Reproduction - The Product of Disciplemaking

Gathered together tonight to study the Word of God. We thank you for the freedom that we have to do that in this country, how you have afforded us the opportunity in this building. And how, Lord, you have brought these people together this evening under one roof to examine what your word says about their responsibility to carry out the plan of God in this day. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Tonight we're going to talk about repro, the product of disciple making. And while we are about to finish our series, next week will be our last lesson in this series on disciple making.

It really is the beginning of the process, I hope, for many of you who will understand God's call upon your life to invest your life and the Word of God into the life of someone else over a period of time. Discipleship was never meant to be an end. It was meant to be a means to an end of growing people in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Discipleship is both rewarding as well as enriching for those who invest their lives in others. The good news of Jesus Christ is not to be hoarded. It's not to be kept secret.

It is to be proclaimed loudly. It is to be proclaimed all around the world loudly. And we have the responsibility and the privilege to take God's word to people that they might understand who Jesus Christ is and learn to follow him in. Obedience. And as we take God's word and invest it into other people's lives, and as they grow, they in turn will invest God's word in the lives of other people, and the discipleship process continues on. That's called the ministry of reproduction. It's called the ministry of spiritual multiplication.

Where people's lives are being rep in the lives of others as we obey the Word of God. Two points we have for you this evening. They center around an Old Testament analogy in order to give us a New Testament strategy. The Old Testament analogy of reproduction manifests itself clearly in the New Testament strategy of reproduction. One is physical, the other is spiritual. If you have your Bible, I would invite you to turn with me to the book of Genesis, the very first chapter, verses 26 and 27.

Genesis chapter 1 verses 26, 27, and 28. I guess we'll begin with verse number 27. It says, And God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female. He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the ear. The Lord God said to man, Be fruitful and multiply. Now, whether that was the very first words God said to man, I don't know.

I would assume so, but I don't know. He didn't say, That he blessed them and said, This is what I want you to do. I want you to go to work. He didn't say that. He didn't say, I want you to learn about me, although that was very important. He didn't say that. He didn't say, I want you to enjoy this wonderful creation that I have given to you. He didn't say, this is what you need to do. You need to worship me. Instead, he said, I want you to reproduce. I want you to be fruitful. I want you to multiply.

I have created you, male and female, man and woman. And now what I want you to do is be a co-creator with me. And be involved in reproducing yourself in order that the earth will be filled. It was God who instituted the baby boom, and He wanted the earth filled with sons and daughters that would bear His image. You see, man and woman have what nothing of God's other creation has. They bear his image. And as we reproduce ourselves, we reproduce ourselves by bearing children that have that same image of God stamped in them.

And yet we know from Genesis chapter 3 that Adam and Eve disobeyed another command that God had given to them. He had told them not to eat of a particular tree in the Garden of Eden. They disobeyed. They ate. That tree, and then because sin was born in the world, spiritual death took place, that is, separation from God. Not only for Adam and Eve, but for every one of their offspring. So from here on out, everybody would be born separated. From God. They would be born with a sin nature. They would be born spiritually dead.

That is, they would be born apart from God. And Adam and Eve would have to bear the consequences for that. And unfortunately, as the earth multiplied, so did the sin. The earth. So much so, when you come to Genesis chapter 6, the Lord had to wipe out everybody on the earth except for Noah and his family. And over in Genesis chapter 9, This is what God says to Noah.

It says, and God blessed Noah. And his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the ear. Same command now has been given to Noah. Be fruitful, multiply, rep yourself so that the earth will once again Be filled. Now you know, as well as I know, if you have been around new babies and The woman gives birth to this child, and you hold this child in your arms. You're looking at this child, and this child bears the resemblance, usually, of one of the parents, right? Usually, they look like either the mother or the father.

And, you know, we'll be in the hospital or we'll go visit the family who just had a newborn, and we'll say, oh, isn't he or she beautiful? Aren't they handsome? They look just like their mother or just like their f. That 's because that couple has rep itself. And that child comes out looking similar to mom and dad. And as that child grows, it begins to take on the mannerisms and the characteristics of that father. And that mother. Some of them we like, and some of them we don't like. But they begin to bear those characteristics and mannerisms in their lives because they are becoming more and more.

