Week 1 Discipleship - Why the Church Must Recover Discipleship Now

I want to begin this first week the same way this burden of discipleship has been living in my heart, plainly, honestly, biblically, and with urgency that I express last week during the introduction. Church, hear me. If the church does not intentionally make disciples, then the world will gladly disciple people in our place. This is not an overstatement. That is the reality of the hour we are living in. Every day people are being shaped by voices, values, appetites, fears, images and ideas that are pulling them farther away from the authority of Jesus Christ. The culture is preaching instead of the church. Entertainment is preaching. Social media is preaching. False ideologies are preaching. If the church is weak in discipleship, then people will still be disciple  n but by something else.

Transcript

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Welcome to Walking in the Living Word Ministries, a weekly podcast with your host, Pastor Mike Butrel.

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Thank you so much for joining with us today in Walking in the Living Word Ministries. I'm so excited to start a new series here. Last week I gave you the introduction to uh discipleship. We're going to be doing 16 weeks of discipleship. Before I get started, something I just wanted you to know up front, God's laid a lot on my heart about discipleship. And I actually I've even been writing some uh classes and some studies on discipleship. And I just feel like it's so important that he just he's put that burden on me to let you know about it. Uh, you know, it's kind of like the prophet Jeremiah. Now, I'm not a prophet, but God told him to go and speak, and I you know, I've struggled with that. I said, God, I'm am I the person for this? And he said, Yes. I want you to tell others that discipleship is important. You know, there's plenty of discipleship programs out there, and don't get me wrong, what I, you know, everybody's got a good program. It's just, are we using them? Are we putting them to use? Are we really doing discipleship making? In other words, taking someone from a brand new Christian and walking them all the way through the process to become a disciple maker. And that's the big question. So, you know, he even said that I would have people to fight against me, and uh, but not to worry, he would prevail and he would help me prevail. So I want you to understand, uh, I may step on some toes and I may stir the pot a little bit, and people may get upset, but that's okay. As long as people are thinking what I'm saying and really doing a heart-soul search to see where they need to be with their discipleship program. That's the main thing. Now we've got a new uh thing coming out in a few weeks, but it's gonna be uh kingdom lights, warriors for Christ, disciples of the one true king. Stay uh uh stay strong, grow deep, follow Jesus. We bow to no other king. Come to uh grow in truth, prayer, and the power of God. Many of you know me that since walking in the living word came into existence, we've had the theme, uh, kingdom knights, warriors for Christ. And I just figure at the time we're in right now, that that's a strong theme that each of us are supposed to be part of the Jesus' movement. We're supposed to be part of his army, and so the goal is to rise up new knights, kingdom knights that are warriors for Christ, going to battle day by day, uh, not only for themselves, but helping others to grow and mature and become disciples and also make disciples. So here's week one: why the church must cover discipleship now. You know, week one main texts are Matthew 28, 18 through 20, Ephesians 4, 11 through 16, 2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5, and 2 Timothy 4, 3 through 4. So again, welcome to Walking in Living Word Ministries. Uh, this is our week one of a 16-week journey. And I want to begin the first week the same way this burden has been living on my heart, plainly, honestly, biblically, and urgency. Church, hear me. If the church does not intentionally make disciples, the world would gladly disciple people in our place. In other words, they're going to train people to be part of the world. This is not an overstatement. I do not believe this at all. If you just look around, that is the reality of the hour we're living in. Every day, people are being shaped by voices, values, appetites, fears, image, and ideas that are pulling them farther and farther away from the authority of Jesus Christ. The culture is preaching to them, folks. Entertainment is preaching, social media is preaching, false idols are preaching. And if the church is weak in discipleship, people will be discipled. They will simply be discipled by something else, and that's a problem. That is why this message is in the coming 15 weeks is so important and it matters so much. That is, I cannot be treat this and just setting it aside as an issue that somebody else may deal with. We're not dealing with a small ministry preference. We're dealing with the faithfulness of the church in a serious hour. And let me slow down right here and speak from my heart. One of the burdens I carry in this hour is that many people have been around church, but they have not been deeply formed by Christ. They have heard sermons, but they have not been rooted in the truth. They have attended services, but they have not been trained to walk with God in hidden places of life. And when storms come, when suffering comes, when temptation comes, when false teaching comes, when the pressure of culture comes, they do not know how to stand. That should trouble each and one of us. That should humble us, though. That should drive us to prayer. Because the call of the church is not simply to attract attention for a moment. The call of the church is to labor until Christ has formed his people. The call of the church is to help men and women become