Transcript: Making Disciples

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The experience is a meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network, where men encounter God, his presence, and his power in an atmosphere of worship and the word. Join apostle Emmanuel as he leads us into an experience with God. Acts of apostles chapter 11 from verse 19. It's gonna be a long read to verse 26. We're gonna read from the new living translation. The bible says meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch Of Syria and they preached the word of God but only to the Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. And so what were they doing now? They were preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. And so this was a gospel of salvation.

I'm gonna be teaching today, so please bring out your Bibles, bring out your writing materials, listen to me with your spirit, be intentional, be ready to learn, be ready to write, be ready to get blessed and be transformed. It will be a continuation really from where we stopped last week Sunday, but also a deviation as well. So it's not gonna be really talking about the purpose of the local church. That's not really what I'm doing today. I'm picking something I mentioned on Sunday and looking at it when in a more larger scope. Looking at it in a more larger scope. And we'll see it as we go on. Glory to God. They preached the word of God but only to the Jews. Oh, sorry.

Preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. So the power, the bible says in verse 21, the power of the Lord was with them. And a large number of these Gentiles believed and became saved. So they were preaching the gospel of salvation, preaching the Lord Jesus, and a large number of the Gentiles haven't heard that gospel believed and they became saved. Glory to God. In verse 22, it goes on to say, when the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. In other words, what was happening in Antioch was a revival that had started by members of the church, not leaders, not pastors. Just members and it was because there was some kind of persecution that started in the early church because Stephen died. You know the story, Stephen was stoned to death for his belief and the moment Stephen was stoned to death, the church that had gathered scattered because everybody, you know, there was sanctions against public gathering, people could no longer meet in places, it was no longer safe to be around. So people could not practice Christianity this in the way that we are doing it now.

You're gathered in church listening. It was... So much persecution. If people gathered like this in temples, will storm the temples, arrest them, stone them to death, crucify them even. So Stephen was made an example and so the church scattered. So upon the scattering of the church, certain members of the church went into Antioch and it was these members who started preaching the gospel of Jesus. Do you understand this? Who started preaching the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles? Because all the while, the apostles had been preaching only to the Jews. So when this one scattered, they took the gospel to the Gentiles, and they started preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.

Glory to God. Some people were preaching to the Jews as well because that's what Barthmaiden says. Some were also preaching to the Jews in different parts, but the bible doesn't record their exploits. But these ones who went to the Gentiles, the bible was careful to record their exploits. And the bible says, after Adam preached to Gentiles, people started believing in Jesus because the power of God was strong with them. The power of God was with them, members of the church who had been raised, who had been taught. And upon believing, the church at Jerusalem heard what was happening, that a revival had broken out in Hamptych. That all of the people that scattered. Because of the persecution, some of them found themselves in Hamptych and it is a a revival has broken out. People are giving their life to Christ.

People are getting saved. And when they heard that, they said, my goodness. It is important that we now send a leader there to oversee what was happening. Because in as much as these people were getting people saved, they have not the slightest clue what to do with them after. Are you with me? So the church sent Barnabas. And Barnabas got there. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God's blessing, it was filled with joy and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. So Barnabas was able to verify what was happening. He could tell that this is truly a revival.

The blessing of God had been poured upon the Gentiles. When I got there, he encouraged all of them. He told them, you know what? You have to stay true to the Lord. You cannot be believers today and jump out tomorrow. But he didn't stop there. Barnabas was a good man. He was full of the spirit. He was strong in faith. And when he got there, many people were brought to the Lord even because Barnabas came.

The Bible says, when Barnabas saw that there was now an outpouring of salvation. The Holy Ghost was coming upon people, plenty salvations, people turning to the Lord in large numbers. Barnabas now went to Tassos to look for Saul. Some translations used to hunt for Saul because it was a desperate search. And I will show you why it was a desperate search. Because something was happening. Something serious was happening. The church was expanding and multiplying. The church was increasing in large numbers. Thousands of people were coming to Christ.

People were gotten saved. And Barnabas knew that there was something we achieved in Jerusalem. And it was in fact the result of what we achieved in Jerusalem that made the revival in Antioch possible. And it is important that we replicate what we achieved in Jerusalem also in Antioch. And he saw that to achieve this, I would need the ministry of Saul. And the bible says he went in a desperate search to find brother Saul. When he found him, the bible says he brought him back to Antioch and both of them stayed there with the church for a full year teaching large crowds of people. The bible then says, it was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians. Note. Note.

Note. Note. Because we jump it and we attribute the calling of the believers in anti of Christians. We attribute it first to the workings of the apostles. The healings and the miracles that they did and we try to call it, we try to say when people see that when people saw the power and the works and the miracles they call them Christians, nantioch. Well, that is not what the Bible says. The Bible makes it clear that people were getting saved in large numbers. After people got saved in large numbers, the disciples, the apostles, all of them were not called Christians. Despite there was massive salvation, despite there was massive in gathering, hundreds of thousands of people were caught were getting saved. They were still not called Christians.

But the Bible says, the moment Barnabas and Saul sat down with them for one year teaching them scriptures. It was after that. It means something happened in one year of teaching, intentional training for one year. Now what came out of it when people saw them, they now started seeing the character of Christ manifested. They now started seeing people who resembled Christ in words and indeed. It was after one year of discipleship was completed that the disciples were called Christians. The name Christians came because discipleship succeeded. Not because people were sick. It came because discipleship succeeded. It came because the process of discipleship was complete.

Even though discipleship is not really something you complete, it's something that continues to happen till you die. You would always constantly be in need of discipleship. Constantly. Thank you, Lord Jesus. When Jesus resurrected, he gave the disciples and in extension, the local church what we call the great commission. The great commission is not a phrase that is found in scripture. Much like every other words used to describe certain event, you don't find them literally word for word in scripture. Word bible is not in the bible. Word rapture is not in the bible. The word trinity is not in the bible.

These are concepts. These are words that describe certain concepts that are revealed and seen in scriptures. Such is the word great commission. Not a word you find in bible, you see it describes the mandate that God gave on to the local church, that God gave on to the disciples. And there are three expression of that mandate. The first is seen in Mark chapter 16 from verse 15 to verse 16. The bible says, and he said to them, into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Do what now? Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature And he who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not will be condemned. So the first expression of the great commission is the ministry of the local church to unbelievers going to the world.

Now this mandate was given to disciples when Jesus resurrected before his ascension. This was the mandate he committed to the disciples. He told them and there are three expression to this mandate. The first is in Mark 16 verse 15 and he told them, go and preach the gospel. So the first expression of the great commission is our ministry as a local church, our ministry as the body of Christ, our ministry as a church to unbelievers. What we call soul winning, what we call world evangelization. Are you with me? Yes, sir. In the Greek, the word preach there is the word Keruso and it means to erode as a public crier representing a king, representing an authority. And in those days, ancient eras carried the absolute authority of the king who sent them.

When you witness, you have to understand that you're not speaking your own opinion. You around the royal decree of the king of kings whom we represent. And what is that decree? That Satan's legal claim over humanity has been broken. That on the cross of Calvary, Jesus disarmed principalities and powers. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus initiated and repaired the relationship between God and man. That through Jesus, man can now be saved. Man can now receive the fullness of the deity. Man can now speak to God. Man can now have the holy ghost live on his inside.

Man can now have a relationship with God. That through Jesus, the veil has been turned. God no longer lives in man made vessels. He has made man his vessel. Are you with me? This is what we declare. This is what we proclaim. And we declare it. We proclaim it with such authority because we know that this is the gospel. It was the first charge that Jesus gave to the church in partnership with the holy spirit because the holy spirit also has a ministry to unbelievers.

In John chapter 16 from verse seven to verse eight, Jesus said, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is also to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. The holy spirit. Is that not so? And when he has come, what will he do? He will convict the world of sin. The holy spirit also has several ministries, really. Several ministries.

He has a ministry to create church, to unbelievers, to the world, and to believers. That's the same way the church of Christ also has a ministry to unbelievers. The holy spirit also has a ministry to unbelievers. What does the Holy Spirit do to unbelievers to the world? It convicts them of sin. Are you with me? Yes, sir. He convicts the world of their sin. So the Holy Spirit is fulfilling this ministry, but he cannot do this effectively without the local church. So in as much as the holy spirit is convicting people of their sin, it doesn't definitely mean that anybody will become saved.

The holy spirit, what it does is that he prepares the act whilst the church declares the truth. The same way it was with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in acts chapter eight, you read from verse 26 to verse 40. The holy spirit directed Philip to that eunuch. Is that much so? Yes, sir. But before he got there, the spirit of God was already doing something in the eunuch's heart. There was already some kind of conviction going on. The Holy Spirit had prepared that moment. Are you with me? But the Holy Spirit had to rapture Philip from where he was, take him to where the Eunuch was to preach the gospel to him.

