We Are Generous Disciplers

So this is sermon four of six in our series entitled: “We Are Cities Church,” the goal of which has been to communicate who we are, especially now that we’re in our tenth year, and have gone from being a church planted to becoming a church rooted right here on 1524 Summit Avenue.

Back on September 8, Pastor Jonathan began this series with a message on our church’s mission, in which he said: “Our mission has always been, and will always be, to make disciples of Jesus” because that is what Jesus tells us to do. And when it comes to what we mean by making disciples, we mean making “joyful disciples of Jesus who remember his realness in all of life.”

Now, what do those joyful disciples look like? What are their defining traits? Four things…

As joyful disciples of Jesus we are Jesus worshipers, joyful servants, generous disciplers, and welcoming witnesses. 

And two weeks ago, Pastor David Mathis preached on that first one, Jesus Worshipers. Last week, Pastor Jonathan preached on the second one, Joyful Servants. And this week, if God allows, I’ll preach on the third, Generous Disciplers. Let’s pray and ask him to do so.

So, we — as joyful disciples of Jesus — are Jesus worshipers, joyful servants, and, now, generous disciplers. To which, you might question, what is a generous discipler?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Here’s my definition: A generous discipler is someone who gladly and purposefully seeks to help other Christians follow Jesus.

You like the definition? Good. But, what’s with that, “other Christians” part? “A generous discipler is someone who gladly and purposefully seeks to help other Christians follow Jesus.” Why not just “other people?” Why limit it to Christians? I mean, don’t we want to help those who are not yet Christians to begin to follow Jesus as well? 

The answer is yes — emphatically, yes! We most certainly want to help those who are not yet Christians to begin to follow Jesus because that is what Jesus commands us to do in Matthew 28:19 — a passage we recite at our commission each and every Sunday — where he says, “Make disciples of all nations.” That is, make people who, though they previously had not been followers of Jesus, are now followers of Jesus. And that process of — making those who, though previously had not been followers Jesus, are now followers of Jesus, sometimes referred to as “evangelism” or “witnessing” — is what we’re going to drill down on in next week’s sermon, our final defining trait — welcoming witnesses. 

But the focus for this morning’s sermon is, assuming that we do in fact make disciples, what we should then do with them, once we’ve made them. That is, after we’ve shared the gospel with someone, and they’ve received Christ, and they’ve been baptized in his name, are we just to then say, “Alright, well, see you in eternity?” I mean, yes, Jesus calls us to make disciples. But is that all he calls us to do?

See Jesus has more to say to us in Matthew 28 about this process of discipleship. He says,

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;”

Do you see the transition? 

Make disciples, baptize them; and then teach them.

Make disciples, baptize them; and then show them how to live. 

Make disciples; and then, we might say, gladly and purposefully seek to help them follow Jesus.

It is that portion of the equation, that helping of current followers of Jesus to continue to follow Jesus, that we are focused on this morning as generous disciplers.

And so, with that, I want to turn your attention to the text, Acts chapter 20. And I’ve got two things that I want to show you here from this text this morning. Two methods, if you will, for helping other Christians to follow Jesus. 

First: Christians help other Christians to follow Jesus by speaking the word of God to them.

Second: Christians help other Christians to follow Jesus by living the word of God before them.

You want to help other Christians to follow Jesus? Then speak the word of God to them and live the word of God before them.

We’ll focus first on speak.

1. Speak the Word 

Acts chapter 20, beginning in verse 17, for some context,

“Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.”

The “he” there is Paul. So Paul is in Miletus, and while there, he sends for the elders of the church in Ephesus, saying, “Hey, come join me over here.” For some perspective, this is not like a quick trip out to a friend’s house. That’s like a 2-4 day journey on foot that he’s just called them on. 30 miles as the crow flies, but more like 60 when it comes to all the twists and turns on the path to get there. But despite that distance, these elders in Ephesus hear the request, and they come.

Verse 18,

“And when they came to him, he [Paul] said to them: You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia…”

So he’s calling them back to the time they had spent together in Ephesus. And he’s summing up his activity while he was there as, verse 19,

“…serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house.” 

Now, Paul had spent nearly three years with those believers back in Ephesus. Three years! And what had he been doing throughout those three years? Among other things, he had been, verse 20: “Declaring” and “Teaching.” Mouth open and speaking to these Ephesian Christians. And what had he been speaking to them about?

Well, he had been speaking to them about, “…anything that was profitable...” See it there, in verse 20?

“…declaring to you anything that was profitable…”

Now, at first glance, that makes it sound like Paul had been casting the net pretty wide in terms of things to speak to these Ephesians, right? I mean, anything that was profitable? Like, really anything?

