What is the different about the language of evangelicals? What does the Bible say about making disciples? What is needed to preach the true gospel?
From the United Church of God constitution, Article 1.01, under "Mission Statement," it says, "The mission of the Church of God is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, make disciples in all nations, and care for those disciples."
When I read the expression, "make disciples of all nations," what does that mean to you? "Make disciples of all nations." Let's read the context from which we gain our mission statement in Matthew, chapter 28, and verse 19. Matthew 28 and verse 19, some of the closing scriptures in the book of Matthew, where Christ is giving a commission to His disciples, who made disciples of others, who made disciples of still more, who made disciples of still more people, who, eventually, through a chain of disciples, came to us; and we, the disciples of Christ, called of God, have this same commission, do we not? We read beginning in verse 19 of Matthew 28:
Matt 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
This term, "make disciples," is a very interesting term. It comes from a Greek word, matheteuo. It literally means "to become a disciple, to become a pupil, to enroll as a scholar." That's what it means. The word or expression is only used four times in the New Testament, interestingly enough. A closer look at the other three instances where this word is used will be very instructive, I think, for us this afternoon.
Let's go to Acts, chapter 14, and verse 21, Acts 14:21, where we find this same word, matheteuo, used again, in the Greek, interpreted in the English, "make disciples."
Acts 14:21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, talking about Derbe, mentioned in the previous verse, verse 20, and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch...
Again, the Greek word matheteuo is used here, as opposed to the word in the Greek, didasko, which is used 34 times in the New Testament, interpreted, "to learn or to teach." And there is a difference. The word didasko, interpreted "to teach or to learn," would be used in the framework...if I can use this example of my son. My son was, I guess, about 16 or 17 at the time that I got into, became interested in restoring classic muscle cars as a hobby, as a way to relieve stress and pressure of the ministry. And so I took him through the basics of mechanics. I thought it would be good to teach my son how to change oil in a car; and so, we got out one day in the garage and we jacked the car up, put it up on the rack. We, of course, got under the car; and with a flashlight, I was describing to him how you very carefully undo the plug in the bottom of the oil pan and make sure you don't strip the threads, don't do it too hard; and I went through all of this, you know, didactic—it's from this word [didasko] we get "didactic"—explanation of how you do this. My son watched me with some interest. We started pulling the plug out; and I said, "Now you've got to kind of push your way back so you don't get splashed with oil, put the oil pan under here and make sure the oil goes into the oil pan, not on the floor of the garage," and I went through this instruction with him. The oil, of course, came out of the car when we pulled the plug out, and we finished draining the oil from the oil pan and we put the plug carefully back. I explained how you do that without stripping the bolt. You've got to be very careful not to do that, and I explained how you take the oil filter off and you're very careful with that, and then you screw the new oil filter in, and you go back on the top of the car and put the car down off of the jack, and you begin to put the oil back into the engine, and he said, "Yeah, that's really good, Dad. Thank you. That's wonderful. Now I know how to change oil in the car." I said, "Yeah, you can save yourself anywhere from $11 to $30 each time your oil needs to be changed in the car." "That's cool, Dad. That's good. Thanks." And, phtttt! He was off somewhere. I saw my son the other day. He's gotten himself a new car. Got himself a new Volkswagen Jetta. As a curiosity I just said, "John, how many times have you changed the oil in your car since I taught you that 15 years ago?" He looked at me and said, "None."
The Greek word didasko means to teach somebody something, which they may or may not use. They may never use it again. You just kind of say, "This is the way to do it," and they go, "Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh." Ever teach anybody anything like that, where you kind of explain something to them, and they go, "Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh," and you kind of get this feeling that they're never going to do this, are they? They're never going to learn this, are they? So this word "to teach" in the Greek, didasko, translated 34 other times, does not mean the same thing as what we're talking about here when we talk about "make disciples." This word matheteuo means to literally "enroll as a scholar." Just like someone who is very interested in higher education would go to great lengths to enroll in a university, to pick the exact discipline they want to study and to dedicate their lives to study that. That's what the word literally means, as opposed to the other word translated "to teach," didasko, that I just described to you about teaching my son how to change oil in a car.
Let's notice in verses 22 and 23 of this same chapter, Acts 14:
Acts 14:22 ...strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith...we're talking about teaching people. We're talking about convicting people. We're talking about a deep education, if you will, something that goes very deep. We might say today where you feel it deep down inside. You become internally convicted. It's not something that's external to you, where somebody's teaching you something and you're going, "Uh huh, uh huh, yeah, I know that. Let's get on to the interesting stuff." Something that's really taken in deeply. ...to continue in the faith and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." Similar to what we heard in the sermonette today, giving us examples of trials that we must endure in order to learn valuable lessons that will be used later to teach others. Much like the scholar who learns so that he may become a professor or a teacher later, to teach back what he has learned.
