Characteristics of a Disciple

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Characteristics of a Disciple
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What we will Cover

• Introduction
• Definition
• Qualifications / Expectations
• How?

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Introduction

• Discipleship in North America.
• Discipleship at Morningstar.
• 5 Keys to Spiritual growth.
• Some gifts of the Holy Spirit.
• What Does the bible teach us about discipleship?
• What about the 12?
• How long?

• Characteristics of a disciple

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Definition
Disciple The term disciple simply means a
learner. Disciple should not be confused with
apostle, meaning messenger, he that is sent.
While a disciple is one who learns from a
teacher, a student, an apostle is sent to deliver
those teachings to others. The word disciple
appears 232 in the four gospels and the Book of
Acts.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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10 Reasons

• 10 Possible reasons why discipleship is suffering
  in church
• The generally accepted definition of
  discipleship is distorted
• To influence many people simultaneously is
  generally considered the method of choice.
  Personal one-on-one discipleship appears to be
  too time-consuming, energy consuming, and
  inefficient
• There is an attempt to develop teachers rather
  than disciplers
• Most Christians consider themselves inadequately
  trained, or ungifted leaders are presumed to be
  trained, but lack the time for personal
  discipleship while many followers have the time,
  but dont feel theyre adequately trained.
• The practice of mentoring, or spiritual
  parenting, is not being modeled by many older
  Christians

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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10 Reasons

• 10 Possible reasons why discipleship is suffering
  in church
• personal discipleship (spiritual parenting)
  is not promoted and modeled from the leadership
  in many churches
• Biblical truth is often presented in isolated
  (topical) form without a good understanding of
  how it fits into the Christian life as a whole,
  promoting the compartmentalizing of the
  Christians life.
• There is an assumption that the appropriation of
  biblical knowledge by itself will lead to
  spiritual maturity.
• The church community typically focuses on making
  converts rather than making disciples
• There is a reluctance by many Christians to make
  a commitment that they perceive may interfere or
  limit their lifestyle or plans.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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Qualifications / Expectations

• To be a disciple, all we need to be is a
  Christian following the path Christ laid out for
  us.
• We cannot guide without guidance
• We cannot teach without knowledge
• We cannot Love without Christ
• We cannot Disciple without the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 112-3 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on
Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The
Spirit of counsel and strength The spirit of
Knowledge and the fear of the Lord And He will
delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not
judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision
by what His ears hear

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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There is never a time as a Christian that we can
say that weve learned it all, therefore we will
always need to be discipled no matter how
spiritually mature we think we are. We must be
obedient to His command and make disciples of all
the nations.
Obedience means NOW!!! Mark 116-20 16  As He
was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw
Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a
net in the sea for they were fishermen. 17 And
Jesus said to them, Follow Me, and I will make
you become fishers of men. 18 Immediately they
left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a
little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, who were also in the boat
mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them
and they left their father Zebedee in the boat
with the hired servants, and went away to follow
Him.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

Qualifications / Expectations
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Qualifications / Expectations
Is Discipleship for everyone?
Ephesians 411 11 And He gave some as apostles,
and some as prophets, and some as evangelists,
and some as pastors and teachers - Discipleship
is not listed as a spiritual gift
Matthew 516 16 Let your light shine before men
in such a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Acts
18 8 but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the
earth.
We are though all called to witness for our
saviour

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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Qualifications / Expectations
Witnessing is not a spiritual gift but we all
have the power to do it through the Holy
Spirit -Not every Christian has the gift of
teaching Ephesians 411 11 And He gave some as
apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers Romans 126-8 6 Since we have gifts
that differ according to the grace given to us,
each of us is to exercise them accordingly if
prophecy, according to the proportion of his
faith 7 if service, in his serving or he who
teaches, in his teaching 8 or he who exhorts, in
his exhortation he who gives, with liberality
he who leads, with diligence he who shows mercy,
with cheerfulness.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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Qualifications / Expectations
1 Thessalonians 27-13 7 But we proved to be
gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an
affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart
to you not only the gospel of God but also our
own lives, because you had become very dear to
us. 9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and
hardship, how working night and day so as not to
be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you
the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so
is God, how devoutly and uprightly and
blamelessly we behaved toward you believers
11 just as you know how we were exhorting and
encouraging and imploring each one of you as a
father would his own children, 12 so that you
would walk in a manner worthy of the God who
calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 13 For
this reason we also constantly thank God that
when you received the word of God which you heard
from us, you accepted it not as the word of men,
but for what it really is, the word of God, which
also performs its work in you who believe.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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Qualifications / Expectations
Matthew 2818-20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke
to them, saying, All authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that
I commanded you and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.

• Summary
• We have been all commanded to make disciples of
  the nations
• Although we do not all have the gifts of
  teaching and evangelism we are still to witness
  for Christ
• We are to be as a nurturing mother and an
  encouraging father
• We all have those abilities so obey and trust in
  the Holy Spirit to guide you as a disciple for
  Christ.
• There are no excuses! (we all Qualify and we are
  all expected to disciple)

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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What about the 12?
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What about the 12?
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What about the 12?
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What about the 12?
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What about the 12?
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How?

• In order to disciple we must first consider that
  all we do, we do from the strength of the Lord.
• The Lord has shown us several ways to grow
  spiritually and therefore we know how to disciple
  someone so they can grow spiritually too.
• Worship
• Prayer
• Bible Study
• Stewardship
• Service
• Fellowship
• Companionship/Relationships Matthew 1820 For
  where two or three have gathered together in my
  name, I am there in their midst.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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How?
It is your responsibility as a disciple not only
to assist in how to grow but also to rebuke in
love when necessary. Better is open rebuke Than
love that is concealed. - Proverbs
275 The Lords bond-servant must not be
quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach,
patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting
those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may
grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of
the truth - 2 Timothy 224-26

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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How?
Fellowship Ecclesiastes 49-12 9 Two are better
than one because they have a good return for
their labour. 10 For if either of them falls, the
one will lift up his companion. But woe to the
one who falls when there is not another to lift
him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together
they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two
can resist him. A cord of three strands is not
quickly torn apart. Hebrews 1024-25 24 and let
us consider how to stimulate one another to love
and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own
assembling together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another and all the more as you
see the day drawing near.

• Characteristics of a Disciple

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How?
Acts 242 They were continually devoting
themselves to the apostles teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. Colossians 316 Let the word of Christ
richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching
and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in
your hearts to God. Romans 1419 So then we
pursue the things which make for peace and the
building up of one another.

• Characteristics of a Disciple