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Basic Discipleship
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

This material is copyrighted c2002 and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.

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PHASE 4     GROWTH TO MATURITY

SESSION 5

BORN TO REPRODUCE

                Very soon now your disciple will complete this study. Your goal (our goal) is that he/she will have both (1) the competence and (2) the desire or heart to actively enter into the lives of others with the intent of developing them as he/she has been developed. More and more these final sessions are emphasizing and suggesting that reality. Your disciple is being taken right to the Word of God to see it for himself. May the power of divine conviction get hold of him! Dear Discipleship Minister, pray for and with your disciple. Allow yourself to be a tool of God in the process of bringing this dear brother/sister to true engagement and usefulness in this great work of God.

                This session is all about being engaged in the work, about diligence and spiritual reproduction. It urges your disciple to get involved. It pleads with scripture for him to get off the sidelines and into the game.

                Doubtless this fourth phase material will be the hardest for your disciple to make his own. God forbid that he get a head full of knowledge from this course then do nothing with it! Tonight as I prepare this session, I am praying in advance for you and for your disciple. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 makes very clear that God gives the increase. The passage makes equally clear that He uses planting and watering on our parts in doing so. It is therefore imperative that you do all you can to be a good influence on and example for your disciple. God uses those things.

                When you meet with your disciple this week to see how he's doing, be sure to give him the next assignment.

                 Dear brother/sister, you are not here to sit on the sidelines of life while the great work of God passes ever by you. Stagnation and idleness are not popular with God. He expects every one who belongs to Him to be actively engaged in His work. He has a purpose for you and will not take kindly to your failure to serve it.

IDLENESS & SLOTHFULNESS

                Work the following exercise to learn how God views idleness and slothfulness.  Match each passage to the correct statement or concept.

  1.   "Why stand ye here all the day idle?"        (  5) 2 Thes. 3:10 

  2.   "The sluggard will not plow... therefore  shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing”       (  6) Eccl. 10:18 

  3.   "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing"       (  7) Prov. 6:6-11

  4.   A "virtuous" woman takes care of business & "eateth not the bread of idleness."     (  2) Prov. 20:4

  5.   "If any would not work, neither should he eat"        (  1) Matthew 20:3-6

  6.        "Slothfulness" and "idleness" associated together in the same verse    (  9) Prov. 19:15

  7.   The ant used to illustrate the merit & importance of industry & active involvement  (  3) Prov. 13:4

  8.   Sluggards are a disappointment to those who depend on them    (  4) Prov. 31:27

  9.   "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger"        (10) 1Tim. 5:13 

10.   Idleness tends to produce gossips and busybodies  (14) Heb. 5:12

11.   Successful reaping is tied directly to diligent & faithful planting  (16) Heb. 6:10-12

12.   "Be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land"      (11) Gal. 6:7

13.   "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute"      (  8) Prov. 10:26

14.   Believers who ought to be mature & active  rebuked for failure to be so      (17) Prov. 18:9

15.   "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord"       (12) Judges 18:9

16.   God knows our work & desires diligence rather than slothfulness        (15) Romans 12:11

17. "He also that is slothful in his work is brother  to him that is a great waster"     (13) Prov. 12:24

Food for Thought

1.     What reason do you have to believe that these passages apply any less to the spiritual work of God than to the physical areas of daily living?

2.     Do you know fruitless believers or churches that rarely, if ever, manifest any outward signs of industry?

3.     Upon examination of your own spiritual life, do you see fruitlessness and barrenness that you know is there as a direct result of idleness and slothfulness on your part?

4.     Can you point to souls won to Christ and to growing believers whom you have directly and deliberately mentored? If not, why not?

5.     On the spectrum below, as related to the work of the Lord, locate yourself. 

Slothful< 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 >Diligent 

BORN TO REPRODUCE

                Has it occurred to you that you (yes, you) were born to reproduce? That's just as true spiritually as it is physically. There are two main ways you can do it. You can reproduce yourself by:

1.     Bringing lost souls into the family of God. That's called evangelism. 

2.     Mentoring other believers to become what you are. That's called discipleship. 

                The following multiple choice exercise will help you see how important to God your reproduction of yourself is. Read the verses then select the best answers. Bear in mind that more than one of the answers may be correct. 

