Sermon Tone Analysis

March 7, 2012

By John Barnett

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This evening we are living through days so much like those when the aged Paul sat to write his young disciple named Titus.

His days like ours are increasingly filled with false teachings about God, and false doctrines.

For times just like those in which we live Paul writes, Christ's church is to be filled with…

*Men Sound in “The” Faith*

Our look at the 4th element of a grace-energized disciple of Christ as described in Titus 2—men who are sound in faith, could never be more timely.

Titus 2:1-2 .:But

as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;:.

NKJV

And how does Christ's church find men sound in the faith?

They are nurtured, and personally discipled by older men, who are already sound in the faith.

God’s discipleship program for men was laid down for Christ's church right from the earliest days.

It was focused upon guarding healthy faith—in this crooked and perverse world.

There is nothing more timely for us as we enter the end of days, because, as the end of the physical world approaches, so does earth’s darkest spiritual hour.

Nothing can more clearly be seen as the marching orders for Christ's church than this discipleship flow.

Paul told Titus as he tells us today: each believer needs to be discipled into becoming a discipler.

What is discipleship?

As we turn to Colossians 1 we will find what may be the missing key to Biblical discipleship today.

Paul explains that…

*Discipleship is for All of our Life*

As we read Paul’s description of the goal of discipleship in Colossians 1:9-12—let God speak to your heart.

Be sure that all of your life is open to His working so that every part may please Him, bear fruit for Him, and produce good works for His glory.

Please look closely as v. 10.

/"So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."/

Colossians 1:10 (NASB)

Paul considered every area of life to be on the pathway to becoming pleasing to Christ.

Discipleship produces a mature Christian disciple, who has been deeply touched by Christ in every aspect of his life.

Mature disciples bear fruit and overflow with good works.

Just as Robert Boyd Munger describes in his book, “My Heart Christ's Home”—It is only when Jesus can move through every room of our house that we see our lives become conformed to His likeness.

This evening if your spiritual life has stagnated, or if you are longing to grow and just keep hitting brick walls, ask yourself if Christ has all of your life.

How do we know He has all of us?

1. *When God is the center of our lives, we live to please Him.*

The supreme desire of a believer’s life is to please Christ by all the aspects of our lives.

When one sector of life is displeasing Him that impacts all we are and do for Him.

Look at I Thessalonians 4:1.

Nothing is off limits to Christ's Supremacy when we understand that it is idolatry to treat anything or anyone with more respect than God.

2. *When we please God, we want Him to influence each area of our lives.

This is discipleship.*

Discipleship must touch all parts of our life to be truly effective.

We must daily shine the lamp of God's Word into every corner of our hearts and minds.

The Great Commission thrusts each believer into the calling of helping to develop the believers God places around us.

How far into our hearts and lives have we allowed God's Word to penetrate by His Spirit?

*Five Misconceptions about Biblical Discipleship*

• Discipleship only can take place when people attend a program at church.

Although so much wonderful training takes place at church, only a small group can focus on individual changes and growth that is needed.

Jesus took the twelve away to be with Him (Mark 3:14), just as Paul had to go off to the Arabian wilderness, and himself always had a group tagging along.

Discipleship is not information, it is lifestyle.

Students get just facts, disciples get patterns of obedience and conviction.

No, New Testament Discipleship is a life-long process by which we become servants and friends of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:14,15); and we find others along the way that either lead us closer to God, or whom we lead closer to Him (Titus 2:1-8).

• Discipleship just happens over time.

Unless someone closer to the Lord gets near enough to see how you really are walking through life, no real discipleship can take place.

Disciple makers live out the Christian life before those we are nurturing.

We show them not just tell them.

New Testament Discipleship is always presented as having stages and taking time.

Jesus trained the 12 for a number of years before they were qualified and released by Him to carry on His work; Paul spent years in preparation also (Galatians 1:15-18) being taught by the Lord and then being in his hometown; finally John even describes three levels of spiritual maturity (I John 2:13-14).

• Discipleship is just for baby Christians.

Paul wanted everyone to follow him as he followed the Lord.

We all need to be involved in a life long walk down what is called “The Way” in Acts.

Once a disciple, we should always be a disciple.

New Testament Discipleship focuses all believers of all level of spiritual maturity, upon ever deepening obedience to God’s Word, not just head knowledge (John 15:14).

New Testament Discipleship recognizes that one is to be qualified as a teacher to nurture a student; but both must be mutually submitted to one another, both must be on the journey—learning to walk as Jesus walked (Phil.

3:17).

• Discipleship is just another program.

No, discipleship is to become our lifestyle.

Every true believer becomes Christ's disciple, and their Christian life is a lifelong calling to learn and live like Him.

We are going to need growth and change as long as we live this side of Heaven.

New Testament Discipleship can only start with a genuine relationship with God and always grows into a vital relationship with others (Matthew 22:37-40); discipleship must be both vertical and horizontal (II Timothy 2:2; Titus 2:1-8).

• Discipleship is only for some parts of our lives.

No, Christ wants us to learn His Supremacy over everything from attitudes to appetites; He wants to be seen through both our parenting skills and our handling of finances.

Unlike false cults which make your decisions for you, God wants you know how to make your own decisions!

New Testament Discipleship recognizes that learning involves transparency, confidentiality, content, experiences and relationships (I John 1:7).

An effective discipleship process is built upon strong foundational principles taught from the Word (I Tim.

4:6).

This type of life-sharing discipleship creates an environment where no one stands alone, struggles alone, serves alone, develops alone, seeks alone, or grows up alone (I Cor.

12:12).

So where do we begin?

*The Process of Christian Growth*

(1 John 2:12-14)

1 John 2:12-14 uses the analogy of physical growth to describe three stages of Christian development.

From 1 John 2:12-14 we know that new Christians (the children) need clarification on their belief in Christ.

They get confused about three things: sin, forgiveness and their belonging to God’s family.

Any training that we give new Christians should include discussion on these topics so that they can grow and be strong.

The young Christian’s (literally ‘young men’) greatest challenge is meeting temptations.

They can get so discouraged in life through their failures.

They will wonder if they have any chance in successfully battling the evil one.

They need to be trained (think discipled) on how they are already winners and how God’s Word helps them to be victors in different areas of their lives.

(Paul J. Bucknell)

*The Purpose of Training*

(Ephesians 4:11-14)

God’s eternal plan is that all believers serve Him.

Both Peter and John (1 Peter 2:9 and Revelations 1:6) call each of us His ‘priests.’

The Reformation went far in teaching about the priesthood of the believers but didn’t sufficiently train them or utilize them in service.

This is not a criticism, just an observation from history.

The plan is already laid out in Ephesians 4:11-14.

Ephesians 4:11-14 then clearly teaches us that the key to keeping believers from being tossed around in life (4:14) is to train them up (4:11-13).

Only when believers are in the flow, and growing from disciples to disciple makers, do they fully become all that God designed them to be.

We must be trained to be trainers in spiritual growth.

Sadly, most believers never get beyond the baby stage.

But God has asked us to all do our part because…

*Training Brings Growth *

(I John 2:13-14)