Michigan Camp Meeting 2018: As a Witness, Matthew 24:14

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Amazing Disciples

Mark Howard

4. It’s Not My Gift

Kameron DeVasher

1. Orientation

2. What is a Disciple?

3. Your Gift or Mine?

5. As a Witness

Marshall McKenzie

7. Friendship Evangelism, Part 1

8. Friendship Evangelism, Part 2

Wes Peppers

9. How to Reach the Atheistic Mind, Part 1

10. How to Reach the Atheistic Mind, Part 2

Jean Ross

11. Divine Commission

12. Cycle of Evangelism

Jim Howard

13. Grow Your Church, Part 1

14. Grow Your Church, Part 2

15. Giving Bible Studies

16. Missing Members

Doug Batchelor

17. Christ-Centered Doctrine, Part 1

18. Preparing for Baptism

19. Discipleship

20. Gospel Presentation, Part 1

21. Gospel Presentation, Part 2

22. Christ-Centered Doctrine, Part 2

23. Outreach Lab

24. Keys to Success!

25. Nurturing New Believers

26. Fishnet Demonstration

27. Caveman Theology

6. Christ’s Method Alone

Father in heaven, I am so thankful for another day of life, and more than that, Lord, the spiritual life that we have in Jesus Christ.

Father, many of us sit here today with a knowledge of Christ, and don't half appreciate it for what it is and don't realize what it's like for so many who don't know Him and don't know how to know Him.

So Lord, as we've come here to learn how to be Your witnesses, We pray the Holy Spirit that came upon that early church would come upon us, Lord, and would give us an understanding on how to win souls for Jesus.

Now I want you to go with me to Matthew 28.

Some of the things covered this week I know are going to be, there are going to be some things that are repetitive because I know there's this whole class on the Gospel Commission so I'm not going to break down Matthew 28 but I do want to reference it and say a few things about it.

Matthew 28 verse 18, this is the most popular probably text but not the only text about the Great Commission.

Matthew 28 verse 18 says, And Jesus spoke, let's start with verse 16, then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

And when they saw him, they worshipped, but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, go therefore and do what?

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." Now, there's so much I want to say, but I'm not going to.

And Literally, it means to teach a person what it means to be a disciple.

I say that because that comes and then baptism comes and then there's more teaching that comes and there are people in our church today, in the Seventh-day Adventist church today that say, you know, why all this teaching before baptism?

But what he says there, and I like it specifically, again, in the New King James, he says, go make disciples, teach them to be disciples.

And how many of you have heard this before, this passage?

I mean, I don't know of most, I don't know, I really don't know many Christians who haven't heard Matthew 28, 18 to 20.

But I will tell you this, there's a great misunderstanding as to what a disciple is.

And I want to just take a moment to look at that because this is the commission.

Incidentally, this commission, if you have read this in the book, if you haven't read the book, Go Teach All Nations in Desire of Ages, I'd encourage you to do that.

In that chapter it's very clear that this commission was not given just to the 11 that were there present at the time, but that this commission belongs to everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ.

And so it's your commission, it's my commission.

The Lord has commissioned us to make disciples.

Well, you know, if you're told to make something, it's helpful to know what it is you're making.

And if you're not clear and I'm not clear on what a disciple is, then how do we know that we're doing it?

And so I want to take a little time this morning in looking at what the Bible says a disciple is.

We're going through text here for the most part, just looking at different passages in Scripture about discipleship.

We are going to use a handout for our next class, and as many of you have that, and if you don't, we'll get you 1, and you can follow along, but we're going to Start let me ask this question Do you think there's a difference between a Christian and a disciple Okay, let me ask the follow-up question.

So, if we're saying there is and there shouldn't be, then what is the difference that we see if we say, if you are 1 who says, yeah, I see a difference between a Christian and a disciple, what is the difference that you see?

So, I kind of picked up that a Christian, I'm sorry, a disciple is an active Christian.

That's kind of where, but you know, biblically, there is no such distinction.

And I want you to see that in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 11.

Now there's a back story to this and I'm not giving you right now, but I want you to notice that they're building up the church in Antioch And Barnabas is there with the church members.

They're having a lot of success there and so much so he wants to go get Paul in on the action.

And So in Acts 11, verse 25, it says, Acts 11, verse 25, are you guys there?

Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.

So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people.

In fact, it's interesting here, now some of you may know this, but the Methodist church, the Methodists, the early Methodists did not call themselves the Methodists.

They were called the Methodists by other people and it was a slur because they had a method for everything.

John Wesley had been convicted about the importance of holiness, of living, and so he was careful in his life because he wanted to honor God.

And they said, you've got a method for everything.

Well, evidently this happened with the early church, only they were called Christians.

Man all you ever talk about is Christ this and Christ that.

Oh that would be why people called us Christians today.

So there's not a biblical distinction between a Christian and a disciple.

We're just going to look at a handful of disciple passages in the Bible.

Now before we read in Luke 6, open your Bible to Luke 6, we're going to Luke 6 40.

Before we read this, I want to step out of the realm of Christianity for a minute, okay?

We're stepping out of religion, so I don't want a religious answer, okay?

I'm not telling you to not be a Christian for a minute.

I'm saying I don't want a religious answer for this question because the word disciple is not limited to Christianity.

What in the general sense does the word disciple mean?

When you think disciple, what is a disciple?

They're a follower, a follower of somebody.

To learn of that person so they can what?

Series

Amazing Disciples

2. What is a Disciple?

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

The Nativity

03 The Nativity

43m

Refilling so We Still Have Enough to Give

22m

The Lord’s Prayer

37m

Own It

Own It- Part 7

50m

Secrets from the Ancient Sanctuary

05 Millions are Looking at the Wrong Temple

46m

Women in Adventist History: Roles, Relationships, and Rewards

Women in Adventist History - Part 4

1h 1m

Plenary

“Good” Can be Enemy to “Best”

39m

Biblical Missionaries

02. Biblical Missionaries: Abraham- the First Missionary

44m

Market Gardening Track

A Balancing Act

59m

The Characteristics and Titles of Jesus

Jesus: The Creator

45m

ABC's of Prayer (with Video)

9 - Here Comes His Answer

48m

The Two Witnesses of the Two Witnesses

42m

Sound Doctrine