Iâve often asked the question âwhat is discipleship?â and I currently understand it to be a  a lifestyle of following Jesus but I never knew what it meant to âmake disciplesâ. Today Reverend Dr. Mohan, the pastor of a 40,000 member church in India came to Emmanuel to preach a gripping and challenging message on Discipleship. It was one of the best sermons on discipleship Iâve experienced in a while.Â
He preached from Jesusâ famous last words in Matthew 28:16-20Â
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.18 Then Jesus came to them and said, âAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 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,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.â
Here are the notes and reflection points I got from it:Â
âsurely I am with you to the very end of the ageâ - If you obey the parts above this line, you will see His presence/glory in your life.Â
in verse 16, Jesus calls people up the mountain to listen to the word. Just like how climbing the mountain is tough, listening to the voice of God can be a challenge but it is one that is necessary. The mountain refers to our prayer life. Jesus always went to the Mount of Olives to pray. We need time alone to worship God and listen to him. Worship is not just about singing songs. Worship is when Abraham obeyed God and gave his precious son Isaac up as a sacrifice. Worship is costly and it requires us to surrender ourselves.Â
In Isa 61, Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor, not to give money to them. When you have the good news, seeking the kingdom first, all other things will be added unto you.Â
If we have real grace, sin has no hold on you. Grace is not a license to sin. If youâre humble, grace will come, God will come. Humility happens when we have difficult people in our lives and when we go through trials. There must be some people against you or you will become proud.Â
A. Jesus calls us to PrayerÂ
Rev Dr Mohan shared about men who prayed in the wee hours of the morning daily and they saw breakthroughs and miracles happen. The man who prayed for 4 days and did not stop said he could do it because he had â300 prayer warriors to pray for [him] so he could pray like thatâ. We need prayer warriors! Challenge: spend one hour a day prayingÂ
God wants to enjoy us, He craves to be with us. If we give Him time, He will speak to us and transform us. We need to pray for our pastors and leaders. Felt reminded of my calling to be an intercessor. Itâs something that has been on my heart but I had forgotten it along the way. You will see revival when you pray.Â
B. Jesus calls us to EvangelismÂ
The church will grow through evangelism. How?Â
1. Everyone here targets two peopleÂ
2. Pray for them, if you donât pray, nothing can happenÂ
3. build a friendship with them & spend time with themÂ
5. introduce them to Jesus then to the local churchÂ
After they make a decisionÂ
1. Tell them to have a relationship with God through prayer and through reading the wordÂ
2. Be in fellowship with a churchÂ
3. Get connected to a small groupÂ
4. Bring their own friends and teach them howÂ
C. Jesus calls us to make disciplesÂ
Evangelism without discipleship will not do much in the church. Discipleship is not an easy job. What is discipleship? Luke 14:26-33
26 âIf anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sistersâyes, even their own lifeâsuch a person cannot be my disciple.27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciples.Â
First, we must forsake immediate family. That means we must have supreme love for Jesus that surpasses all other loves. It makes all other loves in our life seem like âhateâ. We love Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul.Â
28 âSuppose one of you wants to build a tower. Wonât you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,30 saying, âThis person began to build and wasnât able to finish.â
31 âOr suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Wonât he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Discipleship is like building a tower and fighting a war. It is about taking up our cross daily = dying to our will every day. There are many desires in our hearts, but we must forsake worldly things. There is nothing wrong with things, it is our attachment to these things that makes it problematic. Donât pray for these things and it will come to you. We all need money and thatâs a fact but it all belongs to God. Discipleship is about removing attachment to this world and getting attached to the kingdom we will live in for eternity.Â
Discipleship is about character development. The purpose of heaven is to see Jesus and be like Him. But everyday we must be transformed. For that to happen, we need difficult people in our lives so that we can âwork out our salvationâ. Discipleship is building the life of Christ is us.Â
D. Jesus calls us to teach and train
Teach our members to be involved with the mission of the church and gives to missions. This teaching is to be done in small group. Purpose of teaching is to build up the church. We need to learn the bible and teach it to other people, then the presence of God will be with you.Â
Jesus charges us with His authority âall authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore...â. We must make it our priority to pray, evangelise make disciples, and teach!Â
Luke 9: a man with a son who was demon possessed crying out for help -- people are crying our for deliverance. Jesus gave authority to his disciples yet they could not cast out this demon. Authority is not the only thing we need. We need power. The disciplesâ power was hindered because they did not let God be first in their lives (âlet the dead bury the deadâ) and they were more concerned about who was going to be the greatest (i.e. position). However, Jesus corrects them and says you must have fasting and prayer. No fasting, no power. We need faith, that is, total dependence on God and His promises. âI have no other way but for You to come true for meâÂ
We have the power and authority.Â
Fast for the next two weeks to build dependence on GodÂ