So this past year, I have been thinking a lot about discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple? What does it look like? Jesus greatest commandment is for us to "Go and make disciples of all nations". I don't even think I knew that that even meant until I came to Drake. I read a great article called "Born to reproduce" and here are some of the things that it says that is very challenging:
"You can lead a soul to Christ in from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. But it takes from 20 weeks to a couple of years to get him on the road to maturity, victorious over the sins and the recurring problems that come along. He must learn how to make right decisions. He must be warned of the various "isms" that are likely to reach out with their octopus arms and pull him in and sidetrack him. But when you get yourself a man, you have doubled your ministry- in fact, you have more that doubled your ministry. Do you know wy? When you teach your man, he sees how it is done and he imitates you."
Here are 5 reasons Christians do not reproduce:
1. Sin: overt-covert-unconfessed
Whenever you find a christian who is not leading men and women to Christ, something is wrong. 1 Cor. 3:1
Are you producing? If not, why? Is it because of lack of communion with Christ, your Lord, that closeness of Fellowship which is part of the great plan? Or is it some sin in your life, an unconfessed something, that has stopped the flow? Or is it that you are still a babe? Heb 5:12
2. Fear of Man- "Oh, but I am afraid!"
Remember "The fear of man bringth a snare; but whose putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." Proverbs 29:25
3. Lack of a spiritual purpose in life
4. Busyness
I am talking about busy doing Christian things. We have spiritual activity with little productivity. And productivity comes as a result of what we call "follow-up".
5. Christians do important jobs but not the most important
"What will it take to jar us out of our complacence and send us home to pray, 'God, give me a girl or man whom I can win to Christ, or let me take one who is already one, an infant in Christ, and try to train that one so that he or she will reproduce."
"How thrilled we are to see masses filled up the seats! But where is your man? I would rather have one 'Isaac' alive than a hundred dead, or sterile, or immature."
"Soul winners are not sole winners, because of what they know, but because of the Person they know, how well they know Him, and how much they long for others to know Him."
"Load your heart with the precious Seed. You will find that God will direct you to those whom you can lead to Christ. There are many hearts ready for the Gospel now!"
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy spirit has made you overseers. Be shepards of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Acts 20:28
I'm going to leave you with some lyrics from Lecrae :)
Discipleship is our call but we make disciples, this is not a suggestion, create disciples. The teachin' is a process, it's not overnight and it's not a stage and a mic nah, it's life on life Christ -
Walked with twelve, ate with twelve, talked with twelve, shaped the twelve, invested in 'em well you could say that he made the twelve. Who made many more, who made plenty more, now it's on you and me if there's anymore.
1 teach, 2 teach, 3 teach, 4 teach, 5 teach, 6 teach, 7 teach more, this is what we've been commissioned, it's the reason why I write, so that you could hear the truth, not so you can say I'm tight whoa..
