6 Reasons Discipleship is Critical for Future Revival
The best days of the Church are not behind us, but are still ahead of us. Our path is only bound to shine brighter! Proverbs 4:18 tells us that, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”
Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, will never leave His Bride abandoned nor forsaken. When we look at the Church through the eyes of her Groom, despite the church’s ills and errors, we will be overwhelmed with hope and courage. When we look at what the Lord did in the past, it births courage in our hearts for the future.
In spite of the disruption from the whole pandemic, the Church should land in a good spot. The Church has always been intrigued with revival as we should!
When we see a mass salvation of souls, cities brought to their knees, leaders repenting and turning back to the Lord, these acts bring memories of the records of the early Church. “…And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved,” Acts 2:47. Our God is in the business of building His Bride by adding to the Church.
The only disappointment with some of these revivals is the fact that many lost their momentum alongside their harvests. While there were mass responses in people making a decision to follow Christ, with loud applause and cheers, it seems we abandoned the children at the point of birth.
A friend once said that evangelism without proper plan for disciple making is like an emergency c-section by the roadside and leaving the baby there.
Many of these “moves of God” were lost due to avarice and the desire for self-glorification. Revival is lost when men strive for glory and a claim to self-aggrandizement, where it is unequivocally a victory that completely belongs to the Lord. God does not send revival so the Church could have a sense of accomplishment. He is not trying to brush our ego! There is much more at stake. It is the desire of the Lord, “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” 1 Timothy 2:4.
There is a fresh wind of revival on the horizon for the Church. It will not be just regional or local, but global. Indeed, our glorious days are at the door and we need to respond to the season with adequate responsibility. Revival has to be accompanied with a rigorous plan for disciple making.
While revival gathers the multitude, disciple making grows individuals.
This played out in the ministry of Jesus in John 6 when He gathered multitudes and multiplied the bread. After the whole episode, He clearly instructed the 12 disciples to, “’Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So, they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”
There are few insights from this passage that will be relevant in these coming days:
Disciple Making is a Response to His Final Command
When the disciples gathered the fragments in 12 baskets, they were being obedient to their Master. The Church must not be apologetic about discipleship. We do not embrace it with immaturity, thinking we are doing something inglorious, even if it may not be a consistent practice in some Christian circles. There is nothing greater for the Church to engage than responding accurately to the mandate to make disciples. Coming out of this current crisis, the Church will be an obedient one and we can never be wrong obeying Jesus. Be encouraged for those who have caught the passion for disciple making- don’t be timid! Be bold as a lion!
2. Disciple Making is Taking Responsibility
When the disciples gathered the fragments in 12 baskets, they were being obedient to their Master. The Church must not be apologetic about discipleship. We do not embrace it with immaturity, thinking we are doing something inglorious, even if it may not be a consistent practice in some Christian circles. There is nothing greater for the Church to engage than responding accurately to the mandate to make disciples. Coming out of this current crisis, the Church will be an obedient one and we can never be wrong obeying Jesus. Be encouraged for those who have caught the passion for disciple making- don’t be timid! Be bold as a lion!
3. Disciple Making is Taking Responsibility
Picture each of the 12 disciples carrying a basket filled with fragments of the five loaves. It could have looked like a burden to them, but it was a yoke bestowed on them as partakers of the Kingdom that they carried with joy. They were Jesus’ harvest. When Jesus said in Luke 10 that the harvest is indeed plenty but the laborers are few, this is what He was referring to--men and women who would rise up to bear the yoke of God for their generation. Sometimes we forget the significance these labors had on the Kingdom, but be reminded that they have eternal rewards.
Perhaps the responsibility of making disciples can feel like a wasted effort or thankless, but it will be worth it. Perhaps it will cost you more than what you think you can seemingly bear, but our God remains faithful and supplies strength to the weak.
4. Disciples Make Other Disciples
Jesus did not ask for help from the multitude. He asked each of His 12 disciples to carry the 12 baskets. You must have heard it several times, “You can’t give what you don’t have.” This will always be true. Only those who have been discipled will understand, appreciate and have the capacity to disciple others. Sometimes because of the enormity of the assignment, we quickly rush individuals into assignments they are not equipped for. Irrespective of the urgency of the work, we do not place men on platforms they are not prepared for. Disciple making is very sensitive and requires only the disciples of Jesus to be the burden bearers for the work. This is not an exclusive work just for pastors. It is for disciples of the Kingdom!
5. Disciple Making Ensures None is Lost
Can you imagine the disciples ransacking everywhere on the field where people have been fed, looking for left over fragments? This is the genuine heart of a disciple maker. We search left and right like in the parable of the lost coin, ensuring that no one is lost in the pews or lost to the streets.
We are not just counting how many are seated but we care for them that none may be lost. In recent years, the local Church has measured and been enamored by her “seating capacity” when we should be focused on Her “caring capacity.” They can be seated and lost because no one is attending to them but they cannot be cared for and lost. We must search everywhere until the last fragment is carried on the shoulders of discipleship.
6. Disciple Making Requires Baskets
Each of the twelve had a basket on his head. They were not just picking and packing bread fragments in their hands and pockets They had baskets! The basket provided order. While discipleship cannot just be reduced to a class room lecture, it is not disorganized! There has to be an orderly and synchronous way that people are led in their walk with Jesus. Imagine each disciple with his own basket on his head following Jesus. Every disciple maker must subscribe to a biblical discipleship rhythm that works for the fragments in their basket. Who said the baskets were the same for the twelve? There can’t be a one-size fits all. It has to be a simple and intentional approach to raise other disciples.
These days are upon us. We are at the edge of a revival but it must be accompanied by a clear-cut plan for disciple making.
In Christ,
Pastor Mo Obayomi
His Holy Hill Church, Murfreesboro, TN
Pastor Mo, originally from Nigeria, has been an ILC Resident since 2018 and pastors a multicultural congregation in Murfreesboro, TN. To contact Pastor Mo, please email requests@hisholyhill.org.