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8 – How to do discipleship – Part 1

By / Discipleship Notes / 2 minutes of reading

Despite fears, doubts, and questions that arise when we think about discipleship, Jesus’ method of “how to do discipleship” is very simple and achievable.

Text:     Matthew 28:20a
…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

There is grace in the freedoms we have as to how we apply Jesus discipleship instructions. We have Jesus’ authority to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ anywhere, anytime, and to anyone, just as Jesus did. Explaining the gospel and calling people to repentant belief in Christ as Lord and Saviour is just the first step (Mat 4:17; Jn 1:12-13; Act 20:20-21; Rom 10:10).

We can explore different methods and use different illustrations and examples to help. We can do this privately or in large crowds, in Church or any other location. We explain faith in Christ to family members, to fellow employees, to other students, to Church attendees, or to strangers that we meet on life’s road. There is no fixed method. Call people to follow Christ, denying self and taking up Jesus’ cross (Mk 8:34).

Never feel bad for trying new ideas, new places and new methods for sharing the gospel. Be courageous.

There is a simple principle in Matthew 28:20a which gives us a big head start. Teach the gospel truth that you were taught. That is all Jesus required of his disciples in Matthew 28. Explain Jesus as you had Him explained to you. Answer the questions you had before you put faith in Christ. Teach the gospel in ways you needed to hear when you were dead in your sin (Eph 2:1-2). Call people to serious and deep faith in Christ.

The good news about this method is that you can improve on how the gospel was shared with you by filling in the weak or missing pieces of information. Use God’s Word to sow the seeds of truth (Luk 8:11). Invite questions from the unsaved. If you do not know the answer, say you will come back with an answer when you have learned it. This builds humility in you, and trust from the unbeliever. Do your best to answer with biblically correct answers even when you may not be quoting verses. Ask for help if needed, that is OK.

Be loving, patient, and friendly. Smile, LISTEN well, and prove that you are worthy of their trust as you point sinners to Christ (Jn 13:35).

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7 – Discipleship with Jesus’ presence

By / Discipleship Notes / 2 minutes of reading

Before exploring “how to do discipleship,” we need to be assured by the authoritative resources of the living Lord Jesus Christ.

Text:   Matthew 28:20b
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Bringing Mathew’s gospel to an end, Jesus reassures His disciples. Without this promise from Christ, all human effort would be useless. The power of the presence of the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus in every believer’s life makes effective discipleship possible and certain. This realisation should transform our daily walk – Jesus is with me!

John MacArthur suggests that knowing Jesus’ presence helps grow a right perspective in our prayers. He prays: Lord, You care more about this matter I am facing than I do, so do what You know is best. Lord, You love this person more than I do and only You can reach into his heart and save him, so help me to witness only as You lead and empower. Lord, You are more concerned about the truth and integrity of Your holy Word than I am, so please energize my heart and mind to be true to the text I am teaching.

Every day of our lives, until we go to live with the Lord, or He returns to rapture His Church, Jesus’ life changing power is present within us, growing Christlike character, Christ centred prayers, and Christ centred relationships with others.

Christ’s purpose becomes our purpose. Christ’s values, truths, and desires increasingly become ours. Christ’s grace, determination, and hope becomes ours. Christ’s love, joy, and peace become ours more and more.

As “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24), they will manifest “the fruit of the Spirit [which] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).

Knowing Jesus’ presence changes everything. His life becomes your life. Your days become His days. Your conversations become His conversations. His vision for Church growth through personal discipleship becomes your vision for Church growth through discipleship.

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6 – Discipleship involves teaching

By / Discipleship Notes / 2 minutes of reading

When Jesus called His disciples to go and make more disciples, He gave clear and achievable goals for the mission. However, the task would be difficult, and would meet resistance often.

Text:  Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…

Discipleship requires instruction. People do not put obedient faith in Jesus without being taught the gospel. New believers do not grow to maturity without being taught the doctrines and disciplines of Christlike living.

These 11 disciples had learned about sacrifice, about going to other places to obey, and about baptising the new believers from any nation. And now they were to become teachers on Jesus behalf. They would not have thought of themselves as teachers. They had no teacher training, no instruction book, no classrooms, and no students. They were dependent upon the Lord for every resource needed, and Jesus was returning to heaven.

Their students would come from the people they taught the gospel to, and they would teach them everything that Jesus had taught them over the past 3 years.

They were to equally teach Jew and gentile, saved and unsaved, religious, and irreligious people alike. They were to receive and teach everyone, no matter their past, or where they came from.

