1. The objective illustrated by the life
of Christ.
a. Jesus' life was ordered by His
objective.
Robert Coleman says in Master Plan of
Evangelism that Jesus' life was ordered by His objective to reach the
world.- "Everything He did and said was a part of the whole pattern. It
had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of His life
in redeeming the world for God. This was the motivating vision governing His
behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did
Jesus lose sight of His goal."* (See also John 17:4)
b. Men were his means of accomplishing
that objective. The Lord Jesus' objective was to reach the world, but men
were His means of accomplishing that objective. He knew that the men He
chose would be responsible for carrying out the Great Commission after His
own ministry on earth had ended. Since His whole plan hinged on these few
men, He was verv careful when "He appointed twelve, that they might be
with Him, and that He might send them out to preach" (Mark 3:14).
Discipling by small groups is not the only
way that men and women become Spirit-filled and committed to helping reach
the world. Although the Holy Spirit is not limited to using only small group
discipleship, we will see that this was one of the primary elements of
Jesus' discipleship ministry.
2. The objective defined:
The objective of discipline a few people
together is to see a developing group of Spirit-filled Christians who are
obedient to God's Word and are actively involved in helping to fulfill the
Great Commission in this generation.
Let's briefly look at how Jesus developed
some untrained men (called his disciples) into responsible, maturing men,
capable of continuing this great task of taking the good news to people
throughout the world.
1. He selected a few potentially
responsible men (Mark 3:13,14).
Jesus realized that to accomplish the task
of world evangelization, He needed to concentrate on a few men. He devoted
Himself primarily to a few men, rather than to the masses, in order that the
masses be saved through multiplication. He desired to build into them a
depth of maturity and conviction so that they would be able to carry on the
task after He physically left the earth. Further, He chose men on the basis
of what they would become, not on the basis of what they were (a great
principle for us to remember).
NOTE: Jesus evangelized widely and
involved many in the ministry before ever selecting His men. See the filter
process in the next chapter.
2. He spent time with them (John 15:27).
Jesus gave high priority to his group of
men, and His spending good time wit . h . them was the crux of His training
program. They ate, slept, fished and sailed together. Being together enabled
the disciples to get to know Jesus and to see His heart for people (Matthew
24:37). The disciples witnessed first hand Jesus' miracles and teaching.
They learned how to pray and worship from His example. Such commitment
required Jesus' constant attention and personal sacrifice, which He gladly
gave.
3. He required commitment from His
disciples (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:25-35).
If the message of reconciliation were to
have any chance of continuing through time and space, it would take men who
were willing to go to any length to see that the message was spread. No
sacrifice would be too great. Jesus required commitment from His men, and He
got it. Most of the disciples died martyr's deaths. In Matthew 16:24, He
told them, "If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me." Jesus did not scatter His time
among those who wanted to make their own terms of discipleship. Being a
disciple of Christ involved the surrender of one's whole life to the Master.
4. He taught them in the context of real
life experiences (Luke 5:17-26).
Jesus' lectures were always accompanied by
real life situations that illustrated and applied the principles He taught.
For instance:
- He used the calming of the storm on the
Sea of Galilee to teach the disciples a lesson of faith (Mark 4:33-41).
- He used His miracles to demonstrate that
He was the Son of God (Mark 2:5-12).
- He used their mistakes as an opportunity
to teach them the correct way to think and act (Luke 9:46-48).
- He turned His encounters with other
people into teaching situations that His disciples could observe (Mark
9:25-29).
5. To fulfill His last command to reach
the world we start with our own location and move out from there (Acts 1:8).
The disciples started in Jerusalem and
then, guided by the Holy Spirit, moved out in wider concentric circles.
Similarly, we can best be a part of reaching the world by starting in
"our Jerusalem". That might first be our family or flatmates. Then
it might be expanded to our whole circle of friends or the immediate
district where we live. Finally, as the process continues, it could include
our whole community - and beyond!
6. To practically help fulfill His last
command of building multiplying disciples, we have the small group.
a. If Jesus approached the task of
building multiplying disciples by developing a small group of men, it is
logical to assume this same plan works in our day. Small group discipleship
is still an effective plan for us today.
b. It should be noted that discipline a
small group is not the only means in which the gospel can be preached and
people be built up Jesus did not exclude others from following Him. Nor did
He refuse to meet with and minister to the crowds. God can and does use a
variety of ways to build disciples and spread the news of the kingdom.
But, from observing the ministry of the
Lord, it seems that developing a small group of men was a primary element of
His ministry.
c. The Discipleship Group concept will
help you develop a significant personal ministry of evangelism and disciple
building. It will allow you to have a vital role in reaching, your community
and the world for Christ!
d. Please note that your total spiritual
development does not take place in a Discipleship Group. In addition to the
Discipleship Group, you need the influence of your personal study of the
Word, earnest consistent prayer and the input and fellowship of your church
in order to develop spiritually.
