The Cost of Discipleship - The Importance of Discipleship

This message begins a new series on discipleship by focusing on “The Cost of Discipleship.” Discipleship is not simply one ministry of the church, but the central mission of the church. While the gospel call includes seeing people saved and born again, it does not end there. True discipleship is the ongoing work of forming believers into the image of Christ and equipping them to disciple others.

Throughout Scripture we see a consistent pattern of spiritual growth and generational investment, from Moses and Joshua to Elijah and Elisha, from Jesus and His disciples to Paul and Timothy. Spiritual maturity is not instant but progressive, built step by step as believers grow in knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness.

This message explores why discipleship matters. It is commanded by God, it equips every believer for ministry, it strengthens the entire church, and it ensures that the next generation is grounded in the truth of Christ. A discipled church is not centered around a single leader, but is a body of believers who are trained, mature, and active in the work of the gospel.

Ultimately, discipleship is how the church becomes spiritually healthy, missionally effective, and generationally faithful.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Transcript

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Alrighty, so a little bit of a shift here. We're gonna move and continue to move forward in our study in our sermon series on discipleship and specifically a subcategory of that topic, the cost of discipleship. And so, again on your bulletin on the back side, you can see uh four main points that we're gonna have this morning regarding the cost of discipleship and why it's so important, and then some cross-references there for you to get ahead of me or if I miscommunicate. Um, and so I just want to follow up on last week's sermon. We talked about an introductory to the cost of discipleship, and in doing so, we didn't focus on the cost at all. We just talked about, well, what is discipleship? You can't really talk about the cost of something until you understand the value of it. And so we just talked about what is this thing that we call discipleship and discussed how many churches use that word. Many Christians have heard that word, understand the idea of discipleship or being a disciple of God, but that many don't understand it from a biblical perspective, and that we needed God's perspective on this issue. Understanding that discipleship in the church is not a thing the church does, but it is the thing the church ought to be doing. It is not some program or class, it's not part of the mission, it is the mission of God to bring people into a relationship with Christ and then to mature them into the image of Christ. That is, that is the mission of the local church, to equip people to understand how to be born again, walk with God, and listen, this is the main point. Teach others how to do that as well. A lot of times people think about discipleship for their personal growth. And that is needful, and that is necessary for an individual to mature in Christ. You ought to have a longing. I have to have a continual longing to learn of Christ and to grow in his knowledge, the knowledge and grace of Christ. To continue to do that, to never get tired or assume that I have somehow come to a full knowledge of God or God's word. Far from it. I'm sure that every time I learn a new thing about God, I have ten other things I have no clue about. I mean, God's Word is awesome, He is awesome, the nature of God is awesome, and He invites us to partake in that. And so we talked about what is discipleship, but this morning I want to talk to you about why discipleship is so important. Now, it is the process of seeing people conformed into the image of Christ and equipped to conform others as well, but um it is also something for us to not just give mental assent to, but actually understand in practice. And so we need to talk about the why of discipleship, because I think once we understand why discipleship is so important to God, then it actually immediately ought to motivate what we're doing as believers and as a church, church plan. As we discussed last Sunday, the first obvious reason discipleship is so important is because the Lord has commanded us to go, this is Matthew 28, to go and teach and baptize, teaching them to observe all things. And we focused on that phrase, seeing how there was a difference between just teaching people about Jesus and teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I've commanded you. Jesus said, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world. God wants us to understand that it's not just about conversions, it's not just about winning souls, it is about making sure those little babes in Christ, those little sons and daughters, get raised up to become spiritual fathers and mothers as well. It's so critical. We understand this, and we build a culture here. As Lord willing, as God builds this church, we build from day one a culture that says we're going to be a people that invest in the next generation. Our mission as believers in the Lord Jesus is to make disciples of not just this church and the city, our immediate life, but it ought to expand outward, reaching our neighborhoods. Yes, our city, our nation, and even the world. We have to at some point decide are we going to be a group of people, no matter how small we are, am I as an individual going to be committed to seeing disciples made throughout the whole world? That ought to be a conviction of your life. Where, how, where am I going? What am I doing? How am I spending my money? What am I thinking on? Where's my energy going? What do I invest in to make sure that gets accomplished in my life? We ought to all be thinking those things. No matter how young we are, how old we are, how much we know, how much we don't know, we ought to be saying, God, use me for your mission, please. And at the end of the message last week, we saw that there were many patterns in the Bible to represent discipleship. We were talking about what is it? Well, we just went to some patterns in the scripture to see what it was. It is that work of not just maturing people, but multiplying that maturity in others. A pattern of discipleship found in creation, in God's commission to Adam and Eve. A pattern in Moses and Elisha, a pattern in Elisha and Elisha. I'm sorry, Moses and Joshua. Elijah and Elisha. A pattern in Jesus, a pattern in Paul. We saw that quintessential verse in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2, where Paul tells Timothy, his son in the faith, to invest into faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. We saw those four generations there in that text. But I want to submit to you that it's more than just four generations. It is also a verse that teaches us about stages in spiritual development and growth. Fathers and sons and those that haven't even come to Christ yet. 2 Peter chapter 1 also gives us a great example showing the process of spiritual development, among many other places. 