Discipleship - Part 3 Series

Thus far in this series on discipleship we looked at “The Root of Discipleship” – Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations. Discipleship happens when Christians obey the Word of God and pass on their godly heritage to the next generation of Christians.

We’ve discussed “The Resources of Discipleship” – Our resource for discipleship is the Word of God. The Scriptures are given by inspiration of God, and are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The “Routine of Discipleship” is how discipleship gets done. Discipleship includes the responsibility that Christians have for taking other Christians “under their wing” and mentoring them in the things of God.

From here we went to examine the Distractions to Discipleship. We found that many of the same activities and responsibilities that are ordained by God such as marriage, family and employment serve as distractions to the ministry of getting the Gospel out in order to make disciples.

We found the key to balancing the demands of both home and church is through integration. God never meant for us to segment the responsibilities into different area for different purposes. God ordained marriage, family and your job for the advancement of His kingdom.

Marriage - When you get married you now have a partner, a team player to assist you with doing the will of God. Your spouse (according to the Word) is supposed to “complete you.”

I believe the principle of synergy works here where the two are now accomplishing more together for the kingdom of God than they could ever do as individuals.

Children - Though your children require your time and attention, the Bible teaches that they are given to you by God as “arrows” to be shot into the world to accomplish God’s kingdom work.

Sadly, parents are launching their arrows with careers as the target and not ministry. They want their children to be rich and famous with no regard whatsoever to what God wants to do with that child to fulfill the Great Commission and build His kingdom.

Job - Your job is not just the place where you go to earn a paycheck to pay your bills. Your job is the place where God has given you the ability to financially support the work of the kingdom. It is also by the money you earn and give toward the kingdom work that returns many thanksgivings to God.

In fact, the Scripture goes as far as to say that God will prosper you on your job if He sees that there will be a return on His investment as you use your job as a means to bring Him glory.

Personal Pursuits and Leisure – Even the things you do in your spare time can be used for kingdom work. Many people use Facebook as a tool to reach people for Christ. But know that you don’t want to appear “preachy” or people will quickly “unfriend” you.

If you work out at the health club, you can be a witness for Christ. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to say a word for the Lord while sweating in the sauna!

Unbalanced Lives

God has given us marriage, children, jobs and leisure time to use for His kingdom agenda. Problems develop when we give more priority to the means in which God has given to advance His kingdom than God Himself and His kingdom. When we do this, our priorities are out of order and we are worshipping the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

Examples of this found in the Scripture are:

* Marriage - King Ahab abdicated God’s order and design for the home to his wife Jezebel who both ran the home and the kingdom 1 Kings 16:30-31; 19:1-2).

* Children - Eli exalted his children over above the holiness of God and did not discipline them so God had to (1 Sam 2:12-17; 34).

* Job - Judas was more concerned about making money than doing ministry (Mat. 26:14-16; John 12:4-6)

As promised last time, I would like for us to look some more at the topic of the Routine of Discipleship.

The “Routine of Discipleship” is how discipleship gets done. Discipleship occurs when Christians take other Christians “under their wing” and mentor them in the things of God.

Titus 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:

The word “sound” in verse 1 means “healthy”—Paul uses this word 9 times in the pastoral epistles (5 times in Titus), always in the sense that the truth produces spiritual well-being.

The “things” Paul mentions in vv. 2–10 pertain to truths, attitudes, and actions that correspond to and are based on biblical truth. Paul is letting Titus know that it is only truth that leads to spiritual health. It is the truth of Scripture, or “sound doctrine.” that men and women are taught in order to be made disciples. It is only “sound doctrine” that produces a godly lifestyle.