The Art of Discipleship: Doing it Jesus Way… Biblical Disciple Building Principals: Communal / Progressive / Practical 5 Key Initiatives: Prayer / Relationship / Situations / Content / Accountability Prayer: Ephesians 6:18 And […]
God desires us to become mature as disciples of Jesus Christ
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We pursue maturity in order to reproduce that maturity.
2 Timothy 2:1-2
Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
We can follow a process revealed in Scripture to produce maturity.
2 Peter 1:5-9
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
We will consider maturity to be a spiritual transformed life.
Romans 5:2-5
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Galatians 5:22-23a
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We can create a flexible, relational, progressive, discipleship culture.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Romans 14:17-19
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Application Questions:
How might you grow in your commitment to Biblical Discipleship? In what areas do you need to mature so you can contribute to disciple building?
What is keeping you from reproducing your faith in others?
In what ways are you currently growing, in what areas are you stuck?
How has God transformed you in the past?
What are ways you would like to see Midtown help people grow?
How can you envision your involvement with disciple building here @ Midtown?
Join us This Sunday @ Midtown Church as Woody Johnson Shares a message on ‘Your Word for 2018’
Choosing A WORD For The Year!
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5).
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
How to determine your WORD?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
1. PRAY
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13).
2. ASK
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
3. WAIT and LISTEN.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
“You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance.” Ps. 65:11
This Sunday @ Midtown Church we will walk through Hebrews 13:1-8
7 Eternal Resolutions (Hebrews 13:1-8)
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.
#1 Resolve to TREAT PEOPLE with love like they were family; Eternal Fellowship!
#2 Resolve to HAVE EMPATHY for the marginalized; It takes Eternal HEART!
#3 Resolve to HONOR ‘Biblical / Judo-Christian Morality; No ‘Spiritual Neutrality’!
#4 Resolve to TRUST God’s provision, not the world’s economy; Eternal Choice!
#5 Resolve to GROW in Christ the way people you admire grew; Reproduce Eternity!
#6 Resolve to LIVE from God’s grace, not ‘Spiritual Fads’; Follow The Eternal One!
#7 Resolve to BE OPEN to Christ as much as possible; It starts & ends W/ Christ!