DNOW: Discipleship Lesson 2

We began the class today by discussing the four questions listed below. After discussing the questions, we focused on the importance of the gospel and how the gospel we believe determines the disciples we make.

The gospel not only saves us, it sustains us (Colossians 2:6,7). For Paul, "the gospel" was not just a call to saving faith, but also a call to continue in a daily walk of faith. Therefore, when viewing discipleship through the lens of the gospel, the goal is to apply the gospel to all of life, to continually stand on the gospel--as the gospel impacts everything.

The most basic issue the church faces today is restoring the gospel message of Scripture that will create healthy followers of Jesus Christ. We must continue to "examine" ourselves to be sure we are in alignment with the true gospel of Jesus (2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 1:6-12).

Next week we will look at 5 false gospels that have put the North American church in a tailspin.

1.    Does the term “Christian” mean the same as the term “Disciple”?

• The word “Christian” appears only three times in the Bible (Acts 11:26; 26:28: 1 Peter 4:16)

• The name “Christian” appears to have been invented by those outside of the church. It is most likely meant as a derogatory term.

• Jesus used the term “Disciple” but never “Christian”.

• Jesus’ followers were called “disciples” long before they were ever called “Christians.” Their discipleship began with Jesus’ call and required them to exercise their will to follow Him (Matthew 9:9).

 2.    What is Jesus asking of you when He says “Follow Me”?

• Jesus was quite explicit about the cost of following Him. Discipleship requires a totally committed life. (Luke 14:26; Matthew 16:24)

• Not all of Jesus’ followers were able to make such a commitment. There were some who said no when Jesus said, "Follow Me." (Mark 10:17-27)

• There were many who left Jesus after a while. (John 6:66)

 3.    If we say we are a “Christian” yet we don’t “Follow” Christ, do we walk in Truth?

• Jesus answered Pilate and said, “I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18:33-38)

• It is so important to understand and embrace the concept of absolute truth in all areas of life. Simply because life has consequences for being wrong. Eternity is an awfully long time to be wrong.

 4.    Can you be a Christian and not “follow” Christ?

• Biblically speaking, a true “Christian” (and not one in name only) is a “disciple” of Christ if:

1. Has placed his/her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit  (John 1:12; John 3:3).
2. “Belongs to Christ” and is daily being transformed into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:18).
3. Has counted the cost and has totally committed his/her life to following Jesus.
4. Accepts the call to sacrifice and follows wherever the Lord leads.
5. Completely adheres to the teaching of Jesus, makes Christ his/her number-one priority and lives accordingly.
6. Is actively involved in making other Christian disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).

DNOW: Discipleship Lesson 1

While Christianity is growing and flourishing in many parts of the world, it seems to be declining in America. In the Bible Belt, the buckle is coming off. The decline in the number of Christians and cultural strength of Christianity is affecting church life, social values, and politics. George Barna and George Gallup consistently tell us that their research and polling demonstrates that in terms of moral values and lifestyle choices there is little distinction between Christian and non-Christian.

There is without a doubt a discipleship deficit in the North American church. We are suffering from the preaching of cheap grace and generations of Christians who are not interested in discipleship. It seems the pervasive assumption among professing Christians today is that we can be "Christian" forever and never become disciples of Christ. This, of course, is contrary to what Jesus said. To our own detriment, we have defined discipleship as optional, a choice and not a command. The problems found in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have never decided to follow Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated, "Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ."

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"        (Matthew 28:16-20)

The church must rediscover discipleship and return to the disciple-making method Jesus modeled and commanded. The solution to our ineffectiveness as church is to train people to be spiritually mature, fully devoted followers of Christ, and in turn to have those disciples make more disciples. God's ultimate plan for your life is to bring glory to His name as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

"My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8)

When Jesus says "Follow Me", He is asking you to give Him everything. Jesus made it clear that the cost of discipleship is great!

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

As we begin this study on What Does God Say About Discipleship, we see that the major problem in American churches is the drifting away from the plan that Jesus put in place to grow His church. Before we can talk about the transformation required to become a genuine disciple of Jesus, we must first address the Gospel. The Gospel we believe determines the disciples we are and the disciples we make.

Next week we will continue with a lesson on THE GOSPEL. This will include a survey of five false gospels being preached and followed today, and how each creates a different kind of disciple. These false gospels represent man-made religion, as opposed to God's revealed Gospel.

NOTE: Thanks to Dan Tankersley, Pastor of Discipleship at Calvary Baptist Church, for providing the foundation to this course. Many excerpts above are taken (with permission) from his book titled: Discipleship Foundations: A Primer for Biblical Disciple Making.

DNOW: Lesson 5b

The man called Simon, son of John, is the same man Jesus renamed Peter. The name Peter (Gk., Petros) means "rock" or "rock-man." Peter was the only one whose name Jesus changed.

"Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)." (John 1:42)

Today we focused on Jesus' third encounter with seven of the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias after His resurrection. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus questioned Peter (John 21: 15-25).

"Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?'" (v. 15) He repeated this question two more times: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" (vs. 16, 17) Notice that Jesus did not call him "Peter", but instead "Simon, son of John." Jesus sometimes referred to him as "Simon" when Peter did something that needed rebuke or correction (e.g., Matthew 17:25; Mark 14:37; Luke 22:31). It would be like your mother calling you by your full name after you had done something wrong.

At this point, Peter was a broken man who had all but given up on his call to the ministry. He had turned away from Jesus and decided to return to his job as a fisherman. Perhaps he was still living with the remorse of having denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62).

"Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We will go with you.'" (John 21:3)

We all love Peter because he is like us. He has all the failures we are so familiar with in our own lives:

1. He overestimates himself and underestimates temptation;
2. He thinks he is more committed than he is;
3. He thinks he loves the Lord more than he does;
4. He thinks he can face any trial triumphantly--he finds out that he can't.

What did Jesus mean when He said "...more than these?" What were "these?" Here are the possibilities:


1. More than these things--your boats, your nets, your fish.
2. More than these friends and co-workers of yours.
3. More than your friends love Me. With this last option you must remember that when Peter said "I am going fishing" his friends said "We will go with you." So they, too, had decided to return to their work and leave the ministry.

How would you answer Jesus if He asked you, "___________, do you love me more than these?" In your life, what would you list as "these"? Perhaps your children, your job, your money, your ambitions, your house, your car, your boat, your hobbies, your spouse, your friends, your pleasures, etc. Do you love Jesus more than "these"?

The first two times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Jesus used the word agape which is the highest form of love. Peter's reply that he did love Jesus was with the word phileo which means a brotherly type of love. The third time Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Jesus used the word phileo. After hearing this, "Peter was grieved because He [Jesus] said unto him the third time, 'Do you love (phileo) me?'" (v. 17) Peter's grief was a response to the way Jesus replaced the word agape with phileo.

What Jesus ask of Peter, He ask of all of us. It is a call to faithfulness for any believer, any disciple of Christ, anyone who is going to serve the Lord. "Do you love me more than these?" 

The call to follow Christ--to be a disciple truly dedicated to the Lord requires everything. It is a call to LOVE Christ. It is a call to SACRIFICE for Christ. It is a call to FOLLOW (obey) Christ--no matter what!

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)

Why would people do this? What would motivate that kind of love and sacrifice? What compels me or you or anybody else to sacrifice their life for Christ, to spend their life obeying Him?

Next week, that is where we will begin our lesson. We will spend the next few weeks talking about what it means to be a disciple of Christ and the great need that exist for making disciples among those who call themselves believers.

"Go therefore and make disciples..." (Matthew 28:19a)

Will Graham Celebration - 5-7-17

DNOW: Lesson 5a

During Easter week, we read the familiar stories of the Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, the crucifixion... and then the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. While the Gospels of Matthew and Mark end shortly after the Resurrection, Luke and John provide extra detail about what Jesus did during the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascent into heaven.

"He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3)

The writers of the four Gospels relied on their personal account of events, in addition to the testimony of other eyewitnesses. Matthew and John were apostles while Mark was probably a young disciple. All three were intimately familiar with Jesus' betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. John is specifically mentioned as being at Christ's crucifixion. Matthew, Mark, and John undoubtedly saw Jesus after His resurrection. Additional possible sources include the other apostles, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, at least one Roman soldier, Cleopas, Mary the sister of Lazarus, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary the mother of Jesus.

It's clear from the Gospel accounts that the story of Jesus reaches its culmination with the Resurrection. But the tidbits we do get about the post-Resurrection days not only satisfy some of our curiosity about how Jesus' Resurrection was received by His followers, but also give us the evangelistic direction that guides followers of Christ to this day.

Today we looked at a few of Jesus' appearances during the 40 days after His resurrection. We will complete this lesson on May 7th.

Next week is our 5th Sunday. Patrick and Kerrie Reed will be sharing their story.

DNOW: Lesson 4

All to the glory of God!

"...in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:11)

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."               (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Jesus outlined the framework for all of our prayers. The heart of all prayer is that we seek to conform our desires and our purposes to His will and glory. With this understanding, we will approach prayer with an entirely new perspective. More of Him; less of me!

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

 (Matthew 19:16-23; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23)

Today I used the parable of the Rich Young Ruler as an illustration of our need to transfer ownership of everything to Christ. In regards to material possessions, I defined the term "transfer ownership" to not necessarily mean sell everything, but to acknowledge that everything we have belongs to God, was given by God, and is ultimately to be used for His glory. In the case of the wealthy young man, he was held captive by his great wealth--something that Jesus knew would keep this young man from salvation.

I made the comment in class that in this parable Jesus only asked this young man to give to the poor, not to sell everything. By doing this the young man would satisfy the commandment "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19). I stand corrected: Jesus did tell this young man to go sell all that he had.

"...go, sell what you possess and give to the poor..." (Matthew 19:21)

"...go, sell all that you have and give to the poor..." (Mark 10:21)

"Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor..." (Luke 18:22)

The young man knew he was not saved and was asking Jesus what good deed he must do to inherit eternal life. When asked which commandments he must keep, Jesus recited six of the commandments, including "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19). The man replies, "All these I have kept... What do I still lack?" (verse 20), and that is the key statement. The young man was obviously religious and sincere in his pursuit of righteousness. His problem was that he considered himself to be faultless concerning the Law. And this is the point that Jesus challenges when He tells the man, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21).

