I begin this message with a quote from Richard Wagamese, a native Canadian Ojibway Indian:
“Storytelling, the act of one voice talking, sharing experience, observations, learning and teachings is becoming a lost art. Even though everyone from every culture has an oral tradition, we have ceased to be storytellers and lost touch with our original voice.
When a tradition diminishes or disappears we lose on two counts. We lose the richness of the tradition itself in our lives and we lose the spiritual, ethical and cultural underpinnings of that tradition. With a shrunken capacity for storytelling we lose these crucial skills:
* Listening: The ability to focus on a message and concentrate on what is being told to us.
* Hearing: The ability to form an emotional reaction to both words that are spoken and to the speaker.
* Integrating: The ability to frame a story within our own experience and to discern personal meaning from it.
* Sharing: The ability to personalize a story and offer it to others with our own emotional and spiritual interpretation in the telling.
In short, we lose the ability to make ourselves known to each other. We lose crucial community, family, home, team and nation building abilities. Without story and without storytelling much of who we are is lost, misinterpreted or misrepresented.”
I share this quote because a similar thing has happened when it comes to biblical discipleship…it is disappearing from the church and thus we are losing the ability to make Christ known to each other and to the world.
As their Rabbi (Master), Jesus' disciples followed Him wherever He went. They watched Him intently; they studied and imitated Him. Jesus used stories and parables to transfer God’s words and ways to His disciples. He took them out, led them out, and then He sent them out, to put into practice what they learned.
Jesus' followers are called to continue this process of "making disciples" (Mat. 28:19-20). Each Christian should be hanging out with a more "seasoned" believer who models and teaches the Commands of Christ AND each Christian should be doing the same with a newer, younger believer.
1.) The Root of Discipleship
In 1 Timothy 1:2, Paul refers to Timothy as “a true son in the faith.” In 1 Corinthians 4:17, he calls him, “my beloved and faithful son in the Lord…” The use of these titles probably means that Timothy was spiritually nurtured by Paul.
When Timothy was a child, his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois taught him the Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15).
When Paul arrived in Lystra on his second journey, Acts 16:1-2 tells us that Timothy was a disciple who was well-respected by the believers, and so Paul asked him to accompany him. Timothy’s father was a Greek, and Timothy had not been circumcised. Because they would be ministering to many Jews and because Timothy’s mother was Jewish, Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3).
Timothy not only accompanied Paul but also was sent on many crucial missions by Paul (Acts 17:14-15; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4; Rom. 16:21; 1 Cor. 16:10; 2 Cor. 1:19; 1 Thess. 3:2, 6).
For example, when Paul was unable to go to Corinth, he sent Timothy to represent Paul and his teachings (1 Cor. 4:17).
1 Cor 4:17 - For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
Later when Paul was in prison, he sent Timothy to Philippi (Phil. 2:19). Paul felt that no one had any more compassion and commitment than Timothy (Phil. 2:20-22).
Phil 2:19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.
Phil 2:20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.
Phil 2:21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
Phil 2:22 But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.
Phil 2:23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.
So close were Paul and Timothy that both names are listed as the authors of six of Paul’s letters (2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philem. 1). In addition, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2).
As Paul’s ministry neared the end, he challenged Timothy to remain true to his calling. His words were, “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare…”(1 Tim. 1:18).
As Paul faced death, he asked Timothy to come to be with him (2 Tim. 4:9). Paul had a special relationship with Timothy. He was Timothy’s spiritual father. And as Timothy’s spiritual father, Paul is encouraging his son (who was probably experiencing a moment of weakness) to be strong.
The fellowship that Paul and Timothy had, though exceptional, was not meant to be an exception to the rule of relationships in the Body of Christ.
The connection that was established between Paul and Timothy didn’t “just happen.”
In enlisting Timothy under his care, Paul was simply following Jesus' command to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
(Mat 28:19 NKJV) "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,
(Mat 28:20 NKJV) "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.
But Timothy was more than a project of the great Apostle Paul. He was more than a notch on Paul’s spiritual gun belt. He was Paul’s son in the faith.
The root of discipleship begins with a heart-passion obey the Great commission and to see the life of Jesus lived out in another. It continues as the legacy of Scripture and a love for Jesus is passed on to the next generation of believers.
This is the Root of Discipleship.
2.) The Resources of Discipleship
In 2nd Timothy chapter 2 we will find our text on discipleship.
2 Tim 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Tim 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Timothy “heard” many things from Paul. Paul was an Apostle and had addressed many audiences. On many of these occasions Timothy was there right at his side. Each time he addressed an audience, no matter who he was speaking to, Paul’s message was the same. It was, the Lord Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead.
He not only heard Paul preach on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, he heard and witnessed Paul expound upon the Scripture. The words that Paul imparted to Timothy weren’t the words of Paul, it was the Word of God.
