Introduction
1.We began a journey a few weeks ago talking about what makes a healthy church. As we should have expected, church health has much more to do with what is on the inside that with what we can see on the outside.
2.The Bible is not silent on such qualities that God is looking for is us. We have already looked at several. Today we consider the place of discipleship.

I.A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF GROWTH
A.Healthy growth? - “A healthy church is characterized by a serious concern for spiritual growth on the part of its members. In a healthy church, people want to get better at following Jesus Christ.” But what does healthy growth look like in God’s eyes?
B.Physical (numerical) growth? – The Bible sometimes does refer to physical and numerical growth as something positive and healthy. (Genesis 1:22, 28 and Genesis 9:1 are references to physical births. Psalm 49, verse16 speaks of the accumulation of material wealth. Matthew 13, verse 32 is about the strange and impressive growth from a tiny mustard seed. Acts 6, verses 1 and 7 speak of the rapid numerical growth of the early church. We have statements of that earlier in Acts 2 as well. All of these are in some sense related to some physical, tangible, numerical growth presented as a positive thing.
C.Spiritual growth? - Now compare passages such as Ephesians 4:15-16; Colossians 2:19; 1:10; 1 Corinthians 3:6-7; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; 1 Peter 2:2-5, 2 Peter 1:5-8; 3:18; and Colossians 1:10. These all deal with growth in the knowledge of God resulting in a life of increasing Christ-likeness. Ultimately, the Bible speaks of healthy growth in terms related to our relationship with Jesus Christ as a disciple whose obedience level is becoming more consistent and whose life is characterized as gaining in maturity. I think it is fair to say that the weight of the Bible is on the side of growing spiritually in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever else happens to us as individuals and as a church, God desires that we be His devoted followers, His disciples, who are growing in knowledge, love and obedience toward Him.

II. A BIBLICAL PRACTICE OF DEVELOPMENT - In other words, what kind of a church will foster this kind of spiritual growth in the body of Christ? (This follows the outline of the book to which I have been referring).
A.Expositional preaching – Why would this be important for growth? It is God who communicates to us what we most need in our lives. More than anything else, discipleship is likeness to Jesus and the only way we will see that is from a careful study of the Word of God. God’s Word is God’s revelation of Himself! So it ought to matter to us what God has said. A church centered around a “meeting needs” orientation, has missed the primary point of the Scripture. God becomes the cosmic heaven shopping network – order on the prayer line – but not worshiped as the Sovereign Creator and sustainer and redeemer of the universe!
B.Biblical theology – What we believe about God, ourselves, our purpose or place, our life, our destiny, the world, essentially everything – comes from a careful understanding of the Scripture. The Bible is not a systematic theology book, “turn to pages 69-75 to see what God says about Jesus’ humanity.” No. To understand Jesus humanity, we have to consider how that was revealed in the Gospel accounts, and we have to consider what the other Bible writers said about it. What must happen for real growth, real discipleship, is our system of belief must be revealed in the Bible, not developed by our preferences or assumptions or traditions.
C.Biblical understanding of the Gospel – We cannot be a disciple without knowing the Gospel. For it is the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, initiating the Lord/disciple relationship. If we get the Gospel wrong, we cannot be disciples of Jesus. John Newton, the author of the song, Amazing Grace, wrote this poem about trusting Christ and trying to grow as a believer:
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request
And by His love’s constraining power
Subdue my sins, and give me rest

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry powers of hell
Assault my soul in every part.
To understand the Gospel is to set the environment for growth in Christ. (Consider the words to the song, And Can It Be).
D.Biblical understanding of conversion – The same could be said for a Biblical understanding of conversion as for getting the gospel right.
E.Biblical understanding of evangelism – Often our efforts of evangelism, no doubt properly motivated, but incompletely communicated lead to reluctant participants but not true disciples. There can be no lasting growth in that one who really has not true life!
F.Biblical understanding of church membership – Being plugged in and a committed part of the local church, a local church that is healthy, will greatly aid in spiritual growth.
G.Biblical understanding of church discipline – The very design of discipline is to restore and develop and prune and encourage and correct so that our likeness to Jesus will become increasingly evident.
H.Biblical understanding of church leadership (next week’s consideration) – God is pleased to use people to lead others in their walk with Jesus. If the leaders are Godly and obedient followers of Christ, they will lead others in the way. Paul perhaps said it best when he said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (This has all been introduction. Now let’s consider the text in Matthew 10).
 

