Maturation - The Purpose of Disciplemaking

Father, we thank you that as we come together this evening, we can understand the heart and mind of God. And while we understand that you are incomprehensible, You have revealed to us in your word those things that you want us to know, to believe, to understand, that we might live a life that brings glory to our King. And so tonight, as we continue our study on what it means to be a disciple maker, we pray that our hearts will be challenged by what we hear. And we would commit to doing what your word says.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. If you have your Bible, I would invite you to turn with me to the book of Colossians.

The book of Colossians, the first chapter. We want to continue our study of God's Word as it relates to making disciples and look specifically tonight at the purpose in disciple making. Last week we looked at the prerequisite to disciple making, and that was the fact that God had authorized us through Himself. In Matthew 28, 19, and 20, to go into all the world and make disciples. Tonight, we're going to look at the purpose of disciple making, and that is that we might present every man complete in Christ.

We're looking at the maturing process, and in doing so, We're going to help you understand what are some of the crucial elements you need to teach your disciple that they might be the kind of man or woman God wants them to be. At the same time, if you're a parent, it's very applicable to you to understand that these principles need to be instilled in the lives of your children. That as you work with them, as you teach them, as you talk with them, as you grow with them, that they might understand what it is God wants them to be.

Okay? And so we're going to study that this evening. It's all tucked away in two little verses in Colossians chapter 1, verses 28 and 29, where Paul would write to this little church at Colosse these Christians that were there, to help them understand what is essential. To the ministry in the church. And as he would write to them, he wanted them to grapple with. The elements of that ministry. You could entitle this sermon The Marks of a Magnificent Ministry if you wanted to, because Paul outlines for us.

Number one, the ministry of maturation. That is, what is that ministry that grows people? And then we want to talk to you about the marks of maturation. What are those marks that help you understand the barometer that gives you the gauge? By which you understand you are growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Okay? Colossians 1. Verse number 28 says, And we proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works within me.

The first element I want you to understand about the ministry of maturation is the encouragement in the ministry.

The encouragement in the ministry. I think we need to begin here because you need to know at the outset that there is great encouragement that comes from doing what God has called you to do. Note earlier in the text, Paul says in verse number 23, these words: I, Paul, was made A min. Paul says that I have been made a minister. He didn't choose to be a minister. He was made a minister. God made him a minister. You see, Paul was a blasphemer. Paul was a persecutor. Paul was a murderer. Paul was anything.

Other than having him home for dinner. This is not the kind of guy you want to invite over to your house for dinner. He was a scoundrel. But God saved a soul. God made him into something. Remember, the Bible says, You didn't choose me, I chose you, John 15:1.

And God chose this man, the Apostle Paul, to be a minister. It says in verse number 24. He says, Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh. I do my share on behalf of his body, which is the church, in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions. Of this church, I was made a minister. Again, Paul emphasizes the fact that God made me something. He made me into something, something that I wasn't previously. He made me a diak. He made me a deacon. He made me a service, a servant.

This is what God did in my life. If you notice over in the book of Acts, the 26th chapter, Paul says as he records what happens, he says, As he stands before Agrippa, he says, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me, and those who were journeying with me.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But arise and stand on your feet. For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things which I will appear to you. He says, I have appointed you to something.

I have appointed you to be my witness. I have appointed you to be my minister. He says, Saul, listen, this is who you are now going to be. So as Paul gives his testimony to Agrippa, he is saying, God did something to me. Now, this is important. Why? Because over in 1 Timothy 1:12, he says, And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me and that he counted me faithful, putting me in the ministry. The Lord is the one who makes ministers. Over in 1 Timothy 2, verse number 7, he says, For I am ordained a preacher and an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles.

Paul understood his call. That was his encouragement in the ministry. Whatever your ministry, wherever you are, whatever you do, the greatest encouragement that you'll ever receive. Is the very fact that God chose you, that God called you, that God placed you, that God appointed you in the ministry. The very fact that the sovereign God of the universe would choose you to be involved. In representing him to a lost world is the most astounding miracle on the face of the earth. I mean, let's be honest.