But just compare that somewhat vague statement with another statement of his, down in verse 27. Because while in verse 20, he says, “I did not shrink from declaring to you…anything that was profitable.” Look down with me to verse 27. In verse 27, he says almost the exact same thing. Almost. Verse 27,

“…for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

Now, do you think Paul means us to read those two things as separate bodies of content? Like, “I didn’t shrink back from declaring to you anything that was profitable, nor did I shrink back from declaring to you the counsel of God?” Are those two things separate? Or, are they synonymous — the one clarifying the other? 

I think we could paraphrase Paul’s words here as, “Elders of Ephesus, verse 20, you remember how ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable’ that is, verse 27, how ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.’” 

See, because the fact of the matter is, if you’re in search for the body of words that can most profit a person’s soul, in search of the corpus of truth that can most bring true soul-level benefit to a person, then you need not look further than to all the words that God has already spoken.

And Paul is telling them, “Remember, I didn’t hold back a single word that would’ve been profitable for you. For, I didn’t hold back a single word that God has said.” The whole counsel of God.

How do you gladly and purposefully seek to help another Christian follow Jesus? First, you speak the words of God to them. And all the words of God to them. You hold not one of them back.

Why the Whole Counsel?

Now, at this point, someone may argue: “Time out, that was Paul. Of course, he discipled others that way. He was an apostle. But look, I am not an apostle. I am an average, run of the mill Christian. Isn’t it enough for me to simply seek to help other Christians follow Jesus by speaking portions of God’s word? Like, can’t I just share with them the parts of God’s word that are especially comforting? Most encouraging? Or least likely to upset them or convict them about areas of needed change in their life? I mean, this book has some hard sayings — just take the gospels: Jesus talks about Hell, and the fact that some people are going there. Jesus talks about crosses and how we must take up ours to follow him.  Jesus talks about sexual sin and how it’s better to pluck out our eyes than take part in it. Jesus says we can’t serve money. Jesus says we can’t live for the praise of others. Jesus says he alone is the way, truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. Are we really to speak those words when seeking to help another Christian follow Jesus?”

Well, what did Jesus say?

Make disciples, baptize them, and “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded.” And he gave that commission not just to Paul. Nor just to the professionals. But to all who would claim to follow him — including you and me.

Brother and sister, are you obeying Jesus in this regard? Who in your life right now needs you, needs you, to speak the words of God to them — even those that are both most difficult for them to swallow and most profitable for them to hear?

So, Paul had spent three years speaking God’s word, all of God’s word, to the Ephesians because he knew that that was what Jesus has called his followers to do. And because he knew God’s word was not going to be the only word the Ephesians were going to hear.

What’s at Stake?

Look with me down in Acts 20:29-30. See it there with me. He says,

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” 

See what Paul had were eyes to see the battle going on in the world for words and how each and every one of the Christians around him who he was seeking to help follow Jesus were living in the midst of that battle. And every day, following his departure, there were going to be twisted things like lies, deceptions, and half-truths reigning down upon them from all sides. From within, “among your own selves” and from without, “fierce wolves out there.” Each with the aim to hit and puncture and sink into their souls, so as to draw them away from Christ and toward the wolves instead. 

Now, just think for a moment — is our world any different than that? I mean, consider someone you know from this church. Someone who is just a bit younger, a bit further behind in their faith than you. Maybe they’re in your community group, or your life group. They’re likely here this morning, maybe seated near you right now. Now do you have eyes to see the battle for words that that person lives in? Do you have eyes to see that that person, a half-hour-or-so from now, is going to walk out of this place, get in their car, and go home? And tomorrow, they’re not going to come here. They’re going to go to work, or school, and then maybe the gym, or the store, or to see a movie, or to enjoy a concert, or to visit a friend, or to spend time with a family member, or open a book, or turn on a screen, or pick up a magazine. And as they do, ask yourself: how many words out there are they going to see and hear between now and next Sunday? And how many of them will be twisted — laden with lies, fanged with falsehoods, aimed at leading that person not to Christ, but away from him? A hundred of them? A thousand? 

Are there any words you might be able to say to that person this week to help them keep following Jesus, rather than turn away from him? Is there any way you might be able to, gladly and purposefully seek to help them follow Jesus by speaking the word of God to them this week?

Paul knew what Jesus had called him to. Paul knew the battle his fellow Christians were in. That’s why he spoke. And that’s why we should to. 

So, as generous disciplers, we want to gladly and purposefully seek to help other Christians to follow Jesus. And the first way we want to do that is by speaking the word of God to them. The second way, is by living it out before them. 