Like the parents who bore them. On Sunday, we'll talk about Moses. We're in Exodus chapter 2, and it's the birth of Moses. And Moses had very unique parents. And we're going to learn about his parents on Sunday. We're going learn about their lifestyle. We're going learn about their courage. We're going to learn about their comm And you know what? The Bible tells us that Moses' parents didn't fear the king. They didn't fear the edict the king gave about throwing all the children in the Nile and drowning them.

That didn't bother the parents of Moses. And you will note in Hebrews chapter 11 that when Moses becomes a man, it tells us at 40 years of age, he too did not fear. The king, like father, like son. There's something unique about parents who instill in their children biblical principles and convictions. And Moses became a great man. Remember, Moses was raised in Pharaoh's court. He was raised to become the next Pharaoh. And yet, God orchestrated the events so that his own mother could nurse him. And spend time with him, teaching him and training him about his father Abraham and the promises given to him.

And Moses grew. And as he grew, he grew with deep conviction about the things that God said. The Bible says that by faith, Moses didn't fear the king's edict.

The only way he would develop that faith is because he heard. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So somebody had to tell Moses about his God. Someone had to instruct Moses about the truth of God. Someone had to instill in Moses the conviction about God in order for him to have any faith in God. And he had it. How did he receive it? He received it from his parents. You see, it's important to understand that as we reproduce ourselves. As Adam and Eve were told, as Noah and his family were told, and as we do just by nature, we are repro another individual.

Made in the image of God, and given the responsibility to train that individual in the ways of God, to learn about Their God. Now that is the instruction. But there's also some ob. That keeps us from physically reproducing. We can not physically reproduce because we lack a partner. You can't reproduce yourself if you don't have a partner, right? God knew that. God gave Adam Eve so they could reproduce. Also, you might not be able to reproduce because of a physical impairment or because of a disease.

Or you might not be able to reproduce physically because you're too young and can't reproduce, or you're too old and you're unable. To reproduce, there comes some obstruction that keeps us from fulfilling that command that God has given. Which helps set the tone to help us understand that there are barriers when it comes to reproduction. That Old Testament analogy sets the tone for the New Testament strategy. So, when you go to the first book of the New Testament, by looking at the first book of the Old Testament, you realize that there's a command to reproduce physically.

Because God wants the earth to be filled with people bearing his image. When you come to the first book of the New Testament, the book of Matthew, you have a similar command.

But it's not to reproduce physically because the emphasis has shifted. Now it's to reproduce. Spiritually. That now becomes the emphasis. We are to reproduce people after our own kind spiritually. Having reproduced them after our own kind physically, it's our responsibility now to reproduce them after our own kind spiritually. And so the master has an expectation. And that expectation is that we would obey his comm, that we would follow that, that we would do what he has said. He wants us to instill, if it were, a baby boom, spiritually speaking.

He wants his church to grow. He wants his church to be occupied with people who love their God. To do that, discipleship is the method by which God has chosen. To accomplish that feat. Turn with me in your Bible to the book of Matthew, the fourth chapter.

Matthew chapter 4. Verse number 18. And walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Follow me, Christ says, and I'm going to make you into something.

I want you to follow so that you will be able to fish. If he ain't fishing, He ain't following. Simple as that. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Now, that word make is very important. In fact, listen to what Romans chapter 1 says, verse number 20. It says this: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Paul says that the unbeliever is without excuse for one simple reason.

He is able to understand Through what has been made, same word used in Matthew chapter 4, that there is a God. Man is able to understand through the creation of God through what God has made of his existence. We've told you before, we'll keep telling you, there is no such thing as an atheist. People claim that they're atheists. That's a lie, because Romans 1:2 says every believes there is a God. They do. They are without excuse. And they are able to understand that because of what he made. Now, you understand that in the spiritual realm by looking at Matthew 4, and Christ says, Foll me, and I'm going to make you into something.