Because this is how the salvation of souls happen. It doesn't happen just because the holy spirit convicts. The conviction of the spirit prepares the act of men to receive our words. We are in essence partnering with the holy spirit. Do you think Anunok asked him a question? Said, how can I understand except someone guides me? That immediately reveals to you the crucial role of the local church when it comes to God's salvation plan. Romans chapter 10 from verse 13 to verse 15. The Bible says, for whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Verse 14 then says, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? So it is a guarantee. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how will they call upon that name if they've not believed it? How will they believe if they've not heard? How will they hear if somebody does not preach? And in verse 15, it then says, how will they preach if they are not sent? That is why when Jesus resurrected before his ascension, what he did was to send us. Because the bible says, how will they preach if they are not sent?

So Jesus says, you know what? I'm sending you now. Go and preach the gospel. So if you are a believer, then the great commission belongs to you as much as it belongs to disciples. If you are a believer, the first mandate and the first expression of the great commission was to preach the gospel. Are you with me? Yes, sir. The spirit convicts, but conviction alone is not enough. A man can feel guilty even be aware of his sin yet never come into salvation if no one preaches Christ to him. So the church has been given the responsibility of world evangelization.

We have a ministry to unbelievers. We have a ministry to those who have not heard the gospel. We have a ministry to those who do not yet believe in Jesus as Lord and savior. And we need to partner with the Holy Spirit in doing this because as he convicts, we preach. We need to tell the world the good news of Jesus Christ. The world needs to know that their sins are forgiven. The world needs to know that God is not hungry with them. The world needs to know that God is not condemning them. The world needs to know about this precious gift of the Holy Spirit that we have received. Do you know the advantage of the Holy Spirit to the believer?

How can a man be cheated of that advantage? The world needs to know that it is a gift that God gives that is free, free to all men. The world needs to know that there is joy and peace in Christ. The world needs to know that you have been removed from eternal damnation. The eternal life has been made available to all men. The world needs to know that you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If only you would believe in this Jesus. The world needs to know that every spiritual blessings in heavenly places has been given. But how we didn't know if somebody does not preach? Do you understand what I'm teaching you now?

So we partner with the Holy Spirit in doing this so that as it convicts the word of their sin, a believer is there to preach the gospel to them. So the first expression of the great commission to the local church, to us as a ministry, to every believer under the sound of my voice is preach the gospel. Our ministry to unbelievers. Are you with me? The second expression of the great commission is seen in Matthew chapter 28 from verse 19 to verse 20. Very popular scripture. The Bible says, go therefore and make disciples. That is the title of my teaching, making disciples. Go therefore and make disciples. Verse 20 says, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.

In Mark he says, go and preach. In Matthew he says, go and teach. So what happens when the disciples got to Antioch? They were preaching. What must happen for disciples to be made? So what happened for one year in Antioch? And after one year was complete, what happened? Christians. It means that a man can be saved but cannot really be called a Christian until he has been discipled. Stay with me.

Cannot really be called a Christian until he has been discipled. In Mark 16, the emphasis was to preach. A call to reach unbelievers. But here, the emphasis is to make disciples, a call to mature those who have now believed. That is the second expression of the great commission. It is the ministry of the local church to the saints, Equipping and maturing the saints. The process of transitioning believers from spiritual infants and baby Christians to mature weaknesses. So believers must understand that salvation is not the end. Salvation is in fact the beginning of a journey. A newborn baby is celebrated when he is born.

Is that not so? We have what is called a naming ceremony and everybody gathers and we are happy. The moment you hear the sound of a baby after a woman has pushed, there is joy. Everyone is rejoicing because a baby has been born. Is that not so? Would it not be foolhardy to then rejoice because the baby was born and then drop the baby in the hospital and walk away? And so we celebrate this baby being born. Everybody clap your hands together. And then after we rejoice, we didn't tell the woman, you have done so well. Thank you for pushing.

If you have not pushed, this people would not have been delivered. We appreciate you. And the mother says, thank you so much. I appreciate you. Just drop the baby somewhere there. We've done it. Now we have... We are done with our own assignment. And then walks out of your spittle. How foolish would that be?

That is exactly what the born again experience is. Because when a man becomes born again, that's a newborn baby as well. And the same way when newborn babies are born, people rejoice. The bible says heaven rejoices when a man comes to Christ. So it means there is truly a rejoicing when somebody becomes saved because that is a newborn baby being born. Heavenly rejoice in a spiritual baby has been born. But in the same way, we would not leave a baby there. That would say you cannot leave a believer who has been saved just there, sitting confused. They must now begin a process of maturation, feeding, nurturing. Is that not so?

That must now begin to happen. The child must be fed. The child must be trained. The child must be nurtured. The child must be disciplined. It must be prepared for responsibility to be a useful member of the society. So the joy of a family is twofold. There is a joy that a mother and a father feels because they've given birth to a child. There is another joy that they feel when they come for their school's graduation ceremony and that child is called for best student in mathematics, best student in English, best student in French. There's another joy they feel.

You don't understand what I'm saying. And they can sit down and their child is not called for anything and they're just there. They still love the child. Doesn't matter. They still love the child. But they go home and they'll shake their head and again wonder, does that one and you have two heads? Sometimes they will say it. Sometimes they may not. There is another kind of joy they feel when that child finishes university and graduates a first class. Best student in his department, faculty whatsoever.

The joy they feel. They come there, some of them will bring rice, celebrate the graduation ceremony, call their friends and celebrate that their son is graduating. In other words, he's becoming a reasonable member of the society. There's another joy they feel when that son tells them, I've been employed by the WHO, by this association, by that association. I'll be paid. These have been promoted in my office. Another joy they feel again. In other words, the joy does not end just because the child was born. You're not getting this thing I'm saying. There is a maturation process that must begin to happen that brings added joy.

A man of God will say, joy on my account. You don't understand what I've just said. That the first face of joy heaven had was when I said Jesus I receive you as Lord and savior. As I'm doing this and I'm saying we are those demons. Everyone will be resting again. They are saying Kai, a song has arrived. When a businessman is moving billions in the name of Jesus, signing contracts, and using the finances he has to push kingdom agenda, heaven is saying, ah, we have someone there. There is joy in heaven again. In other words, it never ends. Just act Salvation.

The bible says, Gods look at the man and saw that it was not good for him to be alone. So when a man finds a woman, the bible says he finds favor. So it means when a man and a woman gets married, there is a joy in heaven. There's joy in heaven, but the joy does not end there. The question now is what happens in that marriage? How does it model Christ? How does it model heaven? The Bible says that all things were created for his pleasure. The question therefore becomes who created marriage? If it is God, the first purpose of marriage is to bring him pleasure.

It means when God looks at your marriage, you should be happy. It should say this so much reflects the the union between Christ and the church. This so much reflects the union between... That I'm trying to show you that there are phases and stages. Do you know that all these phases and stages that brings joy to parents because of a child is dependent now on discipleship. The way the child was trained, the way the child was taught. If the child received training, did the child read? Did the child go to school? Did he attend lectures? Did he attend classes?

Was he reading when he ought to be reading? All of these things is what now determines whether or not consistently speaking, it will continue to bring joy to that mother. They can rejoice because you were born and cry because you were born. You don't understand what I've just said. That your mother sits down and does yes. Are you mister Labaja or missus Labaja? And she says, yes. That is that that that I'm the one. He said, well, your son is in the politician right now. He borrowed 7,000,000 from people to...

For for for for dishonest gain and he promised them he will return it. Squandered the money, did not do anything with it. And now they've arrested him and told him to give them their money in three weeks. And then you go and meet the son, you meet the guy there in the prison, they've beaten him, slapped him, punched him. Just sixteen years ago, eighteen years ago you were happy. Would you stay in that prison and be excited and say, oh, my child. But was it not once the joy of your life? You're not getting this nonsense. I'm trying to tell you that it does not hinder the rejoicing that heaven rejoice over your life because you were born again. There is a constant need for heaven to continue to rejoice.

And that constant need is only dependent on the extent to which discipleship successful successful in your life. If discipleship fails, we would bring mockery to the name of Christ. If discipleship fails, heaven will rejoice at your salvation but that would be the end of rejoicing. Stay with me. The third expression of our dominion mandate is in fact from the scope of our discipleship. In Matthew 28, the bible says, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Not all the people. All the nations. This is the ministry of the local church to the society. Territorial transformation impacting and transforming entire territories and societies using the value system of the kingdom of God.

Are you with me? Now don't say that this one does not concern you because we said, oh, it's territorial transformation impact ing the society with the value system of the kingdom. And you say, it's not really my business. Society will deal with itself. You don't know that you can be saved but you're not safe. Do you realize that Lot did not really have any offense? Do you realize that Lot was righteous? Do you know you know that Lot did not deny Jesus or did not deny God because Jesus wasn't revealed in the old testament. But he did not deny God. He didn't go back on the ways that Abraham had shown him.

