Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Disciple and Teach

Our key verses for this series are Matt 11:28-30 and Matthew 28:18-20

We have discussed what it means to come to Jesus, and what it means to go into thw world. Today our focus is on making disciples and teaching them to follow Jesus.

Matt 28:18-20
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 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.”

As we come to Jesus and find our fulfilment in him, as we go into the world with the good news that we have, (be and tell a friend). The next thing I see here is “make disciples” and “teach them to obey” the commands of Jesus.

When we are in the business of making disciples it is more than just telling them the good news. The next step is helping them to take the journey of faith with you. When people accept the grace of God, they always need someone else to guide them on the journey. That is our responsibility. It is not the responsibility of the life group leader or the pastor. It is our responsibility.

Now, before we all get worked up and think we can’t do it, because we don’t know enough, haven’t had enough education etc. know that Jesus made it easy for us. Remember, we come to Jesus. In relationship with him, we come and we then take on what he’s called us to do.

We only need to stay one step ahead of those we are discipling. Jesus used many different techniques to teach his disciples and to teach the people. He spoke to them about God’s word, he spoke to them in stories. He presented truth in a way people could understand, and he loved and accepted them in the process.

There are some things we can do that will help us as we do life with those we are discipling and teaching. They are not difficult, but they are necessary.

1. Be a disciple
The best thing we can do is be a proactive person; being a disciple; being a follower and a learner. This is what the word disciple means. It is someone who follows, learns from another, and then passes it on.

We are followers of Jesus. If we are true disciples, we will learn from him, and place ourselves in an environment that allows us to learn. This is why life groups and hanging out together is good. We learn from one another, and we follow Christ. 

Acts 2:42
The Believers Form a Community
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

The word “devoted” means:
to adhere to one, be his adherent, to be devoted or constant to one
to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing
to continue all the time in a place
to persevere and not to faint
to show one's self courageous for
to be in constant readiness for one, wait on constantly

In other words, the new converts and followers of Jesus were steadfastlty attentive, they made every effort to follow and learn about Jesus, meet with one another, share together and pray. Note that it does not say the apostles had to chase everyone up, check that they were ok and make sure everyone was connecting.

Instead, the followers made decisions in their lives that put the discipleship, learning process as the main priority and they were “steadfastly attentive” to it themselves. This is about a decision to live in a way that means choosing to walk with Jesus.

It means choosing a relationship with him, and with other Christians, choosing to share in small groups, meet at the Temple in larger groups and to pray. They set a pattern we can follow. We all have the power of choice. We will find time for what we value, and the things that are our priority.

What decisions am I making that draw me to Jesus or away from him?

What areas of my life do I need to make different choices in if I am to be a follower of Jesus?

What will I do this week that will help me become “steadfastly attentive” to being a follower of Jesus?

2. Know what Jesus commanded
How do we know what Jesus commanded? If we spend time with him and in his word, we will find out. This does not mean you have to become the next Bible scholar. But if we spend time in his word we will discover his commands.

Here's some examples:
Love one another. Love your neighbour as yourself. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Etc. I’m not going to press this point, but reading the Word of God every day helps.

The early disciples were “steadfastly attentive” to the teaching, to what they were being taught. They followed it up. The Berean’s were commended for not just listenning, but for being attentive, and more honourable, checking out what they were taught and putting it into practice in their lives.  

Acts 17:10-12
Paul and Silas in Berea
10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

If we are followers of someone, it is usual to know what they stand for and what they believe. A follower or member of a political party needs to understand tge manifesto, to understand the beliefs of those they follow. What makes us think that we can follow Christ without knowing what he stands for and what he thinks. We are to teach others, but we can only teach what we know. 

1 Corinthians 2 tells us that we can know what God wants because the Spirit who knows lives in us. As we read the Bible, as we spend time in the word, more understanding is given to us. Let’s be women who are not just proactive in being a disciple ourselves, but who are proactive in reading, listening and learning and then being ready to pass it on. Paul said to Timothy to always be ready to have a word, in season and out of season.

What commands of Jesus do I need to know to help others to become followers of Jesus?

What am I actively doing to learn the commands of Jesus?

