Parkview Training Podcast

Hey Parkview, my name is Will Fuelberth. I'm the worship director. Here at Parkview, we are committed to glorify God through the whole church forming whole disciples for the good of all people. And so in this series, we're looking specifically at what Parkview's definition of a whole disciple is. You've heard this many times already in this series, but a whole disciple is a forgiven child of God who is taking the next step to learn Jesus, love Jesus and live Jesus. Each one of these three L's we have broken down into an upward and inward in an outward area of health. I will be looking at the way we are called to live Christ outwardly as we seek to invite others to take the next step toward Jesus. This attribute of discipleship includes both a commitment to encourage believers in their faith and share the gospel with unbelievers because both are rooted in a desire to help others learn Jesus. Too often we separate discipleship and evangelism into separate practices, but discipleship is a holistic process that includes evangelizing unbelievers, along with helping believers to grow in their faith.
Scripture is full of both motivators and commands to disciple others, but really where we should start is looking at the example of Jesus in the gospels. Jesus went out of his way to interact with people, invite them to potentially hard conversations and reveal himself to them as the only source of comfort and hope. Romans 15:7 calls us to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us and the way that Christ has welcomed us is through sacrificial love in our weakness in order to build us up. So let's look at a couple of these examples, these commands and motivators given in scripture to imitate Christ in the work of disciple making.
First we have what's, what's known as the great Commission or one version of it in Matthew 28 it says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. I'm sure many of you have heard this many times as, as it's quoted frequently in the church, but in this passage is obviously a command to evangelize, to unbelievers. That is such a wonderful holistic picture of discipleship and it's not just given to the 11 disciples here present here. It's continuing to be applicable to us today as Jesus again reminds them that he's with them always to the end of the age.
And so that's again, just another comfort that we can be as we go out to make disciples. We can know that Christ is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we seek to witness to the ends of the earth, whether or not we go out to other nations or whether we are here, Christ has called us to disciple others. Second, we'll look at Romans 10:14 through 17 as a as an example of the way that Christ has called us or as as a reason for why Christ has called us to proclaim the gospel. It says, how then will they call on him and whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they're sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? But they have not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah says Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. God has given us the privilege and challenge of being involved in the work of disciple making and building up the church. God could have chosen to use dreams or divine intervention to bring everyone to himself, but he has involved us. He has commissioned us to go and proclaim the gospel. God has called each one of us to preach the good news in our own unique setting and calling because faith comes through hearing and how will they hear unless we tell them. This again applies to both unbelievers and believers that the Lord has given us community to build one another up and given us opportunities to speak into one another's lives, whether that is to hear Jesus for the first time or to grow in our faith.
Finally, 2 Corinthians 5 goes back to this example of sacrificial love shown in Christ as he welcomes us and it reveals the right motivation for why we do discipleship, why we do evangelism. I'm gonna read a bigger section here, but I think it's important. 2 Corinthians 5:14 through 20 says, for the love of Christ controls us or compels us because we have concluded this. That one has died for all, therefore all have died and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he has a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Christ moved by compassion, by kindness, by love, that same love that led him to the cross on our behalf came towards us in our weakness and our sinfulness. As Paul shows here, that same love is, is what compels us to move towards others as ambassadors imploring them to be reconciled to God. Paul's great love for the church in Corinth is clearly on display here and that's that's a mark throughout his letters to churches is the way that he has that deeply affectionate, desirous love. He's praying in thankfulness, rejoicing with them in their triumphs and mourning in their trials, their setbacks. He's compelled by the love of Christ to see individuals come to believe the true gospel and the church to be strengthened. So I think this point right here is so important to grasp. So often evangelism becomes a point of shame or guilt.
The Bible does have many commands for evangelism, but but, but primarily evangelism should be motivated by love. It should not be something we do because we, we know that our community group leader is gonna ask us how it went the next time and we want to give them the right answer. It shouldn't be a chore because our church has mandated it or set up programs to do it. It shouldn't. Discipleship should not be something that we feel like we have to do. The love of Christ shown towards us in the gospel should create in us a deep love for others, both believers and unbelievers, and should lead us to want what is truly best for them. And as Christians, we believe that what is truly best for them is growing in Christlikeness is coming to know Christ, experiencing the freedom, the true eternal life that he has to offer.
So we should pray not primarily that each of us grows in rhythms of evangelism and discipleship. Those are important things to pray for, but we should pray primarily that we would grow in an awareness of the love shown to us in Christ and that therefore that love would overflow in a love towards others and a desire for them to grow in Christ as well. You've probably heard this quote before from the atheist and and magician Pen Jillette, but I think it's so powerful and convicting, he says that if you believe that there's a heaven and a hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, how much more do you have to hate somebody to not do evangelism? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
Instead, let us be filled with love towards others and let that love compel us to encourage them in the gospel, encouraging believers to take the next step in faith to have deeper relationship with God and teaching unbelievers the great hope that they can have in Christ. We have the best news in the world and we want to share that with those around us. So at the heart of this area of discipleship is looking around at the people that God has placed for you to love in your life and saying, how does God intend to use me to build up the church? It involves recognizing what God has done in your own life through the faithfulness of men and women around you and asking, how can I bless others in the same way? Think back to the first person who shared Jesus with you, whether that was a parent or a youth group leader or a Sunday school teacher or even just a friend.