stable, holy, discerning, obedient, and fruitful followers of Jesus Christ. So let me begin where every true conversation about discipleship must begin with the words of Jesus in Matthew 8, 28, 18 through 20. And you know, our Lord said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go thereforth and teach all nations. Hear that carefully. The mission of the church begins with the authority of Christ. We are not inventing our own assignment. We are not improving our purpose. We are receiving our commission from the risen Son of God, who possesses all authority in heaven and in all of earth. And because his authority is total, I obedient cannot be partial. He did not suggest that the church considered discipleship, he commanded it. He did not say, build what seems effective in your own eyes. He said, Go therefore. And he did not say gather people and leave them unchanged. He said, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. That means discipleship is not an option here. It's not extra things that we add on if we want to. It's not a side ministry for a select few people. It is the calling of the church, the work of the church, and the assignment laid upon the church by King Jesus himself. And the church that would deserve ought to arrest us. I mean, in other words, we ought to be so moved by what's going on that we ought to be working day in and day night. Jesus did not call us to pass along information only. He calls us to teach people to obey him, to follow him, to submit their lives to him, and to keep walking with him throughout their life. A disciple is not merely somebody who agrees with Christ, agrees with the Christian ideas. A disciple is someone whose life is being brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. A disciple learns Christ, a disciple loves Christ, a disciple obeys Christ, a disciple keeps following Christ when it's hard, when it's costly, and when the crowd is going in another direction. So let me say it plainly. If churches celebrate professions but neglect information, if we rejoice over starts but never labor to help people mature, then we may be counting decisions while failing to make disciples. And Matthew 28 will not let us settle there. Biblically speaking, discipleship includes at least three things: conversion, sanctification, and multiplication. Conversion means a person is truly turned to Christ in repentance and faith. Sanctification means that person is then shaped over time by the Word of God and the Spirit of God and the fellowship of saints in greater holiness and obedience. Multiplication means that what God has done in that life begins to overflow into the lives of people around them. That is why discipleship is not finished when somebody begins. Discipleship keeps working until Christ is formed in them and then through them. That is why shallow Christianity is so dangerous. It may know religious language, but it does not produce endurance, depth, discernment, or fruit. And sanctification does not happen by accident. God ordainly forms his people through appointed means. The word read and preached, prayer, repentance, fellowship, the ordinances, loving connection, service, suffering, and daily obedience. That is why discipleship must be more than inspiration. It must be anchored in the means of grace. The Spirit of God uses the truth of God within the people of God to conform believers into the image of the Son of God. That is why church that neglects scripture, neglects prayer, and neglects meaningful fellowship will eventually produce spiritual weakness, no matter how polished the outward presentation may be. But where the world dwells ritually, where prayer is taken seriously, where the word deals ritually, where prayer is taken seriously, and where believers help one another obey Christ, real maturity begins to grow. Now let us turn to Ephesians 4, 11 through 16, because Paul helps us to see what discipleship is meant to produce in the life of the church. The scripture says that Christ gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the uh helping saints to become who they're supposed to be for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. In those words, ministry is not meant to keep people dependent on platforms. Ministry is meant to help equip the saints. Ministry is meant to build up the body. Ministry is meant to help believers grow in stability, maturity, usefulness, and Christ-likeness. Paul goes on to say that we are not to remain children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind and everything that happens. What happens a lot of times when a new believer joins, we we just get them in Sunday school, Bible classes and stuff, but we don't help them to mature into a true disciple, a true disciple maker. And unfortunately, we've got a lot of uh believers in church that have been saints or believers for 40, 50 years, but they're still in that child phase. They have not moved out of that child phase into the next phase. And on, you know, I've I've got it divided up into like uh disciple 101 is basically a new believer, uh, a fan uh to uh someone who's been a believer for a while but has not moved on to the next stage. Uh disciple 102 is a follower, they've moved out of the child stage and they're starting to uh instead of drinking the milk, they are starting to chew on solid food, but that's where they're stuck. They have not moved on to the what I call disciple 103, which is you become an disciple. In other words, you're you're starting to imitate uh Christ, you're starting to take on his characteristics. Uh matter of fact, you're you're getting closer and closer to him, and then you move on to disciple 104, which is the uh disciple maker. Now, in that phase, you're so close to Jesus that the dust off his sandals is getting on you, and everybody can see Christ in you. They can see everything you do producing the characteristics of Christ. And you know, we all have a long way to go in this