Discipleship
Scripture
Matthew 28.18-20
“And Jesus came up 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
Ephesians 4.11-13
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
Devo
Jesus had a lot to say throughout His ministry on earth…the Gospels are full of His teaching and His miracles. After His resurrection? His primary directive was “Go and make disciples…” Making disciples is our primary job as followers of Jesus.
That’s an intimidating thought for a lot of us. What if I don’t know how? or What does it look like to be a disciple? Let’s start with what a disciple looks like. A disciple is a learner or a follower, but he or she is not simply a student. The goal of the disciple is to know what the Master knows so that he or she can do what the Master does so that he or she can be like the Master. At Central we say it this way…“Transforming families to live and love like Jesus.” How do we know? Time spent in the Word. Time spent in prayer. Time spent with other believers. That allows us to do so that we can become more like Jesus. Of course the whole process is a work of the Spirit in our lives.
So then, how do you make a disciple? You start with sharing your story with someone who doesn’t know Jesus. If and when they come to faith, they trust in Jesus for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, then it’s as easy as teaching them to do what you are doing…time spent in the Word, time spent in prayer, time spent with other believers and sharing their story with someone who doesn’t know Jesus.
Discipleship is not just me, my Bible and a cup of coffee. It’s a team sport. The goal is all of us reaching maturity. We are in this together…no lone ranger Christians. It reminds me of when Jack and I decided to try tae kwon do many, many moons ago. The first day we entered the dojo, it was clear that the goal was for us to be black belts. Even though there were a number of them present, the sensei didn’t consider his job done until we all crossed the finished line. The idea in Ephesians 4 is very similar…it’s not about one of us making it to maturity. It’s a group project. The job’s not done until we all attain to the unity of the faith…
Questions
1.Are you a disciple…are you spending time daily in God’s Word and in prayer? Are meeting with other believers often? Are you sharing your story with those who don’t know Jesus? If not, what’s holding you back?
2.Who have you shared your story with? Whose on your impact list?
3.Is discipleship individual or corporate?
- While the personal element of discipleship is important, the corporate sense is also super important.
- Ex: Jesus’ 3, 12, 70
- Romans 12 – discipleship imperatives are based on community
4. If you were with Steph Curry for 1 year, what would you hope to be good at? What about Tom Brady? What about with Jesus? What was Jesus good at?
“May we become increasingly good at what Jesus was extraordinary at – living confidently and competently in the kingdom, exercising kingdom prerogatives for the benefit of others, and calling others into a kingdom relationship.” Dallas Willard
Matthew 28.18-20
“And Jesus came up 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
Ephesians 4.11-13
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
Devo
Jesus had a lot to say throughout His ministry on earth…the Gospels are full of His teaching and His miracles. After His resurrection? His primary directive was “Go and make disciples…” Making disciples is our primary job as followers of Jesus.
That’s an intimidating thought for a lot of us. What if I don’t know how? or What does it look like to be a disciple? Let’s start with what a disciple looks like. A disciple is a learner or a follower, but he or she is not simply a student. The goal of the disciple is to know what the Master knows so that he or she can do what the Master does so that he or she can be like the Master. At Central we say it this way…“Transforming families to live and love like Jesus.” How do we know? Time spent in the Word. Time spent in prayer. Time spent with other believers. That allows us to do so that we can become more like Jesus. Of course the whole process is a work of the Spirit in our lives.
So then, how do you make a disciple? You start with sharing your story with someone who doesn’t know Jesus. If and when they come to faith, they trust in Jesus for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, then it’s as easy as teaching them to do what you are doing…time spent in the Word, time spent in prayer, time spent with other believers and sharing their story with someone who doesn’t know Jesus.
Discipleship is not just me, my Bible and a cup of coffee. It’s a team sport. The goal is all of us reaching maturity. We are in this together…no lone ranger Christians. It reminds me of when Jack and I decided to try tae kwon do many, many moons ago. The first day we entered the dojo, it was clear that the goal was for us to be black belts. Even though there were a number of them present, the sensei didn’t consider his job done until we all crossed the finished line. The idea in Ephesians 4 is very similar…it’s not about one of us making it to maturity. It’s a group project. The job’s not done until we all attain to the unity of the faith…
Questions
1.Are you a disciple…are you spending time daily in God’s Word and in prayer? Are meeting with other believers often? Are you sharing your story with those who don’t know Jesus? If not, what’s holding you back?
2.Who have you shared your story with? Whose on your impact list?
3.Is discipleship individual or corporate?
- While the personal element of discipleship is important, the corporate sense is also super important.
- Ex: Jesus’ 3, 12, 70
- Romans 12 – discipleship imperatives are based on community
4. If you were with Steph Curry for 1 year, what would you hope to be good at? What about Tom Brady? What about with Jesus? What was Jesus good at?
“May we become increasingly good at what Jesus was extraordinary at – living confidently and competently in the kingdom, exercising kingdom prerogatives for the benefit of others, and calling others into a kingdom relationship.” Dallas Willard
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