Verse 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
I think we're beginning to see that this word translated in the English, "make disciples," has a fairly deep and profound meaning. Let's notice these other two examples, Matthew, chapter 27 and verse 57, not far from where we first started. It describes a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea. I think we all know who this man is. He was the secret disciple. He was the man who finally came forward after Christ's crucifixion and claimed His body and buried Him in his own family tomb, apparently, in Golgotha.
Matt 27:57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
The word here that is translated "disciple" is one of the four instances of the use of the Greek word matheteuo. In other words, Joseph of Arimathea studied secretly, but he studied like a scholar. He learned the material. It saturated deep into him, creating a conviction; and he finally came out in public in a big way after Christ had been crucified. But during the times that he was discipling, or becoming a disciple of Christ, he studied like a student to become a scholar.
Matthew, chapter 13, is the fourth instance of this word being used; and it is very instructive, indeed, just to make the point that I will share with you in just a moment. Matthew, chapter 13, and verse 51.
Matt 13:51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" He just got through going through several parables. In fact, Matthew 13 is sometimes called the "parable chapter." And He explained several things that only His disciples understood initially through these parables. "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
Verse 52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure, things new and old."
He says, "I'm trying to explain to you some very important principles here, some of which are old and some of which are new; but this is all treasure." But what is really interesting is a sidelight here but is the main focus of what I want to talk about, and that is this use of the Greek word in, "every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven." The word matheteuo, meaning "to make a disciple of," is used here, interpreted or translated in the English as the word "instructed." A scribe is instructed.
Now, let me ask you, how detailed is a scribe instructed concerning biblical matters? Well, he's trained intensely, isn't he? To make sure every jot and every tittle is recorded in the context. It's a deep instruction. It's a concerted instruction. It's a heart-felt instruction. It's a conscientious reception that these people, these scribes had when they were being taught. They wanted to make sure that they got every jot and every tittle of the law when they recorded it again and again and again and again on animal skins. They were very careful to learn in a very careful manner.
Now, you might be asking yourself, "Why is Mr. Register talking about this in this way?" Let's go to verse 16 of Matthew, chapter 13. I'd like to read a familiar part of scripture. This, of course, is the parable of the sower.
Matt 13:16-17 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear..." But as we, I think, just read, to be a disciple in the truest context means more than just seeing and more than just hearing, doesn't it? It means learning with conviction. "...for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Therefore hear the parable of the sower..." We have here an example of preaching the gospel, if you will.
Let's begin reading in verse 18 of Matthew 13 and see if we can learn a lesson from the parable of the sower. "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside." And we know that preaching the gospel is paralleled here in this parable as broadcasting seed. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles."
In verse 22, "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful."
And now verse 23, "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it," understands it, becomes a disciple, "matheteuo," is taught, like a scholar learns, absorbs it, understands it, becomes part of his internal thinking, "who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
I think there are some lessons to be learned about preaching the gospel. A few weeks ago I spoke about the virus of evangelicalism, people who follow the Roman model versus the first century model; and after that sermon, a couple people came up to me and said, "Well, don't you believe in preaching the gospel? Don't you believe in evangelizing?" And I said, "Of course I believe. It's part of our commission. It's part of the mission of the church, to evangelize; but I happen to believe that we should follow the model of the first century church in that regard, as we do doctrinally." Again, not following the model of the Roman church and the daughters of the Roman church in that model.
Historically, when we talk about preaching the gospel, the church has had a four-pronged method of fulfilling the commission of Matthew 28. Number one is you get peoples' attention. Number two is to teach those people who respond. You teach them through a literature tree that we developed over the years. Matheteuo, you teach people who will internalize it, who want that knowledge. Then those called-out ones who respond to God's call and want to be baptized then become a part of the body of Christ through the commitment of baptism in the process of learning. And the learning doesn't stop there. It continues, more in-depth, after one is baptized and committed. Those called would literally become scholars, those of understanding, as we read here in the parable, because they in turn want to teach others eventually. That was the role of the priest in the Old Testament. That's what is talked about in the book of Revelation, to be kings and priests; that is, teachers. So today we have a mission, part of the mission of the church, that was given to the early disciples in the first century to preach the gospel and prepare a people.