life, and and some of us may be in Disciple 104, but we're still not truly fulfilling what it means to be a disciple maker. You know, we need right now a desperate need for it to be taught and for it to be emphasized in our churches because we're living in a time where confusion spreads quickly, deception spreads widely, and many people are spiritually unstable because they've never been deeply grounded in the truth of the word of God. And notice what means theologically, Christ loves his church so much that he gives gifts to his church for their maturity. Pastors and teachers are not meant to entertain the saints, impress the saints, or keep the saints dependent and immature. They're called to feed the flock, guard the truth, and labor until the people of God are strengthened and doctrined and formed in Christ-likeness. The goal is not um have someone to stay as an infant or a child for the rest of their life. The goal is maturity. The goal is that believers would know the truth, speak the truth in love, and grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. So the real measure of ministry is not merely attendance, excitement, or visibility. The real measurement is whether the saints are being made perfect. And we're not going to be perfect till we stand in front of Christ, but if we're being made to where we mature and become more like Christ, that is the body's being edified, and Christ is being formed in his people. And this also means that discipleship is not merely an individual project, it is part of the life of the body. The New Testament vision of growth is deeply emphasized. Believers are baptized into the visible um fellowship of the church and taught in assembly, strengthened through mature care, corrected when they're drift and equipped to serve one another in love. The church is not a religious audience, it's a community of believers who are under the leadership of Christ. So when discipleship is weak, church life becomes shallow. People may attend, but they're not truly known. Not only at church are they not known, but they're not known in the community. They may hear, but are they not? They're not being truly formed into Christ's life. They may participate, but they're not equipped to go out and do the work. A healthy church does not merely gather people in a room. A healthy church labors to present people mature in Christ. So we have to ask deeper questions than the modern church often asks. Not simply, are the seats filled? Not simply. Is the schedule busy? Not simple. Did people enjoy the experience? The question is this one. Are people becoming more like Jesus? That's the important one. Not how many people we get into seats, not how busy the schedule was today. Not really was it a joyful entertainment session? Is are the people leaving there becoming more like Jesus? Are they growing in holiness? Are they learning to pray? Are they learning to handle the Word of God faithfully? Are they learning to endure suffering, uh resist temptation, discern error, forgive one another, walk in humility, strengthen others in the faith? Because the biblical goal of ministry is not mere activity. The biblical goal of ministry is maturing the body. The biblical goal of ministry is that the body of Christ would be built up into believers, grow up into Him all things. Hebrews 5 gives us another sober word because it rebukes the uh the people of God for remaining immature. When they should have been growing, there comes a point when spiritual infinity of being a child, being a baby is no longer uh uh allowed. It becomes dangerous. If a believer remains untaught, unstable, and undiscerning, that believer becomes vulnerable to error, temptation, fear, and compromise. Milk has its place at the beginning, but there must come a time when believers are strengthened by strong means, when they're trained by use, and when their spiritual uh senses are an exercise to discern both good and evil. That is part of what discipleship does. It helps move believers from being a baby towards maturity, from uh being passive towards obedience, from confusion towards clarity, and from this dependence on others towards faithful usefulness in the body of Christ. And this is one reason false teaching spread so easy in unstable times. Immature believers often do not have the categories to recognize error when it comes clothed in confidence. They need to know the word of God in order to spot out things that are wrong. But discipleship trains all those senses, it teaches the believers how to weigh what they hear by the word of God, how to distinguish truth from half-truth, how to remain steady, and when many voices are competing for their attention, the church cannot afford to be careless here. Sheep must be taught not only so they can be inspired, but so they can be discerned. Not only so they can receive encouragement, but so they can resist deception. That is pastoral work and that is discipleship work. That is work of anyone who's in charge of teaching others, not just the pastor, not just the Sunday school teacher, Bible school, I mean, those teaching Bible classes. It is for any Christian who is truly following Christ. It's your job also to make sure others understand the truth. The church cannot afford to be careless here. Sheep must be taught not only so they can be inspired, but so they can be discerned. Not only so they can receive encouragement, but so they can receive resist deception. That is all our jobs, folks. I repeated that because it's important. It's all our jobs. And this is where we need not only pastoral honesty, but we need to be true on what the word says. Many churches have learned how to gather people, but not how to ground them in the word. Many believers know how to speak Christian language, but they do not know how to stand when the pressure rises. They do not know how to suffer well. They do not know how to fight unbelief. They do not know how to uh resist sin. They