When I first became a pastor (1994), I found myself using the words, “I believe that the Christian should do such and such.” One day I looked through my database of sermons and Bible studies I preached and taught over the years and found that I was telling the church, “This is what I believe we ought to be doing.” I was looking to the Scriptures to form my opinions and then I was communicating my opinions and preferences to the congregation.
God convicted me of this and I began to say in my sermons, “The Word of God says such and such” or “The Word of God tells us to do this or to do that…”
When it comes to discipleship, our opinions don’t matter much. I found that when people have a problem with following God, if I communicated God’s word like it was my opinion, they will cast it off as such.” But when I say as the prophets of old, “Thus saith the Lord…” I’m just the mailman, delivering the mail sent from God. (And yes, in the Old Testament they got angry with the prophets and even killed them).
Timothy not only “heard” Paul preach the risen Christ and expound upon Scripture, he was an observer of Paul himself. In 2 Timothy 3:10-11, Paul writes:
“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured…”
So while one of the resources of discipleship is the Word of God, another resource of discipleship is the master or the rabbi. Today we use the word, mentor.
In Jesus’ day, many Jewish students sought permission to study with a famous rabbi often leaving home to travel with him for a lengthy period of time. These students were called talmidim in Hebrew, which is translated as disciple. But in the Jewish culture a talmid is much different than what we call, student.
A student wants to know what the teacher knows in order to get a good grade, to complete the class or obtain the degree.
A talmid wants to become like the teacher. The talmid wants to become what the teacher is. That meant that students were passionately devoted to their rabbi and noted everything he did or said. This meant the rabbi-talmid relationship was a very intense and a very personal system of education.
As the rabbi lived and taught his understanding of the Scripture, his students (talmidim) listened and watched and imitated so as to become like him. The goal was to become a teacher who would pass on a lifestyle to their talmidim.
In the New Testament, this is the picture that Paul has in mind when he commends Timothy to the Philippian church. This is the picture he has in mind when he commands Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2, to pass on his words “to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
By the way, the Word of God and the lessons of the Christian life are better “caught than taught.” It’s like the toddler who is told by his parent, “Do not touch the iron---it’s hot!” The toddler may hear the lesson from his mother, but he really doesn’t learn until he experiences the lesson.
I can teach about evangelism until you know my sermon notes and outlines from top to bottom and side to side but you do not learn evangelism until you evangelize!
This is one of the reasons why the Watchtower organization is so successful in gaining followers. They pair a younger follower up with an older, more seasoned member of the Kingdom Hall and send them both out to do street witnessing—the walking from door to door you see in your neighborhood.
Some years ago a Christian traveled to the middle east and studied under Jewish rabbis.
One of the rabbis asked him, “How can Christians claim to be disciples when they spend no time with their master? Disciples of a rabbi follow him everywhere – they sleep near him, follow him into the bathroom. They don’t want to miss anything.”
The Christian replied that Christians should be, at the very least, reading the Gospel accounts CONSTANTLY. Otherwise, how can we possibly be spending time studying the Master?
We’ve looked at “The Root of Discipleship” – Paul had a special relationship with Timothy. He was Timothy’s spiritual father. And as Timothy’s spiritual father, he is encouraging his son to be strong.
We’ve discussed “The Resources of Discipleship” – The Word of God is a necessary resource for discipleship. Another resource would be a godly brother or sister in the Lord who is willing to spend time with you and impart to you the Word of God and practical opportunities to obey it.
3.) The Routine of Discipleship – How discipleship is done
2 Timothy 2:2b – “…commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Commit/Entrust: - Means to deposit as a treasure. Timothy was to take the divine revelation he had heard from Paul and entrust it or deposit as a treasure to other faithful men—men with proven spiritual character and giftedness, who would in turn pass on those truths to another generation.
From Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others encompasses four generations of godly leaders.
This is the process of spiritual reproduction or multiplication, which began in the early church and is to continue until the Lord returns.
Discipleship includes the responsibility that Christians have for taking other Christians “under their wing” and mentoring them in the things of God.
We are living in a culture that whines for the easy. Easy success, easy money, easy health, and easy relationships. All without working at them. There are a multitude of books guaranteeing to make all of life easy, quick, and whatever you want “instantaneous.”
* Want to be a good manager? Get The One Minute Manager.
* Don't want to have to plow through the classic book, To Kill a Mockingbird? Grab "Cliff's Notes," and you familiarize yourself with the major thematic topics, characters, motifs and symbols in no time.
* Want to be fit and trim? On the internet you will find: Quick Fix Workouts, Micro Workouts; Easy Quick Cardio Workouts.