3. Pass it on to others.
When we know the Word, when we are active, then we can pass it on to others. This does not mean you have to be word perfect. No-one is asking you to recite word by word long passages of scripture (though it is possible to do so with practice).

The key thing is that the word of God is passed on in a way that does not dilute or detract from its truth. Jesus often used stories, and much of the Bible narrative lends itself to stories. Think about the people Jesus meets, and the way he uses stories to explain things to them. Jesus was a great story teller and he highlighted God’s truths through them.

Stories are easy to learn and to repeat. Think about how the people of Israel learnt about their history and were able to repeat it to others. Now don’t worry if you think you can’t remember a story. We have our Bibles to help us along the way and the Holy Spirit to guide us. 

Jesus says to teach others to obey his commands. Remember, all of this is meant to be done as part of a community, and with the help and support of others. If we are proactive in our followership, if we know the commands and the stories, then it’s easy to pass them on to others. No main auditorium is required. Jesus did most of his teaching walking and eating with others. We can do it the same way.

An Exercise:
When we think about people who are at seeking God, there are some great stories from the Bible that reveal God’s grace. When we are discipling and teaching others we can use other stories. Today, lets think about some stories that will help us understand Biblical truth and how we can apply it. This is learning how to retell Scripture and to pass on God's word without diminishing its truth in any way.

For your friends who have struggles with a difficult life there is the woman at the well - John 4

For friends who are religious but don’t have relationship with God there is Nicodemus - John 3

For the person who has wandered away and really needs to know God’s love, there is the prodigal son. Luke 15

For the person caught up in the love of material things there is Zacchaeus (Luke 19) and The rich young man (Matt 19) – different responses to the same issue.

You can learn these stories. There is some skill involved in learning the story, but that skill is not beyond anyone of us. It is a method that even the unschooled can learn. But there are many other stories that illustrate God’s love and his grace and how he wants us to live.

Here is the exercise. Choose a story:
Read it and then practice retelling it. Help one another. Then ask the following questions.

What does the story say?

What do we learn about God?

What truths does the story portray?

What do we learn about how we are to live?

What is my next step, what do i need to do?

This is a pretty straight forward way to disciple another.

So as we conclude this series, remember to come to Jesus, find your fulfilment in him and take on his agenda for your life. Know that as you do that, you are also equipped and empowered to go into the world, starting where God has placed you now. As you spend time with him, and learn his ways through his Word and apply it to your life, you will be equipped to make disciples, teach them, and help them on their journey of faith.

Go

Come

Matt 11:28,29
Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

And Go

Matt 28:18-20
I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, 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.

Come and Go.

As we've been discussing, this is a theme that Jesus uses. He calls his disciples to himself and then he sends them out. He calls us to himself, and then he sends us out.

Come
Mark 1:16-17
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net out into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, Come follow me and I will show you how to fish for people.

Go
Luke 9:1-2
One day Jesus called together his disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1
The Lord now chose 72 other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

This week we will think about what it actually means to go.

Jesus tells us to go out into the world and share the good news of his love and grace. He has been given all authority, so he basically says "because I have all authority, you are able to go".

What does the authority of Jesus actually give us.

1. The authority to go in Jesus name

We don't go in our own power or strength. We go in the power Jesus has given us. This power/authority means:
-Power of choice and liberty
-Permission
-Physical and mental power
-Authority, right and privilege
-Power of rule and government

Are we getting the picture? Jesus has all authority, and his command to "go" is based in that authority.

Luke 9:1-2
One day Jesus called together his disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

When he sent out the twelve he said he was giving them his authority (the same word he uses later in his commissioning), and power - strength, power, power for performing miracles.

In Acts, he tells the disciples to wait, and they will receive power to be witnesses. God's power is for a purpose.

Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

The word here is the same - power, the same miracle performing power, strength and ability. Lets get a hold of the truth that Jesus brings. We have his authority and power to go into the world.

What hinders us from going in his power?

Do we actually believe what Jesus says?

Then, we are already equipped to go into the world. We are already empowered by Jesus, through his Spirit to take his good news to our community.

2. Go means go.

Mark 10:15
Go into all the world and preach the Good news to everyone, everywhere.

