The Purpose of The Church- Discipleship

Adapted from a Jeffery Anselmi sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/

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What is the goal of a baseball team?

To get people across home plate.

Does a team cheer and quit when it gets a person to 1st base or 3rd

base?

They will cheer because they expect to bring that person around the bases

to score.

At the end of the game, the fans and the team are more concerned about the

number of people who score than they are concerned about hits.

There have been games where a team might have only had one hit and beat a

team with more hits.If a baseball team does not understand its ultimate purpose is to get people across home plate to score, then they will pat

themselves on the back when they just get baserunners.

In the church we can run into the same problem.

We can get so excited about getting someone to 1st base that we forget the

work is just beginning.

If we do not understand the purpose of the church, then we will stop short of

what God wants us to do.

Over the last couple of weeks we have looked at two purposes of the church,

worship and fellowship,this week we are going to look at

discipleship.

Matthew 28:19 ESV Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all

that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the

end of the age."

We are commanded to make disciples. This is a two part process.

The first part of making a disciple is to evangelize and baptize them.

We will not talk about evangelism today.

The second part is we are to teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded.

We are going to look at what we are to do once a person has been added to the

kingdom of God.

We are called to disciple them.

What happens in a typical church when we win a person to Jesus?

We usually leave it at that.

We are happy, we got them to first base!

When a person repents & accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior joining Him in His

death, burial & resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins our job does not

stop there.That is like getting a person to 1st base

and saying that our job is finished.Our goal is to help bring that person

around the bases to score!Too many times we get a person to first

base and then forget about them, we leave them stranded.

“Discipleship is the great Omission of the Great Commission on the part of

Churches.”(Dallas Willard Christian Philosopher & writer)

Part of making a disciple is teaching them all that Jesus commanded.

The Great commission tells us this and the early church was committed to the

apostles’ teachings.

Acts 2:42 tells us, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching…

Let’s look at the 3rd purpose of the Church, Discipleship.

Acts 2:41 ESV So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand

souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the

fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon

every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together

and had all things in common.

45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and

distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food

with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all

the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were

being saved.

What is a disciple?A disciple is a learner, or a pupil of

someone, but it’s a bit deeper than it seems.

a learner, a pupil, one who follows the teaching of someone else," thus, a

disciple; means "to follow the precepts and instructions of another," (Wuest)

The Definition And CharacteristicsOf A Disciple

How do you “follow” precepts and instructions if you are not actively doing

what you’re learning?

If my understanding is correct a disciple is a doing learner, not one who learns & files away the information never putting it into

action.

A Christian is supposed to be a disciple.Who are we to be a disciple of?

It’s in the name, Christian!

The word disciple is used over 250 times in the New Testament and is only found in the

Gospels and Acts.Christians and disciples are the same

thing.Acts 11:25 ESV So Barnabas went to

Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church

and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called

Christians.

There has been much dispute as to whether this new name was given by

Barnabas and Saul under divine authority, or by the Gentiles of Antioch, or by the disciples themselves. It would

serve no practical purpose to decide between the latter two suppositions, for, with whichever party it originated, it was subsequently accepted by the disciples

in general. (Combined Bible Commentary)

Discipleship is the development of Christians.

The Characteristics of a Disciple

Love for the brethren.

John 13:35 ESV By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one

another."

Love for Jesus.Luke 14:26 ESV "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,

yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Be like Jesus. Matthew 10:25 ESV It is enough for the

disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will

they malign those of his household.

Commitment to Jesus.Luke 14:27 ESV Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot

be my disciple.Abide in Jesus.

John 15:4 ESV Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by

itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Benevolent.Luke 6:38 ESV give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down,

shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

How are we doing?

The objective of discipleship is to facilitate the spiritual growth of Christians.

When we are immersed into Christ, (when we become a Christian) we are

born again.Romans 6:4 ESV We were buried

therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised

from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

The Objective Of Discipleship

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new

creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the

glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image

from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is

the Spirit.

Jesus gives us a principle. Matthew 12:43 ESV "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest,

but finds none.

44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put

in order.

45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and

they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than

the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."

Discipleship fills our house with tools and encouragement for growth.

Here are some spiritual growth myths.

Spiritual growth is automatic once you are born.

Spiritual growth is mystical, and maturity is attainable by only a few

Spiritual maturity can occur instantly if you find the right key

Spiritual maturity is measured by what you know

Spiritual growth is a personal and private matter

All you need is the Bible to grow.

If we fall for these myths, then we will not work on helping people grow.

If we fall for these myths, we will not do what we need to do to grow.

If we fall for these myths, we will become discouraged if we are not growing.

If we fall for these myths, we will become lazy.

We need to get people to go from1st base (membership)

to 2nd base (commitment to maturity)to 3rd base (commitment to service)

to homeplate (committed to evangelism or missions).

We need to intentionally do things that help Christians become more Christ-like.

My favorite definition of discipleship is MAKE ONE TO MAKE ONE.

Bible studies. Logical, the early church was devoted to the scriptures.

Sunday school. This cannot be the only food we eat.

Preaching. This cannot be the only food we get.

Service opportunities.Providing fellowship opportunities.

Mentoring programs.

Church Functions To HelpA Disciple Grow

Personal devotion time.Prayer time.

Serving othersBible reading

MentoringGiving

Fellowship with other ChristiansHave a person that you are accountable

to.

Individual Activities Help A Disciple Grow

The key to growth is commitment to the truth of the word of God.

Notice that part of the great Commission is teaching and the early church was

committed to the word.

If we are not putting the word in people’s lives, then we have to ask ourselves what are we winning people over to?

What we need to understand about discipleship is that I cannot be a disciple

without being disciplined.The more disciplined I become the more

God can use me.The mark of a disciple is continual

growth.I believe the main keys to being able to

make someone more Christ-like are, desire to grow, discipline and time spent

with both God and His people.

So many people that have been in church at some point in their lives will

say that God has done nothing for them.

My question to them would be what kind of effort did you give to God?

Did you expect something(spiritual growth and blessings)

for nothing(no time spent trying to grow)?

The Church grows deeper through discipleship.

Discipleship gives us principles to live by. A foundation to build our lives on.

The Word of God gives us stability.The people of the world are in turmoil

because they do not have a foundation under them.

As we become more Christ-like, we will experience more blessing than we can

imagine!

The Benefits Of Discipleship

When the church stops making and developing disciples, it is not a church.

For the church to be able to develop disciples there has to be a great deal of

involvement in each other’s lives. See how the first three purposes fit

together.They are not separate from each other.

Conclusion

Our worship is an extension of the way that we live our life.

In turn we feel a strong sense of community and desire to strive with others in our walk

(Fellowship).Our worship helps us to see how much we need to grow more Christ-like because we are in awe of God, we want to be more like

Him.Through our fellowship a great love for other

brethren is strengthened, we then seek to help other’s grow and develop (discipleship).

When we get a person to 1st base, our job is just beginning.

It takes time, effort and resources to develop disciples.

As a Church we must make sure that we are fulfilling this purpose.

As individual members of the body, we must make sure that we are committed

to growth.Are you willing to invest your time to help

others grow closer to Jesus?