A “microwave spirituality” has invaded the church. In our Christian bookstores you will find books with titles like:
* The One Minute Bible
* Real Questions...Real Answers 5 Minutes a Day for Teens
* Day by Day Devotions - 7-minute character growing devotions for kids
* 15 Minutes Alone with God for Men
* 30 Days to Understanding the Bible in 15 Minutes a Day! - Expanded Edition
In addition to books and videos on the Christian life, many go to conferences and workshops with the expectation that the teaching they receive will change their lives in an instant. This is the current microwave approach to discipleship and it doesn’t work.
Nothing replaces the purposeful spending of time with another believer or other believers to impart the Word of God. Scripture teaches us that discipleship—following Christ and moving toward maturity requires the “long haul” approach.
In August 1991, Beth Anne DeCiantis attempted to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 26-mile, 385-yard race in less than 2 hours and 45 minutes to compete at the Olympic Trials.
Beth started strong but began having trouble around mile 23. She reached the final straightaway at 2hrs, 43 sec, with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd yelled, "Get up!" The clock was ticking--2:44, less than a minute to go.
Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with 10 seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds.
Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to run our race with perseverance and never give up.
Heb 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…
There are some commitments that you and I made when we came to Christ:
We promised to follow Him
We promised to serve Him
We promised to go where He sent us and to do what He commanded us to do.
We promised to give Him our time, our treasures, our talents and our temple—are you in it for the long haul? Some start out but then they fizzle out!
Discipleship involves a “long haul” attitude. But it also involves a maturing process, and maturing is never an easy road. There's hardship we must endure as part of discipleship.
This is what Paul goes on to remind us of in the text:
2 Tim 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2 Tim 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
2 Tim 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Tim 2:6 The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
What is the routine of discipleship? What is the process? It is finding faithful men and women, those who are in it for the long haul, and committing to them the Word of God.
Are you giving them the Word so they can store it up and hoard it for themselves? No, Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:2b – “…commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
In the Epistle to Titus, Paul communicates this truth in another way. In 2 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy to commit the word to faithful men…in Titus, he elaborates on what the word “faithful” means.
(Titus 2:2 NKJV) that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;
(Titus 2:3 NKJV) the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
“Faithfulness” is then conducting yourself according to the Word of Truth because you, as a Christian, have the responsibility for discipling or mentoring others in the church:
In other words, a godly lifestyle is a chief component of discipleship.
Paul writes, “the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things…”
Why? (Titus 2:4 NKJV) “ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children…”
Paul is encouraging the “older women.” Did you know it is ok to be an “older woman?”
The word admonish (NKJV) is also translated “correct” hinting that some of the young women may not have been walking in the truth of God’s Word with reference to their family roles. The older women were to “teach” the younger women.
The older women were to teach the younger women to…
… love their husbands - philandros, fil'-an-dros; fond of (their) man, i.e. affectionate as a wife; to reverence their man (1 Peter 3:1)
We need some older, mature in Christ, women to come alongside our younger sisters to teach them how to love their husbands—they certainly aren’t learning these kinds of things from the TV, Internet, magazines and books.
…to love their children - philoteknos, fil-ot'-ek-nos; fond of one's children, i.e. maternal
The mature women also need to show our younger sisters who to love their children.
Paul would have us to know that discipleship sometimes means discussing things that are personal and private. This is why the older women were commanded “to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.”
There is nothing like sharing your heart with a sister only to find that your “business” made the “evening news.”
The older women were to teach the younger women “good things” like how…to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed. (Titus 2:5 NKJV)
We will look at these things in more detail next time.
(Titus 2:6 NKJV) Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
The word “exhort” or “encourage” is parakaleo, and means to “come alongside and encourage”—younger men were to be encouraged to be sober-minded. The older men were to come alongside the younger men to help them to be sober-minded.
The word sober-minded comes from the Greek word, sophroneo, so-fron-eh'-o and means to be of sound mind, i.e. sane, or to be in the right mind. It is used in Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 to describe the man who was found in his right mind only after Jesus had delivered him from demon possession.
In our text the older men were to come alongside the younger men to help them to be “sane” or “in their right mind.”
The last thing that Jesus told His followers before He left the earth to go back to heaven was to “make disciples.”
He didn’t tell us to “have church.”
He didn’t tell us to “go to church.”
He didn’t tell us to “start a club.”
He didn’t tell us to start a TV ministry.
He didn’t tell us to “do outreach.”
He commanded us to “make disciples.”
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
The main verb is “make disciples.” There are three supporting participles which instruct us in how we are to make disciples: “go,” “baptize” and teach.
Discipleship occurs when Christians go with the Gospel that Christ died for our sins, was buried and raised from the dead three days later—when someone comes to Christ and is brought into the fellowship of God’s people by the ordinance of water baptism and taken by other Christians to be taught the Word of God.
We’ll unpack this more next time.