Lot was still faithful to the call because in Abraham's negotiation what Abraham said was, what if you found 10 righteous men? It means Lot was considered a righteous man. But Lot lost his wife. Lot almost lost his children to violent abuse by more than 50 men who were ready to rape. Was the problem with Lot? No. The problem was that his salvation ended with himself. The third expression of the dominion mandate did not succeed in the life of Lot. There was no territorial transformation. And even though he was living in that nation, he was in danger every day despite he was saved.

Despite God loves him. I'm telling you that if your territory is not saved, you are not saved even though you are saved. And many believer don't know this because we rarely speak about this. We rarely speak about the need to influence societies, the need to influence culture, the need to influence systems and structures with the value system of the kingdom. We rarely speak about this. Do you know that? I've studied the Islamic religion to an extent, and I've studied what makes things work for them. And I've realized that because things work for them. That religion is spreading like wildfire. I don't wanna give you statistics.

I have a teaching on that. I'm not gonna go there today. I have studied this and you'll be amazed how massively the spread of this religion is reaching. You'll be amazed. But it's not only the baffling thing is not just the spread. The baffling thing is what is causing the spread because I've studied it. I've noticed that these people do not have to really stress themselves in creating disciplining their children. They don't really do they don't really do much of that. But they have created discipline structures. So the children is...

The child is only needed to be imputed into the structure. And as long as the child is imputed into the structure, the child is disciplined. Even if discipline is lacking at all. I don't understand what I'm saying. There is an intentional system of discipleship that is governed with such rigidity. And that is what is responsible for the spread. I don't wanna go in-depth into it. I have a picture on it. Do you know that there are rich earth you must know as a young child? You can have a Christian of 30 years old who does not know any bible verse.

You tell him where is what is new testament. You can't even see anything. At 10 you can recite it. Maybe some of you have been Muslims and then you get saved. You don't understand what I'm saying. The the rituals, the very intentional rituals. You know that before his father is born when a Muslim woman is pregnant, the man had a responsibility to put his hands on her belly and declare the destiny of the child saying that you would live your life saving Allah. And words are programmed into a baby that has not been born. All trim the life and destiny of that baby. How do you think the people are taught to believe that killing themselves has some kind of righteousness to it?

It is discipleship. Discipleship that has so much worked that a man can strap a bomb to himself because he has been convinced that this is a cause to die for. And he so believes it. There is no other. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. You are the king.

There is no other. The king. There is no other. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Lord. You You are the king. There is no other. Yes, Lord. And we'll sing it loud.

Do you know that? Do you know that? Every other religion gets this thing right. Free mercenaries, Buddhists, even the Jews. Those that practice Judaism still, there is such a rigid system of discipleship that a child is plugged into from a early age. Sometimes from age two, there is what they already start putting into the mind of a child that he grows up to know. Structured knowledge, structured way of thinking, structured way of belief. But you come to Christianity and you'll find that our mindsets are scattered all around the place. There is no structured discipleship, no structured way of building, no structured way of knowing. So what we have are people who are saved.

But at the stands of the world, they cannot be called Christians, but they are saved. Do you know it was the world who called them Christians? By a reason of what they saw in their lives. Because the process of discipleship had so prospered. Had so prospered. People looked and people said, these ones look like the Christ. But so much people bring to the name of Christ. You look at an average believer right now and you cannot point him to Christ. Neither can you point Christ to him. They don't remember.

In character, in words, in deeds, in jokes, they don't remember. But we call ourselves Christians. And you begin to wonder, what is the meaning of what you call yourself? What is the meaning of it? Now listen to me. The expression of the ministry of local church to make disciples distinctively is important. Let me tell you why. It is because it translates to the health of the first expression and the health of the third expression. Even though it is a second expression. What am I saying?

It means our ability to make disciples of men would determine how successful the first expression is. What is the first expression? What is the first expression? Say it like soldiers. Is that okay? The elf of the first expression and the elf of the third expression is dependent on the second expression. In other words, we would only prosper in preaching the gospel and reaching unbelievers and reaching the world to the degree to which we have prospered in making disciples. We would only prosper in territorial transformation and bringing the value system of the kingdom to influence environment to the degree to which we have raised disciples. It means if disciples are not raised, number one and number three fails. Which is why it is important to note that it was not apostles who went into handjob to preach, it was believers.

It was disciples. It means number one can prosper because number two had prospered. It means that we would continue to see less and less salvations if men are not raised. Less and less salvations. I believe that this is also the reason for church decline because it is impossible for a believer, a man of God to truly raise disciples and your church will not grow. The problem is that we focus too much on the numbers and we lose sight of what we should be doing to the people. So a man of God has 15 people, but he's so desperate about increasing the number that he's more focused on the increase in the number than he's focused on building the men. And so what we do is that we begin to deploy strategies that are outside of God's command or God's principles for church growth. You see, one of the things I did when I was starting this ministry was to go and study how did the New Testament church grow. I read the book of acts more than a 100 times, more than.

Saying a 100 is humility. I was looking for something. I will call it humility. So just to not call numbers out. Would finish it, start again. Finish it, start again. I was looking for something. What did they know? How did they grow? 3,000 in one day.

5,000 in one day. What was happening? What was happening? And as I would read, I would see. I would note it down. But you see, the problem now is that believers and men of God in general are no longer concerned about the the way and the system by which the New Testament church grew. What we now do is that we devise strategies for growing what I would call the modern church. So now we now we have the new testament church that God instituted and now we have the modern church that man built. And that modern church is only concerned about numbers. So we are willing to compromise on several things even though it will eventually short circuit the prosperity of discipleship in our church.

But we are willing to put short on it if it will increase our numbers. We are willing to sacrifice it if it will increase our numbers. And you see this happening. There is a structure of torture I would see. A torture that I would see that I would know nobody can grow here. And I'm not speaking out of arrogance. I'm not speaking out of I know it all. No. I'm speaking based on the wisdom of scripture and in humility and according to my love for the body of Christ. Because you would see a model and you would know it is not possible.

This is not the structure of raising men that Jesus gave. The command was make disciples. In other words, disciples are made. It is a making process. The same way you make, you forge gold, called something, you make something that does not exist. It means the mere fact that a man is saved does not mean he has been made. The assignment is to make disciples. It is easy to get men saved. They only have to believe in Jesus as Lord and savior, believe that he died, was buried, resurrected, but it is different entirely making disciples. There is a process to making disciples, a model for making disciples.

Hear me? Paul told Timothy in second Timothy chapter two and verse two, and the things that you have heard from me amongst many weaknesses, commit this to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Without discipleship, there is no faithful men, only unstable converts. Here today and gone tomorrow. Here today and gone tomorrow. But discipleship failure produces more than weak Christians. It manufactures a kind of societal cancer. Undisciple believers become carriers of this cancer, and they carry it into every system that they touch with compromise, with corruption, with carnality. In first Corinthians chapter three and verse one, we read from verse one to verse three. The bible says, and I brethren could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to canal people, as to babes in Christ.

I fed you with milk and not with solid food. For until now, you were not able to receive it and even now, you are still not able for you are still canal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions amongst you, are you not canal and behaving like mere men? Carnal Christians behave like mere men. They carry kingdom citizenship, but operate with the falling nature. They occupy the marketplace, but only to go there and function with worldly wisdom alone. They hold governmental positions and offices, and they govern with corrupt motives. Listen. I believe that the cure to the evil and the backwardness in the society today is dual discipleship. And the reason, the root cause of evil and backwardness in every society is discipleship.

The cure is discipleship. Are you with me? It means when you look around a society, there is always an explanation to the decadence that we see there. Be it economical decadence, social decadence, moral decadence, and the cure to many of the evils that plague society today is discipleship. Hosea chapter four and verse six, the Bible says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And the Bible says, because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for me. Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. Lack of discipleship produces generational destruction. The bible says, my people perish for lack of knowledge. So it's...

There is a generation that is currently being destroyed for lack of knowledge. That generation's destruction will will therefore extend to their children. Discipleship is what is meant to produce knowledge. The understanding of the laws of God. It means what is being described here is actually a failure of discipleship because the laws of God are no longer at hand. The Bible says, because you have forgotten the law of your God. It means somewhere discipleship failed. And look at the generational impact of the failure of discipleship. Are you with me? Sir.

Undisciple parents raise undisciple children who become undisciple leaders, who established undisciple systems. Every national problem is first a regional problem that was not dealt with. And every regional problem is first a community problem that was not dealt with. And every community problem is forced a family problem that was not dealt with. A thief never becomes a national thief in the first day. It starts from the family. He expresses tendencies that are unchecked and that goes cut free. And every time you succeed in evil, you are propelled to continue until you become a global thief, until it becomes a museums to the society. Nobody starts being a corrupt leader in the governmental space. That corruption did not begin there.

