by Pastor Noel Abdullahi on 29 September 2018

Pre-amble:

Those who know the will of God

• Don’t take the present for granted
• Don’t worry about the future
• Don’t regret the past

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matt. 6:34 MSG

Not knowing the will of God is foolishness

Therefore do not be unwise (foolish), but understand what the will of the lord is. Eph 5:17 NKJV

Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the lord wants you to do. Eph 5:17 NLT

Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the master wants. Eph. 5:17 MSG

To know the will of God is to walk in wisdom and to save time (focusing on God’s focus).

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-16 NKJV

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Eph 5:15-16 MSG

So what is the will of God?

God’s will is clear in Scripture. It is not tucked away in one particular verse, it is the theme that finds expression from Genesis to Revelation. God’s will is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (2 Tim 2:4).

Acts 16:17 (know the way of salvation) ; acts 2:38

Lk 1:77(knowledge of salvation by the revelation of Jesus Christ)

2^nd pet 1:3-4

So what is the will of God?

Jesus is visible in all the books of the Bible because He is the chief executive officer of God’s will. He modeled what it means to live God’s will so that today to know God’s will is just to learn of Jesus and identify what He did, and what He still does.

How to know the will of God (specifics) – 1 Thess 5:18-21 (Holy Spirit)

• There must be no Scripture against it
• God will put it in your heart – it will be your burden/vision
• God will make a way for you to do it

Keys to prosperity in ministry

God’s man doing God’s work in God’s way and at God’s time will receive God’s support! (1 Thess 2:18)

Vehicle for carrying out God’s will – discipleship!

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt 28:18-20 KJV

The Great Commission Amplified!

The Great Commission is beyond saving souls but nurturing them to maturity via discipleship.

Which is easier? Giving birth to children or training them till they are independent?

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Col 1:28-29 KJV

We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me. Col 1:28-29 MSG

The Making Of The Sons

2 broad categories of Christians :

• Benefit oriented Christians (children) Gal 4: 1-3,19 (teknon, nepios)
• Responsibility-oriented Christians (sons) Heb 2:10  (huious)

Benefit Oriented Christians

Children or babes, it is implied, are dependent on their parents; they are immature, unskilled in the use of the word of truth; they are fleshly, unspiritual, undiscerning, unable to rightly divide the word of truth.  They depend largely on their pastors, ministers, etc to interpret for them the word of God; they are incapable of independent decision making, they swerve at public opinion, they have not learnt to focus on the majors as they are unable to properly discern and understand and differentiate between truths. They are babes! Their senses are not exercised in discerning between right and wrong. They need to be taught.

Benefits of the cross are summed up under 6 headings according to Psalm 103:2-6, namely,

• forgiveness
• healing
• deliverance
• mercies
• provision
• judgment for our oppressors/enemies

What Sonship Entails

A change of relationship occurred as a result of the death of Jesus Christ.  All that are in Christ are sons of God in the sense that we bear the nature of God.  This is the dispensation of sonship.  All converts begin as babes in Christ (teknon – gal.4:19, jn.13:33, 1 john 3:7,18).  God’s expectation for each believer is that he or she grows up into full stature of sonship.   Thus sonship implies:

1. liberty
2. independence
3. authority
4. right sense of judgment
5. right conduct

Danger Of Improper Discipleship

Children of God will never grow to the full stature of Christ by becoming sons, this implies that the will of God will not be enforced on earth…(Isa. 9:6-a child is born, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder).

What Discipleship Is Not

• Discipleship is not soul winning
• Discipleship is not telling people nice things to get them to come to church.
• It is not stealing members from an established church.
• It is not bringing men to our peculiar views, but rather bringing them to Christ
• Discipleship is not showmanship or crowd effect

What discipleship is?

• Discipleship is a process of nurturing the nature of Christ that is initiated at the point of salvation
• Discipleship is showing Christ to the disciple
• Discipleship is costly. It cannot be less than what Jesus paid – life…lk 14:25-27,33-35 msg

How Did Paul And Jesus Do It?

Discipleship is not showmanship. There are no shortcuts to it…you must do the time. Jesus’ disciples were with Him for 3 and 1/2 years actively and passively learning.

Paul in writing to one of his disciples painted a vivid picture of the syllabus of a disciple in 2 Tim 3:10-11,14-17…it was both off and on the pulpit. There has to be a personal touch between a disciple and the discipler…remote discipling cannot produce sons!

Discipline of a disciple

• ability to follow things through (patience, endurance, commitment)
• submission to Godly authorities in their lives (humility, respect, honour)
• must live with a sense of urgency
• passion and enthusiasm
• Not an introvert or extrovert but someone with a spirit controlled temperament
• must love God and love people
• ready to live sacrificially
• always ready to learn.
• be ready for persecution

Be One, Make One

Jesus clearly commanded us to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20) just as He did through intentional and relational modeling.