I think this is pretty straight forward. Everyone, everywhere does not give much room for excuses. We have power and authority given to us by Jesus to bring the good news of God's love and grace to everyone, everywhere.

Go does not mean sit around in your comfort zone and drink tea from fine china. (This doesn't mean we can't ever use nice china, but it does mean that if that is all we do, we've missed the point.)

Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!

Paul says:
Romans 10:14-15
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believein him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who bring good news.

There are two aspects to this. There are those who go and those who send. But these are not mutually exclusive. Jesus did not say - find other people and send them out. He said go yourself. But there is also an aspect of sending. In the church of Antioch, the elders prayed and the church sent out Paul and Barnabus.

So we are to go and we are to send. We are to go to Judea, Samaria and the Ends of the earth. What does this mean for us? Some will go to Jerusalem,the local Wollongong Community, this is our main area or to Judea, a bit like our state

Some will go to Samaria - other parts of the region and some will go to sthe ends of the earth. I believe that what Jesus is saying is start where you are, and go out from there. Start where you are in Wollongong, and God will lead you if he wants you to go further afield.

Don't get caught up in negative thinking such as: what if God sends me to some God forsaken place. Instead, be positive: God has empowered me to reach out to people, right here, where I am.

When we do that, we will be willing to go to other countries if he calls us. These are not mutually exclusive. Some will be called to different areas and this will be where God calls them to serve. This may be local or it might be to unreached people groups.

Where is God calling you to "go"?

What are you doing about it and how will you act on it this week ?

3. Be Active in the Community

What are we doing locally to reach people?
This is where Be a Friend; Tell a friend; Bring a Friend comes in. The Bible tell us that others will know we belong to Christ by the love we have for each other. This is a challenge because often its the way we behave towards each other that says more about what we believe than anything else.

Lets be a community of women that loves each other. We may not always agree, but lets be gracious in our disagreements. Lets continue in community so that together we reach our community.

As we build a community of women here at Citylife, and as we think about our families and friends: who is God placing on our hearts, in this community, for us to relate to, pray for and tell about God's love?

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Come


Come and Go Part 1.

Jesus says: Come

Matt 11:28,29

Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

And Go

Matt 28:18-20

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, 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.

Come and Go.

Coming and Going is a theme that Jesus uses with his disciples and those who follow him. He calls his disciples to himself and then he sends them out. He calls us to himself, and then he sends us out.

He calls the disciples to "Come follow Me"

Mark 1:16-17

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net out into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, Come follow me and I will show you how to fish for people.

And then a little while later he tells them to "Go". He sends them out on a mission to heal and to tell about the Kingdom of God.

Luke 9:1-2

One day Jesus called together his disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1

The Lord now chose 72 other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

Over the next few weeks we will investigate what it means to come to Jesus and how we go out into all the world. Today we look at "Come". Jesus says "Come to me". What does Jesus mean when he says "come to me"? In Jesus, we find the answer to life's greatest need. In Jesus we find love, grace, mercy, acceptance, and a place to lay down the sorrow and the burdens we carry.

Jesus promises to give us rest if we will come to him.

A couple of thoughts 

1. Choose to come

So often we run around trying to resolve the issues we face when Jesus simply says to come. We talk about giving our cares and our worries to him, but it only happens when we actually do that. When we stop the merry-go-round and we choose - a deliberate action - to come to Jesus.

We can reel off all the scriptures, all the platitudes, but unless we actually stop, and choose to come to Jesus, nothing changes. Jesus wants us to get off the merry-go-round of running in circles and to choose his presence, his peace, his hope. He simply says, come, and be still.

Psal 37:7

Be still in the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 46:10

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still. Stop the worry, stop the anxious running around.

1 Peter 5:7

Give all your worries and cares to God for he cares for you.

Jesus cares for us, and he knows that the burdens that we carry are too big for us. He says to offload our burden with him, and to take on his yoke because his burden is light, and his yoke is easy. When we come to Jesus, and trust him, he removes our burden of guilt and shame and he brings peace to our anxious thoughts. He gives us a place to come, and a place to experience his peace, and his righteousness.

