There is a time in every family when children must leave the nest and make their own lives. In God’s plan, multiplication both physically and spiritually happens best when we are mature and able to give ourselves so that others may grow. In Acts 13 we see that this is precisely the context in which the first disciple-maker multiplying movement began to reach the ends of the earth in the first missionary journey. Is DFBC a church where disciple-makers are empowered to multiply?
Going from receiving to giving is crucial for our maturity process. To go from disciples to disciple makers we need to have a mindset that focuses on investing in others’ growth not just our own. Paul’s discipleship ministry in Antioch becomes the hallmark of what, even the world, recognizes as distinctively Christian.
After his death and resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. The Great Commission is the fulfillment of his life-multiplication purposes through the descendants of Abraham. As the gospel spread, the church was built and disciples multiplied. One of the first fruits of the multiplication movement was the apostle Paul. God used Paul as a catalyst to ignite the missionary movement and to cement the New Testament theology that would establish much of what we now believe. His life is not the exception but the norm of what healthy disciple-maker multiplying churches should have as a developmental paradigm for their ministries. In this first message of three, we will reinforce how, in the disciple-maker multiplication paradigm, it is absolutely essential for an unbeliever to be born again for anything else to take place in the spiritual life.
God’s word is the seed of God’s life; his word is capable of fulfilling God’s plans. Living in a fallen world creates challenges for God’s blessing to flourish and for life to multiply. Whether is predators, inhospitable conditions, or competition from aggressive life forms, life in a fallen world has become a struggle. Nevertheless, there are still places where life finds conditions to grow and multiply. In the end, our response to God’s word will determine the kind of life we live and multiply.
God’s original plan for humanity was fruitfulness. Ironically, in Genesis 3 it is eating from the wrong fruit that causes humanity to plunge into sin. It is fruit that reveals the fullness of God’s blessing and fruit that caused us to fall into the emptiness of death. True fruitfulness is the result of life-giving faithfulness. Conversely, consuming the fruit of faithlessness results in death. In this chapter, we will explore the reality of sin as unbelief and rebellion against God’s revealed word resulting in our inability to attain God’s blessing of fruitfulness apart from his grace.
Life multiplication is the DNA of God’s blessing. We were made in God’s image to multiply his image. Because of sin, the image of God was defaced. Through Jesus Christ, the image of God is restored in humanity and God’s blessing renewed. Discipleship multiplication is and has always been God’s life-giving plan.
