21 Days of Prayer: Day 18
Discipleship: Replicate
“and what you have heard from me .... entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."
Read 2 Timothy 2:2
Paul loved Timothy. He’d made a gospel investment in Timothy. Many scholars believe Timothy was in his 30s. Paul was an old man at the end of his spiritual journey. He later told Timothy, his “true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2), that his end was near: “6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
The word Paul used for “departure” can be found in ancient Greek literature. When used it refers to loosing a ship from its moorings or for a soldier to loose the stakes of his tent. Paul will soon be martyred for his faith in Christ and His gospel. By the grace of God and with his eyes fixed on eternity with Christ, Paul paints a picture of joyfully loosing the ropes of his “ship” and preparing to sail to a much better destination: His eternal destination in glory with Christ! His ship was about to depart and He was ready. He’d been preparing for this throughout his new life in Christ by investing in others. Paul knew that in death he wouldn’t die, He would depart and gain eternal life with Christ! (Philippians 1:21) Even though Paul was about to “depart”, his work on this side of eternity was not yet finished.
Timothy experienced the beauty of being invested in for the sake of the gospel. By the grace of God, Timothy had several God-given influences who helped shape him in the Gospel:
I.) A personal mentor (Paul discipled Timothy) - [2 Timothy 1:2-4]
II.) A godly mother and grandmother (maybe you have someone in your family who is shaping or has shaped you in the gospel. Thank God for them!) - [2 Timothy 1:5]
Based on the gospel (what Jesus has done for Timothy, in him and through him) and based on the investment of this gospel by the 3 groups just mentioned, Paul gives Timothy some instruction for how to live his life. Specifically, he tells Timothy it’s time to pass on what he has learned! It’s time to replicate! It’s time to make disciples who make disciple-makers. Paul never graduated or retired from the gospel. He didn’t go on a cruise in the Mediterranenan and “cruise” into his final days on vacation. Paul knew how urgent it was to ensure that the gospel didn’t die with Timothy (or with us!). It must be passed on and taught to others. We are always on mission!
Notice the 4 generations of gospel multiplication in verse 2:
I.) Jesus gave the gospel message to Paul. He didn’t receive it from man, but from Jesus Himself!
II.) Next, Paul gave the gospel message to Timothy.
III.) Thirdly, Paul is telling Timothy to teach the gospel to faithful men in the church.
IV.) Finally, Paul says Timothy must entrust these men to teach the same gospel message Paul received directly from Christ to others so that they can teach others.
We have the gospel today (in Blount County, Alabama!) because faithful brothers and sisters passed it along to others who continued to pass it along to others. They urgently and joyfully made 2 Timothy 2:2 their first work. Many faithful brothers and sisters in the Lord before us were wholly committed to keeping the gospel alive and not allowing it to die with them. After all, Jesus commanded us to make disciples in Matthew 28 just before He ascended back to heaven at the right hand of His Father: “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus, the Creator of all things, commanded His followers to make Him famous among the nations by teaching others how to follow and obey Him. This is God’s plan A for rescuing sinners. It’s not plan B. God’s plan A to reach a lost, sinful and dying world who, apart from Christ will burn in hell forever condemned in their sins, is sending out born again believers to reach the lost and make disciples.
We must make Jesus’ final words in the Great Commission our first work.
I’ve heard it said this way: “The gospel came to you because it was headed to someone else.” Who shared the gospel with you that eventually led you to a saving knowledge of faith in Christ? Next, who is your someone else? Who are you investing in personally? We all need a Paul and we all need a Timothy. We need a trusted and mature believer who is willing to speak the Word of God and His gospel into our lives and we need a Timothy in whom we can invest these same things so that they can invest these same things in others. The mission will go on until Christ returns for His church in eternal victory!
We say the word “discipleship” often at Redeemer. Whether it’s reading the Great Commission together every Sunday at the end of the worship service or the language we use in our Discipleship Pathway, we are constantly talking about it (and for good reason!). So what is discipleship? We have chosen to use this definition from Replicate (a disciple-making ministry): Discipleship - intentionally equipping believers with the Word of God through accountable relationships empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to replicate faithful followers of Christ.
This is why we are so passionate about the Discipleship Pathway. Discipleship is not a ministry in our church it is THE ministry of our church. Discipleship is not an option that some Christians should choose if they feel like it. The crown jewel of our Discipleship Pathway is the D-Group. A D-Group is a group of 3-5 (men with men, women with women) who meet for 12-18 months to read the Bible, engage the Bible by keeping a daily HEAR journal, memorizing 2-3 verses a week and for gospel-centered accountability and prayer. The goal of every D-Group is that after 12-18 months each member of the group (3-5 people) is commissioned to start their own groups of 3-5. The purpose of the D-Group is to replicate! We are not content with Christian huddles. We want to multiply and reach more and more people with the gospel for the sake of discipleship.
By the grace of God and by the power of His Holy Spirit (the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead! [Romans 8]) we have been Commissioned to make disciples of all nations. It’s a co-mission because He has not sent us out alone. No, He has promised to be with us to the end of the age as we make disciples!
Every relationship we build for the sake of the gospel, He is with us. Every time we memorize Scripture with brothers and sisters, He is with us. Every time we teach others how to pray, He is with us. Every time we are wholly committed to making Christ known for the purpose of discipleship, He is with us. He is never not with us!
The gospel is the bedrock for salvation, for the church, for leaders within the church and for all things. The well from which all churches must drink is the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Word of God. Not relevance or political correctness. Ultimately, the church is God’s redeeming tool of multiplying leaders within who then multiply outwardly: Namely, disciples make disciples who go and make more disciples.
Personal questions:
Why is discipleship neglected by so many?
Are you actively making disciples?
What is holding you back from making disciples?
Where are you on the Discipleship Pathway? Are you willing to take your next step? Are you willing to help others take their next step on the Pathway?
Prayer points:
Pray for current groups to replicate when it’s time.
Pray for each member of each group to get in the Word until the Word gets in them through scripture memory and HEAR journals.
Pray for brothers and sisters to be set free from sins they have struggled with in the past through accountable relationships.
Pray for each member of each group to make the final words of Jesus in the Great Commission their first work.
Pray for each member of each group to grow in their personal evangelism to the lost.