Sermon Tone Analysis

*Discipleship 101*

 

*Intro:*

One of the things that I like about teaching at the school is the */flow/* that it provides for the year.

I think of years, not according to the Gregorian calendar, but according to the flow of events that surround the school.

*August* is exciting with in-service, open house and the first day of school.

*September* is an important month as the Jr. & Sr. go off to school camp for a week,

October is usually the month that teachers go off to Teacher’s Convention.

*November* is of course the month for Thanksgiving break.

*December*, the excitement that surrounds Christmas is also a treat.

*January* is the time when we are finishing what we can and preparing for Mid-Term exams.

*February* *through March* is of course known around here as purgatory, because it is the torture that you endure to get to Spring Break.

After spring break there is a final push for the last weeks to finish as much as possible before summer break.

Of course, before summer break we have the time that the seniors look forward to—GRADUATTION.

Although there are things that I do not necessarily enjoy about my job, one thing that I enjoy is the cycle of the school year.

I like it especially because I know that we are headed somewhere specific.

The first day of each school year is preparing us for the next step.

Each year prepares the student for the following year.

*/We do things to get kids ready for the next step in their academic lives./*

Why have I taken the time to discuss this?

 

Pastor has spent several weeks discussing salvation and witnessing.

*But after someone is saved, what is next for him?*

*What is it that God has for this new believer’s life?*

*/What is the next step for him or her in the Christian life?/*

For the answer to this question let us turn our attention to the words spoken by Jesus:

* *

*Matthew 28:18-20 *18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

*The Great Commission* provides *two clear objectives for the Church:*

#.

Preach the Gospel—those that are saved should be baptized and brought into the flock of a local church.

#.

Make disciples

 

We are going to spend tonight and next week looking into the concept of making disciples.

This command, though empowered by the Holy Spirit and worked according the will of the Father, *involves Christians as the human agents* through which God works.

Humanly speaking, if we do not work to make disciples, then believers will not be growing in this church like God desires them to be.

 

 

*INT:*

How do we disciple others?

How do we become the disciplers that God wants us to be?

 

Notice first of all, that the discipler must. .

.

*1.     **Be a Disciple himself.*

*Matthew 28:18-20 *18And Jesus came and *spake unto them*, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever *I have commanded you*: and, lo, *I am with you alway*, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

* *

*EXP:*

What does the term disciple mean?

It is taken from the Latin (which most resembles our word disciple), which is taken from the Greek word *μαθητής** *which is from one of the verbs for “to learn.”

*Therefore, the term disciple simply means /learner/.*

Remember this command is given to the eleven after the resurrection of Jesus, so it is assumed that these *men are all Christians at this time.*

This is important because in the New Testament the term disciple is *synonymous* with the term Christian.

A disciple is a Christian, and a Christian is one who is following Christ, and seeking to be like Christ.

Despite whatever teachings may exist otherwise in Christianity today, there is no difference between the term disciple and Christian.

* *

*Why is it important that these men who are called to be disciplers be disciples~/Christians themselves?*

 

*/The principle that you cannot lead someone effectively to a place you have not been./*

The most effective guides are the ones that have been down that path themselves before, and are now prepared to take others.

*ILL**:*

When I played football in high school, we had three coaches.

Head coach, line coach, and receivers~/backs coach.

I played line, because I wasn’t fast enough for any other position, so I got to spend a lot of time with the line coach.

Our line coach was named Bill Dawson, a guy in his early thirties at the time.

He had graduated from a Division 3 school in Ohio, and had played in a semi-pro football league in Ohio.

During practice, we learned about blocking and about open holes for the running backs to come through.

Although there is not a lot to being a linemen, there are certain things that you have to learn to do so that you can protect the quarterback.

When we were not blocking correctly, Coach Dawson would pull us out, and then step into our position (with no pads or helmet) and do our job for the next play.

Why did he do that?

Not just to show us up, but to demonstrate the proper way.

He would not have been able to demonstrate the proper way effectively, if he had not done that job before, as a linemen in college and semi-pro.

*/ /*

*/For our success, it was important that he had done the job before and could lead us to do the same./*

*REF:*

Some might object and say, “Well can’t someone merely study Christian ideas and doctrines and pass that information on to others?”

Just passing on facts and details about Christianity is not discipleship.

Just as owning tools and an owner’s manual for a car does not make you a mechanic.

Someone once said, “Discipleship is not what you have learned, but what you are learning.”

A discipler is one who is a Christian and has personally experienced, and is experiencing the grace of God in his life.

*APP:*

The application is simple.

* Get saved—if you are not a Christian, you cannot be a disciple, and no matter how well intentioned you may be, you can not help others until you help yourself first.

* Start growing—as a Christian God calls us to work to grow spiritually.

(Bible study, church attendance, serving in various ministries, etc.)

* Keep growing—not what you have learned, but what you are learning.

TRN: Secondly, the discipler must also. .

.

*2.

**Be Dedicated to making disciples.*

*Matthew 28:18-20 *18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

*19**Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, *baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

* *

*Acts 1:8 *8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and *ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.*

* *

*EXP:*

From whence does this motivation come?

*/From a desire to obey the commands of the Master./*

Jesus gives clear instruction for the disciples.

“Go and make disciples.”

Jesus provides an imperative, which means He is commanding them to go.

This is not an option.

“Go, if you feel like it, and along the way if you want to witness if it is convenient, and oh by the way, it would be good to make disciples, BUT ONLY if you want to.”

Jesus does not make this an option, but a clear directive for these men that were to be the first Christian disciplers.

Jesus wanted these men to pursue passionately the work He had saved them to do.

Jesus wanted these men to give it their all, reaching with every bit of effort it took to see the job accomplished.

*ILL**:*

It completely changes your life to have a two year old in the house.

There are some many things that I enjoy about my daughter, and only the occasional thing that I dislike.

One of the things that I love to see is her sense of accomplishment.

It is exciting to watch her try and try to do something, each time getting a little closer, until eventually she is able to accomplish some new skill or task.

One such skill that she has recently achieved is opening and closing doors.