D-ivine Truth – (Jn. 14:6)

N-urturing relationships (Jn. 13:35)

A-postolic Mission (Matt. 28:18-20)

A disciple is a follower/student of

a Rabbi = master/teacherDiscipleship is a

lifelong denial of self to the Person and Lordship of Christ.

Eph 1:9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, Eph 1:10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Eph 1:22-23 And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (23) Which

is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.

Discipleship and the Big Picture

Biblical Discipleship is the means by which Jesus works through His people to help accomplish His purpose.

The purpose of that body is twofold: 1 - Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Jew and Gentile) Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,; Eph 3:3-6 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; ....That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

2. Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

making converts to…

We need to move from disciples…

Modern American DiscipleshipNew Believer’s classDoctrineSpiritual disciplines – prayer-bible study-devotions-witnessing

Denominational distinctives

It is like a protestant Catechism. But it lacks this:

Luk 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.... Luk 9:23-24 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (24) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go 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, (20) teaching 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.

Clearly this is a direct command of Christ to give the church her mission and defining her mission.

Question: Where is evangelism here?

Take another close look at the Great Commission

Evangelism is found

in discipleship.

Discipleship isn’t the result of

evangelism, evangelism is the result

of discipleship.

What then shall we do?

It is the cross of Jesus that defines us and reveals us as His true disciples. The cross defines our relationship to God on every level of our life. It isn’t optional. You can’t substitute it for a comfortable mattress. You can’t delete it because you don’t like it. You can’t create your own costless form of churchianity.

• Move from evangelism to discipleism/disciplship

• To move from consumerism to the cross

Eph 1:9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, Eph 1:10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Eph 1:22-23 And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (23) Which

is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.

Back to the Big Picture

How do we change

By understanding discipleship as a process – A journey where people begin to move toward Jesus at some level. This means they become disciples before they are saved. The end goal isn’t to get them to just make a decision but to see them grow and mature in Christ reproducing themselves by making disciples.

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0

Minus One

Decision to repent and believe

Minus TwoDecision to act

Minus Three Recognizes personal problem

and need

Minus Four Awareness and positive attitude toward the gospel

Zero Someone who has just come to faith in Jesus Christ

Minus Five Awareness of a supreme

being

Pre-Conversion Discipleship Scale

0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

Plus One Happy to be “Alive” in Christ Easily discouraged and might tend to confuse their emotions with spirituality May see themselves as more advanced in their faith than they really are. Attends church

Plus TwoA spiritual adolescent - Outspoken about their faith, dealing with emotional issues from the past - Struggling with various sins during the maturing process - Personal sinfulness will exist outside their own awareness

Plus Three Emerging as a leader/Servant and growing in Christ -

Plus Four Leads some type of group, whether official or

unofficial - Consistently & Actively engaged in the Church Mission- Seen as an example - Strong Christian character - Words carry a great deal of weight when it comes to spiritual things

Zero Someone who has just come to faith in Jesus Christ

Plus FiveA mature servant leader

fully devoted to following Christ- Fully assimilated into a core group of believers - Involved in discipling others

Post-Conversion Discipleship Scale

WE MUST MAINTAIN A HEALTHY CHRISTOLOGY IN DISCIPLESHIP

• We must not domesticate the cross for own benefit to maintain our own level of comfort so Jesus is made more manageable.

• We must not divorce the work of Jesus from the words of Jesus and the demands of Jesus .

• The gospel is believing on the Lord and Savior Jesus. One half of Jesus isn’t the whole person of Jesus. To own Jesus you must own who He really is to be saved; The Lord Jesus Christ.

• We should be as broken as the Jews on the day of Pentecost and Repent from reducing discipleship to decisional evangelism – it is counter to authentic Christianity. Jesus is Savior, Lord and our Example.

There are no options here.

MAKE DISCIPLES