We wouldn't choose one another. You wouldn't choose me. I wouldn't choose you. But God would choose you because God would work through you, and that's the encouragement in the ministry. It was John Wycliffe who said these words. The highest service that men may attain to on earth is to preach the word of God. This service falls peculiarly to priests, and therefore God more straightly demands it of them. And for this cause, Jesus Christ left other works and occupied him mostly in preaching. And thus did his apostles.

And for this, God loved them. He says the highest calling a man can ever have is to be a priest in the kingdom of God. Now, listen, we are all not preachers of the gospel. In the public sense of the word, but we are all priests in the kingdom of God. 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a royal priesthood. The book of Revel, chapter 1, verse number 6. Says that God made us a kingdom, He made us priests. Revelation 5, verse number 10 says the same thing: that we are made a priesthood. We, the people of God, are the representatives of God to a lost world.

To understand that is the greatest of all encouragement. Why is that? You know, I don't know what all of you do. I don't know what you do throughout your day. You know, some of you are barbers, and some of you are salesmen, and some of you are trainers, and some of you are coaches, and some of you are. Are business executives and some of you are secretaries, and some of you do all kinds of things. We all have different occupations. But every one of us in this room who knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior had the same vocation, different occupation, same vocation.

That is, we all have the same calling. We've all been placed in our area of occupation. By a sovereign God, in order that we might effectively fulfill our vocation in that place. You see, you are able to do what I cannot do because God placed you in a place He did not place me. He put you there because He called you into His kingdom. In order that that place of work, wherever it may be, will be the sphere of influence in which you will affect those people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now that is the encouragement in the ministry.

Look at it this way: you're doing what no one else in the world can do. The chair you sit in when you go to work can only be occupied by one person in the sovereign plan of God. That's you. Nobody else? That's why you're there. And that's an encouraging news. And so we ought to look at that from the standpoint of saying, you know, God placed me here.

God put me here because He called me to Himself. He made me a minister. He wants me to be His minister in this pos. That is great encouragement. And that's what God wants you to see. That's what God wants you to understand. And so we understand that the encouragement in the ministry is based on the fact that God called me and made me a minister, a representative of his kingdom. Put it this way. Your main objective in life is to make the invisible reign of Christ visible to a lost world. That sums up what you ought to do every day.

Christ is the king of the universe. He is your king. You've submitted to his lordship. And that rain is invisible to the world. But because of how you live, because of what you say, you are now going to make that rain visible. You're going to show everybody that you serve. Great king. You're going to demonstrate to the people of the world that you have submitted yourself to the king of the universe. And people will see that. That becomes your ministry. That makes you a powerful person in your place of employment.

That makes you a powerful influence in your home because God puts you there. To represent him. That's the encouragement in the ministry. The second thing I want you to see is the emphasis in the ministry.

That's the encouragement. Now, here comes the emphasis. Remember, this is the purpose in disciple making. And the purpose is to grow people. The first step in understanding what it means to grow people is understanding that God has called you to do that.

He puts you in the ministry. He made you a part of his kingdom in order that people might see Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So here comes the emphasis back to the book of Colossians, first chapter, 28th, verse.

We pro him. That's the emphasis. We pro him. Now think about that for a moment. Think about the church. The church is not about proclaiming the family and family values. The church is not about proclaiming political issues. The church is not about proclaiming social issues. The church is not about accomplishing the preacher's opinions or agenda. The church is not about current thoughts and trends. The church is about proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord. That's what the emphasis is. In the disciple-making process, that too is the emphasis.

It's all about Jesus Christ. It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not about our agenda. It's not about our opinions. It's about His work, Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul says, We proclaim him. He told those in Corinth at 1 Corinthians 1, verse number 18, we preach Christ crucified. Over in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, verse number 2. He said, What? He said, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him. Crucified. It says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse number 5: For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul did not preach philosophy. Paul did not preach psychology. He preached Jesus Christ as Lord. That is the emphasis in the ministry. So if you're going to grow people. You must grow them based on one thing. You're going to present to them the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the emphasis. You with me so far? Good. It was Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who said this. Now, there the priorities are laid down once and forever. This is the primary task of the church. The primary task of the leaders of the church, the people who are set in this position of authority.

