JESUS ON DISCIPLESHIP - Part 9 - MULTIPLICATION

No discussion on what Jesus has to say about being Christ’s disciple would be complete without addressing multiplication. That is, after all, the heart of Jesus’ method for maturing those who follow Him.


SEVEN PROGRESSIVE, COMPELLING POINTS
Here are seven points. Each one builds on the previous one and makes a case for you to make a greater effort to get more involved than you already are in Christ’s multiplication process for all true disciples of Christ.

1. If you truly love and adore someone, you want others you love to meet that person whom you love and adore. If we are following Christ’s Great Commandments to love Him, ourselves, and others with all our heart, then we naturally want to help others come into a deep, personal relationship with the greatest of our loves, Christ Jesus our Lord.
   
   
   
2. Introducing people to Christ is a learned skill. Some may have the gift of evangelism, but it is not needed in order to fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission. Our job is to be completely willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. God will do the rest. If we are totally surrendered to Christ, then He will place opportunities at our feet. And then, all we have to do is love that person with Christ’s love. Everything else is secondary. Christ draws people to Himself. We don’t take credit for “leading” people to Christ. God gets all the glory.
   
   
   
3. Everyone we meet is somewhere on the continuum of not being a Christ-follower, to a mature Christ follower. Our job is to help every person we meet to move along that continuum. This is not the job of those in vocational ministry. No matter what station in life we find ourselves, we who follow Christ are called to help others move closer to intimacy with Christ.
   
   
   
4. One of the primary ways we help others move closer to Christ is to role model that behavior. However, role modeling behavior is not enough. We must speak truth into people’s lives. As Scripture says: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV). So we must do both: role model behavior AND speak the Gospel of Christ into the lives of those we meet. First, we share the gospel by our behavior. Secondly, we use words. These words will be given to us by the Holy Spirit if we listen carefully.
   
   
   
5. We cannot impart what we do not have. We must be a disciple of Christ in order to help others to be a disciple. However, we don’t have to be more mature or “better” than others in order to be effective in this endeavor. It is written: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV). Even the most immature Christ-follower can encourage the most mature Christ-follower. As a disciple of Christ, never diminish your thinking, believing you have nothing to offer. It is a lie of the enemy. Pastors and ministry leaders especially need encouragement. It is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. If you are one, you know what I mean. If you are not one, go ask someone who is in full-time vocational ministry. Yes, there is a lot of joy, but there is also a lot of suffering at the hands of well-meaning Christ-followers, and those that are not so well-meaning. It can be very discouraging.
   
   
   
6. As a disciple of Christ, one of our primary tasks is to follow Christ’s example and that of the early disciples. As the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, someone he was discipling: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2 NIV). There is much to unpack in this verse, but let’s just agree that we need to be vocal about our faith. We cannot bury this priceless treasure and keep it for ourselves. That is selfish and self-centered. There is an epidemic of this behavior in the Christian community. We are grateful that we have Heaven in our future, but our flesh is lazy and does not want to take the political or social risk of extending ourselves to others. As a whole, in general, the modern Christ-follower is soft, weak, and ego-centric. We care more about our comfort than we do about serving Christ. We need to emulate the early Christ-followers of the First Century and follow in their footsteps and those of Christ Jesus.
   
   
   
7. In Matthew 28:19-20, known as the Great Commission, Jesus commands His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations." This indicates that part of being a disciple is also making disciples — spreading His teachings and baptizing others in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a command. It is not optional. If we claim to be a Christian, then we are called to become a disciple. If we claim to be a disciple, then we are called (commanded) to be involved in Christ’s multiplication process.
   
   
   

CONCLUSION
Go. Make. Disciples.


Your aspiring servant, Daniel M.
January 17, 2024
POSTSCRIPT: Dear friends, if this daily, transparent “Conversations with Christ” blesses you, please go to www.SOLIDpastors.org, where you will find these posted, and a repository of all, in English and Spanish. If you ever want to chat, you can reach me at [email protected]. May Christ bless you richly as you have your own intimate, daily conversations with Christ.