They were to pass on everything they had received from Jesus, even the things they did not fully understand themselves.

They were to teach from the Old Testament as Jesus did, and explain the parables as Jesus did. There was to be no subject overlooked or shied away from.

They were to be permanent students themselves. Always learning how to teach better on Jesus behalf. Always growing in their understanding of the Scriptures and how to explain God’s Word better so others could obey better.

This would require faith, determination, unity, a willingness to share resources, and a willingness to help each other as they work together for Jesus.

And finally, they were to teach their students to go and sacrificially do the same, making disciples on Jesus behalf.

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5 – Discipleship involves the Trinity

By / Discipleship Notes / 2 minutes of reading

Following Christ is faith in action, living as a new creation resulting from spiritual rebirth by the Holy Spirit (2Co 5:17; Tit 3:5-6; 1Pe 1:3). Therefore, reproducing Christ in others is Jesus’ authoritative work for every believer as His ambassadors. God making his appeal through us (2Co 5:20), this is NOT optional, we are to “Go”.

Text:     Matthew 28:19b
…baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…

This is water baptism (Immersion under water), as spiritual baptism is only done by the Holy Spirit at salvation (Rom 6:1-6).

Baptism forms a picture of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’s active involvement in a disciple’s life. A new believer needs to accept and submit to the controlling power of God in this truth.

Baptism is a public testimony of identity with God through faith in Jesus Christ, enabled by the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is a submissive act of obedience following salvation, telling the world of union with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism tells the world that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4). Jesus’ resurrected life is to be lived through the believer’s life.

This public testimony of baptism is the testimony of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through both the one being baptised and the Church members doing the baptising.

To refuse baptism is an act of disobedience. So, baptism is a critical part of making obedient disciples who will follow Jesus at any cost. Obedience is one of the primary marks of a true believer (Jn 3:36).

In baptism, the new disciple is acknowledging that baptism is NOT making them a Christian. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Disbelief, not failure to be baptised, is what makes salvation impossible. Salvation is by faith, confessing the resurrected Lord Jesus (Rom 10:9-10).

In Jesus’ great commission of Matthew 28:19-20, He  commands believers to obediently go in His place, to make new disciples who begin with water baptism by immersion following their salvation.

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4 – Make disciples of all nations

By / Discipleship Notes / 3 minutes of reading

Jesus’ command carries His heavenly authority, giving His approval, together with His resources, to all discipleship relationships. Christ sends and empowers His disciples to do that which they are not able to do in their own strength – to make followers, disciples of Jesus from among all other people in our lives.

Text:     Matthew 28:19a
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…

Jesus’ disciples are to MAKE disciples of other people in Jesus’ place. This is not for some Christians, but for all believers.

MAKING disciples begins by taking the message of Jesus Christ to people who do not want to follow Him. This requires hard work, sacrifice, long hours of Bible study in preparation, and prayer. It means persevering, NOT giving up on people quickly, just as Jesus patiently perseveres with us.

MAKING disciples requires going somewhere. We may need to go to the next house, to the next neighbourhood, to the next town, or possibly to another country. But we must be willing to leave our homes and go, leaving comfort and the things we enjoy doing to do the things Jesus enjoys us doing, which is making disciples. Going starts as an attitude, then it leads to behaviour. Going is not always easy, not always comfortable, and not always understood by other people, but we must go.

As we look at all the people in our lives from Jesus’ perspective, there are only 2 groups available for you to make disciples of.

Non-believers. Unsaved sinners who need to hear the gospel and repent of their sin by placing faith in Jesus Christ as their substitute on the Cross of Calvary. You can find these people anywhere, some may even be attending a church already, but do not know Christ. These may be family or work friends.

These are younger in their faith than you are. These people may have genuine faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, but they are walking alone in their Christian life even though they may attend Church services. They need us to disciple them so that they grow to become more mature in their faith, in their doctrine, and in their behaviour.

Discipleship gives personal help to these believers, growing a friendship with them, spending time with them, listening and talking with them, sharing the Bible with them, and praying with them.  We do everything to help them grow to become more Christlike.

Jesus tells us to make disciples from all nations. These disciples may not be like us, they may be culturally different to us, even speaking another language. They may be from a different tribe, from a different race, and people with different coloured skin. All types of different people are given to us by Jesus Christ for us to make disciples of. Some don’t know Christ yet, while others are babies in Jesus. But all need us to walk with them and teach them how to mature in Christ. This is the task Jesus calls every one of us to under His authority. Go… make disciples of all nations…

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