The Why for “Life on Life” Discipleship!

Austin Gardner

 

There is nodoubt that we all understand that we should be discipling or that we should betrying to evangelize the world but it puts us in a bind.  If we focus on world evangelism toomuch it will be to the detriment of our church.  Consider some very important thoughts.

 

1.           If the church were doing its ministrycorrectly then we would always have a supply of leaders, workers, goers,senders, etc. to do the work effectively in our church and then around theworld!

2.           Every one of us want to do what is right butour churches suffer because as soon as we get someone to a level that they canmake a difference they leave to serve in another church, ministry or evenbecome fulltime.

3.           Missionaries, evangelists, and other pastorsbecome a threat because we lose our people to them.

4.           We have become maintainers rather thanbuilders.  We keep the aquariumrather than fishers of men.

5.           As a pastor I have to take care of my church.

6.           In Acts 13, before Barnabas and Saul leavethe church, there are three other men trained and in leadership with them.

 

Your Private Ministry or the “Be” level

 

This is the real you that absolutely no one knows except you andGod.  It is your character. It isthe very basis or foundation for all that you can ever be or do in the Lord’swork.

 

Your wife doesn’t actually know this part ofyou.  There are thoughts that youhave never told anyone.  This iswhere many people slip into secret sins such as pornography, stealing, lying,etc.  This is the real you—the mostprivate and intimate part of you.

 

Failure in the Christian life comes because we skipthis level.  In church we are oftenso concerned to get people serving that at best we check their “do” level.

 

We often preach and teach that people need to fixwhat we see and we work on the externals and fail to get down to the heart ofthe matter. God looks on the inward appearance and not on the outward.  I Samuel 16:7. Though you can changethe outward appearance of a man, without an inward change any real inwardchange will automatically bring about an outward change. Matthew 23:27

 

In our own personal lives we need to spend far moretime on the inward man than we do the outward man.  Peter criticized women for worrying so much about theiroutward appearance and told them that they should cultivate the hidden man ofthe heart.  I Peter 3:3-4.  We need to work on our own “be” levelby spending time in prayer, getting our thoughts under control and allowing theWord of God to transform our minds.

 

Here are some verses that help explain the ministrywe are to have in our own lives and others on this level:

 

I.             Characteristics of the Be level

a.   A born again Christian

b.   A person of character orintegrity

c.    Where the heart issurrendered and causes a person to love God and desire to serve Him no matterwhat is happening

d.   A person who speaks anddoes the truth in their heart

e.   A person of discipline

                                    i.     In their Bible reading

                                   ii.     In their prayer time

II.          How do we get someone to achieve this level

a.   By getting the Word ofGod into them—help them learn to be in the Scriptures every day

                                    i.     James 1:21—engrafting the Word of God 

                                   ii.     Romans 12:2—transforming our mind

                                 iii.     Ephesians 5:26—washing of the water of the Word

b.   Help them develop adisciplined reading and study program of the Word of God

c.    Help them memorizeScripture

d.   Getting them into allthe services that you can and teaching them how to listen to the messages

e.   Getting them involved inpersonal discipleship

III.        Lessons that we need to teach on the “BE” level

a.   Who you are in Christ?  Anew Creature 2 Corinthians 5:17

b.   Living up to who you are in Christ.  Romans 6, Know, Reckon, Yield

c.    Basic Disciplines—Bible reading, memorization, and meditation James 1:21

                                    i.     Are you putting all your dirty wicked sinand thoughts away?

                                   ii.     Are you replacing your old thoughtstructures with the Word of God?

d.   Learning Christ—Spiritual Replacement Ephesians 4:20-32

                                    i.     Have you put off the former way of living?22

                                   ii.     Are you renewing your mind? 23

                                 iii.     Have you put away lying? 25

                                 iv.     Do you have you anger under control? 26

                                  v.     Do you take things that do not belong toyou? 28

                                 vi.     Are you using your words correctly? 29

                               vii.     Are you sensitive to the Holy Spirit’smoving in your life? 30

                              viii.    Haveyou put away your bitterness, wrath, anger, loud complaining and griping, andevil speaking? 31

