Matthew 28:18
18And Jesus came up 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 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.”
Discipleship in terms of 4 major goals
The first two - relate to state of being
The last two - relate to doing
The first state of being or goal is membership
- its the state being IN CHRIST
2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
we want people to become new people
members of God’s household - family
members of God’s Eternal Kingdom
members of God’s Church - The Body of Christ - IN Christ
They begin the journey of being a disciple -
How - through repentance and faith
Acts 3:19
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Its important to note that --- FIRST something happens on the inside
inside a person - in his heart - his soul - he beleives and is committed to Jesus Christ
Romans 10:9-10
9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
AFTER something happens on the inside
THEN we see something on the outside
THAT something is -- repentance and faith - - profession of Christ as Lord and Savior
That’s why in a Baptist church if you’re not willing to make a public profession of your faith in Jesus - by being baptised as a believer -- you won’t be accepted as a member - you can attend all you want - but not recognized as a member
How do we get people to this state of being?
we meet them where they are and tell them what God has done for us
There is another state of being that we want to reach.
The state of being MATURE Believers
"Fully Devoted Followers Of Christ"
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"
When a believer begins to move on toward maturity and becoming a "Fully devoted follower of Christ",
this is what we see
They are faithful attending church -
- they love God’s people - the love to worship - they love to hear the word of God (this is NOT going to church because I feel like I have to)
John 13:34-35
34“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Acts 2:42-47
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
They Give Faithfully and CHEERFULLY
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
6Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9as it is written,
“HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR,
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.”
10Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
Malachi 3:8-15
8“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11“Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. 12“All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts. 13“Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14“You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15‘So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’”
They LIVE the Christian faith.
In other words their daily life - measures up to their faith
Ephesians 4:14-16
14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:22-32
22that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 25Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 26BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
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Where Christians are growing and maturing as they should - they begin to discover and UTILIZE spiritual gifts -
In a healthy church - full of growing and maturing Christians who are utilizing spiritual gifts - what begins to happen is
MINISTRY
ministry is God’s people serving
Ministry is serving - that’s what the word means
AND
Ministry is what every Christian does.
Ephesians 4:11-12
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;
Ministry involves each Christian utilizing their own spiritual gifts - and utilizing the spiritual gifts of others
1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
NOW - this understanding - that we are all gifted but we do not all have the same spiritual gifts - comes with maturity
Christians that are not very mature -
- unaware of spiritual gifts - their own or others
- think that ministry is for the few
- have self centered concept of ministry
The Christian life - church life - will not come together - unless spiritual gifts are being utilized
Ephesians 4:15-16
we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
What we see - with the individual and the group of mature and maturing believers - involved in ministry
On going TRAINING and SERVING
Much of the NT - deals with equipping for ministry - and doing ministry
Romans 12:4-8
For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Ministry relates mostly to the body -- It is God’s people serving God’s people - it is the body of Christ - building up the body of Chirst
BUT the Christian life does not stop with that
Matthew 28 - Jesus said - Go -- make disciples of all nations -
later in
Acts 1:8
but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnessess both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth
There has to be a point where we turn our attention to the broader focus of
the Kingdom of God
We begin to see ourselves as being on MISSION
Now here is what begins to be happening
We begin sharing our faith with others and begin to be conscious of the Kingdom of God