God has a sole purpose to make you into something. He wants to make you a fisher of men. That's what He wants to do. That's what we want to do with Peter, James, John, and Andrew, all the disciples. They were going to reproduce themselves. They were going to reproduce themselves spiritually. They were going to invest their life into others. They were going to teach other people about Jesus Christ, that they in turn might teach other people about Jesus Christ. And the unique thing about this is that God made them this way.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2, verse number 10, that we are his work, having been creat. By Jesus Christ unto good work that He promises to perform in us. You see, for by grace we are saved through faith, Ephesians 2:8, right? And that not of ourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Christ saves us, but He saves us for a purpose: that we would become His making, we would become His workmanship, we would become His masterpiece. Meaning this: that when the world looks at us, they are able to understand that God exists.

Just like when the world looks at creation, they understand that God exists. You see that? God has a purpose. He has a purpose in saving your life. And that purpose is so that you, in turn, will be able to demonstrate the power of God. In his saving work, his sanctifying work, and people looking at you will see that and believe in your God. And talk to you about your God. And you'll be able to then explain to them who your God is. Christ said in John 15 to his disciples, You have not chosen me, I have chosen you.

And why did he choose you? That you should go and bear fruit. Why did God choose you? He chose you to make you into something. Listen, if God predetermined eternity past your salvation and it happened, Then the works that he predetermined in eternity past are also going to happen in your life. You will bear fruit. You will be a fisher of men. You will be what God makes you to be. Because that is his purpose. And so we begin to understand that God wants us. To be involved in a very strategic ministry, and that is the ministry of reproduction.

He wants us to be fishers of men. He want us to tell other people about who he is. There are times where I will sit down with another individual and ask them a series of questions. In our study, The Making of a Man of God, on Monday nights, the fourth Monday of the month, in the study with our men, when we come to our very last lesson, the title of that lesson is The Measure of a Man. We asked each man nine questions to help them understand where they are spiritually. The first three questions are as follows.

Number one, whom do you admire? Whom do you admire? What individual do you admire more than anybody else? Because the one you admire is the one you're going to pattern your life after to some degree. The second question we ask them is: Whom do you follow?

Everybody follows somebody. Who are you following? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse number 33, that bad company corrupts good morals.

In fact, it says, be not deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. Do you know that I can tell a lot about your life just by who you follow? Did you know that? Sure, I can. You can tell a lot about my life based on who I follow. You see, if someone Goes to a church, whatever church that may be, you can kind of have an idea about who they are following and what they believe, right? If someone was to come by this church and they saw you here, they would assume that you believe what we teach or you wouldn't be coming here.

They would assume that there is someone in that congregation that you are patterning your life after that you are following, else you'd go to a different church. And then we ask him this question. This is question number three: Who is following you?

Do you ever ask yourself that question? Who's following you? You see, because all of us have somebody following us, right? We might not like who's following us, but somebody's following. You see, we attract a certain kind of people, don't we? There's something about our life that causes others to follow. And so we have to ask ourselves the question: who is following you? That's why it's so important for you to admire Christ in order that you might follow Christ. So that those who follow you will follow Christ as you follow Christ.

Christ chose these men. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. The master had an expectation. And that expectation was: listen, if you follow me, there's going to be something that happens in your life. You're going to become a fisher of men. Just by being around me, just by listening to what I'm going to say, just by following my example, things in your life. Will change, and you will become a follower of me. And so Christ would say in Matthew 28: go into all the world, make disciples. Make disciples.

That's the command. That's the imperative. I want you to make disciples. In the Old Testament, the analogy was this: listen, reproduce yourselves. Reproduce yourselves. Fill the earth, multiply. In Matthew, it's make disciples, reproduce yourself spiritually. Go. As you're going, you make disciples, you baptize them, you teach them to observe all that I've commanded you. And that's the expectation the master has. For his followers. Now, there are barriers to that. Just like there are barriers to physical reproduction, there are barriers to spiritual reproduction.