And we must not allow anything to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need. Is it not clear as you take a bird's eye view of the church's history that the decadent periods and eras church history Have always been those periods when preaching has declined. What is it that always heralds the dawn of a reformation or a revival? It is renewed preaching. A revival of true preaching has always heralded these great movements in the history of the church. Listen, if the church is going to die, it's going to die because the emphasis in the church changes.

If the emphasis is not about proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, then the emphasis is on something else. Therefore, we've missed what the ministry is we are supposed to be doing. And this is it. And so Paul says, we proclaim Christ. And he says it this way: My proclamation has two components: admonishing every man and teaching every man. We're going to admonish every man and we're going to teach every man two things: one negative, one positive. When you admonish someone, what you're doing is showing them, listen, if you keep going down this road, You're headed for destruction.

It's a word of warning. When you admonish someone, you are warning them. You're telling them, be careful. If you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to bring harm to your life. You're going to displease our God. You need to make sure that you obey what the word of God says.

That's why. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse number 12, We beseech you, brethren, to know them who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.

Admonish you. Now, listen, it's just not the preacher's job to admonish people. The Bible says, look over in Colossians chapter 3, it says this in verse number 15: and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, in which Indeed, you were called in one body, and be thankful, and let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another.

So the teaching and the admonishment is about the ministry of the entire church, not just the pastor's job, not just the preacher's job. It's everybody's ministry. We are to admonish one another. We do that effectively when the Word of Christ richly dwells within us. In other words, when the Word of God is at home in our hearts. That is, when the Word of God is saturating our lives, we are effective at admonishing our brothers. Why? Because we know what God says, and we know that if they are living in violation of what God says, we need to talk to them about those things.

Be careful. Watch out. You need to warn people about sin. You've got to warn them about false doctrine. You've got to warn them about the consequences of disobedience. You need to warn them about spiritual laziness. All those things are crucial. That's what admonishment does. Paul says in Acts 20:3 that he admonished the Ephesian elders day and night with tears. He warned them: watch out. Look out. Be careful. Be alert. Be aware. You never know what's going to happen next. So stand in the truth. Be committed to the truth.

Live the truth. Study the truth. He would admonish them day and night. And even with tears, because he was so concerned about what would happen there in the church of Ephesus. Paul says, my emphasis is to proclaim Christ. In doing so, I'm going to admonish people and I'm going to teach people. Admonishing and teaching. Teaching is a positive side. Listen, if you're going this way and you're going to end up In this condition, then let me teach you how you can avoid that.

Let me show you what the Word of God says about how God wants to work in and through you, how God wants to help you through the issues of your life.

Because God's word spells that out for you. That's why Matthew 28:20 says that when we go into all the world and make disciples, we have to teach them to observe all that God has commanded. All that God's commanded. They need to understand what God has said. So we need to be able to teach them what God Has said. Now note, the text says, and we proclaim him admonishing every man and teaching every man. With all wisdom that we might present every man. Do you see how inclusive that is? Every man, each single individual, not just some of them.

But every one of them. And that is the emphasis in the ministry. Not only is it about the person and work of Jesus Christ. But it's about the person and work of Jesus Christ being proclaimed to every single individual. Whether you're in the nursery with the one and two year olds, with the three and four year olds, with the junior high, the high school, the college. Whatever age group, it's irrelevant what age group. It goes across the board to everybody. Every man needs to be admonished. Every man needs to be taught.

And so we begin to understand the emphasis in the ministry. Not too long ago, I was reading a book by Joseph Parker. He said these words. He said, If I had talked all the week, I could not have preached on Sunday. That is all. There is no mystery. I have made my preaching work my delight, the very festival of my soul. That is all. Young brother, go thou, do likewise, and God bless thee. Joseph Parker was a great preacher. His delight was to study the Word of God in order to preach the Word of God.

He says, If I talk all week to everybody else and don't study, To prepare to preach and give to people what they need about Jesus Christ and who He is, I failed as a minister. And that's true. On the flip side of that, we know that you can't devote yourself to studying the Word of God all day like I do. So, my job is to study it in order that I may equip you to do what you need to do, which leads us to the expectation in ministry. Okay? We've looked at the encouragement in the ministry, and that's the fact that God has called me.

