Discipleship 5: Reproducing by Pastor Abidan Shah

DISCIPLESHIP – REPRODUCING by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson

Introduction: As you know, the Andy Griffith Show is one of my favorite TV shows. In my opinion, the character who makes the show is Barney Fife, the self-assured expert on every subject, especially weapons. One of the funniest episodes is the one when Andy has to deputize Floyd the Barber and two other men. Of course, Barney takes over (“Andy, let me handle this.”) and starts giving them the speech on being an officer of the law, which is hilarious. Inevitably, he tells them “how to handle firearms,” even though they won’t be getting any, and goes to holster his gun and fires it, scaring everyone to death. Now if you’ve seen the show, you don’t have to worry about him firing again because Andy gives him only one bullet and it has to stay in his shirt pocket. The point is – As lovable as Barney is, you cannot trust his advice. In the same way, there are many wonderful lovable people in church but when it comes to discipleship, they cannot help you. To make disciples, you have to be a disciple. And, if you are a disciple, you will reproduce disciples. I would add, reproducing disciples is the ultimate test of your discipleship.

Luke 6    39And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

Question: Are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you saved? Are you reproducing more disciples? Are you helping others become disciples of Jesus?

Context: Today we come to the final letter Rin our acronym WATER. As you know, we’ve been unpacking W A T E R, the goal of discipleship, which stands for – WITNESSES + ACCOUNTABILITY + TOGETHERNESS + ESTABLISHED IN THE WORD + REPRODUCING. As important as the first four are, the last one is the most important. As I just said, it is the ultimate test of discipleship because it is the very heart of the Great Commission. Listen again to Matthew 28   16Then the eleven discipleswent away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them…18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore and make disciplesof all the nations…” Listen carefully: The Great Commission is Jesus’ command to his disciples to go and make more disciples, to go and reproduce. It was not just for the first 11, it’s for all disciples through the ages. The passage we just read from Luke 6 gives us 3 guidelines for reproducing disciples:

1. Spiritual blindness will keep you from reproducing.

Luke 6:39And He (Jesus)spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?”

Background: Who was Jesus talking about here?He was talking about the Pharisees and the scribes who were constantly following him, not to learn from him but to catch him or his disciples breaking the Old Testament Law. In Luke 6 the disciples were walking through a grain field on the Sabbath and they plucked some heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw them. I guess they must’ve been hiding in the field. Instead of offering food to the hungry disciples, they confronted them –“Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” Again, on another Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and there was a man there whose right hand had withered. The Pharisees and the scribes watched Jesus closely to see what he would do. When Jesus healed the man, instead of being happy for the poor man, Luke 6:11says,“they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” Here’s the point: These religious leaders kept missing what Christ was doing on account of their spiritual blindness. This is why Jesus said, “Can the blind lead the blind?”He often referred to these religious leaders as blind leaders and blind guides. There are several examples inMatthew 23. Here are a couple –24“Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!I can picture the disciples and the multitudes getting a good laugh out of it! Again, 25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

Listen carefully:There is a reason why many people in churches are incapable of making disciples. They are blind to the things of God. They are more concerned about the traditions of men than about the truth of God. They are more concerned about their personal comfort than about the condition of the lost. No wonder they cannot train others to be disciples. Unless your eyes have been open to the things of God, you cannot show it to others. No wonder many are lying in the ditch. To reproduce disciples without first receiving spiritual sight will only reproduce blind disciples.

Question:  Are you spiritually blind as well? Would Jesus have included you in this religious crowd? Can you see what God is doing? If not, get saved today.

2. Select your teacher wisely.

40“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

Background: Jesus used this principle repeatedly in his preaching and teaching. In this context, he was definitely making a reference to the religious leaders. In fact, he was talking to the disciples of the Pharisees. He was saying to them – “You will never rise above your teachers. Look at them. Is that what you want to be like when you’re done?”

Illustration:When I was in college, a mature professor gave me a very valuable advice – “When you go to grad school, don’t take classes. Take professors.” I know that he’s not the only one who has ever said that but that really helped me. I purposely chose professors who had some quality I really admired and wanted to have in my life.

The Pharisees were teachers of the law but their lives were full of hypocrisy. Listen to what Jesus said about them in Matthew 23    1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, thatobserve and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and laythemon men’s shoulders; but they themselveswill not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’…15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Listen carefully: You want to grow as a disciple of Jesus, be careful who you pick to be your teacher. This goes for men and women. If their lessons do not match their lifestyles, abandon them and ask God to bring the right godly men or women into your life who will say as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1“Imitate me, just as I alsoimitateChrist.” I’m not saying that they have to be perfect. If that was the requirement, none of us could be disciple makers. I’m saying that they have to be Christlike.

Application:Whom are you following? Who is helping you become a disciple of Jesus? If you are a disciple maker, are you Christlike?

3. Self examine before you cross examine. 

41And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42Or how can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me remove the speck that isin your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that isin your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Background: Once again, I can hear the disciples and the multitudes snickering at this point. I don’t need to say a whole lot on this one. You get the point. As someone said, “We judge ourselves by our motives and others by their deeds.”

Robby Gallaty lists 4 qualities that are the goal of reproducing:

1. Believers who are under the rule of Christ.
2. Believers who repeat the Word of God.
3. Believers who reflect the image of Christ.
4. Believers who replicate the process of Christ.

Question: If reproducing is the ultimate test of discipleship, how well are you doing? Are you a disciple of Christ?

In the beginning, after God made Adam and Eve in his image, he blessed them and said to them in Genesis 1:28“…Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth…” Multiply = Reproduce

Jesus became our New Adam and he told us in Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciplesof all the nations…” Make disciples = Reproduce

Paul told Timothy, his son in the faith in 2 Timothy 2:2“the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”Commit these to faithful men = Reproduce

Our mission at Clearview is to lead all people into a life-changing ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Ever Growing = Reproduce