And the main barrier we face is the enemy him, Satan. Because Satan wants to produce his own disciples. Because he understands that when man is born, he is born separated from God, he wants to keep man separated from God. He doesn't want man to be connected with God. He doesn't want man to be saved spiritually. That is, he doesn't want man to be reconciled to God. He wants to keep man far apart. From God. So He becomes our arch enemy. He becomes our main barrier. There are other barriers. There are barriers by our own excuses.

There are barriers because of our own ignorance and that kind of thing. But the main barrier is Satan himself. And let me explain to you how he does this.

Because it's so subtle, but yet it's so. So deadly. Way back in Genesis chapter 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, Satan Satan's plan began. And I want you to notice something.

Satan's plan began with the perfect person. In the perfect place. No sin, right? Satan's plan began in the Garden of Eden. He was going to begin something that continues to this very day in a very subtle way. But a very profound way, and unfortunately, a very deadly way. And it happened not in a sinful atmosphere, it happened in a perfect way. at. And I want you to notice what Satan does because what he did then is the exact same thing he is doing today as to why he becomes the number one barrier In spiritual reproduction, Satan told Eve to distrust God's instructions, not to listen to what God said.

In other words, he says, rely on your own reason, Eve. Think about it. Come on, Eve. You're created in the image of God. Think about it. God doesn't want you like Him. Use your mind, the mind God gave you, Eve. Use your brain, Eve. God doesn't want you like him. In other words, forget about what God said. Just act on what you believe to be the right thing. So Satan's plan, the plan he is still doing today, is to get you to rely on natural reason In your own mind, rather than supernatural revelation from the mouth of God.

That's always been Satan's plan, and he is very effective at doing that. The plan is rely on your natural reason. Reject supernatural revelation. Rely on the reason in your mind and reject the revelation from the mouth of God. And that has been Satan's method of operation since Genesis chapter 3. God said, don't eat. Don't do that. Satan said, don't believe that. God said you're going to die. You're not going to die. Have you ever seen death? No, you haven't seen it. You're not going to die. You don't have to believe what God said.

Trust. Your own reason. That's been Satan's device. Same way it is today. Satan says, don't worry about what the Bible says.

Don't worry about the gospel, truth. Is rel. Truth is not absolute. You can make up your own mind about what you think is the right way to heaven. You can make up your own mind as to what you think is the best thing to do. After all, you are an adult. After all, you are educated. After all, you are born in America. After all, you are an American. So you can think on your own two feet. And he has convinced the church, the church of all places. Of this method. He's convinced the church to trust and reason.

To trust in what logically looks good and what logically works. And so, what does the church do? The church doesn't preach the gospel anymore. Why? Because if you preach the gospel, those who hear it might not like it, probably won't come back. And if they do preach the gospel, they preach a watered-down version of the gospel. So there is no emphasis on repentance. There is no emphasis on Justification. There is no emphasis on substitution. There is no emphasis on the sovereignty of God. There is no emphasis on the doctrines of the Bible.

And so Satan has thoroughly convinced most churches to water down the gospel so people in the pew don't get the truth. And it has gotten leaders of the church to trust in their own reason instead of God's revelation. Natural reason takes precedence over supernatural revelation. And that becomes the barrier to disciple-making. That becomes a huge barrier. Because the gospel has become so watered down, at best people get a fuzzy, blurry look at faith.

They really don't understand it. And they get so, so confused about it, they just believe that everybody is a Christian and everybody's going to go to heaven. It was back in the year 2000, December 13th, where Pope John Paul II recorded these words in our most famous article or famous newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. He said these words, and I quote John Paul II: All who live a just life. Will be saved even if they don't believe in Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church. So he said. He says, The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with Beatitudes, poor in spirit, pure in heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life, will enter God's k.

Kingdom. People reading that would say, Well, of course. Of course. That's how you get to heaven. Human reason. Forget about what Christ said. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes into the Father but by me. That's what Jesus said. But the Pope said. You can get to heaven without believing in Jesus. Oh, okay. That's good to know. Because that means anybody can get to heaven then. Christ said through the pen of Luke, that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved.