Again, you may wonder why am I bringing this up for a closer look. Because there are certain words and expressions that send up red flags in my mind, and one of those is the term "making disciples." I don't know how many of you noticed, but at the end of the Rose Parade, the floats are followed by several large trucks, big tow trucks. I don't know how many of you saw that. I noticed that with interest. The reason they have those big, huge diesel tow trucks is two-fold. One is to be able to assist if one of those floats breaks down, and the other is to run a barrier between the crowd that's now following the parade and the floats, to create this natural barrier. Following these trucks were several people who went along the parade route trying to capture a crowd. And, again, I don't know how many of you saw them; but they were carrying banners. "The end is near. Repent!" Scriptures on these big banners. They were marching along in the parade, thinking, "We've got half a million people here, captive audience, sitting in these stands, and right at the end of the parade, right at the end of watching these floats, we're going to be out there 'making disciples.'" Again, the point that I am trying to make is, the language that is oftentimes used by the evangelical spirit is biblical language, but it is defined much differently than you and I would define it.
As I explained a few weeks ago when I gave that message, I talked about the very sincere but inherent need to frenetically dash about converting people, making disciples, because when disciples can be made, then their souls are saved from burning in hell forever. That's the concept. And so many churches today...like I said, I don't doubt the sincerity that is there. It is very sincere. They go about trying to convert people, to make disciples; and, of course, making disciples in their minds means preaching the gospel by any and every and all means. Those are the words of Billy Graham. "We must preach the gospel by any and every and all means." And so you find people today doing that in ways that you and I probably wouldn't approve of, like walking behind a parade, carrying a big banner, requesting the people repent. And yet, if you asked them, they would say, "Well, I'm making disciples. I'm out here hoping to capture the heart of somebody, to convict someone who may have sinned last night or may be sinning in the stands; and they're going to look and see this sign and somehow repent." Like the guy at the football game, you know, who held up the sign as he always does every year—probably a different guy, the guy that I saw twenty years ago is probably dead—John 3:16. We see him at nearly every ball game, don't we?
I thought it might be interesting just to kind of prove my point about this term, "making disciples," to go through the book of Acts in some of the time I have remaining this afternoon and see how the first century church preached the gospel, because it is far different than the way that the evangelical spirit leads the religious world to do it today. We do it for different reasons. Same phrases and terms are used, but they mean something entirely different. The term "making disciples" means something different to me than it does to you (I'm talking about this world). Let's go to Acts, chapter 1. I hope it doesn't mean something different to me than it does to you! Let's go to Acts, the first chapter. Acts, chapter 1, verse 8. Christ was giving last-minute instructions to His disciples about their role in the world that would follow. Of course, at this time they thought that they were going to see Christ very shortly in their own lives at His return. He said:
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
He said you would preach the gospel, but it would be by the power of the Holy Spirit. I think this is very interesting. The word "witness" is very interesting. A witness is someone who is subpoenaed and called to a trial and then asked questions; and as a result of being asked those questions, he responds and he creates a case. Historically, it's interesting that over the last hundred years that I'm aware of in church history—and even before that, I think it goes beyond that—that the church primarily has been formed, that disciples have been made by personal contact—families, people who have come forward and said, "You know, there's something different about you. Can you tell me about your faith? There's something different about you. What is it?"
I've been a festival coordinator for many years, well over a decade; and I remember in Lowell, Massachusetts, after the Feast, a waitress in a restaurant was talking to me as we were planning the following year's Feast. She said, "You know, I really like your people." She said, "I don't know what it is about your people, but I really like them. I don't agree with your religion, but I really like your people." But she knew we kept the Feast. And I said, "Well, do you suppose maybe it is because of the religion that the people are the way they are? Have you ever thought about that?" "Hmm. Never thought about that." What is really interesting is that woman eventually became a part of the church in Boston, by the example that the people at the Feast set. Nobody said to her in a restaurant during the Feast, "I'm going to try to make a disciple of that woman," and went over to her and said, "Have you been born again? Do you know the Lord? Do you know what the Feast means?" And yet, because of the witness of the people who had attended the Feast of Tabernacles, this woman took notice and asked questions; and as a result of asking those questions became a disciple of Christ. There is a difference.
I don't have time in the few minutes remaining to me here today to go through all of the examples of the book of Acts, so I've made a handout for you, if I could get John and the other deacons to please distribute this handout; and I have listed—not an exhaustive list, but at least a place to start—where the gospel is preached in the model of the first century church; and I would like you to note how this is done. And as we're looking at this list, I'd like to go down through this list and, at least for us to notice a few highlights and remind all of us from verse 8 of Acts, chapter 1: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me...
