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Highlights of Christian Discipleship by DL with ZLA-RHC ~ 7/30/03

Theme Verse: Matthew 16:24, 25;
- “If any man will come after me,
- let them deny himself,
- and take up his cross,
- and follow me”

Introduction
- Dictionary Definition of Discipleship: A Learner. One who is Taught
- Matthew 4:19 – “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
- Matthew 28:19, 20 - 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
- The ultimate purpose for the life of every believer, which brings glory to God, is proclaiming & propagating His gospel given in scripture.

1. Forgiveness through Christ
- Your unchangeable position in Christ.
- There are two kinds of Christians: Spiritual & Carnal
- 1Corinthian 3:1 – “I Brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh…”
- Romans 8:5-11 – “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit”
- Hebrews 2:18 – “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted..” NIV
- Romans 8:38, 39 – “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- 1John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.”
- Confession is the practical application of position in Christ.

2. The Work of the Holy Spirit
- Romans 13:14 – “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.” KJV
- Isaiah 11:2; 61:1 – “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord”, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” KJV
- Matthew 10:20 – “For it is not ye that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
- Romans 8:9 – “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” KJV
- Galatians 4:6 – “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” KJV
- John 14:26 - “…the Holy Spirit …will teach you all things”& John 16:13-14 – “Howbeit, when he the Spirit of Truth, is come,he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” KJV
- The Holy Spirit Regenerates – Titus 3:5-7 – “”He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
- The Holy Spirit Seals – Ephesians 1:13, 14 – In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of Promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance…
- The Holy Spirit Baptizes – 1Corinthian 12:13 – “For by one Spirit we were all baptized (placed) into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
- The Holy Spirit Indwells – John 14:17 – “…the Spirit of truth…will be in you.”; Repeat - Romans 8:9-11
- The Holy Spirit Anoints – 1John 2:20, 27 – “But you have an anointing from the Holy One. And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

- Human teachers are important to the Church (given to the church by God) but we are actually taught by the Holy Spirit through the inner man. It is the Holy Spirit who takes the teaching of the Word and infuses it into our lives. Together these five acts of the Holy Spirit comprise what Jesus spoke of as being “Baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (A teaching for another day?)
- Q: How do you find and get to know God? A: You find & know God by Praying through his Word.

3. Feeding on God’s Word
- The Bible is the most important book ever written. It is the word of God, and tells us everything God wants us to know about our relationship to Him.
- Matthew 4:4 – “It is Written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”” Physically, you must eat to survive. Spiritually, you must feed on God’s Word in order to experience the abundant life.
- Colossians 3:16 – “16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” NIV
- 1Peter 1:23-2:2- “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God… The word of the Lord abides forever… like new born babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
- Without Bible study you soon become Spiritually anemic.
- John 8:31,32 – “If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of mine, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
- Praying in Spirit to divine the truth of the word of the Bible

4. Learning To Pray
- One of the most important aspects of the Christian Life is Prayer.
- To participate and build a close personal friendship/relationship with God through prayer through Jesus Christ while you experience His plan for your life.
- Luke 11:1 – “While he was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray.”
- Praying in Spirit to divine the truth of the word of the Bible
- Ephesians 6:18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” KJV
- What is Prayer? – Conscious experience of Gods presence
- Communicating your thoughts and desires to God. – Philippians 4:6,7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
- Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
- Allowing God to communicate with you – Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. …”
- Prayer - Communicating with God in his presence.
- How should you pray? – Matthew 6:9-13 – “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever Amen.” KJV
- Matthew 6:6 – “When you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to the Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
- Spend time alone with God. Pray with others too. God knows you. 1Corinthians 8:3 – “…If anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” - Prayer is an intimate personal conversation between you and God.
- You don’t need any special vocabulary in order to pray. God wants you to be you. Talk to God in your own personal manner.
- Matthew 18:19, 21:22 – “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.”, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive”
- John 14:13, 14 – “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do.”
- 1John 5:14, 15 – “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that , if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
- Thessalonians 5:17 – We should “Pray without ceasing”

5. Spiritual Warfare
- Satan – Who and what is he? – A person, a created being. He is not omnipresent as God is. God is infinite, Satan is finite. Satan is far more powerful than any human, but still he is only a meager, confined being, totally under the sovereignty of God, along with all creation.
(- See following scripture passages that deal with the origin, fall, and judgment of Satan: Ezekial 28:11-19, Isaiah 14:12-20, Genesis 3:14, 15; John 12:31, Revelation 12:13; 20:2-10)
- Satan was defeated at the cross and through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
- Satan is a deceiver- 2Corinthians 11:14 – “…Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”
- Satans Demonic System – Ephesians 6:10-12 – “The Armor of God - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” NIV

6. The War Within
- 1John 3:2 – “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just like he is.”
- 1Corinthians15:51, 52 – “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” NIV- Romans 7:15-24 – “15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” NIV

7. The Divine Plan
- God’s plan for reaching the world with the Gospel.
- Mat 28:18-20 –“18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." NIV

8. Called To Make Disciples
- The message must have a voice by which the Gospel can be proclaimed, so that humankind through the ages encounters Jesus Christ, accepting or rejecting Him.
- Romans 10: 14, 15 – “14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" NIV
- Matthew 28:19 – “Go…make disciples of all nations…”
- Acts 1:8 – “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses…”
- The Great Commission – “Go…make disciples…” is a command, not merely a suggestion or option, directed at all believers. No matter who you are. If you are a true believer in Christ you have as your responsibility the fulfillment of this imperative.
- To Go make disciples and disciple makers following Jesus discipling methodology and strategy.
- Romans 10:24, 25 – “24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

9. Proclaiming Christ
- 1 Corinthians 9:16 - 16Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
The Bible tells us precisely what the Gospel is…
- John 3:16 – 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – “1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,..”
- 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 – “18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God”

Basic Process of Discipleship:
Through small groups of inter-personal relationships between disciple maker and disciple, growing each disciple to a level of spiritual stability, which transforms the disciple into a disciple maker.

Further reading regarding elements of the Gospel:
-1John 4:19; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Corinthians 8:3
- Romans 3:23, 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15
- John 14:6, Romans5:8, 8,2; 2Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews9:26
- John 1:12, 3:1-8; Ephesians 2:8,9
- Revelation3:20; Romans 10:9,10; 1John 5:11-13; Matthew 16:24, 25; 2 Corinthians 5:17

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