Discipleship at Home (Part 3 of 3)

Today, we are wrapping up our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home,” and I want to address one of the most common objections I hear around this topic, and that is this: “It’s too late for me. I missed my chance. My kids are grown. I wish I had known about all this stuff earlier...”

Transcript

Hey!  Nick Cash with you here, and today on “Practical Faith,” we are wrapping up our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home.”

Today, I want to address one of the most common objections I hear around the idea of Christian discipleship at home, and that is this: “It’s too late for me.  I missed my chance.  My kids are grown.  I wish I had known about all this stuff earlier!”

Maybe you do feel like it’s too late for you.  Maybe you feel like you missed your opportunity.  Maybe you feel unprepared or disqualified for some reason to be a disciple-maker in your home – but let me assure you: you are not!  You’re not too late!  You haven’t missed your opportunity!  You are not disqualified, and you don’t have to stay unprepared!

Pastor Craig Groeschel says, “If you’re not dead, you’re not done!”

Listen – Sarah was 90 years old when she was called upon by God to carry, give birth to, and raise Isaac, the child of the promise of God.

Moses was 80 years old when God sent him to deliver the people from Egypt.

Joshua was 80 years old when God called him to lead the people to take possession of the Promised Land!

Zechariah and Elizabeth were called by God in their old age to raise the great prophet John – who we know as John the Baptist – who would prepare the way for Israel’s Messiah.

Simeon and Anna were faithfully worshipping and praying in God’s house for decades when God allowed them to see & hold & bless the Baby Jesus when His parents brought Him to the Temple to be dedicated.

The Apostle John was in his 90s when he wrote five of the most amazing and theologically-rich Books of the New Testament.  The Gospel of John, the letters of 1st 2nd and 3rd John, and the Book of Revelation – these 5 New Testament Books are a lasting legacy of the life of Jesus and the eternal destiny of all those who follow Him.

Let me say this: some of you listening have been following Jesus for 40, or 50, or 60 years!  Please hear me when I say this: we need you!  Younger Christians need your lifelong legacy of faithfulness to God.  We need to hear how God has called you, and challenged you, and sustained you, and delivered you, and worked through you all throughout your life!  We need you.

Listen: I am a follower of Jesus today because of my grandparents and how they discipled me into the faith when I was a boy.

It’s not too late for you!  I promise.  There are opportunities still open for you to be a disciple-maker in your home.

Now, I’ve addressed the other most common objections to discipleship at home in Part Two of the book – you can download your free copy of The Family Discipleship Guidebook online at LikeTreesPlanted.com.  You can see the objections and how we can help you overcome those – but let me say this to you now: YOU CAN DO THIS!  God WILL work through you if you invite Him to and ask for His help!

The 20th-Century monk, scholar, and writer, Thomas Merton, wrote, “When one is simply obeying God, a little effort goes a long way.”

To close, I wrote a short blessing to pray over you around this topic of Discipleship at Home:

May God’s Presence, purposes, power, provision, and peace abound in your home, your lives, your marriages, and your parenting!  May He bless and multiply even our weakest attempts to provide spiritual leadership in our homes.  May He strengthen our marriages every day, and may He empower us to disciple our children and our grandchildren into the Kingdom of God.  And may they grow up knowing Him, loving Him, and living their lives for His glory.  All glory be unto God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever!  Amen.