Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples
Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Mature The Great Commission - Matthew 28: 1820 is based in • The commission Jesus having all authority - the right to command & power to enable • Jesus is able to enable even the incapable if they are available & He never forsakes His disciples • The command is to make
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • Jesus came to seek and save lost sinners by calling them to repentance (Luke 5; 32; 19: 10; Matt. 4: 17) • Salvation is from bondage to sin to righteousness. Escape from Hell & the promise of Heaven are benefits
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • Wrong motives and emphasis perverts the gospel message to escape from hell instead of following Christ • God saves sinners so that they may walk with Him in increasing righteousness - sanctification
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • Salvation is not the end goal, but the beginning of a walk of faith with Christ and becoming like Him • The first step in becoming a disciple is finding out about Jesus in order to believe in Him
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • Jesus was the master evangelist, but He was never rushed - always giving people time to learn & consider • Jesus could use both planned & unplanned events & situations to open the door to present the gospel
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • Luke 13 - Jesus used the news of a tragedy • John 11 - Jesus set up circumstances to proclaim a truth about Himself • John 4 - Jesus used the situation of a well & thirst to start a conversation leading to
Evangelism Going Therefore to All Nations • People will respond in different ways to the gospel - most will reject, but some will believe and follow
Baptism Baptizing them in the Name • A step of obedience in self identification with Jesus in dying to the old self & being raised to newness of life
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Tragically, it often takes many years for new Christians to learn the basics of walking as a disciple of Jesus • It took time for Jesus’ initial disciples to learn, but not a long time
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Each believer begins like a child & grows from there (Mt. 19: 3; 1 Pt 2: 2) infant - child - adolescent - adult • Fundamental spiritual knowledge & wisdom and good habits of Christian living can be gained < 6 months
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Elementary knowledge will include: ØNature & Means of Salvation ØNature & Attributes of God ØImportance of the Bible & learning it ØPrayer and how to pray
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Elementary knowledge will include: ØChristian Fellowship & its importance ØWitnessing ØOvercoming Temptation ØObedience
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Knowledge can be gained through books or sermons, Øbut small classes or individual mentoring are better
Elementary Disciples Teaching them to Observe His Commands • Good habits include: ØDaily Bible reading / study Øprayer, Øactive listening to sermons / teaching Øwitnessing, Øaccountability
Apprentice Disciples • Those still learning master basic abilities while also learning more advanced skills • Fundamentals can be gained in a few months, but it takes longer for all the areas of your life to be affected
Apprentice Disciples • In this stage you learn additional skills and to think Biblically developing convictions from your own study • Most church ministries target those at this stage or greater giving greater understanding of God & His will
Apprentice Disciples • Discipleship continues formally in both large & small groups and informally between individuals • Ephesians 4: 11 -16 - God’s plan for maturing the church
Apprentice Disciples • Gifted people equip the saints for ministry for the building up the body and bringing it to maturity • Every Christian is gifted by God to serve Him and the body in helping the whole become mature
Journeyman Disciples • Those with proven skills and abilities • This is the workforce of the church heading up & running most ministries & creating new ones • Journeyman have proven skills & abilities, but they also
Journeyman Disciples • Only Jesus could perfectly disciple someone else, we need the whole body and every gift within it • Timothy was a disciple of Paul but he was also affected by his mother, grandmother, Silas & others
Foremen of Discipleship • Those fully equipped to lead others • Jesus trained His disciples so that they would eventually repeat the process with others • This is to be the goal of every Christian - not just the official church leaders
Foremen of Discipleship • You are to disciple others to spiritual maturity with whatever spiritual gift God has given you
Final Thoughts • Jesus trained His disciples through each stage until they could carry out the Great Commission • You begin by helping, and as you gain skills, you are given increasing responsibilities (Luke 16: 10)
Final Thoughts • You will be discipled by many people along the way, and in turn, will disciple many people too • The Great Commission has a two sided responsibility: ØPursue learning to obey Jesus ØTeach others to obey His
Final Thoughts • The goal is spiritual maturity: to be & to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will turn the world upside down
Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
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