Saturday, January 20, 2018

The Call to Disciple

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.   2 Timothy 2:2

Paul wrote these words to Timothy, a young man he led to Christ.  He was so close to Timothy that Paul usually called him his son. Paul was in prison as he wrote 2 Timothy and knew his execution was coming soon.  In fact, this was the last letter that Paul wrote before he was beheaded.  If you’re writing the last letter of your life, you’re going to focus on the most important things. 
He tells Timothy to disciple other people who will do the same.  We know this works because we’re here today. Someone was faithful to share the Gospel with you and someone else was faithful to share with that person as well.  There’s an unbroken chain like this going straight back to Paul and the other Apostles.  It’s been amazing to see this take place where we serve in India. 
They laughed and told me that I needed a turban on my head because I have such a great beard.  I was deep in Punjab, less than a mile from the Pakistani border.  Punjab is the birthplace of the Sikh religion.  The men aren’t supposed to cut their hair, they have long beards and wrap their heads in turbans.  The turban is more of a cultural thing for them, because men wore them long before Sikhism was established.  So, I let them wrap me up in a big, purple turban and kept it on as I taught that evening. 
I met Bavinder, the pastor of the fellowship and was really impressed with all he knew about the Bible.  It turns out he was a third-generation disciple from that original group from the training I mentioned before.  Another pastor friend told me how Bavinder had planted 14 churches over the past few years, and those churches have gone onto plant other churches as well.  In fact, Bavinder had at least three generations of disciples he has trained as well. I love to see 2 Timothy 2:2 in action.    

Lord, I pray that you would move in America as you are moving in India. I pray that we would see the importance of sharing the Gospel and making disciples and that we would see Your church multiply.

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