Mission: Go Make Disciples

Joey Coons

Chi Alpha at Ball State University

Mission: Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Intro: How Do We Reach the Nations

Welcome to Encounter. If you are new tonight or new on the live stream I am glad that you have chosen to be here with us tonight. I am Joey for those of you who do not know me.

Tonight we are going to keep going with message number two of our series on mission. Brittony gave us a great start last week by giving us the challenge to be people of mission. To be people who will go be a light to all nations. For some of us, that will mean being a light here in Indiana, or another state, but others that call will take us all over the world to every tongue, tribe, and nation. No matter who we are, we all carry a responsibility for the mission of Jesus to reach the world.

Perhaps you are here tonight and you are ready to go be a light to the nations, or maybe you are here tonight and you aren’t so sure. This is a huge call and a vital mission, so how are we to do this? What is the strategy for reaching people?

Some may think we need to advertise like crazy. If we can get enough views on youtube or get enough people following on social media, or get posters and ads ever where.

Others may say we need to put on huge events that look spectacular and have all the bells and whistles. Great music, awesome speakers, cool vibes.

Or maybe we can just pass out flyers, or stand with a megaphone at Frog Baby to preach and tell people about Jesus.

However, as we read Scripture and Jesus’ instructions, none of those things we just listed were the strategy for Jesus. All those things may be helpful supplements to mission, but Jesus strategy is something much smaller and simpler. Let’s Read Matthew 28:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Discipleship is the strategy that Jesus commissions His church with. Jesus seems to think that we can reach the world through discipleship. So this morning I want to look at what the Bible tells us about who is a disciple, what a disciple does, and why we should take up the call to disciple others.

What is a Disciple?

The first thing I want us to ask is what does it mean to be a disciple? What does being a disciple entail. We often tend to think that being a disciple is simply acknowledging and believing the right things about Jesus. This is true to an extent, but I don’t think it captures the whole picture of what a disciple is mean to be.

The Greek word for disciple does mean learner, but it also means apprentice or pupil. I like the word apprentice or pupil because it goes far beyond just learning, but goes into forming a life that also repeats the way of the master.

Think of an apprentice or pupil at a construction job, or plumbing, or really any trade job. It is essential that the apprentice knows the rules of the trade. That he understands how to use the tools. And to know what solutions are available to any given issue that may arise. But at some point, every master or teacher expects their apprentice to be able to do the work themself. Every apprentice must take up the way of the teacher.

This principle is what the Bible pulls on when it talks about a disciple. In Jesus’ day, to take a rabbi was not just agreeing with your teacher or generally endorsing your rabbi. Like, “Yeah Jesus is pretty cool. I like him.” That is not discipleship or apprenticeship.

To apprentice under a Rabbi was to take that Rabbi’s entire teaching and lifestyle as your own. Where your rabbi went, you went. What he said was true, you believed what was true. The way your Rabbi prayed, you prayed. You get the point.

We can’t just be commited to the words and teachings of Jesus, but we also must be commited to the way of Jesus. We are apprenticing under Jesus. We are not only intellectually agreeing with Jesus, but we are conforming our way of life to the way that Jesus is leading us to. So if we are to call ourselves disciples of Jesus, we must devote ourselves totally to the person of Jesus.

What does a disciple do?

Learn, Obey (or Practice), and Make More Disciples

So what does a disciple do? Well let’s go back to our apprentice analogy. When you are apprentice you attach yourself to the hip of your master or teacher. I’ve had a few plumbers work on my house, and the older more experienced worker often has a younger man that is learning and assisting him. This apprentice followers the tradesman everywhere, and as they work the tradesman is explaining and showing the young man how to do this.

We see this play out in the life of the disciples all throughout the Gospels. Jesus spent a lot of time with these men. He spent three years teaching the disciples, traveling with them, having meals with the disciples, going to the temple with the disciples. Jesus was constantly with His disciples and never missed an opportunity to teach His disciples the way of the Kingdom of God.

So one of the main things a disciple of Jesus does is learn. We learn from the Scriptures. We learn the person and way of Jesus. But not only are we to learn, we are to actually obey the words of Jesus and apply them to our life.