We look at the emphasis in the ministry, and that is the fact that we are to proclaim Christ, admonishing one another, teaching one another with all wisdom, that every man will understand who Jesus Christ is.

Now here comes the expectation in ministry. Here it is. Ready? That we may present every man complete in Christ. Listen, if I'm going to present every man complete in Christ, Jesus Christ must be the sole focus So is the abbreviated of so focus, okay? That's a new word. I'll call Webster tomorrow, make sure they get it in the new edition of their dictionary. But the bottom line is that you're so focused on Jesus Christ. That person may be complete. You will note that the Bible says in verse 10 of chapter 2.

And in him you have been made complete. And he is the head over all rule and authority. So in Christ we are made complete, and yet Paul says we want to present every man complete in Christ. Now, you've got to understand this. I got a pastor friend of mine that was talking to another pastor who pastored a large church in the city. And he was saying to this man, who's a pastor friend of mine, you know, we want the people in our church to be well-rounded. So in order for us to make them well-rounded, we have to go beyond the preaching of the word in order that they might be whole people.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine a pastor of a church actually saying that out loud so somebody else could hear it? I mean, think about that. When the Bible says that if I proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, if I admonish every man, if I teach every man, I'm going to make every man complete, well-rounded, whole in Christ.

That is so important. Why? Because let's translate it over to our families. I want my children to be whole. I want them to grow. How do I get them to grow? How do I get them to be complete? I teach them, I admonish them in the person and work of Jesus Christ my Lord. That's how. That's the important thing. But as parents, we tend to look at other things as more important.

But that is the premier aspect of our parenting. It's the premier aspect of our disciple-making that that individual might be complete, might be whole. Now, follow this through with me. If I'm going to present every man complete in Christ, It's important to note this. In the book of Ephesians, the fourth chapter, Paul says this. Verse 11. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints For the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man.

To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. God gives gifted men to the church. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor teachers. He gives gifted men to the church. Why? In order that the people of the church will be now equipped. It's a word that means, it's a medical term that means mended or put together. It was a word used of the mending of bones. Cart is a word that signifies the putting back together of something that was broken. God gives gifted men to the church in order that they might mend broken lives.

Now, how do gifted men of the church mend the lives that are broken in the pew? Turn with me over to 2 Timothy chapter 3.

Verse number 16. All scripture, it says, is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate. Here's the word again: equipped for every good work. That word equipped is the same word used in Ephesians 4. Of the pastors and teachers, and the apostles, and prophets, and evangelists equipping the saints for the work of ministry. So, if the gifted men to the church are given to the church in order to mend the church, how do they do that?

They mend it. Through the Word of God. Because the Word of God is inspired. It's profitable, it says, for all things: for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. So that man of God will be adequate, will be made perfect, will be put together, will be equipped. You see that? I mean, we can have, you know, all kinds of small groups and self-help groups and And all kinds of things that get people together who are in this category or who are in that category. You know, you can have overeat for Jesus or we can have undere for Jesus.

You know what I'm saying? We can have all kinds of groups, but let me tell you something, folks. If we're not proclaiming Christ as Lord, if we're not teaching and admonishing one another that we are presenting every man complete in Christ, we failed in the ministry of the church. That's what we're supposed to do. That is the purpose of disciple making. That each individual will become complete in Christ. Now, listen.

It says over in Colossians 4, verse number 12, these words: Paul says. Ep, who I believe was the pastor of the Church of Colossae, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you the greetings. Always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers that you may stand perfect and fully assured in the will of God. So, in order for you to be mature in the will of God, there's got to be somebody praying for you. Tapping into spiritual power, asking God to do a mighty work, which helps you understand the expectation of ministry.

We expect people to grow and to grow deep. We expect people's lives to be put together and mended. How does that happen? The only way I know it happens is through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, through exhorting people, admonishing people. Encouraging people, teaching them what God's word says, how God wants them to live their lives in order that they might bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. That's what it's all about. That's the expectation. We want people to grow in their walk with the Lord.

