Jesus as a Discipler
As we think about discipleship and reproducing ourselves let refresh our memory by looking at our definition for Discipleship:
“Discipling others is the process by which a Christian with a life worth emulating commits himself or herself for an extended period of time to a few individuals who have been won to Christ, the purpose being to aid and guide their growth to maturity and equip them to reproduce themselves in a third spiritual generation."
The Command:
Matt. 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
II Tim. 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. NKJV
You have often heard me teach. Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others. CEV
How Did Jesus Prepare men to Take His Place?
1. He was intentional in selecting a few men to be with Him and He called
them with a purpose in mind.
Mark 1:16-19. V. 17 “Then Jesus said to them, Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Mark 3:13-19. VS. 13-15 “And He went up on the mountain (Luke says He first prayed, praying all night) and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have power to heal sickness and to cast out demons.” He was intentional in calling those He wanted around Him!!!!
¿ Decision you must make: Will someone get a piece of you? YES NO
¿ Next Decision you must make: Who gets a piece of you? ____________________
__________________________ _____________________________ __________________________________
Before moving forward, it is worth examining whom Jesus called and what they were like as He worked them. We must remember He called imperfect people with faults and deficiencies viewing rather their potential. And the people we disciple WILL not begin where we want them to end!!!
Up front let’s think about what the disciples were like when He called them:
q Peter- impulsive, impatient, a denier See Matt. 16:21-23 and Mark 14:66-72
q James and John- Sons of Thunder, judgmental, uncompassionate, inconsiderate. See Luke 9:51-56
q Philip- failed to trust (John 6:7; slow to understand and learn- See John 14:9
q Nathaniel- questioning/cynical, even some what prejudiced - “Can any good come out of Nazareth?” Jn. 1:45-49
q Thomas was a doubter. See John 20:24-29
q Matthew – a crooked tax collector See Matt. 9:9
q Judas Iscariot- the treasurer was a schemer, a thief and a betrayer, – John 12:6
q All -were position conscious, not servants. See Mark 9:33-37; Mark 10:35-45 Luke 22:24-27
q All - were self-centered and thinking only of themselves, not ever of Jesus remember John 13
ý They did not know how to pray See Luke 11:1 (teach us to pray)
ý They did not know about the Holy Spirit (John 14 –16)
ý They did they know about the last days (Matt. 24:1-3)
ý They had little faith See Matt. 8:26 – Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Same story in Mark 4:40 – “But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
Same story Luke 8:25 Luke records this: But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"
Matt. 16:8 “But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?
ý They lacked understanding of things He was teaching and doing.
See Mark 8:14-21 v. 21 “How is it that you do not understand?”
Matthew 16:9 "Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Matthew 16:11 "How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? ——but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
ý At times they did things that displeased Him.
Mk. 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children
come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. See also Matt. 26:6-13
ý At times they even complained about His high standards for discipleship
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?
ý As a group, they fought with each other. See Luke 22:24 “Now there arose a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” Not the first time.
Luke 9:46 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.
Mark 9:33-34 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What
was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had
disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
ý They did not comprehend the big picture or understand it when He told them;
Mt. 16:21-23; From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Luke 9:44 "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
ý They were afraid to ask questions. Luke 9:45
Mark 9:30-32 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want
anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being
betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the
third day." But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
ý They were afraid of the direction He was taken them in.
Mark 10:32 “Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; "and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
ý They were slow to believe even after the resurrection
Luke 24:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Mark 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
These men in whom He chose were unqualified. They were not very knowledgeable from the worlds’ standard of knowledge (Acts 4:13 uneducated and untrained). They were common men with common lives and common jobs. Jesus chose unqualified men to do the impossible. In Acts 17:6 we find that they had turned the world upside down.
As a DISCIPLER YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHO YOU DISCIPLE.
In deciding who gets a piece of you, you will have to set standards – have qualifications – that they must meet. What will be your standards? What will be your qualifications? In your List of qualifications do you have the word “POTENTIAL”?
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT JESUS TOOK UNQUALIFIED AND QUALIFIED THEM. THE PERSONS YOU DISCIPLE WILL HAVE FLAWS AND FAULTS.
IN DECIDING WHO TO DISCIPLE THERE ARE SOME QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR.
I Encourage you to write down some things you are looking for in those you will be investing/discipling: words should as TEACHABLE Excited Already working demonstrating responsibility Someone who is already doing more than is expected
IN THIS LESSON I HAVE INCLUDED SOME THOUGHTS WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
Example of Teachable Mary who would become the Mother of Jesus
She said - I don’t understand but then she listens and then she answers OK
Rebekah the principle of AND THEN SOME Doing more than is EXPECTED
Gen. 24:11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 "Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
14 "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ —let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master." 15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." 18 So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. 22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,
23 and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?" 24 So she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor." 25 Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge." 26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD.27 And he said, "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren." 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
Look for a Rebekah type to disciple.
Look for someone who is EXCITED to be discipled like ELISHA with Elijah
Elisha said that he wanted a double portion.
II Kings 2:9 ¶ And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
Look for the Elisha types
Look for someone who is FAITHFUL IN LITTLE like David was.
12 ¶ Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. 17 Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 "And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them." 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words.