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Wow is all I can almost say – I spent a weekend sharing and dreaming and teaching 160 young youth leaders from all over the country (South Africa) . It gave me such incredible hope to see enthusiasm in our youth leaders and the ability to really be open to Change and yet remain firmly in Christ. We shared models of discipleship which were very exciting.My passion is also to see real discipleship happening that leads people to deeper and more authentic relationships.

Discipleship

Introduction

I want to start out by encouraging anyone who has taken on the mantle of being change agents. This is so cool because it’s not about you but rather about being an agent, representative of the most high God. What comes to mind are characters like Jason Bourne, 007, Batwoman, Superman and then Peter, Mary and you and I .

We are born into something which has the potential to change people, societies, communities, churches, provinces, countries and the future.

And just as I have pumped you all up, we have to start however with the reality that you and I are not some fictional characters but have real skin and stuff which makes us real human.

When we begin to identify this then we are ready to understand discipleship.

I want you to think back to the time when you gave your life to living for Christ. Maybe it was recently, maybe it was long ago. For me it was at the age of 11 at a Billy Graham rally in 1973.

At that point someone or a group would have hopefully guided and directed you along a path towards being more like Christ. We have a variety of different methodologies and I think I have experience a most of them.

BUT I don’t think that they are always effective because maybe they miss the little part of that thing called flesh, and for the rest of your life you spend time beating yourself up, because maybe you feel so bad at who you really are and how much of your flesh he sees.

I want to try and encourage you through today with a tool which may help you in discipling others in a more real kind of a way.

As I walk through this teaching with you, I want you to think about your own Journey and how you have either put things into practice or possibly messed up – which is fine because we all do mess up.

1. A Jesus Model

In the story of Jesus and his disciples, the first thing you will see with Jesus is that he was out there in the market place looking for disciples. They didn’t come to some holy mountain shrine or church; he went out and found them. Let’s take a look at Mark’s description of this encounter in :

Mark 1:14 – 20

The Calling of the First Disciples

14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15″The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17″Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18At once they left their nets and followed him.

19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

What is Jesus onto here ? He’s totally broken about his cousin being put in prison, because he knows that this means his GREAT COMMISSION BEGINS – CO – MISSIONAL – PART OF HIS FATHER’S MISSION.

How do we know that Jesus mission began, because he says – “THE TIME HAS COME”. The Messianic hour of Jeshua Meshea has begun.

He then gives them a huge clue that the time has come in the next sentence because he talks about – THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR - AT HAND – REPENT – TURN AROUND AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS.

His movement out into the zone of the fisherman is a dirty messy place and he doesn’t come down on them but rather interacts with them in their own space.

Having come down to the earthy dirty space of the mission field he WALKS along the beach of the Sea of Galilee. He then calls out to the guys who are fishing and says “COME FOLLOW ME” It’s a crazy random question to ask fisherman

I mean just think about it – Jesus comes down to these heavy dudes – Sons of thunder, real men, common men and then calls them to leave their jobs and move away into a space of discipling. Becoming a part of a great big picture of destiny which would change them and change the world. They were about to become CHANGE AGENTS like you and me. They left the boat of their father Zebedee. That step there was huge and enormous one, because they saw in Jesus more than just a person inviting them to walk another way, but a Rabbi or teacher that they probably knew about, one who didn’t scan through the great Hebraic schools of the time but walked the beach and chose fisherman, one’s who was going to transform and change their lives knowing that they would let him down, knowing that there would be betrayal, but still committing to ordinary humans who would become extraordinary.

I am always overwhelmed at this because in Christ we are called to COME – you and I have been called to come, but we can’t expect others to come if we are not asking them. It’s up to us as we have seen in this amazing video, it tells us that there are people out there that need you and me.

We have to take seriously the great commission and get out there and call others to come. I heard of a guy who has gone to be a missionary in another country and he’s been there for two years, supported financially by his church and there are two people in his church after two years and he preaches in faith as if there was a big crowd and I want to shout out to him and say – hey GO OUT AND BE A FRIEND – OR JUST SAY COME – If there is no discipling well then there are no disciples.

We have got to take this great commission seriously, but then move into the reality of humanness mixed up with spiritual ness.

The mess and the mush begins at the door that opens a life to the beauty of Jesus. You are meeting people at their darkest point often and then moving into a process of transformation. We need to allow for an access point to God and so often the church is so clean and neat that it seems impossible to ever get near. I want to introduce you to the temple if you have never looked at it before and then take you thru it so that it – the TEMPLE possibly if you want it , becomes a tool for helping you to be disciples and hopefully it will help you to disciple others. We will be look at this tomorrow.

It is interesting for me that as these guys are called to follow Jesus their lives are transformed, but they still live with their flesh. They were vulnerable and stupid, young and zealous. They were chosen and loved and nurtured by bread and light and cleansing and fire and the Word. If our lives are not real with the gospel and we are not living it out authentically, then we will not be able to infuse into the lives of others. We are dealing as you know with a generation that questions, that is disillusioned, that is doing laps and you are God’s change agents to make a difference with the way in which you are reaching others.

2. Discipleship Definition:

Discipleship is a relational process through which we know God more intimately, become like Him in thought and practice, understand and obey His daily will for our lives, and discover and fulfil His missional purpose.

3. Discipleship is a Process!

God’s wise plan calls us to…

• Be disciples

• Make disciples

• Develop disciple-makers

4. Jesus’ Discipleship Stages

• Come and see!

• Follow Me!

• Be with Me!

• Become like Me!

• Do like Me!

• Reproduce Me!

5. Discipleship is
Transformational!

• We undergo huge paradigm shifts.

• We grow in relationship with God.

• We discover new identity in Christ.

• We integrate into the ‘Body of Christ’.

• We develop Christlike character.

• We are equipped for ministry/mission.

• We learn to walk in the Spirit.

• We take on God’s purpose for life.

6. The Goal of Discipleship

We proclaim Him, admonishing everyone and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ.  For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. Col. 1:28-29

GO MAKE DISCIPLES !!! AND BE A DISCIPLE –

WHO IS DISCIPLING YOU AND WHO ARE YOU DISCIPLING ?

I want to ask you about you and who you are and what your failures and challenges are ? I want to ask you tonight to be open with God and really connect tonight in a vulnerable real you. I would like to invite you to lay down the old and bring in the new. Find ways to be really honest this weekend with where you are at.

7. RESPONSE

The way that we are going to respond is by writing out the great commission again in your own way. Write it as a challenge and a question. Wrestle with it and put down your thoughts with it that you don’t understand. By the way if you don’t know where the original is and that’s ok by the way, I am going to put it up on the screens for you. I like to start at the vulnerable part of this – verse 16

MATTHEW 28: 16 – 20.

The Great Commission

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Just below this, I have put my own version.

“ God it is my reality that there are times when I do doubt you. I’m sorry. I so want to worship you 24/7, but you no I mess up on this. I get really challenged when you come up to us and say again. “Authority is yours and not ours” Jesus how often is it about me and not about you. When I think about what you had to say I see a big THEREFORE and ask what it’s there for.

The next bit hits me in the eyes and pushes me out as you say GO and I remember that that is two thirds of your name GOD. I want to make sure that when I do GO that I’ll find some followers outside my comfort zone. I want to get them into a space of washing and cleansing and shifting away from there dark stuff and when it happens, I will say – YES IT’S YOU DOING THIS NOT ME . And heh Lord don’t let me forgot to take them further on the journey towards being right with YOU.

Thanks for reminding me that I’m not alone and I’m not doing this by myself but as long as the end of the age is – You are with me.” Pete Veysie’s rough translation of the great commission.