Leadership first failed in the family. Discipleship first failed in the family. And when discipleship fails in the family, you begin to burn a terror, a family terror that becomes a community terror, that becomes a regional terror, that becomes a national terror. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Ecclesiastes chapter eight verse 11 shows you this progression that I'm talking about. The Bible says, because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore, the act of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. It means when we have undisciple families who fail to execute corrections speedily. We have undisciple churches who fail to exercise discipline.

Undisciple societies who fail to enforce justice. It will create the permission structure for evil to flourish. It is the child who steals another child's money without consequence that becomes the student who cheats on an exam day without shame. He then becomes the employee who embezzles company fund without conscience. He then becomes the government official who loots national treasury without conscience. Can you see that each unchallenged compromise strengthens the next level of corruption? It only shows failure in discipleship. You can't imagine the problem around society right now from husbands beating their wives, wives insulting their husbands, even beating their husbands. You think it's a joke? There are wives who beat their husband black and blue.

Children revolting against parents, all kinds of family abuse. Loved ones sexually abusing family members. You hear the stories of rape cases. You would find I was abused by my uncle, by my brother, by a family friend, by these loved ones. Eight out of ten cases of rape is from somebody they know. To corruption in all hands of government, the judiciary, the executive, the legislation. Second Timothy chapter three from verse one to verse five, the bible says, but notice that in the last days perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, proud is the word haughty, proud. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying its power. That summary is very important.

That how we can categorize all of these people is that they have a form of godliness, but deny its power. Do you know what that means? That means they have they have an appearance of Christianity. But their lives remain unchanged. The power of God to transform people is not present in their lives. They have a form of godliness. They know biblical vocabulary. But they lack kingdom values. They come to church on Sundays. They have a form of godliness.

They participate in religious activities. But there's no difference between their life and the life of someone who doesn't know Christ. They have a form of godliness in that they come to church, they pray, they study the word of God, maybe they do. I doubt that they do. But they are present in services. What happens is that the power of God that causes transformation is denied in their lives. And so what happens? You find all these things listed here. Adulterous, boasters, blasphemers, proud, without self control, despiders of good, traitors. You can't imagine the kind of problems that people are bringing to their family members.

You can't imagine the kind of problems that people are bringing to their churches. I'm a pastor. You can't be a pastor dealing with people more than 200, more than a 100, more than 50, more than 20, more than 10. People that you lead, and you would not have some kind of headache. You just sit down hope... Hoping to get the peaceful day, and then you you just see a method on your phone, somebody put a picture of one of your workers and they say, this guy has just borrowed 3,000,000 naira from this loan app, he would not pay his back, We would embarrass him. You had this. You had that. You better warn him, and I'm wondering what is my business with this. God from that method, this person used or you used your name as a guarantor.

They have exploited us. They have done this and that and that. If you don't bring them, we'll come from... I don't know who this person is. Are you apostle Emmanuel? Yes. Somebody dropped your name somewhere. Don't don't drop my name anywhere. Problems. Every problem is fermented by an undisciplined individual.

Every problem. The kinds of issues that churches have to deal with. Three members are pregnant in the worship team. How do we deal with that? Who impregnated them? One brother in the ushering department, and then they call all of them together. Not in this church. But these things happen. Do not be deceived to think it does not happen. Do not be deceived to think it does not happen.

All kinds of problems that we deal with, all kinds of things because no one has thought. There are people right now who have found themselves, believers, found themselves in 04/19, in Yahoo, in fraudulent activities because nobody taught them contentment. Greed led them there. Yes, sir. Greed. That's the name for it. It means somewhere in discipleship, something wasn't taught that guy. He allowed greed to sway his heart. And if we don't solve this problem, eventually, families will break down, governments will break down, Churches even will break down. Law and order will break down.

You give money to someone in leadership to make good roads because everybody in the environment is complaining of flooding. And whenever there is flooding, it it sweeps away homes, sweeps away children, and then they are raising a complaint because there are no good drainage and all of that. And then the federal government or whatever government is concerned, releases say 2,500,000,000 naira to a local government chairman and says, go and fix this road for these people. Now the local government chairman comes there and then says, look looks at everybody. So we are so sorry on behalf of the government. We we we understand what is happening and ensures to come in a time when really is not falling. Maybe in the dry season and then comes there and uses 1,000,000 naira or 500,000 naira to create a borehole and he stands there. He says, we've made a borehole for you. How does that solve the problem of the drainage? But the but but but the citizens gather and then they all shout and say, oh wow, clap for yourselves.

And then they go and meet with the community chairman, they go and meet with the leaders of the communities and they say, you know what, government is so proud of what you are doing. Take this 100,000 naira. Then they gather the youth representatives, take the 50,000 naira. They gather everybody that matter whose voice the community would hear, and they take 37,000 naira. They don't worry. Give us some time. You know we are working on this. And after everybody is settled, They come outside, tell the large majority of people who will become victims of that problem continuing to exist and tell them we are working on this, the government is really trying for us. And the flooding continues because everybody profits from the dysfunction. I mean, contractors will get their own kickback.

Officials will get their own percentages. Community leaders will get their own settlements. And eventually, people get accustomed to accepting crumbs. I was drowning in preventable disasters. And you go check. You would find out that six out of 10 of those officials are believers. You'll be shocked that even the local government chairman is a believer. And he not he does not mind siphoning funds at the expense of the lives of people that have been entrusted in his hands. He doesn't mind. He can keep palliatives given to people to alleviate for poverty, to alleviate for hunger.

And you begin to wonder how many will you hate? How many will you contain? How many will you host? But that thing did not start there. This person has always been a selfish person. They are the kinds of people you teach giving, they will fight you. And now it gets to government is a thief, but he fights the church. Discipleship failure. You know, saw a scripture that surprised me. Let me show you.

In Jeremiah chapter five from verse 30. From verse 30 to verse 31. Bible says, An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land. Now it's interesting to me that the bible combines the word astonishing and horrible. In other words, it is so horrible you have to be surprised. It's so horrible you have to be amazed at the horror. What is this horror? What's this terrible thing? And what makes it so surprising? Can we read one to get...

One to go? Horse. Is that terrible? Is that horrible? Do you agree with me? Yes, sir. You have not seen the astonishing one. Next. Is that terrible? Yes.

Now watch the astonishing part of it. May the Lord give you understanding. If you sit down and meditate on this scripture for like a week, you would find out why Nigeria is the way it is. You would find out why Africa in general is the way it is. I have a whole sermon on this. My people love to have it so. You mean people love prophets who prophesy falsely? Yes. If not, would not have crowds. Yes sir.

But they have the largest crowds. You mean people love politicians who steal from them? Yes. If not, we'll not argue over some things. Yes, they do. If not, democracy will have so much power. If it is true that the massive has the power to decide who rules, And somebody obviously rules back. It should be all goes to the eyes of everybody. So much so when it is time to decide again, you would expect that people are making a sensible decision. But the bible says my people love it so.

And guess why they love it so? Because there is no standard of measurement because discipleship failed. Believe me when I tell you that the problem to the evil that we see now, what today is discipleship. And outside of discipleship, societies will break down. We will have young people who will become a nuisance to the society. Isaiah chapter one verse four described it very very well. It says, alas, sinful nation, a people laddened with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters. They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to hunger, the only one of Israel. They have turned away backward. Notice the progression.

Sinful nation produces a people laden with iniquity, which produces a brood of evildoers, which produces children who are corrupters. Every generation becomes worse than the previous because corruption compounds without discipleship intervention. When discipleship fails in the church, yet we have members. We will have husbands who beat their wives, yet they come to church. We will have fathers and mothers who know nothing about parenting, guessing their way into raising a child until you will raise miscreants. The father that beats the wife teaches the son that violence solves problems. And the son grows to beat his wife and his children. His children then learn from him that authority means brutality. Then they become bullies in school. They become parents in relationships, dictators in their workplaces.

You go and check people that are bullies in school. There is some kind of a failure in leadership from the father or the mother. Either the father is an aggressive man, a violent man, or there's no peace in that family. One undisciplined father can contaminate multiple generations with violence and push these generations into society, creating a kind of society. The boy that has the boldness, the audacity to pin a woman down and rape her, what kind of home did he come from? One of my daughters told me how that she was playing in their family friend's house unsupervised. The parent just left them there, and she was a kid. The family friends were teenagers, and she was so probably like eight years old or so playing with people that were 16 years old, they just left at... That their daughter there because they are family friend. Then the lady went to go and just play.

These are brothers. These family friends are brothers. One is 16, the other is probably like 18 or so. Both of them took the eight year old girl. One held her hand. Other ripped her. When that one was done, exchange held her hand while the other ripped her. 16, 18, violating an eight year old girl. And you wonder, these are the kinds of evil that exist in societies. You wonder, they unbelievers?

No. They go to the church. They are members of a church. Would you look at those and say these are Christians? Would you point Christ to these people? And would these people point you to Christ? So that you will understand the weight of that scripture. That after one year of training, people looked at the people who had been trained. And they said these Christians. We take that name so lightly because we throw it around so lightly.

