Purpose of a Disciple

[Chaplain Bernell Wesley]

This lesson was presented at the Clayton County Georgia Prison on Friday July 31, 2015. The modern Church is seemingly obsessed with making disciples and they usually cite Matthew 28:19-20 to defend their position but the fruit of modern discipleship lacks power...

          What Is a Disciple and How Do You Make One?   Go to any progressive Church, that is one whose members are taught to do community service, tithe, support missions, and church growth, and you will likely experience at some point, discipleship classes or training.   From my experience you will be trained in the importance of tithing or giving to your church to do the work the pastor has envisioned needs to be done but this discipleship training rarely empowers “members” to venture outside the safety of the congregation.  Nor does it empower or support them leaving the confines of their Church to serve the people who need it most. Most modern  “Churches” set up programs that will invite people to come to them and drink but shy away from going into the community to find out what the needs are then strategize how best to deliver what is needed.

 Waters from Under the Temple
           1 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. 2He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.… Water trickled from the "southside".

          So, the question I ask all “church leaders” is this; why are you making disciples to serve you and your Church instead of disciples that go into the communities? The answer really is quite simple;  most have never been discipled correctly themselves.  Like the proverbial blind leading the blind most modern Church leaders have followed bad teachings that have been handed down from the religion Christianity, a religion that taught slavery was ordained by God and Africans in particular, were natural slaves, the same religion that once burned people at the stake for witchcraft that, launched the Crusades, and held Councils that defined what "the Church" was supposed to accept and reject.  This same mentality later under the Apostle Paul was translated into a “follow me as I follow Jesus” (1 Corinthians 4:16) approach to the modern idea of “doing Church”. The choice is clear, you either follow Jesus or you follow Paul who is following Jesus. But, beware, “For there is not a just man on earth, that does well, and sins not” Ecclesiastes 7:20. Unless of course you are willing to gamble your soul that Paul does not fit that bill. Good luck with that….

The Great Commission Matthew 28:19-20
…18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Or, stated another way, make sure you teach them all I have taught you….. Seek first the Kingdom of God   and its Righteousness, and I will always be with you…. “Even to the end of the age”?

The end of the age is when true Disciples usher in the Kingdom of God here on earth.

What is the purpose of making disciples? Disciples should carry out the command given first to His 12. 

Jesus Fulfills the Law
…18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 19 says that that none of the commandments should be annulled until the Kingdom has been established. Then why and who established a New Testament and why was it made to annul the New Kingdom Covenant Jesus established? 

Why is keeping and teaching the Law important? Just maybe because the Law is the essence of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God and it might be a good place to begin to understand this very important premise. 

Witnessing to All Nations  Matthew 24:13-14
…13"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The end of what? The end of the world? Or just the end of the world as we know it?

A New Heaven and a New Earth
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, Revelation 21:21.  Was the earth destroyed? This is not what the Word says, the Word says it passed away…it was replaced by a new earth and Heaven that was based on the model of the Kingdom of God…

As it is written in Revelation 12:9-1 - The War in Heaven
…9And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.… Salvation rests in the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, not in Paul’s Gospel of Salvation. We don’t believe, repent, and be baptized so that we can relax and wait to go to Heaven; this is religious salvation, but we believe, repent, and submit to baptism in order to become empowered in order to re-establish dominion and the Kingdom of God here and now. 

Many, most, believe making disciples is commanded in order to fulfill the “great Commission”. But, many, most never teach or discuss the “why” of making disciples. Jesus speaking to His Church throughout the “New Testament” is plain in His commands to US - Revelation 11:15
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." Surely, we die and go to Heaven.  It is written he who endures to the end “the same shall be saved” – Matthew 24:13. Endure until you die or until this old world is passed away and you shall be saved to rule for all eternity - Why Do the Nations Rage?
…8Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" 10Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.…  Psalm 2: 9-10

Cross References

Psalm 2:9
You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

Isaiah 30:14
It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern."

Daniel 7:18
But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever and ever.'

Revelation 12:5
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who "will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. I believe the sword is the Wisdom given to those who are discerning and this iron scepter is the unbreakable Love that Jesus gave us … Amen.

So, my brothers and sisters come out of her (the religion Christianity) and begin seeking the Kingdom of God and how to share that Gospel.  Any other “gospel” might be good news but unless it is specifically that good news commanded by Jesus it will never be as good as it is supposed to be….. Seek first the Kingdom …I love yall!!!