Thinking About Discipleship to Be A Better Discipler
Discipling others is the process by which a Christian with a life worth emulating commits himself or herself for an extended period of time to a few individuals who have been won to Christ with the purpose of aiding and guiding their growth to maturity.
1. A way of thinking of Discipleship that you are a shepherd.
Ten four-letter words:
know – care – feed – lead – help – find/seek – warn – grow – pray – love – heal
Prov. 27:23 Be diligent to know the condition of your flock and take care of them
Prov. 27:25 When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
Acts. 20:28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
2. Think of discipleship as sowing seeds that grow into plants that produce fruit.
Object- a broadcast seeder – a John Deere Corn planter – a cup to plant seed.
We sow to grow.
You are a farmer. Your people are a field.
I Cor. 3:5 “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord
gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who
waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field,
They are like soil and the Word is seed.”
Mark 4:3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.”
14 “The sower sows the word.”
20 “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
We broadcast the seed. We can plant the same seed for all the people. We can be intentional and plant what we want to grow.
Mark 4:26 “And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not
know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in
the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
3. As a disciple see yourself as a strength coach:
We are to Strengthen weak hands
Object: hand grip
Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
I Thess. 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
Paul’s purpose for sending Timothy.
1 Thess. 3:2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthenand encourage you in your faith,
To strengthen someone we need to give them spiritual EXERCISES:
I Tim. 4:7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
Our people must stop trying and start training.
To strengthen someone we need to give them ENCOURAGEMENT.
Heb. 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin.
4. Think of discipleship as shaping a vessel
– Shape character – like a vessel
Object: play doe – use to make a cup for soup.
Gal. 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
What kind of character do you want in those you are discipling?
5. Shear away things that are bad as well as things that are good in order to get them to be their best.
Object: Pruning Shears
John 15:1 ¶ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Things that are dead should be removed.
Heb. 12:1 ¶ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us,
Good things have to be removed so one can be his best. Good is the enemy of the best.
However a wise vinedresser will prune even the good in order to get the best.
Luke 10:38 ¶ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named
Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and
heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said,
“Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
42 “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
6. As a discipler see yourself as a builder:
Strike nails for building a strong building.
Object: hammer and nails
1 Cor. 3:9 you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me,
as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.
But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
Eccl. 12:10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of
truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given
by one Shepherd.
We are to be wise master builders. The key will be to: FIND ACCEPTABLE WORDS
WORDS OF TRUTH
7. Stir them up for action – keep their passion hot.
Object: Poker from a fireplace
The nature of fire is to go out. Stir it up.
2 Tim.1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Heb. 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
8. Sharpen them like an instrument.
Object – knife and FILE
Prov 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
HOW: REBUKING – Correcting.
2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
Pr 25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear.
2 Tim. 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition,
9. Spurring them to take action with their lives.
Eccl. 12:10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of
truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-
driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
The goad is used to get one to move.
How: Help them to get a dream.
10. Stretch them – do not let them be complacent
Object – a rubber band – different sizes and different strengths because each
person is different.
I Thess. 2:11 the father’s challenge
11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged – challenged – inspired every one of you, as a father doeshis own children,
Prov. 27:7 A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
11. Show them the way so that they can walk on the straight and the narrow path.
No object because you are the object.
Phil. 4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
I Tim. 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
You greatest lesson will be your life.
12. Share in their lives.
I Thess. 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:9 ¶ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
TEACHER may be best way to think about role as a discipler
Leviticus 10:11 says, “And that you may teach the children of Israel all the
statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
An Article written by our founder Dwayne Carson
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