To do that, we're going to have to give them the Word of God. On a continual basis, in order for their lives to be mended. As a disciple maker, you're going to come across all kinds of issues with those you invest your life in. As a teacher, as a Sunday school teacher, as a parent, as a grandparent, whoever you work with, whoever God places into your life, they're going to come to you with all kinds of shattered dreams. All kinds of issues that have encumbered them and brought them down to the pits of despair.

How are you going to lift that individual up? How are you going to get that person focused properly? How are you going to get them out from underneath their circumstances to see that God is in control of all those circumstances? The only way you can do that is to take them to the Word of God and to show them what God says about their particular issue.

And teach them what God says about what they need to be doing in their own personal lives to obey the Word of God.

Because you see, when it gets right down to it, the disciple maker, the parent, the teacher, is to get that individual to learn to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. There's something that they're out of step in. There's something they don't want to submit to the Lord. There's something they don't want to do that the Lord is asking to do. There's something they're rebelling against what God has said. And we've got to help them understand: this is what God says.

This is what we need to do. And the only way we can do that is to show them what God's Word says. That's what mends the broken heart, that's what mends a shattered life. God's word, listen, is the only thing that works. Nothing else does. I mean, you can go out and buy some new clothes, you can go out and buy a new house, new car, you can get a new friend, you know. Those are all nice things. But they don't work. They don't last because God is on the inside. All those things are on the outside. God's on the inside.

He wants you to be made whole and complete. And the only way that happens. Is the word of God. You can read a lot of books that will say something different. You can go to a lot of churches that are going to tell you something different. But God says this is how it's accomplished.

Number four, the exhaustion in the ministry. Paul says, and for this purpose also I labor, striving. Striving, he says. Labor to the point of exhaustion. This consumes me. You know why? You know why it consumes him? You know why he's exhausted? It's because it becomes a super spiritual battle. That's why. Satan fights against what it is you do. See, that's why parenting is so difficult. Having kids is easy. Raising kids is a whole new ballgame. And so, thank you. And so, when you begin to teach them and admonish them in the Word of God, all hell breaks out against that.

See? And so now you find yourself in spiritual battle, and you find yourself exhausted because you labor in prayer, you labor in the word of God, you search the scriptures. To say, what does God say about this? What does God say about my attitude and how I respond to this? How is it I raise my children? How is it I teach my friends? How is it I live my life? God, you show me. And then to actually go through that. Becomes a great battle between you and Satan's army. But with God, you're more than conqueror.

With God, you're the winner. You're the victor. But that doesn't mean it's not going to be exhausting because it is. It doesn't mean it's not going to be labor-intensive because it is. And then he says, Not only do I labor, but I strive. That's where we get our English word. Agony. Agony. There's great agony in this ministry. You see. The ministry, as John Henry Jowet said, that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing, right? It 's a labor-intensive ministry. And as a disciple maker, helping someone to grow in their walk with the Lord is full of spiritual blood, sweat, and tears.

And yet that's the ministry. And you know, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: that, you know, If you want to really teach people and invest God's word in people's lives and help them grow, don't expect it ever to be easy. Expect it to be the hardest thing you've ever done. Why? Not because you're not educated, no. Not because you're not trained, it's because Satan fights against that. And you are in a spiritual battle. And Paul says, I str so hard. But there's energy in the ministry. That 's the last point.

The energy is this. Striving according to his power, which mightily works within me. See, you're not alone, it's according to the power of God that is mightily working in me, that keeps me going. That keeps me on the straight and narrow, that keeps me on my knees, that keeps me in the word, that keeps me focused. It's the word of my God. That's why we talked about it a couple of weeks ago, 2 Timothy 2:2, that we are to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. That's why the Lord says in Zechariah 4, verse number 6: not by might.

Or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. You can't do it on your own. We think we can, but you can't. You have to be energized by the Spirit of Almighty God. And Paul would say over and over again that what I do, I do by the grace of God in my life. And that's what we need to understand. It's only by the grace of God. So. To understand the ministry of maturation, you must understand the encouragement in the ministry. God called you. God placed you in his kingdom. To be his representative, to make his invisible reign visible to a lost world.