                                 ix.     Have you become kind, tenderhearted, andforgiving? 32

e.   Affection training Colossians 3:1-17

                                    i.     Have you set your affection on things thatare above? 1-2

                                   ii.     Have you put to death fornication, impurity(uncleanness), wrong desires, etc.? 5

                                 iii.     Have you put off anger, wrath, wickedness(malice), making light of spiritual things, and filthy communication 8

                                 iv.     Have you quit lying? 9

                                  v.     Have you become a person that loves, feelsmercy, kindness, longsuffering? 12

                                 vi.     Have you learned to deal with your brethrenand the odd things about them and to forgive them? 13

                               vii.     Does the peace of God rule in your heart?15

                              viii.    Doesthe Word of God dwell in you richly? 16

f.     Accepting how God made you Psalms 139

                                    i.     Are you dealing with your insecurities sothat they do not hinder you from being used of God?

                                   ii.     Do you really believe that God loves youand made you in a special way to be used of Him?

g.   Becoming a person of Integrity Psalms 15

                                    i.     Are you walking uprightly and workingrighteousness with your life?

                                   ii.     Do you speak the truth in your heart?

                                 iii.     Do you backbite or talk about people behindtheir backs in such a way as to do them harm?

                                 iv.     Do you treat your neighbor correctly?

                                  v.     Do you get involved in scandalous reportsabout your neighbor either hearing or spreading them?

                                 vi.     Have you chosen to look at wrong assomething to condemn no matter who it is?

                               vii.     Do you honor them that fear the Lord?

                              viii.    Do youkeep your word?

                                 ix.     Do you try and take advantage of innocentpeople?

h.    Confessing and forsaking sin I John 1:9

i.      Forgiving others – no root of bitternessHebrews 12:15

j.     Believing God to use you to helpothers  

 

 

Your Personal Ministry or the Do level 

 

This is the “you” that people see. This is how you act in public. This level can be faked or adapt and adjust to the situation you are inat least for a time.  We put on ourbest face when we go out!  This isus with make up on!  

 

Your wife does know this part of you.  Your family, friends, associates andthe people you work with know this part of you.  This is who you portray yourself to be on a dailybasis.  

 

This level shows in how you treat your wife andchildren, pay your bills, attend church, do your job at work.  This is how you act when others arearound.  

 

Many times preachers dwell on this area of life agreat deal.  We are told to sit upstraight, pay our bills, cut our hair, listen to this music, etc.  We dress a certain way, act a certainway and this is our do level.

 

Failure comes because we can only act this way fora certain amount of time.  Afterall we are what we think.  Proverbs23:7 The way we act comes from our heart. Matthew 12:34-35.  If we could fill our heart with theword of God then we would not slip. Psalm 37:31.

 

Understanding this changes the way we preach andteach.  We now know that outwardconformity does not mean that their hearts will change.  They conform at church and while we arewatching at least until they get mad but no real change has taken place.  This means that our ministry has toturn into getting them in the Word and the Word in them.

 

What we do should be a natural outflow of who weare.  So the work no longer becomessomething we have to prop up but rather the God of Heaven will do the work inthem.

 

I.             The “DO” level is mostly a reflection of the “BE” level.  Who a person is in the deepest part oftheir private life has to affect what they do.

a.   Have they fullyunderstood salvation and eternal security? Are they a baptized, faithful,church member? Their church attendance?

b.   The “Do” level speaks ofhow a person treats his or her spouse.

c.    The way that they relateto their children

d.   The way they handle thestewardship of all that God has given them. How do they pay their bills?

e.   Their personaldevotional life

f.     Their family devotions

g.   Their personal soulwinning or evangelistic ministry

h.   Have they learned topray?

i.      Their separation fromsin

j.     Have they begun to serveGod in a small way?

II.          How do we get someone to achieve this level?

a.   Develop a definitefriendship with this person. Sit with them at church. 

b.   Share your life withthem.

                                             i.     Be sure you are livingwhat you want them to become.

                                            ii.     Be passionate about yourrelationship to the Lord.

                                          iii.     Be diligent in yourpersonal Bible reading and prayer.

c.    Be transparent aboutyour life and how you deal with temptation.

d.   Go soul winning withyour disciple on a regular basis—try to lead their friends to Christ.

e.   Get them involved in oneof your ministries.

f.     Invite them toparticipate in your family devotions on several occasions.