2 Peter chapter 1, and verses 5 through 7, it says, and besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. And virtue knowledge, and knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. God deeply desires to bring us into a process of educating us by giving us not only knowledge, but knowledge that's then going to be applied so that we can understand wisdom. Titus chapter 2 and verse 3, we find a unique charge given to mature women. Says the aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women, to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. The text goes on. There's also another pattern or example that we find in the life of David, and then Solomon, and then Solomon's sons, in Proverbs chapter one, and verses one through eight. Proverbs chapter one, starting in the first verse, it says the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment and equity, and to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall obtain unto wise counsel. To understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. Verse 7 For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Proverbs chapter one, and verses one through eight gives us an amazing framework for understanding even the systematic and progressive doctrine of the New Testament presented to us in the Pauline epistles. Believe it or not, that is actually a framework that overlays with the way in which the doctrine is outlined in your Pauline letters, and specifically the book of Romans, which, Lord willing, we'll get into in about six months or something like that. We see a progression of maturity in the Lord Jesus. We first get brought to this word, son, Solomon the son of David. The Bible talks about being born again, and when you're born, you become somebody's son. You become a son of your heavenly father. You've been given power to be called the sons of God. 1 John, or John chapter 1 says, I believe in verse 12. But then it goes on, it describes this certain son as one that is given subtlety because he has a simplicity to him. And the book of Proverbs goes on to talk to us about that simple son and his need to actually move on from simplicity. Now, not the simplicity that's in Christ, as Paul would warn Corinth. But a son and a simple son. And then in verse 4, a young man, learning, knowledge, and discretion. But not just a young man. God wants us to not be sons and simple sons or young men. He wants us to be men and women of understanding. He wants us to be wise. It goes on. Another layer, another progression in spiritual maturity. To interpret a dark saying. God, I think, wants to invite us into some conversations that are heavy and dark. He's actually willing to give us that knowledge, but he just wants it given in his way, in his timing, and his process. I'm going to call this discipleship, as we just saw illustrated in the life of David Solomon and his sons. This is a poor illustration, but I think the language is like the titles for students in certain grade levels. We find this, you know, think about high school. Freshmen, sophomore, juniors, seniors. There's a progression of content, a progression of teaching or doctrine, and based on that curriculum, right, you're given a unique title. Yes, that pertains to age, but you've got to pass your grades. You've got to add to your faith virtue, virtue knowledge. You can't skip virtue and just get a bunch of knowledge because there's some things pertaining knowledge that will require virtue. There's certain things you can't learn of God unless you add to your faith virtue, a desire to say yes to God. I mean, think about mathematics, another poor illustration. But the information of the next phase or the next stage of spiritual development begins and builds upon what was learned before. This is true spiritually as well. It's hard to invest or apply something that you haven't understood or experienced yourself. How do you instruct somebody to win souls or to do the mission of God if you've never attempted to share your faith? It doesn't mean you need to be awesome at it or gifted in it, but have you figured out how to do the work of the evangelist? How can you teach others to do that if you haven't first applied yourself? Me too. Understand the gospel for your salvation and the fear of God helps you to understand the operation of the grace that also sanctifies you. So in you understanding the pure gospel of the Lord, if you can hear this point, if you don't understand the gospel and the work of grace in salvation, then how are you going to build upon that a life that also has to be lived by grace? Your understanding of grace and your salvation is the thing that allows you to understand how grace is going to work on your behalf in your sanctified life. You have to understand the first part. You have to become a son before you can become a young man or man of understanding or wise man or woman of God. If you can see and think about salvation properly, then you will also understand better what it means to walk in the Spirit and stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. I understand those concepts and the effectiveness of God's grace because I believe what grace accomplished for me in my salvation. If it can translate my soul from a kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son and give me a new identity, then could it not also allow me to live holy in this life? It can. But if I don't understand grace and my salvation and I think that my salvation at some level is based on what I do and don't do, then