1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
John MacArthur brought up a very interesting point. Apparently there is about a 7 month gap between the sermon on the bread of life, and the Feast of Tabernacles here. Jesus preached a great sermon to the masses - there were probably 15,000+ people there. He spent two days with them.
He spent 7 months with 12 men, discipling them, teaching them.
2 days with 15,000+.
7 months with 12.
What does that tell us? Sorry, this quote is a bit long, but I just found it extremely powerful, and extremely convicting. (emphasis mine)
The success of any church, folks, is not how many bodies are jammed into the building. The success of any church is what is the depth of their discipleship. That's the key. That's what it's all about. Anybody can get a crowd. That's the easy part. All we have to do is have free peanuts and balloons and striped giraffes running around on the grass and we could have crowds. No problem. Easy, it only takes money and a little bit of ingenuity.
But you know what is very difficult? To make disciples cause it takes a life poured into another life. That's how you make a disciple. The Bible never says get a crowd. The Bible just says make disciples. Of course, sometimes a mass meeting is important to initiate the gospel. Of course it is. But Paul told Timothy the essence of what it's all about when he said, "Find some faithful men, Timothy, and teach those faithful men that they in turn may teach others also. And you know what will happen? You'll set off a chain reaction of reproductive disciples who will just keep reproducing themselves." That's what it's all about.
There is a ministry to the mass, my friend, but the ministry to the mass is never and can never be a substitute for your personal ministry in reproducing yourself in the life of somebody else. Listen to me. If you're a Christian, if you're a Christian...watch it...you by the very virtue of your Christianity are responsible to be reproducing yourself in somebody else's life. Incidently, before you start reproducing yourself, back up and find out what you are before you want to reproduce yourself. Start where you are. When you are what you should be in the sight of God, then begin to reproduce yourself. That's why you're here. If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you are responsible to make disciples. You're not responsible to go to church. You're not responsible to go to Sunday School. You're not responsible to give your money each week. You're not responsible for that, the Bible says not one thing about that. But you are responsible to make disciples.
Now, of course, you'll want the fellowship of believers and you'll want to share what God has given you. That's a basic principle. But nowhere is there a list of commandments...go to church, put your money in the offering, go to Sunday School...that's not there. That's understood because you want the fellowship and you're committed. But what is there is make disciples, make disciples, make disciples.
Ask yourself this? How long have you been a Christian? In the years that you've been a Christian, who are your disciples? Where are the ones that you reproduced in the faith? Oh not somebody that you led to Christ and then wandered away. I mean a disciple that you can look at and say, "Look at that life." You say, "Well that's...that's really kind of taking the credit, isn't it?" You know what Paul said to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 he said this. "Do you know why you're such a wonderful church?" This is what Paul said. He said, "Because you were followers of me."
You say, "Paul! What kind of an egotist are you?"
Paul says, "You have followed me as I have followed Jesus Christ, that's why you are what you are." Nothing wrong with following somebody as long as they're following Jesus Christ. That's the divine pattern. Also to Timothy, "Be thou an example to...what?...to the believers." A pattern, a copy, tracing paper, reproduce yourself, reproduce yourself. Tragically and sadly this is the great hindrance in the work of God today is we do not reproduce ourselves. We expect mass things to do it for us. Listen, as Christians in this world today we are suffering because we do not have any depth. I thank God for those that have that depth and I know that many of you are moving into the area of learning how to become a disciple and then to produce a disciple, and this is exciting. But for the vast majority of the organized church, quote/unquote, there's no such thing as reproduction. We're suffering from that very fast and God has to use a mass evangelism often to compensate for the failure of a person to do an individual work.
Listen, we need Christians who count, you know. We need Christians who matter. We need Christians who confront the world, those who really know the Word of God and can reproduce themselves. But what we have are mostly Christians who know nothing, do nothing and cannot reproduce. And that's the tragedy of the church.
Wow. That's powerful and convicting.
Discipleship is key.
And as parents, the obvious place to begin is with our children. Make disciples. Actively. Purposefully. Intentionally.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: John 7:10-31
1 comment:
Wow, convicting indeed. Thank you for sharing this.
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