Disciple-Making Begins and Ends with Evangelism

And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:20‬ NLT

The disciples often seemed slow to understand Jesus’ purpose and plan.  They grabbed for power.  They hungered for national freedom, liberation from the tyranny of Rome.  Yet when the time came for His departure, the Eleven did exactly as Jesus had instructed them, and did so with great power and widespread impact.

1.  They went EVERYWHERE and preached. 

2.  The Lord worked THROUGH them. 

3.  Their ministry and spiritual authority was CONFIRMED by miraculous signs. 

The disciples’ focus was to multiply, to make disciples… and by “make disciples” Jesus wasn’t instructing them to go to the already convinced, but rather to make NEW disciples.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

New disciples.

Disciple-making begins and ends with evangelism. 

Over the last 40 days of His earthly ministry, Jesus was doing everything He could to prepare the disciples for His departure.  His ascension to heaven would mean their ascension to leadership.

Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:50‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus blessed them.

It’s a simple phrase.  It can be overlooked or under appreciated.

Jesus blessed them.

He spoke words of encouragement, words of affirmation, words of appreciation, words of affection, words of life.

Jesus blessed them.

How can I intentionally bless others through my words?  Am I a life-giving leader?

…until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus gave the apostles “further instructions.”  What were these instructions?  Were they simply reminders of what he’d already told them, or were they even more personal and more specific?  He was giving them more instruction on the Kingdom of God.   He was filling their hearts with hope and expectancy.   He would be leaving them.  They would face persecution.  They needed an infusion of hope and expectancy.

Do my words, my example, point others to Jesus and fill them with hope and expectancy?

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?””

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Fascinating!  Even after telling them again and again about the kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom and the eternal kingdom, the disciples still had their hearts set on a temporal, earthly kingdom.

How did they finally get it?  What caused their focus to shift?  Perhaps it had something to do with the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit would give power, but the Spirit was also their Counselor, the Spirit of truth, who would lead them into truth.  They would not speak longingly of an earthly kingdom again.

This blogpost originally appeared at: Disciple-Making Begins and Ends with Evangelism – Sonlife and is based upon Sonlife’s study, Knowing Him / A 50 Day Study in the Life of Christ / Day 50