That's the encouragement. That's the good news. That's the great news. That's the greatest of all news. Thank you, Lord. Now, you must understand that once you grapple with the encouragement in the ministry, you must understand the emphasis of the ministry. Proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord. Teaching and admonishing every man with all wisdom. That's the emphasis. And then you need to understand the expectation. In order that you might present every man complete in Christ, this is the expectation. This is the goal.

What does it say? What did John say? 3 John 4? I have no greater joy than to hear that my children do what? Walk in truth. Walk in truth. I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth. Parent, that should be your greatest joy. Doesn't say, I had no greater joy than to know that my son has graduated from college and has a six-figure income. That's irrelevant to God. The point is, does he walk with God? Does he walk in truth? Do you walk in truth? That's the most important thing.

And the joy that brings to your heart goes beyond anything you can imagine this side of eternity to see your children walk. In truth. And so the emphasis is to proclaim Christ. The expectation is that they might be made complete in Christ. And the exhaustion in the ministry is that it will take every ounce of energy that you have. There'll be times you want to quit. But the energy in that ministry comes because God is working in your life. Listen, if you're doing what God's called you to do, God works in you.

If you're not doing what God's called you to do, God's not going to work in you or through you. God empowers you to do what He calls you to do, He doesn't empower you to do what you want to do. Big difference there, right? So we need to understand that. Point number two: the marks.

Of maturation. I want to give you eight of them. There might be more, but these are the eight that I have used. Over 25 years of pastoral ministry. I've used them and continue to use them with my children. I've used them in the churches that I've pastored. And I'm going to give them to you this evening because I believe these become the marks of maturity. Number one: as you disciple people.

As you grow, people, as you teach and admonish people about Jesus Christ our Lord, there are certain things you want to see happen in their lives that will give you a gauge as to where they are spiritually and how they're growing. Number one is this.

They become un in their calling. Uninhibited in their calling. Uninhibited. This takes us back to the encouragement in the ministry, right? Paul said over in the book of Acts, ninth chapter. When Paul didn't say it, the Lord said it to Paul, Acts 9, verse number 15. He says, go. For he is a chosen instrument of mine, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's s. Paul was a man un in his calling. He never shied away from his call in life.

As we disciple people, as we train people, as we teach our children, we want our children to understand that once they've been called by God, Once they've been chosen by God, once they've become a chosen instrument of God, they can never back away from that. They must always move into the community of their existence. They must always keep moving forward as ministers of God. Helping other people understand that they have been called by God to make his invisible reign visible, to make Jesus Christ known.

So they become uninhibited in their calling. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1, verse number 9, that we've been called with a holy calling.

Romans 8:2 says that we've been called according to his purpose. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, verse number 1: we are to walk worthy of our call.

We are to walk worthy of our calling. That is, our lives are to match consistently. The fact that God has called us and that we are children of God. And so to be uninhibited in my calling is to live a life in such a way that people know that I really actually am a child of the king. I act like a king, a king's child. I dress like a king's child. I speak like a king's child. I act like a king's child. I eat like a king's child Because I am. king's child. I told you before that whenever I was leaving the house growing up as a kid, my mom used to always say, remember, you're a child of the king.

Live like a child of the king today. Every day she said that. Every single day. And I went out of my house thinking, man, I was a great guy, man. I'm a child of the king. This is great, man. But my mother wanted me to understand that you don't live. For the Sparks family, you don't live for your own self, you live for God. So, accurately, represent God. That's a person uninhibited in their calling. By the time I would take you through each and every one of these over a long period of time to help you understand exactly what that means.

But Paul was called. There was a purpose behind his call. He's my chosen instrument. Your son, your daughter, your disciple is your chosen instrument, is God's chosen instrument. Called by God. He can't afford to be. Inhibited. He has to be uninhibited in his calling. And the more he understands what God has done in his life, the stronger he becomes. And the stronger he or she becomes, the more uninhibited they become. Number two.