When discipleship fails, we will have thieves who come to church on Sundays and go back and steal on Monday. Young boys and young girls who come to church on Sunday, but who are deep into immorality, and they will meet themselves back on Tuesday, back on Wednesday. Sleeping with each other, violating each other's bodies. It shows you a failure of discipleship. Either on the church's path or on the people's path to be discipled. Because discipleship you see is a willful process. It will not happen outside of your will. If you don't want it, you will become... I want to be nice today. So I'm trying as much as possible to say nice things.

But let's keep it that way. Glory to God. Most corrupt individuals in the world today are members of a church. Most abusive fathers are members of a church. Titus chapter one verse 16, the bible says, they profess to know God. They do what? Let me show you how you know discipleship has failed. They do what? But in works, they deny him. In other words, they are denying him is not with their mouth.

No believer would say, I deny God. It is that in the way they live, in the way they behave, in their conduct, in their deeds, it is obvious that these ones have denied God. Despite they profess, despite in their mouth, The bible says being abominable, disobedient, disqualified for every good work. Most of the problems in homes, in marriages, in the political sphere, in the workplace, Most of the problem on the pulpit, the edict we go through as men of God are connected to the absence of discipleship or people refusing to be discipled but are present in church. They will cause problems in the church. That is the problem I have with musicians who come to church and are employed to play. I have an issue with them because they are employed to perform a service that keeps the process of discipleship. So they are coming to church is an obligation the same way someone goes to work on a Monday. They are coming to church is not to serve or to learn or to be discipled, it is to come and work. And so when the walk is done, what happens is that they leave, go and gist outside, go and eat Amala outside.

Some can even sleep off. When it's time for work again, they enter the office, mount the drum, mount the keyboard, mount everywhere, and they play. Those are the kinds that sleep with church members behind the pastor's back. Those are the kinds. Face to face, face to face, I can now see Jesus face to face. I can now see Jesus face to face. But we'll accept it as true. A transformed people will only produce healthy weaknesses. It will translate to a great society. Do you know that a man who is born again, who was trained by a good pastor, who was taught to respect the word of God.

If that man gets married, that man is going to live out what he was taught. Do you agree with me? It is not beauty and handsomeness that runs a good home. It is the mindset of the people there that is what runs a good home. A disciple mindset operates from Ephesians five twenty five. Husband, love your wife as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. This love is sacrificial. It's not selfish. This love is protective. It's not possessive.

This love is nurturing. But undisciple mindsets operate from the falling nature. The man expect the wife to serve him instead of him serving the wife because leadership is service. Jesus displayed leadership. He was the head of the church, and he displayed this even whilst he was alive. He was the head of the disciples as well, but he washed their feet. Leadership is service. But the husband has been discipled in a way that makes him feel leadership means you must be served. That is the cultural mentality. It infuses a delusion in men that if you are a man, you must be served.

So you are the one who sits down, where is my foe? You are the one who goes for meetings and you are... I must... The woman has no place. The woman... I am the one, I must this, I must that. Discipleship has failed. If a man is here who has that kind of mentality, discipleship has failed. Who believes that I'm the alpha omega over this own. Being the man means everybody submits to me.

You submit to me. You submit to me. You have no opinion outside of my opinion. I'm the smartest person here. I know it all. It means there is failure in discipleship. You demand respect without demonstrating loss. He wants submission without showing leadership. If that man is discipled, he will not hurt his wife. If that man is discipled, he will not watch his children suffer.

And he'll just say, there's no food. I don't I don't have a job. Nothing I can do. There's no food. He won't do that because a scripture will judge his heart. His conscience will not rest. Do you know conscience is not default? You're not born with a particular type of conscience. Conscience is engineered. It means through discipleship, you can engineer your conscience.

That when you do wrong, there's a scripture that doggies you. You know what saying? There's no food. Get... Go go go anything you find, go and eat. No. Immediately, you will remember a man who fails to take care of his family, who fails to provide for his household is worse than an infidel. As denied the faith, you will wake up. The discipled man doesn't just accept poverty, doesn't just accept unemployment as the reason or the excuse for neglecting his family's need. He will start a business.

He will get a job. He will get multiple jobs if he must. What he would not do is just accept that I don't have money. I don't have a job. I started a business. Just go and meet your mother. Something failed somewhere. Something failed somewhere. The kinds of people we have in society is a reflection of the system of discipleship we have raised in churches. Are you with brothers and sisters?

A man who has not been discipled, even if he's saved, what do you think he would do when his wife annoys him? What do you think he would do when his children are becoming close to God? He shouts at them. He tells them, why are you always going to church? What are you going to do there? Every time church church church church. What? Sir, I'm in the choir. We are... What do you mean you're in the choir?

You know what? Stay at home. No more going to touch for you. I am the head. Undisciple men become threatened by their children, threatened by their wives when they are making spiritual progress because it exposes their own stagnation. Now instead of rising to that level, what they do is pull the entire family down to their own level. In the name of I'm the head. And the child now remains at home. And the child now begins to wonder, what do I do now? What do I do now?

I'm just at home on Sundays. And the devil then comes to meet him and says, have internet. Why not stroll the net? And now the guy finds pornography. They used to watch all kinds of things on the internet. Then stumbles upon pornography, stumbles upon Yahoo, stumbles upon new age theories, stumble upon atheist discussing, disproving that God exists or trying to prove rather that God exists. And the guy is watching because they have nothing to do and there's no father to become an example to him. And it goes to formulate theories about his life that would destroy his life, but nobody cares. When parents fail to provide spiritual direction in the way of the Lord, destruction awaits that child. Unless an urgent discipleship model, unless that child plugs himself very fast to a church that produces an urgent discipleship model for him.

Otherwise, your destiny is determined. Proverbs 29 verse 15, the Bible says, the rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. What is the source of shame that comes to a father, that comes to a mother from a child? It is that the child was left for himself, left to do life by himself. No structured discipleship. No structured training model left to himself. He will be a shame to his mother, shame to his father, shame to society. How do you go to church as a parent and you are comfortable leaving your children at home? On Sunday, they don't go to church. There's no intentional system of discipleship happening at home.

No morning devotion. Everybody just find God by themselves. Those who have said, hi. I'm the children that God has given to me. As long as they are under my roof, it's my God you will serve. You won't determine what God you serve. Not under my house. We will serve the Lord. 6AM, it is time for morning devotion. Stubborn as you may be, sleepy as you may be, you are there.

Something was happening. It's a system. It has massive advantages. It programs a child's heart from a early age to seek the Lord. Do you know it is this thing that makes someone from that kind of a background find himself in say, due due to the influence of peer pressure, finds himself in a club or somewhere should not be where they are drinking and where they are doing all kind of things, and his friends are are womanizing, and he is amongst them, but he wants to join them, but something tells him, you know, he feels off just doing it. He wants to try it. If they put alcohol in his front, his parents are not there. If you drink it, nobody will know. But something he did within him is fighting him. It is what he was trained with, what he grew up with.

I was mentored growing up. I was trained, discipled, and mentored growing up. Like I told you, conscience is engineered. And we can intentionally engineer it. Are you with me? When you leave a child all by himself, what happens is that peer pressure, social media, the Internet now becomes his pastor. No wonder you'll see a 16 year old boy already smoking, already drinking, sleeping with several women. You'll see a small girl extending man, jumping from man to man, counting how many boyfriends she has in an illicit relationship and runs away from the voice of correction. Are you with me? You see young children whose parents have no idea what they have become.

They come home and they dress okay. They greet okay. They appear nice. And the parent just think, oh, look at my children. Such nice people. And you have no idea what they have become. Some of them have become cultists. Some of them are at the young age, already exposed to things that they should not be exposed to. And if the church keeps quiet, we will produce a disaster. A man who does not fear the Lord will become a governor who does not fear the Lord.

A man who does not fear the Lord will become a husband who doesn't fear the Lord. A woman who doesn't fear the Lord will become a wife, a mother, a business person who doesn't fear the Lord. A man who is selfish and stingy to God, stingy to his kingdom, who only cares about his stomach. Is it the local government that is put in charge of that you will care about? A man of God who was not discipled to know how to start ministry, what ministry is, only cares about title, cars, money, already has a way he's judging success in ministry in his mind. In his mind, success in ministry is only how many people are in your church, the kind of cars the pastor drive. So when he leaves to start a church, what is in his mind is I have to have this money. That is how I know I'm successful. And so every member is an offering box that puts money on his pocket. Such a man is not concerned about whether people grow or doesn't grow.

What the man is concerned about is simple. Bring me money. Bring me money. Every time you see a widespread of bad behavior, either in homes, in the marketplace, in politics, in offshoes, in school, is a problem of discipleship. You see ill trained believers who are not taught honor. They walk up to elders and they talk anyhow. They have no sense of respect, no sense of honor. You see lack of home training. You know this boy is not cultured. This girl is not cultured.