  1.   Genesis 1:28 & Genesis 9:1.  God's first command to the human race was:

        A.    Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul.

        B.    Be an honest, good person.

        C.    Be fruitful, and multiply.

        D.    Always render good for evil. 

  2.   Genesis 30:1.  A Biblical principle is that all who fail to reproduce themselves:

        A.    Die in terms of longevity beyond their immediate lifetimes.

        B.    Spare themselves the expense & headaches of rearing children.

        C.    Are wise not to bring children into this world that is so full of dangers & miseries.

        D.    Can expect God to be very pleased with them on the day of judgment. 

  3.   Luke 20:28-32.  This discussion of people who died childless is:

        A.    A great compliment to those who did so.

        B.    A story with very unpleasant ramifications.

        C.    A testimonial to the ignorance of the Sadducees and many people about life in heaven.

        D.    Intended to teach people that reproduction is not important. 

  4.   Proverbs 30:15-16.  Even though some are unable to have children through no fault of their own, barrenness is generally viewed in the scriptures:

        A.    With disfavor.

        B.    With great favor.

        C.    As unimportant.

        D.    As a serious problem.

  5.   Genesis 16:1-5.  Sarai, Abraham's wife, was barren and her displeasure of it led to:

        A.    Generations of peace in the Middle East.

        B.    Generations of strife and war in the Middle East.

        C.    Resignation on her part and acceptance of her condition as the end of the story.

        D.    Efforts on her part to have her husband give her a child by another woman. 

  6.   Isaiah 54:1.  The birth of a child, especially to one who had been barren, was:

        A.    One of the greatest times of joy in ancient Bible days.

        B.    Not considered an important event at all.

        C.    Viewed as the beginning of great hardship on families.

        D.    A very disappointing and depressing time. 

  7.   Matthew 28:19-20.  A church, through its members, is to:

        A.    Never concern itself with expansion or reproduction.

        B.    First concern itself with many other activities which are of far greater importance than reproduction and growth.

        C.    First concern itself with bringing lost people to Christ and assimilating them into the church through spiritual development.

        D.    Leave the business of reproduction and growth exclusively to God. 

  8.   Mark 16:15.  Acts 1:8.  Being a Christian should produce a mind set in a believer that is best described as:

        A.    Passive.

        B.    Militant.

        C.    Introverted.

        D.    Unconcerned. 

  9. Acts 3:2-8.  Peter's example in this case teaches every believer to:

        A.    Never share what he believes or has in the Lord with anyone else.

        B.    Mind his own business.

        C.    Ignore other people who need what he has.

        D.    Invest whatever he has to offer in the lives of others. 

10.   Proverbs 11:30.  Reproducing one’s self by winning souls to Christ is:

        A.    One of the wisest things he can do.

        B.    A waste of his time and energy.

        C.    Good, but not something he should go out of his way to do.

        D.    Something that should ever be the effort and desire of every believer. 

11.   Daniel 12:3.  In the day of God’s judgment of believers, whether or not one reproduced himself in a spiritual sense:

        A.    Won’t matter.

        B.    Will matter but not very much.

        C.    Will prove to be a big, big matter.

        D.    Will matter more than most, if not all, other things. 

12.   2 Timothy 2:1-2.  One of the main teachings of this passage is:

        A.    Spiritual reproduction of one’s self in the lives of others.

        B.    The importance of being faithful to go to church.

        C.    Paying one’s tithes and offerings.

        D.    Personally filling one’s self with lots of doctrine.

INVESTING YOURSELF IN THE LIFE OF ANOTHER

                Below you will find a list of Bible names. These are men who had a teacher-student, mentor-apprentice, discipler-disciple relationship. These who mentored others achieved success that continued far beyond their own personal lifetimes.

                In the columns and spaces provided, match these great Bible teams. 

Apollos.  Elisha.  Moses.  Jesus Christ.  Joshua.  Timothy. 

Aquilla & Priscilla.  Elijah.  The apostles.  The apostle Paul. 

Food for Thought

1.     Do you have a disciple in your life? If not, why not?

2.     Pastors should invest themselves in other pastors. Teachers should do the same as should music people & older brothers in the Lord. Name others who should reproduce.

3.     Meditate on the good that will die off the scene where no reproduction occurs.

4.     Is there any legitimate reason why you could not teach this material to others?

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"