Category: Uncategorized

BEFORE YOU SWING TOO FAR

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”
(John 14:12)

 “Well, He was God!” is a common response by some of the guys I encourage to be like Jesus. As I’ve mentioned before, there are certainly things that we’ll never be able to imitate. But before we let the pendulum swing too far the other way, we need to take a harder look at the works we can imitate and the things we can’t. Miracles seem to be one of the bigger areas we dismiss immediately as “God’s department”. But we see several cases where others raised the dead, healed the lame, gave sight to the blind (all in His power, of course). But what about developing people? Can we be expected to teach the masses, train up laborers for the harvest, and invest in the next generation of spiritual leadership? It’s certainly possible! And considering our great commission to reach the world for Christ, shouldn’t we at least try?

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A DISCIPLE IS COMMITTED

But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

 As the legend goes, the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez set sail for Mexico on a mission. Once safely ashore, he had some of his men return to the ships and burned them. There was no returning to Spain until the mission was accomplished. The requirement of this level of commitment for the disciple of Jesus is no mere myth. For the disciple, it’s all of Jesus or nothing. There’s no “Plan B.” When Jesus called His first disciples, they were fishing. Upon hearing the call, they left their business, their families, and probably their reputations to follow the Rabbi. What kind of leader demands such allegiance? A Leader Who knows Who He is and what’s at stake. He is the King Who holds our very eternity in His hands. He also knows the consequences of ignoring such a call. He invites us to be all in for Him and His Kingdom or not at all. (Revelation 3.15-16)

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WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

 Ever try to make something — only to have it turn out to be a disaster? Many times, it’s because we put something together without looking at the instructions. And then we wonder why it doesn’t work like it was designed to! The same thing can happen with making a disciple. In fact, Jesus has strong words for those who make disciples and have no clue what they’re doing (Matthew 23.15). So what is a disciple of Jesus supposed to look like when we get done? Let me make this really simple. A disciple of Jesus is supposed to be like…well…Jesus! (Luke 6.40, 1 John 2.6, Ephesians 5.1) The first thing we need to do is to take a long, hard look at Jesus in the Scriptures and begin to emulate His character and ways. Then, we become not only a student of Him, but we begin to practice His ways and words and make them our own. The highest form of adoration is emulation. Now, we’re on our way to becoming disciples of Jesus and making disciples.

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A DISCIPLE ASKS QUESTIONS

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

I recently complimented an atheist on the fact that he asked good questions. I met him in the Food Court while I was sharing the gospel with strangers. That led to a friendship where we would periodically get together and talk about Jesus. It was important for me to provide an safe environment, where he could ask any question he wanted. And he asked a lot of them. Jesus did the same thing with His disciples. And what were the results? They were given the mysteries of the Kingdom of God! (Mark 4.11) That’s another crucial attribute of a disciple. They listen carefully and ask a lot of questions. As you read the Scriptures, ask God questions and pray that He will answer them. When you’re around other Christians, ask questions. Have two or three questions ready at all times to ask Christian leaders. Become a good question asker. By the way, my atheist friend is no longer an atheist –He’s now a follower of Jesus!

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A DISCIPLE HUNGERS FOR TRUTH

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28.19)

I shared Jesus with a young man and he was very interested in learning more. I told him to begin reading the Gospel of Mark and we would talk about it the next time we got together. By our next meeting, he had not only read Mark –but Matthew, Luke and halfway through John, too. He really wanted to know Jesus, which was a demonstration of his hunger. He soon became a follower of Jesus and sure enough, God used the Living Word to change his thinking and his eternity (Heb 4.12, John 6.68). In every true disciple, there is a hunger for truth. They long to be set free from the bonds of lies and deception of this world and our enemy Satan (John 8.32). They boldly step into the light with integrity (John 3.21, Ephesians 5.9). Ultimately, it translates into a hunger for Jesus Himself (John 4.16; 18.37). A disciple of Jesus hungers for the truth!

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A DISCIPLE IS A GOOD LISTENER


“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… (Matthew 28:19)

 When I was a kid, I loved the word ‘okay’. It had magical power in pacifying instructing adults. “Make sure you do your homework.” Okay. “Clean your room.” Okay. Only the wise looked into my glazed little eyeballs and realized I didn’t hear a word they said. Have you ever treated God like one of those pesky adults interrupting your escape from reality? Jesus knew this propensity. He began the Parable of the Sower with “Listen!” (Mark 4.3) and ended with “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Mark 4.9). Later, He would give a strong warning about the way we listen (Mark 4:24-25). Even the Father weighs in on this matter, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” (Mark 9.7). The first skill we must learn as His disciples is to be a good listener. But how can we hear Jesus? God can speak to us in many ways, but His primary and clearest way to speak to us is through His Word, the Bible (Heb 4.12, 2 Tim 3.16). How well are you listening?

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INTENTIONALITY

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… (Matthew 28:19)

 The simple act of purchasing four quarts of oil and setting them on the hood of your car doesn’t mean you changed the oil. Nor can you bake a cake by memorizing the recipe on the box. You have to intentionally finish the job. This is so apparent in the natural world. But when it comes to making disciples, we could over mysticize the process. Comments and attitudes like “That’s God’s department” or “I’m not Jesus” not only lack integrity and understanding of the Great Commission, but they also lead to disobedience. We must remember that even though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the ultimate disciplers, we have been mandated to participate in the process. We must be engaged mentally, emotionally, and physically in helping others become more like Jesus. God does the heavy lifting, but are we playing our role in discipleship and following His command?

What does it take to make a disciple?

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THE CENTERPIECE

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… (Matthew 28:19)

 Smart phones are fun but they can also be very distracting. Once you open it, your eyes are flooded with endless apps that lure you away from your original purpose. If you’re not careful, an hour later, you could be asking “now what was I going to use my phone for?” (Angry Birds, anyone?) The very same thing can happen in our walk with Jesus. We get so involved in all the good things that we miss one of our main purposes in life. There are four verbs in The Great Commission: “Go”, “Make”, “Baptize”, and “Teach”. Only one of those verbs is primary; the others simply help the one. The word “make” is actually one word in the Greek: make-disciples. It’s the center of action for the going, baptizing, and teaching. Jesus focused all His authority and our attention on one single activity in His Great Commission: make disciples. And since this was so important to Jesus, we’re going to spend some time unpacking the centerpiece of His last command.

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ARE YOU PLUGGED IN?

“Go make disciples of all nations…”

(Matthew 28:19)

 As I sit here typing at my keyboard, I realize that it doesn’t matter how excited I am, no words will appear on the page unless my computer is plugged in (even if I have had three cups of coffee). I could type really fast or type really hard – no electricity, no words. I could have the most brilliant and poetic prose, unless I’ve pushed the “on” button, the best I can do is make a bunch of annoying clicking noises. But once I have power, words miraculously begin to show up on the page. The same is true of our going. It’s interesting that after Jesus commanded His disciples to go, He commanded them to wait (Acts 1.4). They were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. And then as they went, they went in power (Acts 1.8).The Holy Spirit has been given to all believers (Rom 8.9) and it is our privilege and responsibility to tap into His power for the sake of making disciples (1Thes 1.5, Gal 5.16).

So how does one “plug-in” to the Holy Spirit for making disciples?

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