A little diagram that changed my life.
Hi, welcome to today's little lesson.
Thanks a lot for joining me.
If you're a regular viewer, you know we've been talking about discipleship.
I want to tell you today about a little diagram, a little chart that I saw just a few months
ago from when I'm recording this video, drawn by a very, very successful disciple making
missionary by the names of Curtis Sergeant.
I don't know if this is his original.
If he was here he might be giving credit to somebody else, but who really cares.
Here's that little chart.
I'm just going to hold it up here first of all and let you look at it.
Very, very simple.
You see three rectangles sticking up here.
I want you to imagine that these three rectangles represent the three legs of a stool that you
would sit upon.
Of course, to be a stable stool, all three of these legs need to be about the same height,
otherwise it's an unstable stool.
This relates to what did Jesus said about going into all the world and making disciples,
teaching them to obey all that I commanded you.
Which one of the things he commanded them was to go make disciples, teaching them to
obey.
So that's a perpetual commandment that's binding upon every successive generation of disciple.
Every disciple's supposed to be making disciples.
Now how does that apply in this chart?
Well let me share that.
This first leg on the stool, I've written in there "knowledge".
That represents spiritual, biblical knowledge.
Everybody has so much knowledge if they've been a Christian for any length of time.
You know something about Jesus.
You know something about his work.
You know something about what he expects of us.
Then the second leg that should be equal in length as the first one is application.
That is, I should be doing everything I know to do.
I should be applying everything that I know God expects of me from his word.
Right?
Shouldn't be obeying a half of a third or a fourth of what Jesus ... I know what Jesus
said.
I should be doing all of it, applying everything I know.
That's why I said in our previous broadcast, my greatest need is not for more insight into
God's word, my greatest need is for more application of the insight of God's word I already have.
I bet you it's true for a lot of people that are watching this.
Now, this third leg is the one that was a big revelation for me and it might be big
revelation for you too when you you see it diagrammed like this.
It's labeled, "sharing".
So as much as I know and as much as I'm applying, I should be sharing with others because I'm
called to make disciples.
If your a disciple of Christ, you're called to make disciples.
So you should be obeying all that you understand of Christ's commandments and you should be
making disciples sharing what you know with others to help them become just as obedient
as you are to Jesus Christ.
Know this same missionary, Curtis Sergeant who shared this diagram, he had another really
good little short sermon about, are you a disciple worth multiplying.
Maybe I'll do a little lesson on that, 'cause it was so good.
If we were to draw a diagram that represented many Christians, if not most professing Christians,
it might look something like this.
I don't know if you can see what I'm doing here.
So these two second legs on the stool have been shortened dramatically and so representing
the fact that many if not most Christians have tons of knowledge that their not applying
and even less that their sharing with others.
This makes one an unstable soul, not a unstable stool, which you would sit on, the three legs
example.
An unstable soul, because all of these ... these three legs should all be of equal length.
Okay, now you see why that is so profound.
Because again, first of all most Christians would admit and confess and acknowledge, "Well
I should be obeying everything that I know of Christ's commandments.
I should be applying everything that I know form the word of God.
I'm responsible for what I know.
So this should be equal to this one over here.
But this one over here is just off the radar of many professing Christians, don't realize
that their supposed to be making disciples.
They should be being discipled by somebody as well.
Let's keep it going this direction.
Every Christian should be discipling somebody else.
So you should be sharing what you know, with somebody else.
Christians naturally do that if their true Christians.
It happens naturally.
I've got a lot of Christian things on Facebook, and their always posting things that are admonishing
and encouraging and sharing what they know to try to pass on to other believers who are
their friends on Facebook.
Some of it's always not so good, 'cause some people are pushing their pact doctrines that
are something a little bit goofy.
But still, they want other people to know what they know.
So they are sharing something.
Again, we want to be sharing what Jesus taught.
Jesus didn't say go into all the world and preach your goofy doctrines.
He said go into all the world and make disciples, teach them to obey my commands.
That's what Jesus is after, obedience.
So here's why this is such a revelation.
You my dear viewer, as well as me need to understand that we should look at our lives.
Am I applying everything that I know?
Then secondly, am I sharing with someone who needs to know what I know?
Am I sharing everything that I know and making these three legs of the stool the same height?
You got it?
Okay, so when you wake up tomorrow, here's the first thing to think, "Am I a disciple?"
If I am, I should be involved in making disciples.
That means I should be sharing the gospel with those who don't know the Lord and those
who do know the Lord.
If I'm more mature, if I'm further along in the spiritual path then they are, then I should
sharing with them.
You can actually help someone who's on the same plane as you are and you can actually
help someone that might be further along than you are in some respects, if God's helped
you to see something that they haven't seen.
That's a great blessing.
The most wonderful thing in the world is to lead someone to Jesus.
I guess the second most wonderful thing in the world is to then disciple that person.
The next most wonderful thing is for your disciple to make a disciple.
Doesn't get any better than that.
All right, thanks so much for joining me on this little lesson and we'll hope to see you
next time.
God bless.