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FINDING A DISCIPLE:
To Whom Do I Multiply Myself?
(2 Tim. 2:2)
1. Find a good ground.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Matthew 13:3-9 (KJV)
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
| Wayside (1/4) | Thorny ground (1/4) |
| Stony ground (1/4) | Good ground (1/4) |
• ¾ of the disciples we teach may produce “corrupt” fruit, but at least ¼ of them will be “good ground,” growing a “good tree,” and producing a “good fruit.”
• ¼ of the disciples we teach will produce an increase of 30x, 60x, or 100x.
• At least ¼ of the disciples we teach will do ¾ of the work of the ministry.
2. Select a good seed.
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Matthew 13:24-30 (KJV)
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43 (KJV)
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
a. The Interpretation of the Parable
| Parable | Interpretation |
| “a man which sowed” (v.24) “the householder” (v.27) | “Son of man” (v.37) |
| “good seed” (v.24) “wheat” (vv.25,29,30) “blade” (v.26) “fruit” (v.26) | “children of the kingdom” (v.38) “the righteous” (v.43) |
| “field” (v.24) | “the world” (v.38) |
| “men” (v.25) “servants” (vv.27,28) “reapers” (v.30) | “angels” (v. 41) |
| “enemy” (vv.25,28) | “the devil” (v.39) |
| “tares” (vv.25,26,29,30) | “children of the wicked one” (v.38) “all things that offend, and them which do iniquity” (v.41) |
| “harvest” (v.30) | “the end of this world” (v.39) |
| “burn” (v.30) | “furnace of fire” (v.42) |
| “barn” (v.30) | “kingdom” (vv. 43,41) |
“The kingdom of heaven is like…”
This parable is about the Second Coming of Christ before the Millennium (“kingdom of heaven”). Christ will first send his angels to gather all unbelievers and throw them into Hell. Then Christ send his angels to gather all believers who will enter the kingdom.
b. A Spiritual Application of the Parable to Teaching Disciples:
1) “let both grow together”(v.30)
2) Wait for “the time of harvest”(v.30)
3) Bind the “tares” to be burned’ (v.30)
4) Gather the “wheat to the barn (v.30)
3. Grow a good tree.
a. A tree is known by its fruit. (Mt. 7:16)
Matthew 7:16 (KJV)
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
b. A good tree brings forth good fruit. (Mt. 7:17a)
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; …
Matthew 7:17 (KJV)
c. A corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. (Mt. 7: 17b)
…but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Matthew 7:17 (KJV)
d. A good tree does not bring forth corrupt fruit. (Lk. 6:43a)
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; …
Luke 6:43 (KJV)
e. A corrupt tree does not bring forth good fruit. (Lk. 6:43, 44)
…neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Luke 6:43 (KJV)
f. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, …
Matthew 7:18 (KJV)
g. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.
…neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Matthew 7:18 (KJV)
h. A tree that does not bring forth fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Mt. 7:19)
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Matthew 7:19 (KJV)
i. A tree that brings forth fruit is “purged” that it may bring forth more fruit. (Jn. 15:2)
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:2 (KJV)
j. A tree is known by its fruit. (Lk. 6:44; Mt. 7:20)
For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Luke 6:44 (KJV)
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:20 (KJV)
4. Produce a good fruit.
a. Bring forth fruit. (Jn. 15:16)
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16 (KJV)
b. Bring forth more fruit. (Jn. 15:2)
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:2 (KJV)
c. Bring forth much fruit. (Jn. 15:5,8; 12:24)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
John 12:24 (KJV)
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5 (KJV)
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
John 15:8 (KJV)
d. Bring forth fruit that remains. (Jn. 15:16)
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16 (KJV)
• The “Fourth Generation” (2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Tim. 1:5)
Fathers > children > children’s children > third generation > fourth generation
“Fourth Generation”
1. The fourth generation claims the promise. (Gen. 15:16)
Genesis 15:13-16 (KJV)
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
2. The fourth generation pays for the iniquity of the fathers.
Exodus 20:3-5 (KJV)
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exodus 34:7
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Numbers 14:18
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Deuteronomy 5:9
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
3. The fourth generation inherits the throne.
2 Kings 10:30
And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
2 Kings 15:12
This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.
SUMMARY:
(Heb. 5:12)
1. Find the good ground of COMMITMENT. (Lk. 14:26,27; 9:23,24; Ezek. 22:30; Mt. 11:28,30)
a. Committed to the person of Christ – not to a cause, a church, an ideal, or even a set of truths
b. Individual discipleship
1) Learn in groups
2) Serve in teams
3) Worship as family
4) Be a disciple individually
c. Personal level
d. Commitment is basic to knowing Christ; without it, discipleship can’t happen.
2. Find the good seed of COMPETENCE. (Jn. 15:7,8)
a. “self-feeding skills”
b. “knives and forks” for everyone
3. Find the good tree of CHARACTER. (Jn. 13:34,35)
a. Love is so key to Christian maturity
b. To love the way Christ loves takes spiritual depth and Christlike character
c. Discipleship growth process – transformation and maturity – is a mix of human discipline and God’s grace (Phil 2:13)
1) Divine influence (Phil. 2:12)
2) Disciplines (ways)
- Inward (meditation, prayer, fasting, study)
- Outward (simplicity, solitude, submission, service)
- Corporate (confession, worship, guidance, celebration)
4. Find the good fruit of CONVICTION. (Jn. 8:32)
a. The mark of a disciple of Christ is not only the knowing (right doctrine) but the holding (lifestyle) of the truth.
b. Four themes essential for spiritual maturity – Christ, faith, hope, and love
c. Maturity in the body of Christ can be idcentified by the enduring virtue. The degree of completeness can be measured by the degree to which the church manifests faith, hope, and love.” (Gene Getz in Sharpening the Focus of the Church)
d. 2 Pet. 1:5-8. Process of building one virtue on top of another.
e. Spiritual maturity comes not only from design, but effort
f. Disciplemaking environment (The Chapel): learner, reproducer, server, relater, worshiper, rester, and giver.
g. Enhance the growth process in these seven areas and prevent the tragedy of arrested devlopment.
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