No other name. It's the name of Jesus. That's the only name that gets a man saved. Yet the Pope says. You have to believe in Jesus. So you have millions of people around the world attending the Roman Catholic Church. Who think they're on their way to heaven because the Pope said you don't have to believe in Jesus Christ or the Roman Catholic Church. Well, who wouldn't like that, right? That means anybody gets to heaven. On top of that. You have what is commonly called the seeker-sensitive movement that has swept America, which more and more churches are getting sucked into.

If you haven't read it yet, you need to get it, and that is the book Hard to Believe by John MacArthur. It's the book that pretty much slams that whole movement. Out of that book, he does say these words. He says, Christianity in the hands of seeker-sensitive church leaders Has become a get what you want rather than give up everything move. He says these leaders have prostituted the divine intention of the gospel. They have replaced the glory of God with the satisfaction of man. They have traded the concept.

Of ab our lives to honor Christ for Christ honoring us as such. Our submission to His will is replaced by His sub to our will. That is exactly what the seeker-sensitive church movement teaches. Right across the board. There is no self-denial. There is no abandonment of my own self. There is no taking up my cross. And following Christ. It all deals with my needs and my wants. And whatever your needs are, we as a church will meet those needs because we want you satisfied. That's a lie right out of hell.

And those churches are leading people to hell. They are. Why? Because the people in the pew are so confused as to what the true gospel is. They are confused as to who Jesus Christ is. And they are confused as to what the Bible says Jesus Christ demands of you.

And you can't get saved unless you understand who Jesus Christ is and what He did for you and what He demands of you. And we must come to grips with the fact that he who comes to God must believe that he is. Well, he is what? He's everything God said he is. And where do you find that at? The Bible. And if you don't preach the Bible, then you're not going to have an understanding of who God is. And Satan becomes that barrier to spiritual reproduction. Why? Because we don't understand who Jesus Christ is, let alone understand his commandment to go into all the world and make disciples.

Baptizing them, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded. Did anybody take this commission seriously? Yeah. Book of Acts, early church. They took us seriously. All you can do is read it. Disciples multiplied. Week after week, month after month, year after year, God kept adding to his church many people who were being saved. They understood the concept. What is the minister's app? That's you, by the way. You're the minister. If the master has an expectation, what is the application? And this is where we're going to conclude this evening.

You must understand two things before I give you some principles. Listen carefully to what I'm going to say. An unproductive life is an incomplete life. An unproductive life is an incomplete life. Meaning. That if you are not spiritually reproducing yourself in the lives of others, your life will be always incomplete. Why is that? Because God gave a mandate. He said, Blessed are those who hear the word and do it. So you're missing out on the blessing that God wants to give you if you're unwilling to do what He commanded you to do, and that was to make disciples.

And if you are unproductive, you ever met people looking for meaning in life, satisfaction in life, identity in life? You ever met people like that? I meet them all the time. They have no idea of what it means to reproduce themselves spiritually in the life of somebody else. Because once they understand that, guess what? Their search for meaning is over. Their search for identity is done. Why? Because they understand what God called them to do. They understand why God left them here after He saved them.

Now, I know why I'm here. I got purpose in life. I got meaning in life. I got drive in life. I got vision in life because God left me here for this one purpose, and that is to make disciples. And if I don fulfill that one purpose, guess what? I have an incomplete life, an unsatisfied life. Let me explain it to you this way.

Let's drive at home. That is, let's look at mothers, for example. Mothers have a unique example and a unique opportunity to reproduce themselves in the lives of their children. If you're here tonight, You got children at home still? God has given you the opportunity, in a very unique way, not only to physically reproduce, but to spiritually reproduce. And maybe you were able to obtain those children not by physical reproduction but by maybe adoption. Nevertheless, they're in your home. They're yours.

God gave them to you. Now you have the unique opportunity to do in their lives what nobody else can do. Their fathers can't do it. Their teachers can't do it. Their pastor can't do it. Their Sunday school teacher can't do it. Only you, as a mother, can do it. And listen to this. God specifically des only you to do it. Think about it this way. I'm going to read it to you. Listen to what Paul says. He says this: It was Adam who was first created, then Eve, Paul says.

