Sermon Notes
“Making disciples”
It takes knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to make disciples. A disciple is a student who knows what his rabbi (teacher) knows, can do what his rabbi does, and is like his rabbi. A disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ has the life, character, and nature of Jesus in them and working through them. Making disciples is the transformational process of imparting the life, character, and nature of Jesus to seekers and followers.
What does it take to make disciples?
NKJV Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
I
What does it take to make disciples?
We must understand our mandate.
Matthew 28:18-20
The mandate is to make disciples.
This is a formational process.
The discipler must have a vision, a picture, or an end view in mind.
This is called a concept!
The process is a transformational journey.
KJV Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets and followed him.
The rabbinical method of making a disciple was a lifelong journey:
Bet Sefer ages 6-12
Bet Midrash ages 13-15
Bet Talmud ages 16-30
Author Malcolm Gladwell wrote about the 10,000-hour rule in his 2008 bestseller, “Outliers.” The rule is simple: mastery comes after someone practices one skill — like playing the violin — for 10,000 hours.
Jesus chose 12 ordinary men poured into them for 20,000 hours over 3 1/2 years and produced “world changers.”
II
What does it take to make disciples?
We must have the right message.
Our message must be…
Clear
Concise
Compiling
Convicting
Communal
ESV Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Our message must be…
Real
Relatable
Reliable
Relevant
Relational
ESV Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The kingdom of God is the community as God imagines it.
Ezekiel is called to access the cause of their captivity.
In Deuteronomy, the LORD sets forth a model for the community.
- This model was to break Pharoah’s total controlover the people.
- This model shows us how to live in a community together.
There are three systems described:
NIV Ezekiel 22:23 Again the word of the LORD came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’—when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. 30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
Ezekiel 22:25-30 describes total systems failure.
The religious system was used to control. Vs 26/ Deuteronomy 6:1-3 God’s Values
The political system used oppression. Vs 25/ Deuteronomy 16:8-20 Ensure justice
The economic system used exploitation. Vs 27/ Deuteronomy 15:1-5 Fair sharing
The prophets used seduction. Vs 28/ Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Hold accountable
The people exploited one another. Vs 29/ Deuteronomy 7:7-11 Obey God
The LORD looked for someone to stand for His standards and His community. Vs 30
- The LORD is looking for someone to stand in the gap and repair the path!
When the earth is in trouble, God looks for Godly leadership.
III
What does it take to make disciples?
We must-have agility in our method.
We have moved from an A2 world to an A17 world.
In Acts 2, Peter was in a Hebraic world with a Jewish worldview.
In Acts 2 (A2), Peter could begin with the prophet Joel.
The community was monotheistic, respected, and related to the law and prophets.
Peter argues and preaches from the prophets, the context, and the experience.
You cannot use an A2 strategy in an A17 world.
You must use a different approach based on your context.
Different contexts and times demand different methodologies.
In Acts 17 (A17), Paul was in a Greek world with a Hellenistic worldview.
Paul had to begin with his current context.
The community in Athens was polytheistic, questioning, philosophical and curious.
Paul reasons from a “community Sign,” community poetry, and conclusions to introduce them to the one God.
Our core message must remain the same; however, our methodology must change, in unprecedented times, if we are going to stay relevant.
If our methodology does not change, we will be seen as irrelevant, unnecessary, marginalized, and ignored.
Whatever society sees as irrelevant and unnecessary, it begins to systematically remove it.
The systematic removal of any entity from society is called genocide.
Like salt, “It becomes good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under the feet of man.”
In unprecedented times leaders must remember…
It takes time to make disciples.
The mandate has not changed.
The core message is the same.
The core message is sacred.
The methods must shift.
Suggested References tools:
For adults:
Understanding God
Patricia Beall Gruits
For Youth:
AnchorsAway
Worldview & Leadership Training
+La Fayette Scales
Lscales@rhemachristiancenter.com lscales95@aol.com
CashApp: $LaFayetteScales411
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2020 and 2021 Book List
*City of God, City of Satan – Robert C. Linthicum
**Matthew and the Margins – Warren Carter
**Africa Bible Commentary – Tokumboh Adeyemo. General Editor
*The Courage to Be – Paul Tillich
Visioneering – Andy Staley
The Century of the Holy Spirit – Vinson Synan
The Immoral Majority – Ben Howe
The Color of Compromise – Jemar Tisby
**White Rage – Carol Anderson
Wings to Rise:
Blacks, Leadership and the Assembly of God – Dr. Darnell Williams
The Tears We Cannot Stop – Dr. Eric Michael Dyson
**The Negro Bible -The Slave Bible – Select Parts of the Holy Bible for the use of the Negro Slave of the British West – India Islands Joseph Lumpkin
Jesus, Through Middle Eastern Eyes – Kenneth E. Bailey
Finding the Lost Cultural Keys to Luke 15 – Kenneth E. Bailey
*A Classic or Reread
**An Ongoing Read
2021 Book List
*Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody James H. Cone
*Jesus and the Disinherited Howard Thurman
**Shelter In A Time of Storm Jelani M. Favors
The Certain Sound of the Trumpet: Crafting a Sermon of Authority
Samuel D Proctor
Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity Abraham Joshua Heschel
White Too Long Robert P. Jones