When we yoke ourselves with him, following his pattern and his purpose, we begin to allow his life to flow through ours. We take on his yoke, his purpose for our lives, which lives is be a light yoke, because we are in a place of rest in him and living a purposeful life. 

Let go of the burdens. Jesus offers rest, peace and hope. He offers an opportunity to come to him, no matter what life throws at us, no matter the circumstances we face, and he gives us grace to go and live the way he has purposed for us. 

Choose to come to Jesus. Choose his rest and his presence.

John 1:16-17

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ

When we are intentional we can let go of worry and rest in God. This does not mean we do nothing, but we first come to Jesus, we give the worry to him and we wait for his direction.  

Don't just react to everything - we can choose our response. When stuff happens, when people say or do dumb stuff, (and they will), when circumstances aren't great, lets be women who choose to respond in a sensible way, and come to Jesus.

2. Ready to listen

God speaks to us in many ways. When we choose to come, when we deliberately take the time, we find that God is there, waiting. If we will listen, we will hear his voice.

Elijah heard God, not in the fire, or the earthquake or the storm, but in the still small voice. The old hymn - O Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier, says it perfectly: "speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, o still small voice of calm". This encapsulates the understanding that it is in the still small voice that God speaks.

1 Kings 19 tells the story.

Elijah had reacted and gone into panic mode. He literally runs and yet God finds him and says "what are you doing here?" How often do we find ourselves away from God and his purpose because we react, go into worry mode and run around aimlessly?

But how can we hear God's voice when we are like that? Are we prepared to stop, listen for the voice of God, the voice of calm? God came to Elijah and he basically says "what are you doing". "How about you stop running and panicking. How about you get on my agenda, and he isnt too keen on Elijahs response.

Elijah tried to justify himself, and God says - stop running, draw close - listen to what I have to say. God spoke in a gentle whisper, and again says "what are you doing here?" He then tells Elijah to go back. And he gives him directions for the next phase of his ministry. We can only hear God properly when we stop running and we start listening for God's still small voice.

Lets make sure we are listenning. Sometimes we want the miracle, the loud audible voice, but God speaks in a still, small voice.  God speaks to us by his Spirit. This is his prefered mode of communication. God is waiting for us to come, he is wanting us to come, to take the time to sit/stand/walk in his presence - to hear his voice.

1 Cor 2:9-12

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. No-one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spiirt, an no-one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

We come to Jesus. We find refuge in him, we draw to him, and are still. We wait, and know that God will speak to us. He will speak, in his still small voice, and through his Spirit.

Will we take the time to respond instead of react and sit quietly before God?

Concluding Thoughts

Jesus tells us to come to him, to give him all to him, to take on his plan and purpose for our lives. Then, when we have come to him, we are in a place where we can be still, and listen to him, learning to recognise his still small voice.

Will we come?

Will we be still?

Will we listen?
 
What is your response to God today?

 

 

Friday, October 3, 2014

A thought for today

Acts 2:42 NLT
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer.

Devoted themselves.
What does it mean to "devote yourself"?

When I think of these words I think of the following: time, intentional, deliberate actions, proactive, passionate and willing.

What does it mean to devote yourself?

For me it means to take the initiative, to be proactive in my approach to my spiritual life, not waiting for others to do something for me, but taking responsibility for my relationship with my Heavenly Father. He has done everything for me when I did not and never will deserve it. I am saved by grace and through the mercy of God. For this reason, I take hold of Jesus Christ and actively pursue my relationship with him.

What does it mean to devote yourself?

Here's some more thoughts. It means ensuring study of the word of God, choosing discipleship, choosing to learn from and follow Jesus, applying the word of God diligently to your life.

It means being in meetings together and giving time to people, spending time with one another, deliberately meeting, intentionally getting together, to celebrate together. It means being sincere in wanting to be with fellow believers regardless of where they are up to on life's journey.

It is community. It is sharing together over food and sharing in Communion. It is celebrating Jesus and his love, his grace and his mercy, shown to us by his death and Resurrection.

And finally, for me, it means spending time with God. Being committed to prayer; choosing to be disciplined in our prayer life and to take time each day to pray, to journal and to listen. It is sharing your heart with God and then listening to his heart for the world, for people, for us. 

What will you do to"devote yourself" this week?