his followers on the fringes of things gave up their allegiance when confronted with the true meaning of the Kingdom…”


“One must decide where he wants his ministry to count – in momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will carry on his worked after he is gone. Really it is a question for which generation we are living for.”

Robert Coleman – Master Plan of Evangelism


II Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”


Dawson Trotman's Calculations

4 disciples x 4 people for 6 months = 8 disciples8 disciples x 8 people for 6 months = 16 disciplesAt the end of 5 years = 1024 disciplesAt the end of 16 years = 2,000,000,000 disciples

II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker


Matthew 5:1-2 “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions” (MSG)


“Whatever he had and whatever he was, he made that accessible to others”


One of the keys to effective disciple making is giving those you are disciplining access to our lives.

Effective disciple making moves from a client-provider model to an empowered-disciple model.



II Samuel 18 Because Absalom had no sons he build a monument to himself.

A lot of Christian leaders – have no spiritual sons or daughters – because they have never made disciple making a priority.

III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community

When it comes to disciple making -- there are really just two questions that every Pastor needs to ask themselves:

1.Do I have a plan for making disciples?

2.Is my plan working?


“….most of pastors have been educated and trained to build, serve and lead the organization of the church. Most of us have actually never been trained to make disciple.

However, the call to make disciples still never wavers and never changes. Make disciples.”

Mike Breen – Building a Discipling Culture


Churches don’t make disciples – disciples make the church.

If you have disciples in your church you will reach lost people, because that’s what disciples do!


1.Make Disciple Making a Priory

2.Get Informed and Get Equipped for Disciple Making





3. Eliminate a Client/Provider Mentality

4. Use the Right Metrics to Measure Success

5. You Will Reproduce Who You Are


6. Equip Parents to be the Primary Disciplers of Their Children

7. If you make Disciples you Will Develop Leaders

8. Develop a Disciple Making Process not a Program


9. Create an Atmosphere of Accountability

10. Be Patient – Making Disciples Takes Time

Zechariah 4:10 "Who despises the day of small beginnings?”

Conclusion:

Disciple making is the global task that Jesus calls His church to.

Disciple making is not new – it’s not hip or trendy, in fact it is often messy and arduous.

Conclusion:

On the day of Pentecost, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to empower the church to meet this challenge of Discipling nations!

Application

1. Are you a Disciple?

2. Are you a Disciple maker?

3. Is your church a Disciple Making Community?

Documents

The Disciple Making CHALLENGE