The gospel of the Kingdom of God has been preached for 2,000 years, and it has been done in it's most dynamic form miraculously. It's interesting to look at the model of the first century church; and as we go through this, I want you to ask yourself a question. As we as a church today preach the gospel, what model do we follow? I think the answer to that question may be interesting. How do we as a church go about making disciples? And as I hope I have proven to you already from examining the Greek words, making disciples means much more than just making an announcement. It means more than just getting somebody's attention. It means that person responding and literally enrolling in a course of study and becoming personally convicted of the laws and the ways of God.
You'll notice here in the list that I have made up for you, Acts 1, verse 8, the Holy Spirit would be a force to help spread the gospel to all of the world eventually. You'll notice I have three categories: the scripture, the open-door miracle, and the gospel was spread to certain areas.
The next entry you will notice on the list is Acts 2, verse 7. Miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to the church quite miraculously on that day of Pentecost. Once again, you will all remember, the gospel was spread to Jerusalem. Later in that chapter, over 3,000 people responded. People who were familiar with the work of Jesus Christ in His three-and-a-half year ministry, I dare say, responded to Peter's sermon, repented, and the gospel was spread to Jerusalem.
In Acts 3, verses 8-10, there was the healing of the lame man. Again, the gospel is spread through Jerusalem.
Acts 4, the apostles are brought before the council of the Jews; and that spreads the gospel, according to the scripture.
Acts 5, apostles are miraculously freed from prison. That, of course, gets the attention of some people. They, in turn, enroll to become disciples, to be made disciples.
Acts 6:7, the word of God spreads throughout the city and the environment, the environs of Jerusalem.
In Acts 6:8, Stephen, a newly ordained deacon, performs miracles.
In Acts 8, the disciples are scattered because of the persecution, and the gospel spreads to Samaria.
Acts 8:25, the apostles preach the word in Samaria because they have been given an open door.
Acts 8:26-35, Philip is led by God's Spirit to go south to preach to the Ethiopian eunuch, and the gospel is now spread to Gaza in the south.
Acts 9, the miraculous call of Saul, etc., etc., etc.
I think you can get the picture here. How was the gospel spread in the first century church? Did the disciples rent a room, pull out a table, sit down around it, and say, "OK, guys, how are we going to make disciples? Peter, you go to Gaza. John, you go to Samaria. Paul, you go to Asia Minor." Is that the way it was done? I hope we can see very clearly, no, that's not the way it was done. It was done exactly the way Christ said it was going to be done. Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
It is by the power of God's Spirit the gospel has and shall be preached to the world, and disciples shall be made from those people that are called by God, from the miraculous doors that are opened, and then they respond and those people become scholars. They learn. They become students, pupils of the word of God.
I don't have time to go through this entire list or all these different references. You can do that. That's why I have provided you with this handout. You can do that on your own. The point I want to make is this, that the concept of making disciples is, number one, by the power of God. It's not by our own reasoning and what we decide would be best; and I, frankly, think that the Church of God has fallen into, in some cases, a pitfall in that we look at the model of the Roman church and it's daughters and say, "How do they preach the gospel? How do they find success?" And we try to follow those models. I think that's one of the reasons that God has not blessed our efforts when we have followed those models because they don't work, in my opinion. Well, yes, in some ways they do work; but is it the Spirit of God?
It's kind of interesting to me that the fastest growing churches in America are the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses. The fastest growing Christian churches are the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Do you know why they're growing so fast? Because they go door to door. OK, does that mean that we, as an organization, if we want to make disciples of people in the world, that we should go door to door? I don't think so. I think it's the wrong model. Besides that, I think the scriptures tell us not to go door to door, specifically. The fastest way to grow a church in the evangelical world is through small-group dynamics. Does that mean that we should follow this model, create small-group dynamics in the local congregation and in the community to build a church? I don't think that's the model we should follow. I really don't.
Let's notice a few scriptures. The apostle Paul says in I Corinthians, chapter 16, something very interesting about the preaching of the gospel in his trips. I Corinthians 16, verse 8:
I Cor. 16:8-9 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me...
When you look through that list in the book of Acts, you see all these dramatic doors, miraculous doors that opened to the first century church in order to preach the gospel. There is no denying the church grew dramatically, and I think there is no denying that you and I would like to see God's church grow dramatically today. We're not growing as fast as the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses. We're certainly not growing as fast as the Muslims in America. In the last 18 years they have built over 2,000 mosques. They, in fact, are growing faster than the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses in this country. You see, if we go strictly by figures, somewhere along the line we have missed the boat, haven't we? But remember, it's not the numbers of people or bodies that we're trying to bring into the church or the superficial teaching or learning or the making of disciples. The evangelical spirit says, "Well, get out there and make disciples of people. Draw them in any way you can." And, of course, George Barna does surveys and finds that 90 percent of these people cannot name the four gospels. Can you? Ninety-eight percent of them cannot name the Ten Commandments. Can we? What kind of disciples are we?