do not know how to hold fast to sound doctrine when error comes dressed in attractive language. And I say that with grief, not with pride. I'm burdened for the for the church itself. And I'm not, I just want you to know I love every one of you. But the truth, but love often tells the truth. If our ministries are producing activity without depth, without movement of holiness, excitement without endurance, and inspiration without transformation, then we cannot call the success simply because it looks impressive on the surface. Just because we're baptizing X number of people, or we've got X number of people joining the church, or we've got this or that, if they are not moving and becoming more Christ-like, is you know, are we just bringing them in the front door and over a time they go out the back door because there's nothing to help them grow and become more Christ-like? Jesus deserves more than admiring crowds. He deserves a people formed in his image, anchored in his truth, and faithful to his mission. You know, when you look at Acts 2, you see a picture of a disciple people. They continue steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayers. They were teachable, they were devoted, they were gather around truth, around worship, around prayer, and around a shared life in Christ. This is not a superficial action that is formed community under the word of God. In other words, this was a group of people formed by the word of God. A disciple church is not merely excited on Sunday, it is steadfast throughout the week. It is not merely inspired, inspired in a movement or a moment, it's shaped over time. It's not merely loud in confession, it's faithful in obedience. That is the kind of church we need in this hour we live in. A disciplined disciple church will show certain marks over time. There will be hunger for the word, not just an appetite, uh, it will be a deep hunger. There will be seriousness in prayer, not just occasional religious language. There will be teachable uh humility, repentance, and a willingness to be corrected by scripture. There will be love that moves beyond uh anything that anyone has ever seen. It'll move from service uh being into uh sacrifice and it will keep growing. There will be a growing burden, burden for holiness, for evangelists, for the strengthening of families, for the passing of truth to the next generation. In other words, discipleship is not measured by a moment of excitement, it is measured by a pattern of faithfulness. It is seen in what people continue and when the uh emotions settle, an ordinary life returns. And let me add this: a disciple church will recover holiness and the fear of the Lord. We do not speak of holiness enough in that age that it's become a casual about sin. But discipleship is not leading people into holiness, it's not biblical discipleship. If it's you know, discipleship that's not leading people to become holy, then it's not biblical discipleship. God has not called us merely together in his name, he has called us to be conformed to the image of his son. The fear of the Lord does not drive the believer from God as though grace had failed. It drives us near with repentance and reverence, humbly and seriously, because grace has brought us near to Christ to begin with. It teaches us that God is holy, Christ is worthy, sin is deadly, obedience matters, where the fear of the Lord is absent, people grow casual, compromise becomes easier, and the truth is treated lightly. But where the fear of the Lord is present, repentance uh deepens, worship becomes heavier, prayer becomes more earnest, and obedience becomes more precious. Church, we need that again. We were that one time, but this generation and in the time we're living in, we are falling further and further and further away from God. We need a holy people, not merely a visible people that show up and go home. We need a trembling people, not merely a talking people. We need believers who know what it means to walk carefully before God. Hear me clearly. Discipleship is slow work, but it's a holy work. It takes truth, it takes prayer, it takes correction, it takes patience, it takes growth. And because that work is costly, many places have traded it for things that are faster, easier, and more immediately visible. But what grows fast is not always growing deep. And in the days we're entertaining shallow roots, it will not hold. Jesus said in John 15, 5, I am divine, yea, your branches, for without me you can do nothing. That means real discipleship cannot be sustained by personality, pressure, or programming. It must flow from the abiding of Christ. If we're not abiding in him, then our ministry will become fleshly, our labor will become restless, and our fruit will not last. True discipleship is not just about doing more for Jesus, it's about staying close enough to Jesus that his life is uh shaping ours. And abiding in Christ always carries us into self-denial. Jesus is not calling us to admire him from a distance, he calls us to follow him, he calls us to take up our cross daily, he calls us to lose our lives for his sake and the gospel. So discipleship will always cut across the grain of the flesh, it will confront pride, it will expose idols, it will challenge our love of comfort, convenience, applause, and control. That is why true discipleship cannot be built on consumer Christianity. Consumer religion asks, what pleases me? A disciple asks, What honors Christ? Consumer religion wants benefits without submission. A disciple says, Speak, Lord, for thou servants here. And church, until we recover that posture, we will continue to have crowds without death and activity without transformation. Paul gives us another picture in Colossians 1 when he says, Whom we preach, warning every man, every teaching every man and all that wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ. That is the label of discipleship. We preach Christ, we warn, we teach, we labor, we