And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman, being quite deceived, fell into trans. Now we'll stop right there. It's 1 Timothy chapter 2, by the way, verses 14 and 15. Paul says, the man wasn't deceived, the woman was deceived. It's a word that means incredibly thoroughly deceived. Now the man was with her, but the woman went outside the direct headship of the man. And that's why Paul says these words It was Adam who was first created, then Eve.

The whole concept is the role of women in the church and how women are not to usurp the authority over men in the church. Why? Because Adam was first created, then Eve.

You see, you hear these people who say, well, you know, that's a whole cultural thing. Way back in Paul's day, that's the way they had it, but this is the 21st century, and things have changed. No, no, no, no. Because Paul goes back. 4,000 years from his time to get the mandate. He goes way back to creation and says, This is the way God ordained it. Adam first, then Eve.

God designed man over the woman. And that's the order of creation. That's the way God designed it. It's not a cultural thing. It's a biblical thing. It's what God says.

And so he says: listen, this is the way it's supposed to be. Why? Because the woman, when she stepped out of that headship, when she stepped out of that umbrella of protection, what did she do? She was deceived, meaning that women need leadership. Women need headship, and once they decide to act on their own, to go outside that headship, they will be deceived because Satan will attack them. That's why God gave them a head, the man. Now it's true that Adam is responsible for the sin. Why? Because he's the leader.

The leader is always responsible, right? And Adam's responsible because he's the leader. That's why Romans 5 speaks very emphatically. That through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Who is that? Adam! He was the first one created, he had the responsibility to be the leader.

And he was silent. He neglected his responsibility. And Eve just jumped right out of there, and she was deceived. And Paul says she was thoroughly deceived. All that to say, this he says, but the buttolog of Scripture. Transform our thinking astronomically. But women Shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. Maybe your text says, but the woman shall be saved through childbearing. Wait a minute. How does a woman get saved through childbearing?

So is a word that means to be delivered. Not in the true saving faith experience, because we know that comes through Jesus Christ Himself. Bearing children doesn't save you. But what does bearing children do for you? Bearing children gives you, listen ladies, you and you, unlike the man, the opportunity to redirect an entire generation to follow God. God gave the woman that responsibility, not the man. See that? Woman was the one who ushered sin into the universe because. She took herself out of that headship and she acted herself, and she was deceived, and sin was born into the world.

And yes, man is responsible because man is the leader, and therefore man bears the brunt of that responsibility. Yet, Paul comes back and says, This is what God has done for the woman. Unlikely it's done for the man, he has given her the opportunity to be delivered from that stigma of sin entering the world. How? Through the bearing of children. And if she continues in love, and if she continues in faith, and if she continues in holiness and sanctity, if she lives that kind of lifestyle, she will produce a godly generation and she will.

Have preserved herself. Meaning this: this woman's life will be blessed. This woman's life. Will be incredible. This woman's life will be complete because God would have used her in a life like He did Lois in Eunice with young Timothy. And how they are used as pillars in the church of two women who raised young Timothy in the ways of God. So important. And God has given woman that wonderful blessing, that wonderful opportunity to have a great life. So, whether you produce them physically, whether they're adopted, however, God gives you children and you have the opportunity to invest your life in theirs, take it.

Because that is why you are here. That is why God allowed you to live another day, that you might better influence your children in the ways of God. Just one more opportunity to do so. That's why you're here. That's how God wants to use you in a very significant way. The Creator has designed his creatures to do something. And that something is to reproduce themselves spiritually. And if they don't do it, That creation will be incomplete, not complete. And that's why we, even in the church, are looking for ways to make ourselves Satisfied, looking for some means of identity, looking for something that will give me significance in this life, give me some kind of security in this life.

