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5. Why make Disciples?
   

A. Beware the Legalistic Mind

 

•   We come now to consider the ‘Great Commission'
•   For many of us, when we've heard this preached it has conveyed fear, guilt &

  condemnation.

•   What is it?

    

Mt 28:19,20 “ go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you .”

 

The legalistic mind thinks, “I ought to do this. I'm not good at this. I'll get it wrong,” and feels bad!

 

Let's observe the 3 elements to this command:

•  go and make disciples of all nations,
•  baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
•  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

    

In this massage we simply consider the first one – making disciples.

 

B. What is a Disciple?

    

•   A disciple is simply a follower who is a learner
  • example: Star Wars – Jedi and Jedi Master
•   A disciple learns from a mentor or master

 

C. Why does Jesus want to Disciple us?

 

•   Remember, Jesus is the Master, we are the disciples.
•   When we came to Christ we had probably given little thought to
  • what we had been like before,
•  and were largely clueless about
  • what God has in store for us for the rest of our lives.

 

i) What we had been like before

      

•   We need to be made aware of what we were really like (so we don't drift back)
•   Consider Eph 2:1-3

  v. 1 In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God.

  v. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil.

  v. 3a Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds.

  v. 3b We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like

         everyone else.

i.e. we -

•  were spiritually dead (unaware of God),
•   sinned, did our own thing and ignored God,
•   submitted to Satan's suggestions, we deceived and gave way to temptation,
•   let selfish desires rule us,

•   were opposed by God.

 

ii) What God has in store for us

 

Let's take the opposites of those things first:

•   we are spiritually dead (with a new awareness of God),
•   we are righteous, living as God leads us,
•   we reject Satan's lies, deception & temptation,
•   we let God teach us, guide us and bless us,
•   we receive His ongoing love.

 

Put another way, we learn what it means to now be:

 

•   a child of God,
•   declared righteous,
•   free from the power of sin making us do things,
•   given a new purpose for life from God,
•   aware of who we really are, with all the gifting God has given us.

 

Now we need teaching these things and Jesus has become our teacher through the means of:

•   his Word
•  his Spirit

 

D. Conclusion

 

•   God has designed me and knows how I best ‘work'.

•   He wants to teach me who I am and help me to become this person.

•   The end result is that I am fulfilled and blessed being me.

 

A Final Comment

"Discipleship" has got a bad name in many of our minds, perhaps because of abuses we have heard about in the past. Perhaps some of us don't like the thought of 'discipleship' because of pride which still rules us and we don't like being told what to do. Both of these bad reasons have the potential to rob us of the wonder of what Jesus wants to do in and through us.

Discipleship is about Jesus wanting to make us like himself so that we can enjoy the wonder of being children of God with all that that means. Essentially God has a plan for each one of us and discipleship is NOT about conforming us to some general design like a bunch of clones, but about enabling us to become the person that He has designed me to be. Yes, I will have similar characteristics to Jesus, but they will be displayed in the unique person that God has designed me to be.

Before the Fall when God created the world, we are told that "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Now sin came in an spoilt that but in Christ He is able to work in us and conform us to the 'very good' design He has for us. The more we move into His design for us as individuals, the more we have a sense of wellbeing in Him, and a sense of fulfilment as we are led by Him. THAT is what discipleship is all about.