Teaching at Faith Baptist Church, Starkville, MS Dec, 2009

Teaching at Faith Baptist Church, Starkville, MS Dec, 2009 -March, 2010

Thoughts from Others

Warren Webster was a missionary to Pakistan for some 15 years. In reviewing his ministry, he had this to say: "If I had my life to live over again, I would live it to change the lives of men, because you haven't changed anything until you've changed the lives of men."

The purpose of the church (that's us) "why" we exist is to glorify God. The mission of the church "what" we do is to make disciples. (Patrick M. Morley)

Models for Making Disciples

- John the Baptist Model

From John’s Gospel:

¹⁹ And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? ²⁰ And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. ²¹ And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.

²² They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? ²³ He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.

²⁴ And they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?

²⁶ John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, ²⁷ even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. ²⁸ These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me. ³¹ And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water. ³² And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. ³³ And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit. ³⁴ And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

³⁵ Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples; ³⁶ and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God!

³⁷ And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

John the Baptist was a Voice in the wilderness saying, Make ready the way of the Lord! And so people followed him. John knew that he was to foretell the coming of Jesus.

- Paul

Paul chose those he would disciple and invested heavily in them. He lived a series of discipleship relationships throughout his life and ministry.

Barnabas – Saul – Barnabas – Mark - Peter

Silas

Luke -Theophilus,

Timothy

Priscilla and Aquila – Apollos

Titus

Tychicus

Philemon - Onesimus

In the introduction to his Gospel, Luke's commitment (through personal responsibility, painstaking research, precise resources and persistent reproduction) to the work of the Great Commission is evident.

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1:1-4)

2 Timothy 2:2

² And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)

From Billy Graham:

"Paul taught Timothy; Timothy shared what he knew with faithful men; these faithful men would then teach others also. If every believer followed this pattern, the church could reach the entire world in one generation! Mass crusades, in which I believe and to which I have committed my life, will never finish the Great Commission; but a one-to-one ministry will." (Billy Graham)

God's Multiplication Table (2 Timothy 2:2)

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)

>>>>>>Others

>>>>>>> Faithful Men

>>>>>>Others

Paul >>>>>>Timothy

>>>>>>Others

>>>>>>>>Faithful Men

>>>>>>Others

Each time a disciple is grown to the point of maturity, where they also begin the discipling process, the potential for growth of the kingdom doubles. One disciple becomes two and then the two become four. After a point, the four become eight, and so on.

Imagine a single grain of wheat on a checkerboard: Imagine a checkerboard with a single small grain of wheat on the first square. On the second square, imagine two grains of wheat, on the 3rd square 4 grains, on the 5th square 8 grains, then 16 on the next square and 32 on the next, then 64, and so on and so on...

Of course eventually, the wheat would spill over into the adjoining squares and off the sides of the checkerboard...

But, just imagine you continued to double the grains of wheat at each square.
How much wheat would you have by the time you completed the 64th square?

You would have enough wheat to cover the entire subcontinent of India....

50 Feet Deep!

How does the seed enter into reproduction?

It falls to the ground.

It dies to self.

It is regenerated into a new creature.

It produces many new seeds.

As men and women, we have occupations. As disciples, we have missions.

A Baker, Broker, Carpenter, Cook, Chemist, Dentist, Doctor, Dog Catcher, Electrician, Firefighter, Housewife, Lawyer, Machinist, Pilot, Plumber, Police Officer, Seamstress, Trainer, Trash Collector, Veterinarian, whoever can have the mission of making disciples.

Whatever we do to earn a living, whatever our occupation happens to be, we have a mission from our Lord. That mission is to make disciples.

What a challenging view of our occupations that is! Our job, whether it is as a housewife, or out in the world as a businessperson, whatever it might be, our job, our mission essentially, is to make disciples. That gives great dignity and meaning to our jobs. Yes, we are to do our jobs well, as unto the Lord. We are to give it the time and energy necessary to do it right. And yes, our job is a means of bringing all of nature into submission, as the Word says we must do. But it is first and foremost a platform for making disciples. We have a whole lifetime to work out the exciting implications of that idea.