you know what's gonna happen? That's gonna mess up my sanctified life. The curriculum builds. Again, just like mathematics, you've got to learn numbers. What are they? Can you count? You've got to learn the ABCs of your Christian faith. Jesus loves me. That's important, that's necessary, but you've also got to learn to count. It's one thing to observe numbers and see them and recognize them. Like my son can go like this. I'm two. That's awesome, dude. That's awesome. You're two. But he can't count, yeah? He can't even count to three. He can barely begin to identify letters. Like he knows that his name starts with Z. And whenever we're reading a book, he said he points to Z and he says, he says, me. Me. But you build on that. You gotta learn to add and subtract and then multiply and divide, and you learn fractions and decimals, and Lord willing, exponents, and algebra and geometry, and God forbid, trigonometry and calc and advanced, other advanced math, and math is. Can I say that? Math? Math is. Maths. Words, they're hard. Numbers, they're hard. We've got to actually build upon what God's giving us. And we have to realize that it's the same thing in our spiritual development. God is wanting to give us doctrine that has to build on what is understood before. If you mess up, it's like shooting an arrow, right? You just adjust a little bit, and all of a sudden, way down the way at the target, you're feed off. You just barely miscalculated. You barely moved your finger, you barely flinched, blinked too quick, moved your chin down, whatever it might be. And that mistake messed you up long term. It's the same with Bible study. If you don't have a foundation laid and core doctrine that's gonna give you something to build on, then the house that is left standing by the end of it's gonna be kind of janky. It might fall down with a tornado or an earthquake. We have to have some strength regarding biblical doctrine. We have to learn and continue to learn the Bible. Why is discipleship so important? We gotta move quickly this morning. I know there's a lot here. We are commanded, or we are instructed, is your blank, instructed by God to teach people how to have a real walk with God. We are instructed by God. The reason it's important, first, is because God told us to do it. I know that's a simple point, but it's a necessary one. We as believers cannot pick and choose what we think God wants us to do with our lives. We have to obey the Lord when he instructs us to do something. Discipleship is the very mechanism, it's the very thing that God intends the church to use to truly impact this city and change the world. One soul at a time, maturing individuals at a time. The work of the Lord Jesus does not get accomplished any other way. You can't hold an event to change people's lives. A guy in the pulpit can't be charismatic enough or passionate enough or intelligent enough to change people's lives. This world needs spiritual fathers and mothers to walk with them and care for them and mature them in the Lord Jesus so that they might also become fathers and mothers to themselves. A classroom, a YouTube video, a sermon series is never going to accomplish that. It's going to take doing life with someone who's walked the spiritual walk a little longer. God has set this standard when he first introduced a new calendar to Israel, as we just observed in the Lord's Passover. The Passover was designed to cause children to ask questions and learn and consider the God of their fathers. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 26. It says, And it came to pass, and it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel and Egypt when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses, and the people bowed their head and worshiped. And then in verse thirteen, in verse four chapter thirteen, and verse fourteen, it says, And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in the time to come, saying, What is this? This Passover thing, this Lord's Supper thing you do, that ye shall say unto him, By strength of hand of the Lord brought us out of Egypt from the house of bondage. This is, even in the ordinance of the church, God has given us an opportunity to instruct the next generation about the first part and laying that foundation. Christ and his death. What did the eternal Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us do? What was accomplished at the cross? Psalm 78 and verses 1 through 8. This is a longer section, but just hear the words if you can. It says, Give ear, O my people, to the law, incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us, and we will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he hath established the testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children, that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. Fathers instructing their children because they were instructed by their fathers, and those children instructing their children. Verse 6. Why is discipleship so important? Because we're instructed to or commanded to by God to fulfill this work, but also because the world is impacted more by a church whose members are able ministers of reconciliation. Living Faith St. Louis will be more effective as a church plant if the ministry does not rely on me. I have no interest in seeing a church established here that is about me. I don't care. I mean, I'm in a unique role. I have to be a spokesperson. In this context, I have to lead and envision the church, but God forbid Living Faith St. Louis has anything to do with Blade Spisa. Genuinely. I want to see every member a minister of the gospel and the work of discipleship in these pews. Lord willing, over time these pews will be filled with mothers and fathers who spiritually have won people to Christ and have raised them up in the Lord. I cannot think of anything else that I could describe as success but seeing this room filled with spiritual mothers and fathers. Paul understood this. Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 7, it says, Whereof I was made a minister. He was enabled because of the work of Christ, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of his power. He understood that God came in and enabled him for the work. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 12. He says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. God made Paul an able minister. Now the air for most Christians is to think that it's only the role of the pastor to be given the responsibility of equipping the next generation. And while it is a great responsibility, I have to feed the flock of God. It should be all of our responsibility to understand that God wants us to be ministers not only of the gospel but in equipping the next generation to be missionaries, pastors, great mothers, employers, managers, neighbors, whatever it might be, all of us doing our part in a unique way with where God has us, with the resources or career that we have, the family, the upbringing we were given, to be applied to the next generation. That's how the church moves forward. Consider this in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 4 through 6. It says, and such trust have we through Christ to Godward. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. This is Paul speaking regarding him and the other leaders of the church at that time. Verse 6, though, listen to the point. He says, Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. God hath made us able ministers of the New Testament. And he's done that by the giving of his spirit. Ephesians chapter 4, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Romans chapter 12 tell us that God's uniquely given each member of the body a measure, the measure of his grace and his spirit to accomplish the work at hand. An old testament example, Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verses 9 through 10, it says, Only take heed to yourself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest thou depart from the heart all thy days of thy life, but teach them to thy sons and thy son's sons, especially the day that thou stoodest before God, the Lord thy God, in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Here it is, gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. Not just the leaders, not just the pastors, not just Paul, not just the other leaders and apostles of the church. In the Old Testament, what we find is an invitation for the people to be gathered and gathered to be instructed, that they would all the days of their life teach their children. Okay? So what this means is that the process of discipleship is not just supposed to happen on Sunday morning. Discipleship is not the work of the pulpit ministry, though there may be aspects of discipleship that get accomplished here. But the text told us all the days that we live on earth were to be instructing our children. Now for Israel, this was their physical children, but spiritually it applies as well. We'll see that here in example and 1 Thessalonians. This also means it's not just the pastor but the people. So not just on Sundays, but all the days. Not just the pastor, but the people are to be gathered to teach, to learn, and teach. But not just the church as well, not in the church or any church activities. Discipleship doesn't get accomplished in a service or a midweek service or a Bible study alone. It should get accomplished everywhere. Just two chapters later, in Deuteronomy chapter six, and verses four through nine, it says, O hear Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and these words which I have commanded you this day, shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk with them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when they thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and thou shalt be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the post of thine house, and on thy gates, in other words, and in everything that you do, and everywhere you go, in your home, at your gate, your children ought to see and learn from you, and learn what it means to love the Lord God with all of your heart, soul, and might. That's discipleship. It's the thing that ought to infiltrate infiltrate infiltrate every area of our life, consume everything that we are as believers. It ought to always be on our mind. It is this process of spiritual maturity that every congregant in the church must consider for their own life, that they, that we collectively as a church, as we grow, will become effective in this world. It's what allows us to impact the world. When a ministry goes beyond this in a Sunday service, I don't want to ever entertain, I don't want to ever just play some songs. I want the Lord to build the thing that He has designed to get people converted from a kingdom of darkness and delivered into the kingdom of light and his son, his dear son. I want people to know the Lord, and I want them to learn how to walk so that they're not frustrated in their Christian life. The church is a group of people, and that people ought to be good ministers because God has made them able ministers. It ought to go beyond the four walls of this church, and if it doesn't, then we won't fulfill the mission God's called us to. Moreover, the church isn't a place to come to learn a thing or two. It is a time to get our marching orders from our King and His Word. I mean, I hope when we come together, we enjoy our time with one another. But when we come together, we ought to be telling the Lord, Hear my Lord, send me. When we come together, we ought to enjoy one another and enjoy worship and praise and fellowship. But we ought to sit, myself included, and listen as I even preach, saying, Your servant is listening. I'm ready for my marching orders. Lord, direct me again, envision me again, strengthen me again, send me into this week with a heart ready to minister to those that I come in contact with. And Lord, if I don't see anyone, help me have the boldness to find a way to get in front of someone to share my faith. Lord, what would you have me to do now? That ought to be what we're processing as we walk out the door every Sunday. Lord, what would you have me to do now? Who would you have me to speak to? What do I need to share? What's my morning going to look like? How are things going to change this week that you might be glorified in my life? Every one of us. All the days of our life, in our home, at the mailbox, in our workplace. You guys get the point. Look at this example that we find in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. A pattern of discipleship, an example of discipleship, actually played out not just in the life of an individual, but a church.