Think about what your life would be like if they had been been too scared to say, to speak up and tell you about the gospel. Or think about the person who invited you to read the Bible in a discipleship relationship once a week and the fruit that that has produced in your life. Or the person who invited you to join in a community group. Get plugged in with that community of believers. Or think about your faithful community group member who prays every morning for your growth in time management and sends you texts to encourage you when they think of it. These are all examples of faithful men and women simply helping others take the next step towards Jesus. It doesn't have to be flashy or big, it's the small steps of love and faithfulness in relationships to show people Christ.
So what does health look like in this area? Again, first and foremost, it means examining your own heart for the motivation of love towards others. If this is not there, pray that the Lord would grow you in this. Pray that he would fill you with love towards those around you, and a conviction that the good news of the gospel is worth sharing with those people. Outwardly, I think primarily it means displaying a serious sense of spiritual initiative in the relationships of those people around you. It means looking at those people in your life and seriously asking yourself, how can I help them take the next step towards Jesus? For the non-Christians in your life, that probably means they need to hear the gospel, but first it might mean continuing to establish a relationship, getting lunch with them, getting coffee with them, asking them to come over for a game, for a basketball game. Truly listening to them in order to understand what aspect of the gospel needs to be emphasized or how to show the love of Jesus to them.
It's earnestly praying for opportunities, for open doors that they would be able, that you would be able to share the love of Jesus with them and that their heart would be ready to receive it. As you look at how you can help other believers grow in knowing Christ, it's looking for specific ways that you can encourage them in their faith. Each person is in a different place with specific needs and it takes perseverance and relationship to see the Lord work in them. It means speaking up when you need to not stay silent because of fear or discomfort. Awkwardness will often lead you to want to stay silent, but speaking up in faithfulness, knowing that the Lord will give you words to say is what he asks for people who long to see them grow in Christ. And so with that, it also means that you are growing in your ability to speak into these different situations.
For unbelievers, it means that you're growing in your ability to share the gospel and contextualize it to specific people. This might mean rehearsing the gospel or practicing it with someone, practicing those key points and thinking ahead with how can I share the gospel with this person. growing in that. maybe it's practicing in your community group going around and having each person share the gospel gospel so they can feel comfortable with that presentation. For, for discipling believers, it means that you're ready to be present with ways to grow, whether that's a Bible reading plan or a book that you've enjoyed that you found helpful and want to read with them. If you need help with any of these, please do not hesitate to reach out to staff. I know a great way that you can help others, other people in this church grow is that maybe you can help identify in each other's lives, ways that you need to grow as a whole disciple. This series that we're going through, maybe something stood out to you as a way you can help one another grow, and we'll have plenty of resources to help you do that. So please feel free to reach out to staff. This is a, this can be an in the moment thing as you continue to love one another, care for one another, but it also is something that requires planning, requires preparation, and so be faithful in that that preparation to, whether that's share the gospel with an unbeliever or to help a believer take the next step. One specific practice that you can start in order to get established with this is, and this isn't new, but write down two names. After prayerfully examining your life, write down two names of people that you think of. The first is one person in your life who doesn't currently know Jesus.
Begin praying specifically for that person each day and ask that the Lord would open doors for next steps in the gospel, set goals and share those goals with others so that they can help you hold you accountable for how you plan to deepen that relationship and eventually share the gospel with that person. The second person is a believer that you would want to start meeting with. This may be someone in your community group or somebody you meet on Sunday mornings or somebody you serve in the same ministry with. It doesn't have to be somebody who's behind you or less mature. I know that as even in my own life, as I've met with men, I've seen the mutual encouragement that can happen so many times for both people, and so just invest in that relationship. Look for opportunities to help that individual grow in Christ, and you'll see how the Lord works in your own life through that relationship as well.
Growing in Jesus is such an important aspect, and as we look at Christ's example, as we look to the love that he has shown us, we should want to share that with others. We should want to bring others alongside of us. We should want to look and run towards Christ together, and so as we are filled with that love, we can seek out others and know that the Lord will move to continue to multiply disciples in his church and continue to build his kingdom. It's been so sweet to be with you all during this series of examining the definition of a whole disciple, and we hope that you enjoyed this as we went through the sermon series on Sunday mornings as well. We hope this has been beneficial to you and that you would continue to grow as a part of Parkview Church. And so if you have any more questions, if you want to know how to get any more resources, please check the description box down below. We'll have more resources available and more opportunities for you to continue to grow as we seek to glorify God together through the whole church forming whole disciples for the good of all people.