III. A BIBLICAL PATTERN OF DISCIPLESHIP (There are many places we could go in the Bible in our consideration of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I find this passage particularly fascinating. I believe these were among Jesus’ favorite teachings. He repeats them in various forms throughout the Gospel accounts. They make clear what a disciple is and what a disciple does. Once we consider His teaching, we then need to evaluate where we are and hopefully the Holy Spirit will give us aid to adjust our lives to conform to the will of Christ. Here we go). Chapter 10 could be outlined this way: 1-4 we are introduced to the disciples. 5-15 Jesus tells them how to minister. 16-23 says, “This is what will happen to you.” Verses 24-42 say, “Are you willing to pay the price?” Let’s look at that.
A.A disciple will submit to his Lord without reservation (Matthew 10:24-31)
1. It is enough to be like the Lord Jesus. A true disciple willingly submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. A true disciple has decided that it is enough to be a student and a servant of the Lord Jesus. A true disciple seeks nothing more and nothing less. All of life is measured in this: To be like Christ. That became Peter’s heart – “grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.” That was Paul’s heart – “For to me, to live is Christ.” It is enough to be like Jesus. Is it?
2. It is enough to be treated like he was treated. You know how Jesus was treated. In the narrative, He is the master of the house – the one to whom respect and honor are due, but they called Him Beelzebub (Lord of the flies – Lord of the dung. It was a name used to describe the devil). That is what they called Jesus and, you know the story, they crucified Him. Will this life be enough for you if you are treated as He was treated? A true disciple will submit to his Lord without reservation – regardless of the cost. How are we doing?
B.A disciple will confess his Lord without fear (Matthew 10:32-33)
1. When we confess … To confess is to affirm with our lips and our life – in this case, that He is Lord. Before others, a true disciple will affirm and confess identity with Christ. Fear is often that which causes us to fail to confess Him. I am not saying that there will not be lapses. Consider Peter. But as a rule, a true disciple will confess the Lord Jesus.
2. When we deny … We have read the passage in Matthew 7:22-23 on several occasions. God will deny that He even knows some, because their whole life was a denial of Him in spite of what they claimed to have done in His name. Jesus brings it down to this: Do we fear God or man more?
3. When we are afraid … When we fear man more than God we have, 1) traded the eternal for the temporal; 2) over-estimated man’s power; 3) under-estimated God’s care. Do you not love this analogy by Jesus. The “sparrows” were hors d’oeuvres. They were cheap, two sold for a penny. Luke said that you could get five for two pennies. But when one of these birds fall, God knows it. And then there are the hairs on our heads. He not only knows how many are there, but He has them numbered. The average head has 140,000 hairs. He knows. The point is, if He knows that, don’t you think He cares for you? I can stand unafraid before the world, because I fear the one who knows everything and who cares for me. Martin Luther got it right. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body, they may kill. God’s truth abides still. His kingdom is forever!”
C.A disciple will love his Lord without condition (Matthew 10:34-39)
1. When the family is against me (34-36) – Peace was promised and anticipated, but Jesus told His disciples not to be assumed. A disciple should have peace within, but it will likely be a raging storm without. Perhaps the place of security is found in the family, but the family might reject us if we are disciples of Jesus. Some of you know something about that. No matter what they might do, I must not turn back.
2. When the family is for me (37) – As wonderful as the love of family is, it cannot and must not take precedence over Christ. Christ must be pre-eminent. Jesus makes such a case out of this, He says that to love family more than Him is not a worthy response toward Him and such a one cannot be one of His disciples!
3. When death faces me (38) – Jesus is telling His disciples that being a disciple of Jesus is to be more precious than life itself. Is it? There have been so many foolish things said about bearing a cross. Jesus was looking at Calvary. He was talking about death. “He who will be my disciple must come and die.”
4. When life eludes me (39)- Here is the test. Will I live for me or will I be willing to die for Him?
D.A disciple will honor his Lord without despair (Matthew 10:40-42)
1. Because some will believe and receive you – This is in part what keeps us going. As we confess Christ, some will not reject the message, but will receive what we share and they will receive what God has given to them. Consider the great privilege a disciple of Jesus has, in that He will use our confession of Him to bring others to Himself. That should keep us going.
2. Because some will relieve you – To the world a disciple of Jesus is a nobody, or worse than a nobody – a crazy nobody! But as we minister to one another, as one disciple to another, God counts that as giving to the Lord Jesus Himself. It is imperative that we learn to be a follower of Jesus in order that we can minister to His church.
 

Conclusion
1. How are we doing? If you are like me, you are ready to crawl in a hole somewhere because you just do not see yourself measuring up. You know what? You don’t measure up. None of us do. But God is at work. He has called us to a life of discipleship, to a life of growing in grace and in the knowledge of him.
2. Those who chose to make an effort to live like this changed the course of history. Here are a couple of examples: Florence Nightingale is known for her nursing service. She revolutionized the conditions of hospitals and nursing care in the mid 19th century. She wrote in her diary, “I am 30 years old, the age at which Christ began His mission. Now, no more childish things, no more vain things.” Years later she was asked about her life (her last 40 years were spent as an invalid). Her reply was, “I can only give this explanation…I have kept noting back from God.” Jim Elliott was one of the five missionaries to be murdered by a group of Indians in Ecuador in the 1950’s. He had written in his journal, “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one like you, Lord Jesus.” That is what Jim Elliott received – and his death resulted in a huge increase in the number of Americans giving their lives for full-time missions.
3.If we are going to be a healthy church, a church that brings glory to God, we must be a church that is actively involved in making disciples, disciples who will submit to their Lord without reservation, who will confess the Lord without fear, who will love the Lord without condition and who will honor the Lord without despair. That is the kind of disciple Jesus called for. Is that the kind of disciples we are becoming?
4.In a book called Legend of Eagles, the author writes of one of history’s most heroic examples of self-sacrifice. It occurred in the building of a bridge. It was the depth of winter and the French army was pressed on all sides by the Cossacks. They had to cross a river, but all the bridges had been destroyed. Napoleon, at his wits end, gave the order to build a bridge by any means possible. The men closest to the water waded into the raging river, many carried away by the furious current. Some sank into the blackness as a result of cold and exhaustion, but the work continued and was finally completed so that the remaining army could cross over in safety. When the men who were holding things in place were called to come out of the water, no one moved. They stood holding on to the pillars, silent and motionless, frozen to death. Even Napoleon shed tears. In a real sense God may be calling us to build some bridges to take the Gospel that some may hear and enter into the presence of God. It may cost us our lives. Will we be willing to pay the price? As a church, our call is to develop such disciples, who will follow the Lord wherever He leads, at whatever the cost, for as long as it takes, for the glory of Christ.
5.That’s our goal, though we have a ways to go. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?