The 6 W’s of Discipleship
Facilitated by Pastor Joedy Lim
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:40-47
All thoughts or ventures regarding leadership or discipleship begin with power from above. Before Jesus left the earth to be with the Father, He instructed the disciples to wait for this power on high, before He commissioned them to preach and make disciples in the whole world. Later on in the book of Acts, the movement was seen and properly recorded, and their choice of words was by no accident – ‘They turned the world upside down.’
This movement was present back then, and it is with us even now.
The Role of Prayer in the Movement
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said…Acts 1:14-15
Before the events that we call New Testament Pentecost, there were 12 apostles, sure, but there were also 120 disciples. These were the ones who gathered at the upper room. Jesus paid the price of sin, and with this being fulfilled, and His work truly finished as His ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out accordingly. This is the Spirit that gives life, versus the Law that killed, as Paul later mentioned. As we have received life, so the Gospel we share is one of Life, of Grace; One of Grace, Peace, and Truth. One of Mercy, a Gospel of Forgiveness.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
Going back – when it comes to prayer, we should not make the mistake of saying that it’s the act of prayer that is the source of power. No, we need to set the record straight by way of saying that prayer is an act of humility and faith that accesses the mighty abundant grace of God.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:31, 33
Prayer isn’t magic. It isn’t a formula. Consider that it’s us humbling ourselves as a response to the great grace of God in our lives.
Preaching with Power
What’s in a message that can truly transform lives?
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, seen in Acts 2:14-41.
Messages of power are messages that are prophetic. We speak God’s words, as shared to us in the past. Notice how Peter quoted Joel… and no matter how we see things happening to us today (funny how the current generation always says that the next generation is the ‘wicked and perverse generation’), we proclaim as Peter proclaimed:
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
But let’s remember – the message must always point to Jesus.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
We start off with the prophecies, but you’ll notice that Peter brought all of it back to Christ and His finished work. No matter how we start, we END it always, pointing to Christ and His finished work. And this is the word, the message spoken with power, a message that cuts straight to the heart.
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
But notice – it did not stop there! The work does not stop there.
Preserving the Harvest through Small Group Discipleship – ‘6Ws’
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
At around this point Pastor Joedy reminds us of the Creation Commission:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”Genesis 1:28
Is there a ‘Great Commission’? More of a Grace Commission:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:18-20
One thing in common between these two is the expansion of God’s kingdom, but Pastor Joedy also proposes preservation of the harvest. Where did the 3000 go after those events in Pentecost? Think about it, how do you take care of 3000 people? Did the apostles rent a huge space?
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,praising God and having favor with all the people.
Folks, this was the strategy they had back in the day. Perhaps there’s something here for us to acknowledge and learn from today. And speaking of numbers, did the 3000 number go down? No, if we read further:
And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.Acts 2:44-47
***NOTE: the LORD added to their number. Pastor Joedy’s going to go through this through his perspective but I’m excited to also draw from this -jb***
Here’s a hypothetical thing they did, according to Pastor Joedy – the 120 disciples gathered some of those who got saved and they began their discipleship.
Here are the W’s as Pastor Joedy puts it:
- There’s a Welcome. We take people in.
- There’s the Word. The Scripture may not have been so compiled and mass produced as we are blessed to have today, but they had what they had, and pointed all of it back to Christ and His finished work.
- There’s Worship. We’re in Awe and the Gospel brings us to Awe. And we respond in worship.
- Judah means ‘Worship’ but when you take out a letter you have Yahweh. Interesting.
- There’s Works– The great and mighty power of God answering prayers, performing signs and wonders and meeting people’s needs. There was giving and sharing.
- There’s the movement to Witness;That is, to testify.
- (Here’s something new) Discipleship also involves us wanting to Wallop. Correction – when we meet, we (s)Wallow. We eat together. The family that prays together may stay together but the family that also eats together has just as much potential to be and stay as one. There’s feasting! There’s communion.
***I’m taking all of this with a grain of salt. Most of the folk here seem to think that there’s a need for us to bring back things they used to do. I’m not sure what to think now, considering what I wrote right before this concerning idolizing the past.
I’m keeping my mind open. As I mentioned before, we understand the value of the past. So I’ll listen, not in the name of the future, but in acknowledgement to Eternity.
Until the next post, God bless you. -jb***
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