- Jesus' model for Disciple Making:

"Come and See"

"Follow me"

"Be with me"

"Be like me"

"Go for Me"

- Who did Jesus Disciple?

The Twelve:

- They were Common Men

12, mostly fishermen, all but one from Galilee, no teachers, no scholars

- They were Chosen Men

In sports, why do you choose someone?

- They were Convicted Men

All of them could have left at any moment.

- They were Controlled Men

He chose them, built them and then sent them out to the world.

- Ultimately, discipleship, in the gospels, is a gift, not a goal.

Jesus said, “You did not choose me, I chose you” (John 15:16).

- We are chosen to be disciples

- We are chosen by the Master

- We are chosen for a reason

- We are chosen to meet his goal - the world

- How does Jesus look at us?

And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona. Thou shalt be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, A stone). (John 1:42)

Can we look at people the way Jesus Looked at people?

Jesus saw Simon standing before Him (rough, impulsive, headstrong, unreliable), but he also saw that Simon would become Peter and that through Peter Jesus would lay the foundation of his church and reach the world! (Something he would never do through Simon) As disciple makers we need to look at those God gives to us as the means he has chosen to reach the world.

- How did Jesus work with the twelve?

There are four lists of the Apostles. They are found in:

Matthew 10:1-4

Mark 3:14-19

Luke 6:12-16

Acts 1:12-13

1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zeb'edee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Matthew 10:1-4

14 And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zeb'edee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Bo-aner'ges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark 3:14-19

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 6:12-16

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away; 13 and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

Acts 1: 12 - 13

Matthew 10:2-4

Mark 3:14-19

Luke 6:13-16

Acts 1:13 and 26

Simon (called Peter)

Simon (named Peter)

Peter

Andrew

James, son of Zebedee

Andrew

John

James, son of Zebedee

John

James

John

Andrew

John

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

Matthew

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

Matthew

James, son of Alphaeus

Thaddaeus

Simon the Zealot

Judas, son of James

Judas Iscariot

Note the most obvious features. The same name comes first on each list.

Let me correct that. It is the same person, though the name is not the same throughout ("Simon Peter" and then finally he is "Peter"). Let me correct that again. Peter is the same person throughout - and yet he is clearly not the same person! The trip from "Simon" in control to "Peter" in control is a colossal study of the strategy, technique, method, and process of Jesus in building disciples.

- As we look down the listings, it becomes obvious that Jesus set the disciples up as three groups of four men!

Group #1:

- Those in the first group were all men of action

- They evidently knew each other (fished together, from same village)

- They were dynamic forceful men (James/John = sons of thunder)

- At least some of them (Andrew and John), perhaps all of them followed John the Baptist before Jesus.

- They were looking for the messiah.

- Simon Peter is the obvious leader – Always first to speak, first to act, perhaps the last to think (the man with the foot shaped mouth)

- Andrew was one who brought people to Jesus. He met Jesus that first day and immediately went to bring his brother to him.

- Jesus taught all of the twelve, but these were special. He always gave them more than the others, especially James John and Simon. Perhaps he left Andrew back to watch the others while he took the three with him.

Group #2:

- Second Group (philosophers, thinkers)

- Matthew wrote the Gospel of philosophy to the Jews.

- Phillip was their leader. "Can any good thing come out of Galilee?"

- Never place the kingdom in the hands of philosophers

Group #3:

- Third group (radicals!)

- Simon Zealot would have killed Matthew if he had a chance, before meeting Jesus.

- Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him) only disciple not from Galilee.

The Jesus Method for making disciples:

“Come and See” John 1:39, 1:46

“Follow me” Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:24, 19:21 Mark 1:17, 2:14 8:34, 10:21, Luke 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 14:27, 18:22, John 1:43, 12:26, 21:19, 21:22

"Be with me" Mark3:14

"Be Like me" Matthew 10:25, Luke 6:47,

“Go for me” Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8