Unyielding in their creed un in their creed that is There is no compromise in what they believe. They don't compromise the truth. They contend for the truth. The man that represents that, or one of the men that represents that, is over in Acts chapter 18 says this. Verse number 24. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the scriptures. Well, that's a great phrase. Have that on your epitaph, on the gravestone. He was might in the scriptures.

That was Apollos. He was a mighty man of God. And it says, This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit. He was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquil heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achai, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.

And when he had arrived, He helped greatly those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. That's great, man. That's the kind of children you've got to have. That's the kind of disciples you got to have. That's the kind of people you want to have in the church. If you're going to present every man complete in Christ, then they've got to be unyielding in their creed. They got to know what they believe. They got to know why they believe it, and they've got to stand strong on it because they are uninhibited in their calling.

Now, think about that. It's a parent. That means you need to teach them the truth of the Word of God. That they would be unyielding. They would contend for the faith, stand strong for the faith, as they go to school and they meet kids who mock their faith. As they go to school and they meet kids of a different religion, of another religion. Who talk about their God versus the true, the one true God? How do they stand strong on the faith? Now listen, if you as a disciple maker are going to grow people this way, you too.

Have to be uninhibited in your calling and unyielding in your creed. Because you will only take people as far as you yourself have gone, right? And if you stop at a certain spot, you can't take them any further. So these become exercises for us that we might grow deep in our knowledge of God. But these are objectives, these are goals, these are aspirations that we have. That those that we work with will become this way as we ourselves are becoming this way. Number three, unbelievable in character.

Unbelievable in character. Proverbs 4: says, Guard your heart, for out of it flow all the issues of life. Remember Daniel? It says in verse 4 of chapter 6, book of Daniel. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to In regard to government affairs, but they could find no ground of accusation. Or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Nothing on the outside, nothing on the inside.

That was Daniel. And they searched. They wanted to disqualify Daniel. They wanted to keep him out of leadership, but they couldn't find anything. Why? Because his character was unbelievable. Incomparable. This man's character was true. He lived what he said and believed. And that's what we need to produce in the lives of the people we disciple, right? That their character is strong in the Lord. Listen, that is the number one issue: character qualities.

Character issue. We going to talk about deacons on Sunday. We're just about to commission our first deacons at Christ Community Church.

And to help you understand that these people need to have character. That's above reproach. Character is the issue in everything. If you have no character, you have nothing. If you have character, you have everything. People need to believe in you. People got to be able to trust you. People got to be able to depend upon you. The Bible says, who can find a trustworthy man?

Where are they? Who can find them? If you can find one, let me know. Where are they? Well, if you can't find them in the church, you can't find them. And I pray to God that it would never be the case in our church that those kind of people could not be found. They'd always be found. People of character, people of conviction, people who believe and live what they say. Daniel was that kind of man. Unbelievable in character. Unbelievable. Unyielding in creed, uninhibited in their calling. Number four, un in their conduct.

Unusual in their conduct. Unusual because it's not like the usual. It's unusual. It's not like everybody else's conduct. You know, that's important, isn't it? You know, you know, we want to be able to produce in the lives of our our children, our our disciples, that kind of Conduct that is representative of Christ's kingdom. The Bible calls us aliens, doesn't it? Peter calls us aliens and strangers in a foreign land. You know what an alien is, don't you? An alien is something's ugly. Alien is something that you don't want to look at.

It's so unusual. It's so nasty. That's why they call it an alien. Now, I'm not saying you to go out and look nasty, but I'm saying that your conduct needs to be so unus that people take notice.

If you're walking down the street and there was an alien walking down the street, you'd take notice, wouldn't you?

Be pointing. Look at that alien over there. Look at that. See that over there? Well, if you are unusual in your conduct, it causes people to stand up and take notice.

And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were that way, but that's not who I want to talk about. Moses was that way. And oh, yes, we're going to get to the book of Exodus. It's just going to take us a little while to get there yet, but oh, Moses was a great man. His conduct was completely unusual. Hebrews 11 says this, verse 24. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's. Daughter. Now, this is amazing. When we get to this passage in our study of Exodus, you're going to see that this man's conduct is so out of character of everybody else.