Give me something that I don't have. And God says, This is what I want you to do. This is why I created you. This is why you are here. All you got to do, make disciples. Reproduce yourself spiritually. Invest your life in the life of somebody else. If it's not in your home, look for somebody outside your home. Same responsibilities for fathers, right? Same responsibility for husbands. Husbands, fathers, listen, if you're still looking for identity, if you're 45 years old, you still don know what job you're going to do.

If you're 55 years old, you still don't know where you're going in life. Listen, you need to be going one place, one place only, God's way. God's direction. Doing what God said. Making disciples. Doesn't make any difference what job you get. Doesn make a difference where you live. It doesn't make a difference where you move. Your identity is not wrapped up in your job, your education, your marriage, your children. How many you have, you don't have. It's all wrapped up in one thing. Are you obeying the command of God to make disciples?

That gives you a complete life. You start doing that. You don't care where you work. You don't care how much money you make. You don't care where you live. Because the only thing that matters is that which lasts for eternity. See that? That's how it works. Aren't you glad you came? I'm glad you're here. I'm glad I came. I'm preaching to myself here. Let me tell you something.

There is nothing that thrills my heart more than what is listen. If an unproductive life is an incomplete life, then a productive life is the fulfilled life, right? That's the other end of the spectrum. A productive life is a fulfilled life. If you are producing others, if you are reproducing other people, spiritually speaking, that becomes a fulfilled life. What did John say? I have no great joy than to hear my children walk in truth. As we said, 3 John 4. No greater joy. It's the greatest of all joys that my children walk in truth.

Do you have that kind of joy? Are you fulfilled in life? Do you have that kind of blessing in life? That my children walk in truth. That could be spiritual children. That could be your own natural-born children. But they're walking in truth. Let me tell you something.

When my children are obedient to God, when they are walking in truth, that is the greatest joy in my life. When I watch people in the church commit their lives to Christ, follow God uncompromisingly, with deep conviction, that is the greatest joy in the ministry. There's no greater joy than that. And to be able to watch it from the outside, to see it in the inside, is the greatest of all joys. I want you to have that kind of joy. Do you think I preach at Christ Community Church because they pay me a lot of money?

You think I preach here because I can't get a job anywhere else? That might be the case. I don't know. I haven't tried. No, man, I preach here because I love what I'm doing. I love what I'm doing. I can't think of anything better to do than what I'm doing. It's so exciting to watch people's lives grow. So exciting to see them reproduce themselves. It's so exciting to see them to develop a walk with the Lord that's unwavering, completely committed to Him. There's nothing better than that. I see it week after week after week.

And that's exciting to me. I want you to have that kind of joy. You get a taste of it? You'll never stop. You'll never stop teaching somebody. You never stop investing God's word in somebody. You never stop being an example to somebody. You'll say, Man, this is what it's about. You never stop telling people about Jesus Christ. Why? Because you want them to have what you have. That's why. All that to say, ooh, not much time left. That's okay. Let me give you 10 distinctives of a disciple.

Ten distinctives in ten minutes. Right. Ten distinctives in ten minutes. Number one. Here's your application. That's what you want to do. Aspire to glorify God in all you do. Aspire to glorify God in everything that you do. Everything. Say, God, I want you on display. I want you honored. I want you glorified in my life. Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, 1 Corinthians 10:3, to all to the glory of God. Colossians 3:17, whether in word. Or indeed do all to the glory of God. Paul over in Galatians 1:2 to 24.

Said that God's word was glorified because people came to saving grace. Over in Acts chapter 13, verse number 48, Paul preached, and the Gentiles began to glorify God because they were saved. You preach God's word, guess what? God's glorified. You teach God's word, guess what? God's glorified. You make disciples? Guess what? God's glorified He's put on dis. He's honored because he's number one in your life.

And we need to aspire to glorify God more than anything else. Number two, devote time to prayer and preparation for determining which key individual you will disciple.

Devote time to prayer and preparation for determining which key individual, man or woman, You will disciple. The text is Luke 6:12 to 13, where Christ went up to the mountain to pray. He prayed all night before he chose his men. If you des to have a complete life, a fulfilled life, a significant life, and you want to make disciples, Aspire to glorify God in all that you say and do, and devote significant time to prayer and preparation for who you will disciple. Number three, inv another person to share a life, not just an hour.