Where I grew up and I thank God for my parents, thank God for my mother, thank God for my father, there is such an intentional system of honor that was built into my training system, makes me honor prophets, makes me honor men of God, makes me honor elders. It was ingrained in my upbringing. Imagine when I start studying scripture and I find that these are value system that scripture preaches. I don't have to wait until I study the bible to know it and to practice it. It was included in my training model. It means if the family gets this thing right, you will you will practice scripture by nature. Even before you know that what you are practicing is in Proverbs. You see right now, you will not even know which one is elder, which one is younger. They call themselves names. The younger one can slap the elder one.

And when you bring it before the parents, say, warn yourself oh, that's just it. Tunde, why will you do like that? Come on, don't do that. And we have brought the western model into training systems. And we don't know that we are building a kind of people. A kind of people. It's a dangerous thing. A dangerous thing. There's no difference between a elder brother and a younger brother. Elder sister, younger sister.

Younger sister has no honor whatsoever. Whatsoever. Whatsoever. I am shocked. Bewildered. Where I agree of you, call your sister by name, you'll receive a slap that that that resets you up your brain immediately. Even if you are not within the scope of where your parent is and you just disrespect your elder brother, this life will still find you. Do not ask no idea where to come from. It will still find you. There's one they give you at the center of your back.

Just in case whatever corruption has entered into your brain is coming from your spinal cord. Realigning the thing in place. Needs no surgery, needs nothing. Yet very effective. Someone was telling me how the younger brother came, and the sister was sleeping on the chair. And younger brother just came while the mother was there and came to slap the sister. You are sleeping in my chair. Will you stand up? Listen, the... And the mother was there.

And lady was so hungry, she called me on phone and was telling me, she wants to do this now. She wants... I said, no. No. Come down. Don't worry. Whilst the holy spirit might be using that younger brother of his to teach you self control and anger management, that younger brother wasn't properly brought up. It's true. It means that the value system of scripture was not included in your training model growing up. And if you find that it is true, quickly submit yourself to discipleship quickly.

Otherwise, you will bundle bad habits and bad manner that has become your nature. You would look at elderly people. You don't have to greet them, how to talk to them, and you think it is okay. I believe that every time I see shame, fear that prevents young people from doing great things, stepping out and speaking, talking, taking steps, bold steps that amounts to greatness is a failure of discipleship, either in the home or in the church. Do you know I see... I deal with young people a lot. Everybody here is young. Most people here are young, but not everybody. Even if you're old, you're young. I'm sent to young people.

So even if you're 70 years old, you are young. As long as I'm sent to you. Because I don't have a message that makes people comfortable retirement. See, if you're a 70 year old man listening to me and you're retired, you will jump back up running. I tell you, you will jump back up looking for what to do, evangelism, ministry, start something. God, I will tell you how that by '84, some people were saying we are well able. I will tell you how that by 70, God came to a man and told him, get out of the father's house. Tell you how that by 70, Ketrin Kuman began ministry. And now you think, oh, I'm retired right now. You know?

So you might not like my message, but if I'm sent to you, a young man. Glory to God. Glory to God. Charity is meant to begin at home. But what happens when the parents are not discipled? What happens when the father is not discipled? When the mother is not discipled? What type of children do they produce? Charity no longer begins at home. It begins when you open the word of God.

Because there are several destructions that begin at home. Several problems that are their origin in the home front. I have parents who call me because I deal with young people, who call me every day and tell me... Call different different leaders and tell me my son my son is too committed in church. Where should he... Where would you rather he's committed to? What would be your preference? What if he was a cultist? Would not be you who will go to them and and pray? And now this guy loves the Lord, and now you are the one who wants to serve as an hindrance in his pursuit to God.

Say, pray and listen to me. Please learn wisdom. Learn wisdom. Learn wisdom. There are time that young people can get zealous for God and they become so zealous that they begin to become unbalanced in their approach to several areas of their life. Where they no longer... Some might be so zealous they don't go to class. Some might be so zealous they don't attend to any other... Some might be so zealous they don't even call their parents again. You just want to pray and pray and love God and go to that.

And the solution is not to kill the zeal. Because to... If you kill the zeal and you succeed in killing it, to reignite that zeal, to come back to that place where you have killed it. Would take a a major encounter. The solution is never to kill the zeal of the young man. It is to provide knowledge. That's what Paul says. He said you are zealous without knowledge. It means whenever zeal starts affecting every area of your life, what you are lacking is knowledge. Not to kill the zeal, but to supply the knowledge.

Romans 10 and verse two, I bear you witness that you having zeal but without knowledge. Glory to God. Let me attempt to decide... To to define discipleship for you, and then we close. Oh, let me show you also three or four. Discipleship is the ongoing process of progressively becoming like Christ. Write it down. Discipleship is the ongoing process of progressively becoming like Christ. In thought, in words, and in action. Through the transforming power of the holy spirit.

I'll tell you it again. Discipleship is the ongoing process of progressively becoming like Christ in thought, in word, in action, through the transforming power of the holy spirit. It is the word metamofu used in Romans chapter 12 and verse two. That word metamofu describes a complete structural change. It is from caterpillar to butterfly. The entire structure changes. It's not from caterpillar to a better caterpillar. That's not what discipleship is. Discipleship does not modify the fallen nature. It replaces it with divine nature.

It does not upgrade your thinking. It installs the mind of Christ in you. Discipleship is a lifelong journey of spiritual growth, of transformation, of conformity to the character of Christ in experience. It is also the intentional and the structural mentoring of believers so that they progressively attain onto spiritual maturity and stature in experience. Get the message. Yeah. It. Write it down. It is building the culture of the kingdom in believers. Titus chapter three from verse one to verse eight, read everything in your personal place.

Let me say this, there are several institutions in the world that attempts to provide human capital development and some kind of training, some kind of discipleship models, there are rehabilitation centers, there are hospitals, there are schools, there are all kinds of institutions that try to contribute to this system of training and discipleship and all of these things. But you'll see, the church is the most reliable institution on earth. With the divinely accredited strategy for reforming and for transforming men. The church. There are all the institutions, rehab centers, therapy centers, schools, universities, law law enforcement agents, And they are all helping to put people back in place mentally and otherwise. But that where all else fails, the church has a solution. The Bible calls the church the pillar and the ground of truth. It's beyond nice sermons. It's beyond entertainment. The church is not ordinary.

We are truly a solution. No matter what fails everywhere, we are a solution. Are you with me? Yes sir. We are a solution. The place and the position and the power of the church in a nation must cannot be overemphasized. And must not be undermined. The church is a solution. Are you with me? Yes sir.

Yes. The bible says when the righteous rule, the people rejoice. Where is a righteous man formed? But the bible says when he rules, so it means he's not ruling in the church, he's ruling in power, in government. And people are rejoicing because of what happened to him in the church. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. That the church and the discipleship model that we offer become the solution to national crisis. Social wise, economic wise, moral wise, you've mentioned it. And there are four major aspects of discipleship.

I'm gonna call them for you, but I want to just emphasize two. And so the remaining two, I wouldn't really talk about it. The first is knowledge based discipleship. Write it down. It simply means becoming like Christ by contending for sound superior and structured knowledge of scripture. That's it. Becoming like Christ. By contending for his sound superior knowledge of scripture. It talks about the journey of enlightenment that comes through superior and structural knowledge of God's word. So you know what the bible says.

There is no true disciple of Jesus who is in ignorance. Your journey to discipleship begins by knowing what the bible says. And there are many believers today who go to church and they only interact with their bibles when the sermon is being preached and the preacher says open your Bibles to so and so. That is the only time from Sunday to Sunday that they ever interact with the Bible with with... This is where discipleship fails with you. If the only time you ever interact with the word of God is on Sunday, on Tuesday, when the sermon comes and the preacher and the preacher says, open your bibles to so and so. And you're excited and your excitement, you open your bible, and then you clothe it the moment you leave church to open it again the next Sunday or the next meeting day, you are already positioned positioned to fail in discipleship. It means everything we have said up until now, you will be a victim of it. And you will be part of the problem. Instead of contributing to the solution.

You'll be part of those you have to pray about. Instead of contributing to the solution. Imagine a doctor who wants to become a professor of neurological surgery. And has never read any book, any medical book whatsoever, hasn't read anything. All he does he has is that he just watches a few YouTube videos here and there. And then after some time, he just says, you know what? I'm a professor. And then he says, bring your brain. Let me cut it. And you begin to wonder, would you put your brain in the hands of such a person?

He says, just do whatever you want with me with my head. That's exactly how it feels like when a pastor has not read his bible from cover to cover. What are you now doing with the lives of men? It's the same thing. You cannot claim to be a pastor. And you have not read your bible from cover to cover. It is an anomaly. It means you have not been discipled yourself. I met a woman of God who was a counselor. She was a counselor.