III.        Lessons we need to teach on the DO level

a.   Prayer

b.   Dealing with Sin

c.    Evangelism

d.   Family Life

e.   Financial Freedom

f.     Forgiveness—overcoming bitterness

g.   The Christian at work

 

Your Public Ministry or the Serve level

 

This is the“you” that serves in the church or ministry.  This is how people might know you at church—pastor, SundaySchool teacher, usher, Missionary, Church Planter, etc.  

 

This is how youserve in the church or other ministry type activities. This level should bebased first on the fact that God has done a work in you at the “be” level andreally changed you.  It should haveshown forth in your “do” level. You should be serving not to serve but because that is who you are.

 

Many times wetry to find people a place to serve and to get them in the ministry yet theyhave not matured in the “be” and “do” level.  They then fall and embarrass the church and mostly the Lordyet it is us that have raised them prematurely to a “serve” level. 

 

The church seemsto focus on this level.  What areyou doing publicly for the Lord when God would have us focus more on the “be”than any other level?

 

As spiritualleaders we often preach to, motivate, encourage, castigate our people to getthem to serve because we need them in the ministry.  They are frustrated and do not enjoy the service.  Serving God is a drudgery to thembecause it is forced on them from the outside rather than being born from theinside.

 

We want the samething.  We do want them to serveGod but that should be a natural spiritual outgrowth of the work of God intheir hearts.  Why do God’sservants burn out?  Could it bebecause they feel they have to do certain things?  Could it be that I have been more concerned about what youthink than what God thinks?  Couldit be because I do what you expect rather than develop my walk with the LordJesus.

 

All servantsmust be self-feeders!  They mustlearn to get from God!  So manytimes we are so discouraged that if we don’t get to that next meeting we willnot be able to continue.  Somethingis wrong with a servant that has to be prodded, motivated constantly andpropped up!

 

We want todisciple men and women to walk with God from the quiet time to the public timefrom the be to the do to the serve!

 

Actually farless of our time needs to be spent on this level because if we start at thebottom or the “be” and spend most of our time then each subsequent level willrequire less effort not more.

 

I.             The “Serve” level should develop from the “BE” and “DO” levels. Serviceshould only come after God has done a work in the most intimate part of aperson and that has been reflected in how he or she “does!”

a.   Has God done a work intheir lives that is noticeable in the way they “do” life?

b.   We are not to lay handson a novice!

c.    Every disciple should betaken as far up the ministry as they can go!  All should and will develop godly character that willreflect in the way they do things. 

d.   Then they should startat the initial or beginning ministries and gradually work their way up untilthey reach the point that God would have them.

e.   We have mistakenlyturned serving God into full time ministry and belittled all other service whenthat is not God’s will.  It isgreat to just be a doorkeeper in the house of our God.

f.     Everyone has animportant part to add to the ministry.

g.   Every disciple shouldhave a ministry and all have their part to play in the body.

h.   Many end up gettingembarrassed because we rush them into ministry that they have not been preparedto do .

i.      Many want to be in theministry because they want to serve God and full time preaching is the only wayto please God!!??

j.     Our goal is that everyone go on to do all the ministry that God has for them.

k.    We are not a successuntil we have made them a success.

II.          How do we get someone to achieve this level?

a.   First we invest hoursand hours, literally life in their life on the be and do level as previouslydiscussed 

b.   Find an entry levelministry that they can do and train them to do it

c.    Let them do the ministrythat they have and work on the next level without moving up.  If they become comfortable and God’shand and blessing is on them then let them proceed to the next level.

d.   Remember you are a coachand trainer and so you will be preparing and perfecting them to do the work ofthe ministry.

e.   Always give them all thetraining and material and your life and time to make them a success.

f.     Let them have the creditfor the work that God is doing in and through them.

III.        Lessons we need to teach on the DO level

a.   The Will of God

b.   Finding your ministry

c.    Discipleship

d.   World Evangelism

e.   Dealing with those who are without

f.     Time Management

g.   Being rich in good works

 

Your Priority Ministry or the Train level

 

Your goal from thebeginning is to get them to full maturity in Christ.  That means that they too will learn to train others in theservice of the King.