Invite another individual to share a life, not just an hour. Text, Mark 3, verse number 14. Christ chose his men that they might be with him. That they might be with him because he wanted to rub off on them in every aven of life. Number four. Sensitize yourself to the leading of God's S. Sensitize yourself to the leading of God's Spirit. The Bible says in Galatians 5, 25 and 26, that if we are led by the Spirit, if we walk by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Over in John. I believe it is chapter 16. Christ said in verse number 13, he said, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. for he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will disclose to you what is to come. We need to sensitize ourselves to the leading of the Spirit of God. Follow his prompting. Follow his leading as he speaks to us through the Word of God. Number five, cultivate an abiding respect for the Word of God.

Cultivate an abiding respect for the Word of God. This past Monday night, we spent time with our leaders, helping them understand what it means to listen to God's Word. Next month, we're going to talk about what it means to read God's Word, and then we're going to spend time talking about what it means to study God's Word. But let me tell you something.

You can read it. You can study it and you can listen to it, but if you don't tremble underneath it, it means nothing. Isaiah 66, verse number 2: God is looking for men who will tremble under the authority of his word. There are a lot of people I know who study the Bible, who read the Bible, who even listen to the Bible, but they don't shake under the authority of the Bible. And if you don't do that, you haven't cultivated. Abiding respect for the word of God. Psal 119:3 says it this way: Establish thy word to thy servant as that which produces reverence for thee.

I, or six, inc your heart to be obedient in everything. Incline your heart to be obedient in everything. Psalm 119, verse number 112, says it this way. I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes forever, even to the end. That's the way we need to be, right? Incline our heart to be obedient in everything until the end. Don't compromise. Number seven, pursue peace with all men. Romans 12, verse number 18. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, bel, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

Pursue peace. With all men. Matthew 5, verse number 9 says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the s of God. Number eight, lead others gently into situations beyond their control. To build their confidence in God. Lead others gently into situations beyond their control to build confidence in God. Mark 4:3 to 41. Christ said, Get into the boat. Let's go to the other side. The storm came. They were fearful. They woke up the Lord. He calmed the storm. He said, Oh, you. Of little faith.

Why are you so timid? Why is it you don't believe? He put them in a situation. He led them gently into a situation where they would learn to build confidence in their God. As a disciple maker, that's what we need to do. Number nine, exemplify radical commitment in everything you do. Exemplify radical commitment in everything that you do. Guys like John the Baptist, guys like Paul. Guys like Daniel, guys like Moses, guys like Jacob and Abraham and Joseph. Read the Hebrews Hall of Faith. They Exemplified a radical commitment, unparalleled, unlike anybody else.

And lastly, refuse to traffic in unlived truth. Refuse to traffic in un truth. Ezra chapter 7, verse number 10. Ezra set his heart to study the law of the Lord. To practice the law of the Lord and to preach the law of the Lord. Now, very simple. What I just gave you is a discipler. A, he aspires to glorify God in all that he does. D, he devotes significant time to prayer in preparation for determining which individual he will disciple. I. He invites others to share life, not just an hour. S. He will sensitize himself.

To the leading of God's Spirit. C, He cultivates an abiding respect for the Word of God. I, He inclines his heart to be obedient in all things to the end. P. He pursues peace with all men. L. He leads others gently into situations beyond their control to help build confidence in their God. E, He exemplifies radical commitment in all that he does. And R. He refuses to traffic in unlived truth. That is a discipl. And if you want meaning in life, if you want significance in life, if you want fulfillment in life, that's what you'll do.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and a chance to study your word. And thank you, Lord, that you have given us a great mandate. That says, listen, if you do this, blessed are you. You become the happy man. You bec the joyful man. You become the enriched man. You become the fulfilled man. You become the man. Who has stopped searching for identity because your identity is in Jesus Christ Himself, and He has called you to be His representative to a lost world. And may we effectively proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

In Jesus' name, amen.