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Like 2 Timothy 2 and verse 2 is Paul investing his son to invest in faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. I want you to see that this work gets accomplished on a local church level with a congregation. And it's not just a charge, it's actually happening. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 1, and then 3, and then 6 through 9. Paul and Sylvanus and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians. This is the very beginning of the book. Which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 3. Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus in the sight of God and our Father. Verse 6. Okay, now pay attention to the words. Paul writing to the church, he says this to them, and ye became followers of us. There's one generation, and of the Lord. There's possibly, if you want to make the Lord another generation, the Lord to Paul and the other leaders to them. Ye became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in must much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost, verse 7, so that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. Okay, so we invested in you. You then became ensamples to all them that were in Macedonia and Achaia. Verse 8, for from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God word is spread abroad. Abroad, beyond these places. Disciples made not only regionally, but also abroad. So that we need not speak of anything. Listen, look at verse 9. For they themselves show us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how we ye turned from God unto idols to serve the living and true God. Paul invested into them, Thessalonica, the church. They became ensembles to Mastodonia and Achaea and all those other places round about. And discipleship took hold in those other places because, Paul says, those places, or they, verse 9, they themselves showed what manner of entering in we had to you, Thessalonica. God says, I can see the effectiveness of discipleship in youth, Eslanica, because your fruit actually is accomplishing the work that I'm trying to instill in you. It is always that future generation that proves whether or not discipleship took hold. In other words, discipleship is not successful if I invest in you. Or I invest in Alvaro. Discipleship is true or effective or successful if I look at Alvero's life and I see that he has invested in other men. And oh, by the way, the men that he's invested in get it. They understand it and they're reproducing. The only way I could ever say my life has been successful is if I can look at the guy that I invested in and see that his fruit is investing. It's so necessary. And that's a hard work, isn't it? And we need the Lord to give us favor with all of this. Thessalonica was successful because Paul and the other men there were treating them gently and as a nurse cherisheth her children. That's in the second chapter in verse 7. Okay, so why is discipleship so important? We saw two examples here, third, we gotta move quick to wrap up this morning. The church is better insulated. The church is better insulated from attack when leaders are present and when leaders are absent. Right? We should do the work of discipleship because God's instructed us or he's commanded us to. We should do the work of discipleship because what? It helps us have a greater impact in the world. It gives us strength as a church. Thirdly, because it protects the church. It insulates the church from attack. Acts chapter 20, verses 27 through 29, it says, For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Notice in 1 Thessalonians and here, discipleship is in relationship to the words of God and the counsel of God, the truth of God, and getting that instilled in the next generation. Paul says, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the flock, I'm sorry, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this that after my departing shall grievous wood wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. So we have to make disciples in the church of God and in a local church so that when wolves come in, those people don't end up following those individuals. We have to make sure that we are insulating the church. That's what discipleship does. It strengthens the body so that whether I'm here or I'm not here, everyone's ministering to one another, and when false doctrine comes in, the church all looks around and says, Yep, that's not biblical. That's not in line with what God's word clearly teaches as we compare Scripture with Scripture. Second Peter chapter 2 and verse 1, a similar uh uh charge that Peter makes, it says, But there were some false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow. There's the idea of discipleship again, and many shall follow their pernicious ways. And so, what are we trying to do in discipleship? Teach people the way of the Lord. The way of ultimately the way. The way of Christianity, the way that Paul lines out for us in his letters. They shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. We're trying to teach people the way of truth. And false teachers come in and try to get people to follow their pernicious ways. That's what we're trying to avoid. Discipleship protects or insulates the church from this. