Post by; Sue Desmarais
Before we get into the message for today may I ask,
- How long have you been at the church you attend?
- Do you ever feel like you’re on this journey alone?
- Do you ever feel like an outsider within it?
- How many members truly know what’s going on within you? (The struggles you’re dealing with on a daily basis?)
- How many within your church community can you get beyond a surface conversation with?
- How many are you comfortable with asking for personal prayer needs?
- How many in your church confide in you about what THEY are going through and not what someone else is going through?
- How many are you comfortable enough with to confide in that will also hold you accountable in order to grow your faith?
- How many can you count on to be there when you most need them?
- How many will go the extra mile with you on this amazing journey with Christ?
Jesus had a way to grow His church numerically as well as to mature it, and to meet all the needs listed above, but the trouble is most churches today are failing to follow it! These were Jesus’ last words to His disciples after finishing the work our Father had given Him, and right before He ascended back to heaven:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” –Mt 28:18-20
What exactly does Jesus mean by “Go and make disciples”?
This was taken from Robby Gallaty’s website on discipleship: “Disciple-making is intentionally entering into someone’s life to help them know and follow Jesus (Evangelism) and to teach them to obey His commands (Discipleship)…Evangelism and Discipleship are like two oars on the rowboat of disciple-making. They are both necessary to move the boat in the proper direction.”
Robby Gallaty begins his book, Growing Up with the statement:
“The gospel came to you because it was heading to someone else. God never intended for salvation to be an end, but a beginning. God saved you to be a conduit through whom His glorious, life-chancing gospel would flow to others.” Have you ever thought of this before?
One of my favorite verses has always been 2 Timothy 2:2, because of the picture it portrays,
The things [the doctrine, the admonitions, the sum of my ministry] which you have heard me teach in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable and faithful men who will also be capable and qualified to teach others.” – 2 Timothy 2:2
Did you see it? Paul linked his arms with Timothy and others, who linked with other faithful men, who linked arms with others. I’m sure you all are familiar with a chain-linked fence and that it is almost impossible to destroy it. In fact, the only way to break it is to cut the links. This is God’s idea for His church. Just think about this for a minute… if we were all linked one to another no one would ever feel they were alone, and all of us would be working, growing together and moving further on our journey TOGETHER.
Think for a moment of Jesus’ example He set for us in His three years of ministry. He was followed by 100s, but he chose to invest in 12 men, and of the 12, He chose just 3 men (Peter, James and John) to witness His entire ministry. Imagine if each of us would commit to spend a year teaching/leading a group of 3 other women.
- This group would create an atmosphere for fellowship, support, encouragement and accountability.
- It would make the perfect environment where God could work.
- The purposes would be for each of us to grow in our relationship with Christ and guiding others in their relationship with Him.
- At the end of the year each member would take on 3 more women and then the following year 3 more and so on and so on! This was God’s plan for building His church modeled for us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
All of us need fellowship with other Christ followers. We need to be encouraged by them and we need to be held accountable to them in order to grow. To be more specific, all of us need a
- Paul (an older more mature woman pouring her life into us)
- Barnabus(s) – friends who teach, encourage and hold us accountable
- Timothy(s) – younger believer(s) in whom we can begin to invest in.
(I used these men, but I believe when God speaks of discipleship He intended it to be women with women and men with men.) If you are missing any of these relationships, I’d encourage you to begin TODAY asking our Father to help fill the void.
On a personal note <3 This has probably been one of the hardest posts I’ve had to write because it is so close to my heart! I could go on and on, for there is so much I’d like to add! But let me close with this: After I accepted Christ as my Savior & Lord a more mature woman came and invested one year of her life in me. Two years later I began investing in others. That was over 30 years ago! Just imagine the number of women who would be linked together today if all of us had followed Christ’s example! (Hint: The number would be in the thousands!)
If you study Matthew 28:18-20 you’ll quickly realize that Jesus commands ALL of us to, “Go and make disciples!”, but may I also add that if you follow His command it will be one of the greatest investments you’ll ever make in His kingdom and one of the biggest blessings you’ll ever receive this side of heaven!