So unusual. He refused. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Now, that, my friend, is unusual. He would rather endure ill treatment than have a good time. Well, who does that? Moses. Where's Moses, Hall of Faith? Where do you want to be? See? And then it goes on to say this: it says Considering the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

He forsook earthly treasures. He had everything at his fingertips. Everything was his. Whatever he wanted, he had. And he forsook it all because he perceived something no one else could perceive: the eternal riches of Christ. He wanted that more. Man was unusual, completely different than everybody else. As people understand and learn the Word of God and live their lives in line with the Word of God, they become aliens and strangers in a foreign land. They become unusual in their conduct. Number five, unashamed of the Christ.

Unashamed. Of the Christ. Paul would say in 2 Timothy 1, Timothy, stop being ashamed. Don't start being ashamed of me or the Lord Jesus Christ or the gospel of Christ. You want people that are unashamed of the Christ. Christ says that if you deny me, I will deny you.

If you confess me before men, I'll confess you before my Father. But if you don't confess me before men, I will not confess you before my Father. So, a man who is uninhibited in his calling, a man who is unyielding in his creed, will be a man who is unbelievable in character. and unusual in conduct, therefore making him unashamed of the Christ. He'll stand strong for Christ. He'll want to show Christ off. He'll introduce people to Christ. He'll pray in public without embarrassment. He'll talk about Jesus in public without embarrassment because he lives for his Lord.

He's unashamed of the Christ. Number six, uncompromising in his convictions. Uncompromising in his convictions. That goes all the way back to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneg. Back in Daniel chapter 3. Verse 16. When they answered the king and said, Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the Furnace of blazing fire, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set.

Up. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed, great men of God, uncompromising in their convictions. You can do whatever you want, but O King, we want to let you know that our God will deliver us. We're not going to bow down to your image. And even if we don't, even if He doesn't deliver us, Even if we burn up, we still will not bow down to your image because our God is the true God. Uncompromising in conviction. That's the kind of children you've got to raise. That's the kind of disciple makers you've got to be.

And that's the kind of disciples you've got to produce. People who are uncompromising in their convictions. Number seven, un in their commitment. I must hurry. Unparalleled in their commitment. The text is Joshua 14. The character in the Bible is Caleb. Caleb's name means dog. Did you know that? Caleb's name means dog. You know why? Because Caleb, a dog, is the most faithful companion you can have. They don't turn on you. And it's said over and over again of Caleb: not only through his own lips, not only through the lips of Joshua, but from the lips of God him, he wholly followed the Lord.

He was completely committed to God. And at 85 years of age, in Joshua chapter 14, after 45 years of faithful ministry. After he went into the promised land, and he and Joshua stood strong, and everybody else ran away, and they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 plus years. Now he's 85 years of age. He says, Listen, I want the land that God promised me because I have wholly followed the Lord. And God said he did. He was completely committed to me. You need a man unparalleled in his commitment.

And lastly, I got three minutes. Undaunted in his course. Undaunted in his course. And that is found in Acts 20, verse number 22. Paul says, And now, behold, down the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city. Saying that bonds and afflictions await me, but I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself in order that I may. Finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

Here was a man, undaunted in his course. He knew what he was called to do. He was going to complete it no matter what. He knew that bonds and afflictions awaited him, but he also knew that he had one mission in life, and that was to solemnly testify the gospel of Jesus Christ, and nothing. Would stop him from doing that. How about you? A man undaunted in his course. Nothing would stop him from doing what God called him to do. And that's the way we need to be, and that's what we need to produce in the lives of our people.

And we can then honestly say, Oh Lord God, help us to make these people, my children, my disciples, complete in Christ. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for this day. We thank you, Lord, for the Word of God that really, truly, honestly does ex what it says it will do. It will mend the broken life. It will put it back together again. It will make it what you want it to be so that you will be glorified. And our Lord, we pray tonight that we would understand our purpose in disciple making. That is maturation, completion in Christ, growth in the grace and knowledge.

Jesus Christ our Lord. And may none of us ever waver from doing what you've called us to do. In Jesus' name, amen.