In Matthew and Mark it says: "...give to the poor...". In Luke it says: "...and distribute to the poor..." After selling all that he had, did Jesus want the young man to give everything to the poor? I believe that was his intent as we see in Luke when it says: "...and distribute..."

The young man decided that Jesus was asking too much. "He went away sad, because he had great wealth" (verse 22). Rather than obey Jesus' instructions, he turned his back on the Lord and walked away. The man's choice undoubtedly saddened Jesus as well, because Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21).

Just as Jesus knew what stood between this young man and complete surrender, He also knows what is/are the idol(s) that keep us from truly trusting and praying "...thy will be done."

DNOW: Lesson 3d

The Disciple's Prayer, commonly referred to as The Lord's Prayer, is an absolute masterpiece which encompasses the totality of every conceivable element in a prayer. The more I study this prayer, the more I am amazed at how Jesus could say in so few words something so complete.

The first time this prayer is recorded is in Matthew 6:9-15 during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He is speaking to the Jewish people about their theology and the standards of His Kingdom in contrast to the standards of the day. The second time was in Luke 11:1-4 when Jesus was with His disciples and they asked, "Teach us to pray..."

It is not meant to be a prayer, but rather instruction from Jesus as how to pray. The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them "a" prayer, but to teach them "to" pray. From this prayer we learn a structure to pray; a pattern that we can follow for all of our prayers.

As we learn to pray, we must always remember that the purpose of all prayer is to ultimately glorify God. Prayer is affirming God's sovereignty, righteousness, and majesty and seeking to conform our desires and our purposes to His will and glory.

The first step to becoming a disciple of Christ is to put Jesus first is everything. After rebuking Peter, Jesus said to the crowd and to His disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." (Mark 8:33-35)

We see this same message of surrender to God's will very clearly stated by Jesus in Matthew 6:10 when He said, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

ALL of our prayers and the answers to those prayers are ultimately for one purpose--to glorify the Father who is in Heaven. When you begin to think of it that way, your prayer life will take on a whole new perspective. It's not about you; it is all about Jesus! More of Jesus; less of me!

Do you want more of Jesus? If you do, pray this prayer: "O God, show me thy glory! I want to taste, to touch with my heart, to see with my inner eyes the wonder that is God."

DNOW: Lesson 3c

Working in retail most of her life, my mother was always around people. One thing she noticed in her study of people is that most people never show their real face. This was why she collected clowns. The painted faces of clowns--some smiling, some frowning--represented to her the faces most people hide behind while in public. NOTE: The term "two-faced" is defined as insincere and deceitful.

My mother had a large assortment of clowns, but my favorite was her praying clown. To her it represented a person coming before the Lord with his/her best face on to ask God to answer a prayer. This person would be hoping God would not see their real character or their godless life. Only a fool would think they could deceive God.

God knows us completely. "Lord, you have examined me and know all about me." (Psalm 139:1) "And he [Jesus] said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.'" (Luke 16:15) "God, who knows the heart..." (Acts 15:8) "...since He [God] knows the secrets of the heart?" (Psalm 44:21)

Leading up to our last lesson on prayer, I felt we needed to talk about sin. The theme of "sin" dominates the Bible and prayer is a Rebellion against the sin of the world. We therefore must understand the barrier sin is to prayer before we begin to pray.

The most obvious hindrance to a potent prayer life is the presence of unconfessed sins in the heart of the one who is praying. Because our God is holy, there is a barrier that exists between Him and us when we come to Him with unconfessed sin in our lives. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2)

Questions we discussed in class today were: "What is sin?" "What are the underlying motivations to sin?" "What are the consequences of sin?"

Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) or rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). The first sin in the Bible was when Satan rebelled against God. The first human sin in the Bible was when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)

Sin is motivated by our human bent toward self and the seduction of worldly pleasures and comforts. Unrestrained humanity is constantly seeking self-gratifying experiences. The denial of self is a painful thought for many, but "Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" (Matthew 16:24) The first requirement of becoming a disciple of Christ is denial of self. This means a complete surrender to God's will and purpose for your life. This requires that we grow in the character of Christ and look at sin through His eyes.

The consequences of sin are far-reaching. Sin is a cruel taskmaster. It robs one of much, and provides him/her with nothing. Sin has global, national, physical, mental, societal, spiritual, and eternal consequences. "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement..." (Hebrews 10:26-27) 

It is only when we have a genuine fear of the Lord that we will take sin seriously. In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira are excellent examples of the seriousness of sin. As a result of their sin they both instantly died. It was then that a "great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things." (5:11) God is serious about sin! The question is, are you?

Meditate on Proverbs 2:1-6 if you desire to understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. "My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

We should all be seeking, searching, and praying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23, 24)

Next week we will continue to look at Jesus' answer to His disciples when they asked, "Teach us to pray..."