Make Disciples:

But could you imagine if this apprentice never actually did the job that he or she was being trained for? ? He just watched and observed, but never learned to do. That would be silly right? The line of plumber would eventually end. That tradesman master is training that apprentice so that he one day could not only do the work, but also MAKE MORE APPRENTICES TO DO THE SAME THING.

This is also true of discipleship in the Kingdom of God. We can’t just be content to learn from Jesus. We can’t be content with just even knowing how to make disciples. The Gospel advances through faithful discipleship.

This is a call to everyone who calls themself a Christian. The mission of every disciple is to worship God, and to make disciples everywhere we go.

But discipleship is not just coming to church. Discipleship is not just switching over to Christian radio or putting a bumper sticker on our car. Discipleship is about obedience to the word of God, following in the footsteps of Jesus, both his truth and his way.

If we aren’t commited to making disciples we aren’t commited to the way of Jesus. We are absolutely called to live in obedience to God’s word and the teaching of Jesus. However, God’s word and Jesus teaching always lead us to discipleship.

Why: Jesus is Worthy

Our world desperately needs Christians who will disciple. People are precious to Jesus. Jesus cared so much for people that He became one of us. God became man, and lived among us. He experienced pain, and sorrow, and anxiety, joy, laughter, fear. All of it. He lived a sinless life, yet died for the sin of the world on the cross. He was buried for three days, was raised to life on the third, and now sits ascended to the right hand of God, and He will be back to rule soon. He will be our King and he deserves His reward.

The Moravians 1700’s really birthed the modern-day mission movement. They sold themselves into slavery in order to reach the African slaves that were held in the West Indies. The Moravian Slaves, a popular story about Christian Missions concerning Johann Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann, describes how these two young Moravian Brethren from Herrnhut, Germany, were called in 1732 to minister to the African slaves on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix in the Danish West Indies. Allegedly, when they were told that they would not be allowed to do such a thing, Dober and Nitschmann sold themselves to a slave owner and boarded a ship bound for the West Indies. As the ship pulled away from the docks, it is said that they called out to their loved ones on shore, "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!"

Why do we make disciples? So the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering. What is his reward? The people lead into His kingdom. The disciples that are made. This is Jesus reward. It brings great glory to God by disciples making more disciples.

Our Response:

“40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.”

Do you see that? After Andrew came to the knowledge of finding Jesus, the first thing he did was go get his brother Simon (who Jesus named Peter). Andrew saw the need to bring more than just himself to Jesus, but he saw that he needed to bring others to know Jesus.

Our life with Jesus is so important and life changing that we should be doing anything and everything we can to bring people to Jesus. Genuine encounters with Jesus always lead us to make disciples.

It amazes me that as you read this, Peter may have never known Jesus unless Andrew brought him to Jesus. Peter was a central character in the Gospels, Peter was the face of the church, and we have two books in the Bible written by him. We know little about Andrew. But we wouldn’t have Peter without Andrews bringing him to Jesus.

Ask the band to come:

Jesus poured into his disciples, who then went and poured into more people, and those people went and poured into more, and the cycle has continued for 2000 years. Paul picks up on this in 2 Timothy:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” 2 Timothy 2:2

People are precious to Jesus. Jesus strategy was not to build a big building. It wasn’t to have trendy sermons or relevant music or programs. Jesus wasn’t concerned with reaching the masses, he reached the few. Jesus certainly taught to the masses and invited the masses, but Jesus discipled 12. Jesus’ plan to reach the world is pouring into few who will pour into more.

We have enough Christians here in this room that we could bring a Jesus revolution on our Ball State’s campus if we choose to disciple people to Jesus. If we all made 1 disciple every year and taught them to do the same, then we could reach the world’s population in 30 to 40 years or faster.

As our training Director Alex Rodriguez says: WE CAN DO IT IF WE WILL”

You are here today because somebody loved you enough to bring you to Jesus. The most loving thing you can do for anyone on the planet is to disciple them. You never know what God intends to do through the people that you disciple. The question we have to answer tonight is this: Will I make disciples to bring Jesus His glory? Will I take up this call to disciple?