And she was speaking to me, and she said, you know, this is the fifth time I'm reading my bible from cover to cover this year. This year, I had to repent immediately. And say what? She's just a counselor in a church, not a pastor, just a counselor. Went to meet her for some things, and this is the fifth time I'm reading my bible from cover to cover. Such grace. Indeed, but also I I I thought myself, I said, no wonder. No wonder she is... She exudes this kind of wisdom when she's speaking. When you find people who have eaten the word, you'd know.

You cannot be believers who are lazy in reading scriptures. You cannot be believers who are lazy in reading scriptures. The moment you find that you are lazy in bible reading, in bible study, listen to me. The process of discipleship will not be complete. It will fail. Are you with me, brothers and sisters? The word of God alongside compliant materials are used to acquire spiritual knowledge about God and about the ways of God. To someone who has been discipled or is being discipled in this model knows what the bible says. When we are mentioning salvation or the... Or God's plan for salvation, working in love, living by faith, he understands the word of God.

He understands what the bible says. She knows what the bible says. She's not confused. Are you with me? Yes sir. But I'll tell you this, knowledge based discipleship is profitable. But if you stop there, you will never still truly reflect the character of Christ. Because the scribes and the Pharisees had knowledge. To be a scribe and a Pharisee, you must have finished and studied and be able to recite the five books of Moses of heart by memory and they could. Yet, it was not reflected in their character.

Are you with me? Yes. Which leads to the second aspect of discipleship, which is lifestyle based discipleship. It means deciding to adopt the culture and the lifestyle of the kingdom as demonstrated by Jesus and then replicating that lifestyle through the empowerment of the spirit. Deciding, the word deciding is very important because it shows you that it's a will. You make a choice to say that this thing have been taught. I will bend my life to it. It is a process of submission and obedience. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Yes, sir.

That as you listen to the word of God, as you learn scriptures, the bible says they said at the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. In other words, it becomes something that you intentionally and willfully decide to do. I'll be merciful unto all. I'll be merciful unto all. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love is patient. Love is kind. When you read the scripture, the fruit of the spirit, you willfully in partnership with the holy spirit, decide to live your life by what you have seen. It's a choice. It's a choice.

I put something on my status some time ago and I still withhold it and believe it so strongly. I said, transformation is not difficult. You are the one who doesn't want to change. Transformation is not difficult. You are just stubborn. Because it's a willful process. Because when you say God help me, and what you are crying for God to help you about is something that requires transformation. The help will not be magic. You will still make a choice to change. If you are proud and you say God help me, it will help you.

But then you now willfully submit yourself to his help as refuting the word of God. Are you with me? Sir. You are not a giver for instance or you're hungry or whatever, and you say, God help me. You submit yourself to the word of God by giving. The next time you want to laugh at someone, the holy ghost comes you out and say, ah, get quiet. And instantly you, keep quiet. His lifestyle based discipleship. Are you with me? But that's not where I'm going.

Where I'm going really is number three and four. Number three is mentorship based discipleship. What did I call it? This is very important. Because it is one of the chief channels that God designed for discipleship. Mentorship. This is when you consciously submit your mind, your will, your habit to the shaping by a man or a woman of God who has gone ahead of you in Christ. And Paul did not hold back in saying in first Corinthians chapter 11 verse one, imitate me. Just as I also imitate Christ. Can we read it together?

One, three, go. Him. Pause. Imitate who? Him. Who? God. The video imitate Jesus? Imitate who? God.

It means discipleship will not succeed if there is no reference in your life that you consciously imitate as much as they have imitated Christ. Because you see, when you are growing in Christ, the Christ you are growing in, you cannot see. So you need people who have grown in him and have become references in him. And they've also grown through discipleship. They grew because they were also discipled. Are you with me? And they were also discipled by also imitating someone. Are you with me? So that their life now becomes reflections of Christ. So when the discipleship model begins, there must be a reference in your life.

Your pastor, your spiritual authority that you form an intentional, personal, close relationship with, so that you can imitate as they imitate Christ. This imitation, the word imitate, are thinking is the word follow. Follow. It means discipleship is intentional followership of a man. That is mentorship based. Are you with me brothers and sisters? It can take different forms. The highest level, it may be your spiritual father or your pastor. At a more structured level, it may be a department leader in church. It may be the head of a ministry in church.

It may be a discipler anointed within a local system. You see, what matters is that the person is following Christ and can say, do as I do. That's what Paul says, do as I do. That you know if I follow this one and I do as it does, I won't end up in the corridors of hell. I wonder what am I doing there, and now find the person who I'm following also there. It means I must have verified that this person is following Christ. Look at Philippians four verse nine. Look at what Paul says. He says, these things which you learned, which you received, which you heard, which you have seen, All of this is what must be present in you when you are following a man. You must learn.

You must receive. You must hear. You must see. He then says, a combination of everything do. So it means there are things you learn by what you see. By what you see a man do. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Yes, sir. Paul, not just say what you heard from me. No.

He said what you saw in me. Discipleship is not just stories you learn in the classroom. It is a transfer of a lifestyle. Watching how a leader prays, how they respond to crisis, how they treat people, how they steward resources. That is part of your growth process. That's part of your growth process. When Elisha caught the mantle of Elijah and he was going back, he was faced with the same problem that faced Elijah and it was Jordan. He didn't have to ration himself or think what will I do now. The question is what did Elijah do? He just took his mantle, struck Jordan.

Strike the same thing. There's no point in making a system that might not work. I don't have time for trial and error. I've seen someone do this thing. This is how to do it. I was teaching somebody how to flow in the power of God. Many years ago. I was teaching the person. I had prayed, I had set the atmosphere and I turned that God wanted to do something. No.

Not me. He was the one preaching. Right? And while I was preaching, he could tell that the atmosphere becomes intense at some point, but he doesn't know what to do to allow the power of God to begin to move and for angels to start moving in the midst of the people. So that deliverables are delivered. And so he meets me, he was having a conversation with member of nation. I said, you know what? Next time you're in ministry, just do what you see me do. So he kept and he said, at the count of seven, shout Jesus. And he counted seven and then people started Jesus and did not see any result like he wanted to see.

So we're talking. I said, why did you say seven? How many do I used to say? He said, why did you not just say? Listen to me, brothers and sisters. He said, no. It might sound like a joke, but it is true. Paul says, just do what you see me do. I went to a meeting, and I saw a man of God said, the anointing for healing that is here is too much for the number of sick people that are here. So if you have a sick person who is at home, call him.

I said, he imitate me. I went to my next meeting. I said, the anointing that is here is too much for the number of sick people that are here. If you have a sick person at home, call them. And they called. E. That was the first time I saw you, you get a body rest. Yes sir. Overcome phone call. Someone was in the hospital, put a phone call as, he said call this person.

Put a phone and the person will die back to life. Imitate me. As I imitate Christ. I was with someone and I saw the person tell a lame man, clear this and lay and he let and let it. Okay. Glory to God. Don't mind me. But there are plenty things you learn by imitation, by close followership. Close followership. But you see mentorship demands more than casual association.

It requires intentional submission to that authority. Intentional submission. Look at how Hebrew 13 verse 17 says it. It says obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls. As those who must give account, let them do so with joy and not with grief for that will be unprofitable for you. They watch out for your souls. That shows you the responsibility of your pastor. He watches out for your soul. A genuine pastor doesn't just teach information. They guard your transformation.

They monitor your spiritual progress. They detect character flaws. They identify blind spots in your life. And then they intervene whenever you are drifting away into destruction. That kind of watching over your soul requires a level of access into your life that just surface kind of relationship cannot provide. So are you with me now? Yes, sir. Look at what Elisha said to Elijah. In second Kings chapter two and verse two. Elijah Elisha told Elijah, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.

Elisha understood this proximity to proven ministry. It produced supernatural transfer. This guy didn't just want Elijah's teaching. He wanted his spirit, his DNA. He wanted a grace upon his life. And he knew how to get it. Follow me as I follow Christ. Are you with me? And he could do that because he demonstrated it. It could require submission because he practiced submission.

But you know, this now creates a very dangerous responsibility for those who act as spiritual mentors, pastors, spiritual authorities over people. Because the bible warns in the book of James chapter three and verse one, the bible says, my brethren, let not many of you become teachers knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment. Every mentor will give account for the destinies they influence. Every leader will answer for the followers that they shaped. Every authority faces judgment for how they exercised influence. Every man of God must know this. This means that you cannot live carelessly whilst demanding followership from disciples. You cannot practice compromise while preaching commitment to people. Are you even brothers and sisters? Yes sir.

Mentorship based, and the last is community based discipleship. What did I call it? And then we pray. As a last. Community based discipleship. This is submitting yourself to a local assembly. What did I say? I'm being discipled in that local assembly. But it doesn't just stop there. It then goes on to submitting yourself to smaller subgroups within that general local church that can create a safe system of accountability and submission.