pray, we suffer, we keep going until people are strengthened in Christ. That is theological work, pastoral work, spiritual work, biblical work. It's not glamorous work, folks, but it's eternal worth our efforts. And if the church will recover that kind of labor again, Christ-centered, scripture saturated, spirit-dependent labor, then the grace of God will see us stronger believers, healthier churches, and a clear witness in our dark generation. And part of that labor must include the next generation. We cannot say we're serious about discipleship if we're careless about what we hand down to those coming behind us. Children, teenagers, young adults, new believers, and those who are weak in the faith need more than occasional inspiration. They need patient teaching, steady examples, clear doctrine, loving correction, and people who will walk with them long enough to help them grow. Somebody must show up, show them how to pray. Somebody must teach them how to read the Bible, to study the Bible, to understand it. Somebody must model what repentance looks like, what holiness looks like, and what faithfulness looks like in everyday life. This is one reason the church cannot allow it to be shallow. If we had hand the next generation a thin gospel, a weak theology, and a casual view of discipleship, they will not stand in the evil day. But if we hand them truth, prayer, reverence, and a living example of obedience, then by the grace of God they will be stronger than we were before. That is why the warning of 2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5 and 2 Timothy 4, 3 through 4 must be heard with fresh seriousness. Paul says, in the last day, prayer's times will come. And the he describes people who have a form of godlessness, but denying the power therefore. Then he warns that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. Church, this is not a distant warning. That is a present reality. That is not about something to come. It's happening right now. We're living in an age of religious appearance without spiritual depth, biblical language, without biblical submission, endless content without transformation. Many want encouragement without correction, spiritually without holiness, inspiration without repentance, and blessings without surrender. But the answers is not panic, it's not despair. The answers is not more noise, more novity, or more religious performance. The answers are deeper obedience to Christ. The answer is sound doctrine held with humility. The answer is saints being equipped, the answer is pastors and leaders and other Christians taking seriously the call to feed the flock. The answer is the church returning to the slow, patient, scripture, sanctified work of making disciples. So when we pull all of this together, the message of week one is clear. The church cannot afford to treat discipleship casually any longer. Christ has commanded it. The apostles have explained it. The condition of the times demands it. The weakness of the church exposes the need for it. The danger of deception makes it urgent. The next generation depends on it. And the glory of Christ deserves it. We need discipleship that is biblical in content, theological in depth, pastoral in tone, personal in application, and holy to the same. We need disciple making that is not built around convenience, but around the truth. Not around treads, trends, and different things, but around scripture. Not around appearance, but around transformation. Not around crowds only, but around Christless, Christlieness. Church, hear me again. The hour is too serious, and this mission is too sacred for us to remain shallow. So let me close week one with a burden of pill. Lord, forgive your church for settling for less than you commanded. Forgive us for measuring success, but outward activity while inward maturity is neglected. Forgive us for being content with language that sounds spiritual while lives remain shallow and unformed. Awaken pastors, strengthen leaders, stir up the saints, anchor your people in truth, deepen your holiness, deepen our love for Christ, deepen our courage hour. Make us a people who do not merely admire discipleship, talk about discipleship, or market discipleship, but who actually practice it in the fear of God. Make us a people of the book, make us a people of prayer, make us a people of holiness, make us a people who love one another enough to tell the truth, bear one another's burdens, and help one another obey Christ. And for every listener hearing this message, let this become personal to you. Ask yourself before the Lord: Am I truly growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Am I abiding in him? Am I obeying him and his word by his grace and strength and his lies? Am I growing in holiness? Am I helping anyone else follow him and to grow? Church, the hour is too serious for shallow faith any longer. The days are too dark for weak doctrine. The mission is too great for casual obedience. We need men and women who, by the grace of God, will walk with God and stand on the truth and help others follow Christ to the end. And if the word Lord wills, next week we're going to answer a foundational question that every believer must face. What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Folks, this is a serious subject, discipleship, and it must be taken seriously. So I hope you will come back each week with an open heart, an open mind, and an open Bible, and a willingness to learn what your part is in discipleship and how you can help others grow. Thank you for joining us with walking in the living word ministries, and we look forward to seeing you next week if the Lord will.

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Thanks for joining us today on this edition of Walking in the Living Word with Pastor Mike Futel. We pray that you can inspire and equipped to fulfill the plan that God has in your life. Subscribe to this podcast. Let's work together.