The Kingdom principle of multiplying disciples is the most necessary and neglected practice of disciple-making. Churches often fail to grasp the importance of multiplication in their discipleship ministries. Jesus did not teach His disciple to add; He taught them how to multipy. When Jesus invited twelve men into His D-Group, He knew that He would not be with them forever. His goal was not to remain with them but to send them out. His disciples knew that they would each go out and do what He had trained them to do. They would multiply and make other disciples. Likewise, all D-Groups must be committed to the practice of multiplication. Jesus made disciples who made disciples. He didn’t make any other kind. Disciple-making requires the multiplication of disciples; apart from multiplication there is no real discipleship. Later in the Bible, we are introduced to a man named Paul. He was not one of the original disciples. In fact, when we first meet him, he is no disciple at all. He was a skeptic who did not believe in Jesus and who persecuted those who did. Through a supernatural encounter with Jesus on a desert road, his life was radically changed. Paul the skeptic not only became a disciple of Jesus, but he went on to become one of the greatest disciple-makers who has ever lived. As a man on a mission, Paul’s whole life was committed to making and multiplying disciples. He took groups of disciples with him on his missionary journeys and left behind disciple-making leaders in every city where he stopped. The impact of Paul’s life cannot be measured because of his relentless commitment to the greater work. Someone very special to Paul was a young disciple named Timothy. As he approached the end of his life on earth, Paul wrote a letter to his young disciple giving Timothy his own version of the Great Commission. With tenderness and strength Paul said, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:1-2). This is one of the clearest descriptions of genuine discipleship in the entire Bible. There is no way it can be misunderstood that multiplication is an essential quality of discipleship. According to Paul, multiplication is a disciple-maker’s mission. As a D-Group leader, you must lead your group to multiply. THE MULTIPLICAITON OF DISCIPLES IS EMPOWERED Knowing that the time for his departure was at hand, Paul realized that Timothy would need God’s strength to carry on the greater work he had trained him to do. With the love of a father, he encouraged Timothy to “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). The word “strengthened” is the Greek word, endunamoó. From the root of this word, we get the word “dynamite.” Here, Paul was reminding Timothy that God’s grace would be with him to empower him for making disciples. The same is true for you. As you lead your D-Group, God will be with you. The Spirit of the greatest disciple-maker who ever lived dwells in you. He is the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. He will continually empower you with great strength and explosive power to make disciples who make disciples. THE MULTIPLICATION OF DISCIPLES IS EXPLAINED Nowhere in the New Testament is the process of disciple-making more clearly laid out as Paul explains it here. Paul said, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). In this one sentence, we see four generations of discipleship: 1) Paul, 2) Timothy, 3) faithful men, and 4) others also. Paul had discipled Timothy. Now it was Timothy’s turn to disciple some faithful men. In turn, these faithful men were to go disciple others also. This is how God’s kingdom is intended to grow. This is growth without gimmicks. The great expansion of the early church did not happen by addition. It was the result of the explosive process of multiplication. Concerning the early church, the Bible says, “The word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly” (Acts 6:7). When you step up to lead a D-Group, you are on the front lines of the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth. It’s not the preacher in the pulpit but the disciple-maker in the trenches who determines if the kingdom grows. It is important for you to do your job. You are empowered for this. Don’t be duped by the misleading allure of addition. Simply put, your job is not to grow a bigger group but to multiply new groups. It’s only through the multiplication of disciples that you will witness the result of exponential kingdom growth. As a true disciple-maker, you must make multiplication your primary goal. Intentionally and methodically, strive to send out at least one new disciple-maker every year to lead a new D-Group. You may not always achieve this goal, but you should make it your aim. This is a reasonable and worthy objective. According to the Bible, the Father is glorified when “you bear much fruit” (John 15:8). Perhaps, you do not realize the greatness of your fruit-bearing potential. When you live a lifestyle of disciple-making, you possess unlimited potential to bear much fruit and to bring great glory to the Father. Consider the possibilities. What if you simply discipled three people every year—just three? Then, what if you sent out one of them each year to do the same? If this became your lifestyle for the next twenty to thirty years, the fruit of your life would be immeasurable. Let’s take a deeper look. As a D-Group leader, here is your goal…
Wow! What if only half of this happened! This is your fruit-bearing potential for the Father. In just ten years, over five hundred discipleship groups and more than fifteen-hundred disciples could trace their roots back to you. In twenty years, over five-hundred thousand discipleship groups and a million-and-a-half people would be discipled because of you. In thirty years—well, we won’t even go there—because I know what you're thinking. You’re thinking that such a disciple-making movement could never happen because of you. But, why not you? Don’t you think the early disciples must have thought the same? Nevertheless, it all begins with just three and one—discipling three people a year and multiplying one out to do the same. If you could have the faith to do just this, you have the potential to reach thousands of people for Christ. That’s a lot of fruit! Exponential kingdom growth is the ultimate result of multiplying disciples. When I think about the raw reality of this, my heart weeps over the failure of the church to do our job. Disciple-making is our job! Jesus taught it, modeled it, and commanded it. Paul taught it, modeled it, and commanded it. We have no excuse! In thirty-three years, just one person has the potential to reach the entire globe for Christ. But wait, what if there were more than one person? A global grassroots disciple-making movement would mean that the world is still within our reach. THE MULTIPLICATION OF DISCIPLES IS EXCITING Few things are more exciting and fulfilling for a true follower of Christ than to lead a D-Group that is continually multiplying. It also adds great significance to your life. Like Jesus, Paul made disciples who made other disciples. There is no way to measure the eternal impact of his life. We can be certain that his rewards in heaven were great. Likewise, if you commit to a lifestyle of disciple-making there will be no way to measure the impact of your life either. Your rewards will be great. A lifetime lifestyle of making and multiplying disciples is the disciple maker's ultimate commitment. D-Life exists to equip common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Click below to learn more.
2 Comments
|
authorDr. Bill Wilks, has a passion for equipping common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Bill and his wife, Rondie, have traveled extensively to train thousands of believers how to make disciples who make disciples. Bill and Rondie live near Trussville, AL, where he serves as Lead Pastor of NorthPark Church and Founder of D-Life. Archives
August 2024
Categories
All
|