2. Live the Word 

Go back with me to verse 18,

“And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia.”

And you know, its interesting — the church at this time was neither rich nor powerful (least not in terms of how the world measures those things). Even still, this was the Apostle Paul. Surely someone in Ephesus has got a nice guest house somewhere outside the city for Paul to stay in, right? I mean, “Paul, get yourself set up somewhere out of the riffraff of commoners and townsfolk. Get somewhere cushy and secluded. You got important stuff to do, to read, to write. You can’t afford to be interrupted by all these nobodies.” Right? Wrong.

Paul did in Ephesus just the same as he did in every other city he visited — he lived among the people. Rubbed shoulders with commoners.

“You yourselves know how I lived among you...”

“Okay fine,” we say, “but at least Paul impressed these commoners while he was there, right? Showed them he was a cut above the rest — how strong, how intelligent, how skilled he was right?”

Wrong again. Verse 18,

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.”

Humility, tears, and trials. I mean if Paul was trying to impress, then clearly, he failed. Good thing he wasn’t. He let his tears fall. His humility show. He bore the marks of trial not because he was trying to impress anybody, but because he was living in response to God’s word.

Tears

His tears were there because God’s word had told him that he should love people and care about their souls. His tears were there because God’s word has told him what happens to souls if deceived by twisted things and led away from their Savior. His tears were there because God’s word had shown him that the loss of a person’s faith deserved them. He was not aiming to impress people, but help people to follow Jesus. And so he let his tears fall in the process.

Trials

Likewise, Paul’s trials were there because God’s word had called him to the front lines of battle. His trials remained there because God’s word had assured him that the battle was well worth fighting no matter how heavy or tiresome they got. He was content to have his trials there and to show the marks of them to others because God’s word showed him that in times of trial, his weakness showed most, and God’s power shined greatest — and that was a good thing. 

Humility

Finally, his humility was there because of God’s word, not his skill. God’s word, not his eloquence. God’s word, not his work ethic. God’s word, not man, was able to guard these followers of Jesus so that they kept on as followers of Jesus even in the midst of the battle. He says, verse 32,

“And now [that I’m leaving, and false teachers are coming…] I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give to you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” 

What enabled three years-worth of humble service to the Ephesians? The fact that he knew the power for his ministry was not in himself, but in God through his word.

Brothers and sisters, go back to that young man or young woman who you had in your mind just a bit ago. The one who is just a bit younger, a bit further behind you in their walk with Jesus.

What if you were to begin discipling them today? 

What if you were to begin gladly and purposefully seeking to help them follow Jesus by speaking God’s word to them, and living God’s word before them, this week? 

And what if, after you kept at it for three years, they were not impressed by you?

Like, what if, as you discipled them, there came moments when you didn’t have the answers, but were willing to seek them out alongside that person? 

And, what if, as you discipled them, it became apparent that even you are not yet totally sanctified, but are hoping to grow in sanctification alongside them? 

And what if, as you discipled them, there were no fireworks, and no fanfare, and no accolades, but instead, a thousand little moments, filled with the unimpressive and ordinary stuff, of speaking God’s word to that person, and living God’s word out before them?

What if you did that? Well, then you would then be doing exactly what Jesus has commanded you to do. Making disciples, and then helping them to follow Jesus by teaching them to observe (to live out) all that he has commanded them. 

Cities Church, you can do this. You can help others to follow Jesus. 

With Bibles open, you can speak the word. 

With front doors open, you can live the word. 

With the desire to impress behind you, and humility flowing out from among you, and even with trials raging all round you, and tears welling up within you —You can help others to follow Jesus. 

And one last, quick word before we close. Cities Church, not only can you do this, but you can do so generously. 

Do So Generously

Verse 35, final word,

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Do you see it? Jesus said, that it is more not less, but more blessed — more happy, more joy-producing, more delight-inducing — more blessed to give than to receive. 

To give than to withhold. To give and expend yourself for the good of others, rather than preserve yourself the supposed good of self. 

We don’t want to be begrudging disciplers. We don’t want to be exacting disciplers. We don’t want to be duty-driven disciplers. Jesus tells us we should want to be generous disciplers because it is not less, but more blessed to give. 

The Table

Now, what brings us to the table this morning is the fact that Jesus did not call his disciples to himself begrudgingly. He did not teach them his word disinterestedly. He did not cover up, but unfolded his life before them. And on the night he was betrayed, seated among his disciples, he invited them generously — take and eat, this is my body given for you.

This table is Jesus’ table. A fellowship meal for all who profess faith in him.