The older I get, the more aware I become of my own limitations. There are only so many hours in the day and I can only accomplish so much in a given day. As I get older, I find that what I can accomplish in a given day is less than what it was a few years ago. Can you relate?
There’s so much work that needs to be done, isn’t there? We have a world that is literally dying because of a lack of hope. To stave off that death, it’s tempting to try to work myself to death, ironically. We just need some heroes to step up to the plate and give there all, right? Oddly enough, this isn’t the way Jesus chose to do it. If anyone could have done it on his own, it was Jesus, but that’s not the approach he took. Instead, Jesus invested in a few who would go and do the work of the kingdom of God. As Jesus was sent, and as the Holy Spirit was sent, so too are we sent.
Take a moment and look at Luke 9 or Luke 10 – where Jesus empowers and deploys the twelve (in chapter 9) and the seventy-two (in chapter 10). As imperfect as they were, Jesus equipped and empowered his disciples to go out proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. It’s a thread that runs through the entire New Testament. One of my favorite examples of this is found in 1 Corinthians 4 where Paul sends Timothy to the church in Corinth (rather than going there himself) because “He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church” (v. 17).
When we make disciples, we multiply our efforts for the kingdom of God. You can’t possibly reach everyone in your community. You don’t have the time and you can’t possibly relate to everyone or have the capacity to contextualize the Gospel to every people group in your community. None of us can as individuals. But, when we follow Jesus’ example of investing in a few, we start to see our efforts multiplied through the efforts of others who have been transformed by Jesus and discipled into His way of life.
Who are you investing in for the sake of Christ? Do you have a Timothy in your life? Who could you send in your place because “they will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus?” When you look at the current state of your own congregation, who is being sent out, where are disciples being made beyond the reach of your four walls?
One of the best ways to determine whether or not we’re making disciples of Jesus is to ask the question “where do we see multiplication happening?” Where do we see people being empowered and equipped to go demonstrate and proclaim the good news of Jesus? Where do we see evidence of disciples making disciples who in turn, go out and make disciples?
Jesus tells us that the “harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” A few workers may only bring in a small harvest, but even a small harvest produces more workers. That’s the beautiful thing about Christ’s approach. Multiplying isn’t just the goal of discipleship, its also the method. If we’re making disciples, we’ll see multiplication happen: disciples, leaders and even churches.
If you want to learn more about how best to disciple in our current cultural context, please consider joining us later this month for 2022 Discipleship Forum, a 2-day meeting with speakers from innovative and successful discipleship institutions. Learn more and register here.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 16, No. 41
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