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 2 through 3, it says, Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither being lords over God's inheritance, but being in samples to the flock. Just as the Thessalonians were in samples to the flock. I, as a as a leader, you, Lord willing, over time, as a leader, and even in this church, will be an ensample to the flock, desiring to serve, humbly take oversight over the Lord's heritage. Jeremiah chapter thirty three and verse fifteen it says, And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And uh Lord willing, in time, God will allow us to invest in men and raise up and give us pastor, more pastors in this church. I am trusting him for that. Uh we just learned uh from one of the pastors God gave us, actually, earlier in our study, the Apostle Paul. God's given us that pastor to feed us and to instruct us in knowledge and understanding. We obviously should also learn from the pastoral or shepherd that we find in the Lord Jesus and his leadership, but also David, who stands as a type of the Lord Jesus, who is a shepherd king. Earlier we read Psalm 78. Later on in that Psalm, in verse 72, it says, so he, referring to David, fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. We need some Davids. Lord, give us some Davids that we might invest in, so that we can have pastors that feed and give us knowledge and understanding. Lastly, here I want to express to you, discipleship is important because the next generation can be imprinted with Jesus' divine nature or God's divine nature through discipleship. Psalm 145 in verse 4, it says, One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts. In other words, we must endeavor, with this last point, we have to see that we must endeavor and we must pray to trust God for a culture to be built here for discipleship because it is the only way for a ministry to remain sustainable generation to generation. That is the greatest need for discipleship. A church can be very successful in one generation. An effective communicator, a charismatic or powerful speaker, a culture that's fun, great community, families come in, people have babies, the church is healthy and strong. But that's not what God wants only. It has to continue to be effective generationally, and the way that it gets done generationally is just to do it the way that God said, And that is through the means of discipleship. Every member of minister, every member equipped in the Word of God enough to begin doing ministry themselves, so that in our situation, if I die, the next day nobody's even questioning is this church going to survive? No, we've got 10, we've got 20 men that could step into the role of the pastorate, or we have three other pastors on staff who are able to work that out. We have to think that way, and we have to realize that life happens. And um and the only way the church is sustainable is if we are given to discipleship. Psalm 103 in verse 17 it says, But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children. I want righteousness to reach my children's children, and I don't mean just my sons, my physical sons. I want to invest in men, and I want to see them win people to Christ, and I want to see righteousness not only via salvation, but in their daily life. Obviously, we can only invest in people that are reached, and so right now we've got to reach people. We've got to figure out a way to get in front of people and bring them in and care for them, serve them, love them, listen to them. Do whatever it takes to make sure they understand how good and merciful God is. But also, we want to meet with those people to show them that God has an expectation for their life. Galatians chapter 4 and verse 19, Paul says, My little children of whom I travail and birth again until Christ be formed in you. That is the heart we have to have as leaders. We have to have a longing and a burden. As a woman giving birth, Paul illustrates. He says, I travail and birth again until Christ be formed in you. This is for a church, the churches of Galatia, that had gone back to the law for spiritual living. He's saying, I grieve deeply and I'm in pain over the idea that you would live a life in vain. I invested in you. Don't go back to the law for Christian living. Live in grace. We ought to have that same burden to see Christ formed in people. Lastly, here, Psalm 71 and verse 17 through 18, it says, O God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto I have declared thy wondrous works. Now also, when I am old and gray headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come. Lord willing, every day of our life, we will be declaring the faithfulness of God and the truth of God generation to generation. Even so that when we can say, I am old and gray headed, God, I have showed thy strength, not only to this generation you've given, but to everyone that is to come. In other words, by my investment in this generation, everyone to come will also hear of your strength and your righteousness.