4 Ministries -- Build (Disciple)
1 Thessalonians 2:7-13 But we proved to be gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. In this way longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we were to you that believe; as indeed you know how each one of you, as a father to his own children, we exhorted, and comforted you, and imploring you, that you would make your walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. Because of this we also give thanks to God unceasingly, so that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you received not the word of men, but just as it truly is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.Matthew 28:19-20"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, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
2 Timothy 4:2"...proclaim the message. Be ready to do this whether or not the time is convenient. Refute, warn, and encourage with the utmost patience when you teach."
by Study-Leader @ 2:54 PM
1 Comments:
When Jesus said, in Matthew 28:18-20, that we were to make "disciples of all nations." It's important to consider carefully what He meant:
A disciple is not defined by a specific level of maturity
A disciple is not defined by a specific spiritual gift, or set of spiritual gifts (See 1 Cor. 12:4-11)
A disciple is not simply a "learner" or a "believer" (See 2 Timothy 3:7, James 2:19)
A disciple is a FOLLOWER: a hearer, observer, imitator, obeyer of Jesus Christ and His Word: (Luke 8:21; Mathew 28:18-21; 1 Cor. 4:15-17, 11:1; Philppians 3:15-17, 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9)
We agreed that disciples are recognized by our fruit--because we know, that is we have been warned that there are TARES in the wheat, (Matthew 13:30), birds in the branches, (Matthew 13:32) and wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15-18)
And we looked at the parable of the Sower, also sometimes called the parable of the soils:
"Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell alongside the road; and the birds came and devoured them. But others fell on the stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away. But others fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them out. But others fell on good ground and it was yielding fruit: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
(Matthew 13:3-9)
Jesus Himself provided the explanation for the symbols:
"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand, then the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed being sown beside the road. But the seed sown on stony ground, is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. For when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. But the seed sown in the thorns is he who hears the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches chokes out the word, and it becomes fruitless. But the seed sown on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:18-23)
There are four soils:
Hard-packed, unpenetrated. Birds come and steal the message
Stony ground, unrooted, uncommitted.
Thorny ground, deceived, seduced away.
Good ground, rooted and fruitful.
This parallels Jesus' revelation of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:
Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. But a hired hand, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. But the hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and I am known by My own. Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
(John 10:7-15)
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
(John 10:27-30)
The sheep end up following Jesus. They know His voice..and they don't recognize the voice of the hireling. We sheep are not remarkably bright. But we do have one great thing going for us: we recognize the Shepherd, because He's the One who lays down His life for His sheep. We follow Him, as His disciples who imitate Him (See 1 Corinthians 11:1) and we find the good soil and we invest our life in it.
The ministry of the evangelist, or the sower, doesn't have to be as discriminating. He wants maximum fruit, so he scatters his precious seed as much as possible. The disciplemaker must be more so. We have only one life to invest and we must make it count.
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 reminds us that we have been bought and paid for and must not live our lives for ourselves, but for Him Who Bought us and sent us out into the world as His ministers of reconciliation, His ambassadors, begging others, as it were, to be reconciled to Him. As Jesus said, "as the Father has sent me, so send I you." (John 20:21)
In 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, Paul says one plants, another waters..and each shall receive wages according to his labor, being co-laborers together with God Himself.
So, if evangelism is sowing the seed, planting, then "watering" is the ministry of helping, encouraging, ensuring the growth see Ephesians 4:7-15:
"...to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the free gift of Christ. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." But that "He ascended"--what it is but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all arrive to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be infants, being tossed as by waves, and being carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in regard to deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ; from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the working of the measure of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the edification of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:7-16)
God has given the humblest disciple gifts with which to serve the rest of the body. It's our job to use them to build up and perfect other members of the church, and we are significant and necessary in the role we've been given.
For His sake, we need to invest ourselves in this ministry of maturing others into disciples, imitators, obeyers, followers of Christ. In so doing, we will gain rewards and ensure our own continued spiritual growth!
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