I Cor. 16:8-9 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
Paul acknowledged, and, again, we can read in the book of Acts (and you have many of them on the list there), of the doors that were opened for Paul. He said effective doors have opened to me, but there are many adversaries. Sometimes when we encounter an adversarial response, we consider that door closed, don't we? That's why I wonder sometimes, we keep beating our heads against the wall and trying various things that just don't work in preaching the gospel. Maybe it's because we're following the wrong model in preaching the gospel.
Let's go to II Corinthians. When Paul encountered adversaries, he prayed to God, he fasted to God, and God opened another door and he went a different direction. II Corinthians, chapter 2, and verse 12.
II Cor. 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord...
There was no doubt in Paul's mind that God was opening doors quite miraculously to him. In fact, you will read in different parts of the book of Acts, and I think I have listed a couple of them in the list that I gave you, where Paul said that he had determined to go this way and God's Spirit said, "No, no! Don't go that way. Go this way." So He closed that door, set a whole set of adversarial circumstances, and forced him to go another direction, quite miraculously.
Let's read in this section here. Verses 12-14 of II Corinthians 2, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. This beautiful poetic language that Paul uses here. He talks about the gospel being diffused like a fragrance wherever he went, wherever God miraculously led him.
Verses 15-16 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death...Some people don't like us, do they? Certainly there were people who didn't like Paul and tried to kill him several times...and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
The point is, it is not us and our efforts that determine who is made disciples. It is God and God's miraculous efforts that make true disciples. I can give you literally dozens of examples of people who were called by God under the most unusual circumstances. People who found magazines in garbage cans, people who stumbled across the truth in incredible ways that you couldn't plan if you tried. Maybe you're one of those stories. The point I'm trying to make is that it is by the power of God, it is by God's strength and God's work that disciples are truly made. It is not by our efforts. God works through human beings, but He works quite dramatically.
He continues on in verse 16, To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God...
Paul said we are not to be "as many, peddling the word of God." That's why I think it is a shame for the Church of God to follow the models of the Roman church and their daughters in preaching the gospel. I think it's an affront to God to preach the gospel from your bumper or from a label on the back of your car or from a sign in a parade or from a cross on the hill over your house or around your neck or some other way that you think, you know, we can advertise the gospel. Is that the way the New Testament church had the gospel preached for them? No, it was quite miraculous. In fact, I am of the opinion that the more we try to do it ourselves, the more we will fail and the less likely it is that God will do His miraculous work. I'd like us to think about that a little bit as we analyze this phrase, "making disciples." Definitely a part of the commission of the church, but how do we go about doing that?
For we are not, in verse 17, as so many, peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God and God's power, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.
That is our commission. It's not by our power that the gospel is preached. It's not by our ingenious marketing plan that disciples are made. It is by the power of God.
Let's go to Colossians, chapter 2, and verse 4. I'm sorry. Colossians 4, verse 2. Scriptural dyslexia.
Col 4:2-4 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word...How often do we pray to God that He would open a door for us? Sometimes I feel if we would spend that much time, the time that we spend trying to pry open doors or following models that are, in my opinion, unbiblical for preaching the gospel, if we could spend that same amount of time praying that God in His miraculous power would open doors for us, we might see some incredible results. We would see...praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Brethren, if I can only encourage you to do one thing here today, it is to pray more for a miraculous open door for the preaching of the gospel and for God to call and make disciples. I think it's important. I think we're at an important juncture in the history of the church. Like I said, I think we all would like to see growth in the church; but how does that growth come? It will not come by our efforts. It must come by the power of God. That's how disciples are made, by the model of the New Testament church; not by a model that we might borrow or imagine.
I don't think we need a new program. I think we need God's miraculous power to open doors for us. Can you imagine the response that we would get if a miracle was performed in the church? Just think about that for a moment, as I, hopefully, challenge you to pray that God would open a dramatic and spiritual door to the church. I don't think there is anything wrong with making that request as Paul did in Colossians.
Let's go to Zechariah in conclusion today. Zechariah, chapter 4, and verse 6. How are disciples truly made? Matheteuo, people called and convicted and studying deeply the word of God—how does that come about? It comes about by the power of God, not by the measly efforts that we make.
Zech 4:6 So he answered and said to me: (this is God speaking to Zechariah) "'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, speaking of human might and power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts.
The dramatic workings of the work of God, including preaching the gospel and making disciples, can only truly come from the working of God's Spirit. The gospel is only effective when preached by the power of God, and true disciples are only made by the power of God, God's Spirit.