Because you see, there can be no discipleship without accountability. Now when people come to me and they tell me, sir, I'm struggling with, say, pornography for instance or this or that, I just I just wonder, who are you accountable to? Sir, I wanna be confident in my prayer life, but I'm not consistent. Who are you accountable to? Who are you accountable to? That is the purpose of a smaller group within a local assembly. It means that if you are listening to me and you are a member of a church for instance that has house fellowships, that is a smaller group within a local assembly. You have to plug yourself into it. Not just be comfortable with the fact that, oh, I came to church today. That is not sufficient to create a kind of accountability structure that your life and destiny needs.

Are you with me? There's a difference between what we do here and what we do when we break ourselves into smaller groups. That is the model that the early church had. The bible says they met in their houses. So there was the condition that met in the temple, and then there was the divisions of people that met in houses. There are people that submitted their houses to be used as a kind of a cell church. Are you with me? It creates a system of accountability because you see, when you come here, you are here for a few hours, and nobody knows how how you are and who you are. Often the fact that other than the countenance you walk to church. So if you were happy, we would say, what a happy sister.

That's all we'd know about you because you spend maximum of four hours in church, and then you are gone. It takes more than that to be truly discipled. It takes being submitted to a community. That's why Paul says, do not forsake the assembly of the brethren, the gathering together of the brethren. It creates accountability structures so that there are people around your life that can hold you accountable for what is happening here on the pulpit. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Yes, sir. For what is happening here? For this ministry, that subgroup is present in the mentorship platforms that we have where if you are... Some people have mentorship systems that we have.

We have that arrangement for people. But also in the workforce model that we have so that your subunit in this ministry becomes you being in the workforce. You are a part of a department that is a smaller unit out of the larger unit. That smaller unit, they're not just there to serve. To sing songs, to play the instrument. You are there to be discipled as well. And so what happens there is your growth system is monitored. Are you praying as you ought? Are you studying as you ought? If you are drifting away, somebody will observe it because you are not lost in the crowd.

You are within a smaller family of people that have the potential to see you more every day. See how you react. See how you behave. You drop from bike from the way to Riyazah, and the bike man says, no. He's not giving you change. And your demand of changes. You say, ah,. And, you know, you you would not have seen that in church because all would have seen is a beautiful young sister who is polished and looking so fly, and then now you are dropping from bike and say, ah,. And the other sister that you are with is... And as you are walking through her, that she can tell you, I'm sister.

That's a very wondrous statement there. You know we are believers. We should not always... If you are a real Christian, you will you will love that sister even more because that is how discipleship happens. You must not be in a community of people that cannot correct you, that cannot speak to you, where you hide yourself intentionally because you don't want people to know what is going on with you. So nobody knows. You say, don't want anybody to know. It... You will live in sin like that. You will live in sin because there's nobody to hold you responsible, nobody to hold you accountable.

Some of it there, I I I I don't want to. I don't want... We are looking for this guy, this brother in church needs a house, and I'm a brother in church as well who stay in the house. I don't want him to come to my house because I like my privacy. No. You don't like your privacy. It's a lie. You like your secrecy. Because you are afraid of what they will discover. You are afraid of what they will find.

100 years old skeletons in the cupboard. They would now see that that polished brother that washes his clothes. You you don't want them to know that all you do is reunion every night. You don't want them to know that the last time you washed a pot was probably in January. You just put all the pot under your bed. You don't want them to know. Because when they come, they will they will be correcting everything. And then you know, see, if you don't like it, leave my house. You are you are an arrogant person. Who who just hate discipleship?

Because I said that you can have character flaws that have become your nature. Because you grew up with it doesn't mean it's right. Doesn't mean it's right. You're walking home in the night with someone who nobody knows, and then someone sees you in your department and say, ah, is that not... Hello. I saw you yesterday with one handsome guy like that. Who is the person? Is it your business? Well, mind your business. Discipleship has failed.

That is what make discipleship failed. Not because the structure is not there, but because you reject it. You don't like to feel as though they are controlling you, and it's not control. It's safety. It is safety. It will cost you nothing to say, ah, it's just someone I met in this supermarket yesterday. Ah ah, you met him yesterday. Said yes, oh, and he was already holding your waist. That is not to make you hungry. He's demanding accountability from you.

Explain your actions. Explain yourself. Explain your actions. What do you mean? You are coming to church if... Listen. It's not possible if nobody knows you. That is only possible because you belong to a smaller group of people that know you within the church. So you are outside, and the moment the buses zoom here, you are the first person to leave. Discipleship will escape you.

It will pass by your door and jump you. Because nobody knows you. What do you do? Are you a business person? Do you sell to someone? Nobody knows. Where do you live? Nobody knows within the church. Are you with brothers and sisters? Yes.

That is the reason why we tell people, join the workforce because it is a training system. Beyond just being an avenue to serve God, it is also an avenue to be trained and discipled. And discipled. And if you hate discipleship, you will hate it. You will leave very fast. What makes people leave is when they realize that there's more training happening than service. Because what they're expecting is just just come and arrange the chairs, sweep the floor, and leave. But now find that we have to pray. And we have to drop the report of our prayer. And we have to drop the report of our bible study.

I didn't sign up for this, and you can't miss a meeting. You are coming for a meeting. You are not there by 5PM. Somebody calls you instantly. Where are you? See, before I join now, then nobody was calling me like this. So now I've joined something. They are not calling me. I heard... I don't even have my peace again.

That peace is pieces. It will pieces you. Because that is what the structure is there to do. Do you understand what I'm saying? You just go around there, maybe in a workers' meeting or whatever, and then you go and call your mom, and you say, mommy, don't talk to me like that. And somebody is there. Sorry. Ma, you shouldn't speak to your mom like that oh. If you become angry at that person, discipleship is failing in your life. This is how God brings safety to your life.

The Bible says as iron sharpeneth iron. Do you know how iron sharpens iron? It is true friction. It is through a grinding process. It means when God brings you amongst good people that will sharpen you, you won't be laughing everyday. There will be friction. There are times they will speak to you who won't like it. And you know they are not wrong. Your pride is just the problem. Yes, sir.

Sir. Are you apostle? What's your business? How are you speaking like that? Is iron sharpening iron? Is friction? After you beg, repent and apologize. And then realize that your holy spirit is pruning me. Iron is sharpening iron. Pruning me.

You can't be an high officer that nobody can speak to, nobody can correct, and you are okay with it. You are not safe oh. You are not safe. You can derail and nobody will know. And no... You are not safe. There has to be there has to be protective systems around you. When you are when you are... If you're getting depressed and withdrawing, somebody should notice. This is not how the sister is.

Something is happening. You are you are you are withdrawing. Are you okay? Somebody should know. You're having societal fault in judge and nobody can tell. You think apostle would see everybody? It's not... Do you know it's not literally possible? That's why systems are created To ensure that in as much as we do this on the pulpit, this becomes more effective in in smaller groups. Jesus had it.

When I come here, you can't ask me a question because it's a Sunday service. But when I come to meetings in subgroups and I meet people in subgroups or in groups like that, the first thing we do is, does anybody have questions? Why? Because the disciples came to Jesus and told Jesus, why do you speak to them in parables? Knowing that they would not understand. And Jesus said, because it has been given to you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. So it's for us to understand. But even us, we did not understand. So can you explain this thing? And Jesus from Matthew 19 was for 12 people alone.

Matthew one was for more than 15,000 people who did not understand anything he said. All they heard was a sower went out to sow as he sowed some seed. Some seed fell by the wayside. Some fell among tongues. Birds of the air. What what are they eating? Say, I don't know what they are eating. And when he was done, why men slept? The enemy came and sowed thirst amongst the wheat. But they cannot ask.

After the meeting, the disciples while he's going home will say, thing you said, what is the meaning? They say, so the sower is the son of man. The tares, children of the devil, sons of the devil, son of the evil one. The wheat, children of the kingdom, the world, cosmos, not available to everybody. It means what happens here is not enough despite we spend ample time here. How much more if it's 30,000,000 that you spend preaching? I really believe that that thing that thing is the most... Is the highest danger that has befallen the church. Yes, sir. Quote me anyway.

I said this in all humility and with love for the body of Christ. It is the highest danger that has befallen the church where we have had to reduce the size of our sermons as though the word of God is something straining that should be endured. Rise up on your feet. Thank you for listening to this message. We trust you have been blessed. You can get more life transforming messages from apostle Emmanuel Boluwatife on our Telegram page at DCN media channel. You can also stream the messages on Spotify, Ocho Mac, and Apple Podcast. Connect with us via our social media platforms on Instagram at DCN underscore nations, on Facebook at Disciples Christian Network, on x at d c m central, and on TikTok at disciples christian network. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel at disciples television. If you have a testimony from this message, you can mail us at disciplescn@gmail.com.

God bless you.