 

What wouldhappen if every member of your church were training others to serve God?  What if everyone was bringing someoneelse along so that everyone was training someone to do their job?  

 

No one wouldmove on until someone else could do their job.  All would be discipling.  Your load as a pastor and leader would be greatly diminishedbecause others would be helping you.

 

This level ishard to achieve and one of the greatest reasons that it is so hard to achieveis the insecurity of the pastor. We are often afraid that others will not do as well as we would.  We are afraid of losing control.

 

The Scripturesare full of verses that tell us to train others.  Ephesians 4:11-12 shows us gifted men who are given to thechurch to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry for the edificationof the body.

 

Titus 2:3-5teaches that the mature women are to teach the younger women many things aboutserving God.

 

II Timothy 2:2shows us that faithful men were to teach other men who would be able to teachothers also.

 

Paul’s desirewas to present every man perfect or mature in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:28

 

Disciples shouldgrow so that they become faithful parents, Christians, etc and then on to be ofuseful service to God and His kingdom, but the ultimate goal is that theyreproduce others by being a soul winner and discipler of others.

 

 

I.             The “TRAIN” level is to be your priority because we are to reproduceourselves, and that is much more than being a soul winner.  Matthew 28:18-20 tells us to teach themto observe all things.  

a.   God has done a work intheir private, intimate life by filling them with the word of God.

b.   They exhibit the work ofGod in the personal lives so that people can tell by what they do that what hashappened in their interior man is affecting their exterior man.

c.    They are faithfulservants of God in the local church so that they have a life and ministry worthyof being reproduced.

d.   They are now seeking totrain others in the way to serve God first by how their life affects anotherlife (life on life) and secondly by showing and teaching another how to be, do,serve and eventually train others.

II.          How do we get someone to achieve this level?

a.   This is a life long process not a series of lessons nor sermons.

b.   We share life.

c.    They learn from what we do more than what we say.

d.   This relationship should never end.

e.   It is mentoring more than preaching a message.

f.     It is adopting sons in the ministry.

g.   This is the most costly level of ministry that exists.

h.   It is more caught thantaught.  They learn from watchingus.  So that means that you aregoing to have to spend time with those that you see coming out to work. I Corinthians16:10-11, 4:17

 

i.      To train leaders youwill have to become the right kind of “pastor” or “trainer.”

                                             i.     Be careful to alwaysseek the Lord yourself.  Jeremiah10:21 

                                            ii.     Do not scatter the flockor drive them away. If they have left they should be visited! Jeremiah 23:1-2 

                                          iii.     Shepherds are not toturn people away and make them go astray! 

                                          iv.     Don’t be a Bully PastorEzekiel 34:21 

                                           v.     Don’t Lord it over God’speople 1 Peter 5:1-4 

 

j.     You must see yourself asa coach not a player.

                                             i.     It is not your job orministry.

                                            ii.     You will play all positions.

                                          iii.     Train each person to dothe work.

                                          iv.     Motivate them.

                                           v.     Allow them to make thetouchdowns.

 

k.    Develop outreachprograms to build the church, train your folks in how to do the work and alsostart new churches. 

 

l.      Be patient with them.Take them forward at the speed that they are able to go.  Genesis 33:13-14

 

m.  Have double vision.  See them as they are and then see themwhere God wants them to be.  Judges6:13-18.  (How God saw Gideon)

 

n.   You cannot lead peoplewhere you have not already been nor to do what you have not already done or aredoing.

 

o.   Follow Jesus example.

 

                                             i.     Spend extra time withthem training them and answering their questions.  Matthew 13:10-17, 36

                                            ii.     After training thembegin to test them immediately so you could correct what they have not learnedcorrectly. Titus 1:5

1.   Luke 10:1, 17

2.   Luke 8:22, 25

3.   John 6:6

 

p.   Start a night time Bibleinstitute.

 

q.   You get what you lookfor and what you honor.

 

III.        Lessons we need to teach on the DO level

a.   Earning the right to train

b.   Being a leader of leaders

c.    Training leaders of leaders

d.   With-ness

e.   Casting Vision

f.     Delegation

g.   Goal setting