Back to Basics Week Five

"Go and Make Disciples"

Pastor Matt

Matthew 28:16-20

Mark 16:15.  Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation

This is not inward focused.  If our church is limited in its funding, we should never cut the ministries that are directed at reaching people for Christ.  If God was to ask, would you be willing to give up your Sunday school class for the sake of saving a soul?

Luke 24:46-47.  This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

This is the message of the Cross.  This message is to all nations, starting at home.

Do you feel called to ministry???  Prove it by being obedient to the scriptures and starting at home.

Acts 1:6-8.  So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This is a continued idea of going out, focusing on reaching people for Christ. 

This is not sitting here and hoping they come through our doors.  Or keeping quite and hoping someone else will witness to them.

 You say, "Explain this whole Making disciples process to me." 

What is a disciple and how do we make one?

Making disciples involves three steps:

1. Go= actually means as you are going (19)

As you go about life

not as you get on a plane or a boat

Acts 1:8.  “...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jerusalem- this is your home town.  More importantly this is you!

You, then your family.  You can’t teach your child to be a disciple if you
                                    are not one yourself.  It will be the blind leading the blind

Judea- Region Jerusalem was
                                    located “county

Samaria- adjoining region “neighboring county”

ends of the
                                    earth- everywhere else

Acts 13:47-49. 

we need to start with our families then work our way out globally

      2. “Baptizing them”­

- Baptism looks at the decision to trust in Christ.

- It was assumed that when a person trusted in the Lord Jesus he would be baptized; the NT knows of no unbaptized believers.

- To baptize them was to get people to make a decision for Christ

We don’t get baptized to be saved, we get baptized to be obedient, to be set apart

We legitimately need to learn how to effectively witness to people in everyday life

-         Do you know how to share Jesus with others??

-         What are some ways we can share Jesus with others?

o       Our life, our words, our actions

we are not at church for you.  Not to meet your personal needs and preferences.  You are here to grow and we are here to bring people to Christ.

What about how we do church brings people to Christ and what pushes them away?

3. “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”(20)

When we truly understand what Jesus did for us and we truly believe in Him, we put our faith in Him, our life in Him.  Our life is under His control and we will naturally want to do what He says.

Can a person honestly say, “yep, I know you died for me….that’s nice….now let me get on with my life! 

No way!

We owe our lives to the person who gave their life for us---Jesus.  Or we can just be ungrateful.

John 14:23-24.  Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” 

What are His commandments??

Matthew 22:37-39 "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.'

The Christian life does not stop with a decision- it begins with a decision

We went out…..They got saved…….Now what?

We must teach them…………….This teaching is what we call disciplemaking

The church is supposed to be nothing more than a disciple making machine.  Everything we do needs to have disciplemaking as its ultimate goal.

Ephesians 4:11-13 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Can you imagine a church full of people who were taught to be disciples like they were in Acts 2:42-47?

Pastor Matt's idea of what discipleship training is: 

Provide discipleship training for the average adult during the Sunday School hour.  Let it be a time of fellowship and light Bible study/discussion.  It should be a time of bonding but also allow for people to have their faith related questions answers, and their very real life needs prayed for.  It is also the tool for finding out the needs of our church people and doing our best to meet those needs from within that Sunday school group first, and then the church as a whole if necessary.  Empower each group to be a living, breathing, functioning mini church within the bigger church setting/structure.

Provide teaching, training, nurturing of the children and teenagers.  Our responsibility is train them up in the way that they should go.  Answer their questions, be there for them.  Provide what they need at their appropriate age level to grow strong healthy Christian leaders who will some day serve Him and reach people for Him in a powerful way.  Our children are the pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, worship leaders, deacons, etc. of tomorrow.  Our focus should be on bringing them to salvation and then equipping them with all the tools (armor of God) they will need to function in life as an adult.  Church is the battleground for the lives and futures of our children and youth.  Let’s not baby sit them.  Lets not assume they will get it somewhere down the road.  If we don’t share Christ with them, who will?  If we don’t train them, who will?  What we do with the children and youth of our church will affect them the rest of their lives.  Let’s mold the leaders of tomorrow.  Let’s instill morality, family values, a sense of hope, a passion for the lost around them, a sense of self worth, a love for the Lord and a desire to walk in His ways.

Closing

Acts 13:47-49.