Lead the World
Notes
Transcript
Focus on personal one on one discipleship - investing in others for the sake of the gospel.
How are to lead the world to Christ. One person at at time.
The idea of one-on-one discipleship is not necessarily a new idea. It was practiced in the days of Jesus. While Jesus is considered by many to be a small-group leader because He instructed a small group of followers, He did personally mentor and develop those who would later be in charge of His ministry. That is what the idea of one-on-one discipleship is all about.
The biblical basis for one-on-one discipleship is found in 2 Timothy 2:2, where it states, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
What does one-on-one discipleship involve?
It involves a person investing a great deal of time, energy, prayer, and commitment into the life of another person - not just sharing the Good News with them, but developing a relationship where the person being discipled learns, grows, and draws closer to God.
TIME AND ENERGY
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
PRAYER AND COMMITTMENT
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
In this model, the person discipling sets the example and the new person to the Lord learns and benefits from this.
This type of discipleship - being a role model - is detailed in 2 Thessalonians 3: 7, 9. "For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you…We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow."
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you;
9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
In this model of discipleship, a person mentors someone else and invests everything they know and have into the life of this person and then encourages them to do the same thing in the life of someone else.
This is perhaps the greatest advantage of one-on-one discipleship - the ability to mentor and shape another person and then send him or her out to do the same for someone else.
There are certainly advantages to being discipled in a group setting. However, in a one-on-one environment, there are so many other opportunities for growth.
The person being mentored sees God in the life of a person, and can translate that into their own faith story and struggles.
Just as there is no substitute for a coach in the life of an Olympic athlete, there is no substitute for a mentor or a coach in the life of a growing Christian, and that is what one-on-one discipleship is all about.
This principle, if adapted, would make it possible to reach the entire world with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in a span of 15 years.
How is that possible? If you were to mentor and disciple a new person every six months, and that person would then disciple one other new person every six months, and so on, by the end of the 15th year, well over 9 billion people would have been reached. Which is more than the current population of the on earth, with is 7.8 billion
Year 1 - 1 - 2
Year 2 - 3 - 6
Year 3 - 9 – 18
Year 4 - 27 – 54
Year 5 - 81 – 162
Year 6 - 243 – 486
Year 7 - 729 – 1458
Year 8 - 21837 – 4374
Year 9 - 6561 – 13122
Year 10 - 19683 – 39366
Year 11 - 59049 – 118098
Year 12 - 177147 – 354294
Year 13 - 531441 – 1062882
Year 14 - 1594323 – 3188646
Year 15 - 4782969 – 9565938
That is the more than current world population which is 7.8 billlon and rising. That would be a miraculous accomplishment! All one person would have to do is share their life, experience, faith, and Christ's love with one person every six months.
By the way 2017 WP was 7.6 billion (Covid has not hurt the world population to continue to increase.)
One-on-one discipleship is an exciting way to help bring people to Christ, lead the world in Christ, and then send people out for Christ.