STEP TWO – My part, your part, Gods part
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When you help someone to follow Jesus and you try to make disciples who make disciples, you will run into all kinds of problems, because life is very messy. As you get involved into people’s lives, you will find that you are pushing sometimes or pulling to try to get people to do things.
They might be resistant or don’t want to follow as we try to get them to do what God has called them to do. We can actually then try to do God’s part, instead of only doing our part.
Based upon Matthew 28:19-20, there are three parts to the discipleship process. There is my part as disciplemaker, the disciple’s part, and God’s part:
MY PART – The disciplemaker is to make disciples of Jesus by pursuing, encouraging, teaching, and coaching a person in his or her spiritual journey.
YOUR PART – The disciple is to be a faithful disciple by learning and responding in obedience to the teachings of Jesus.
GODS PART – God promises to be present in the disciple making process; He works in the process by his Spirit to transforms lives and bring change.
Gods part is the most important. He draws us, He convicts us, He leads us into all truth through His Spirit, He empowers us, He is our guide, He gives us His Word to be a lamp to our feet.
If we are going to try and put percentages to it, Gods part is 98%, my part 1% and your part 1%. We are completely out of control when it comes to Gods part or your part in the discipleship process. God has chosen to include my part in the process. I play an active role in the making of disciples.
We see that Paul invested in a few people that he left behind and were disciples of Jesus. By the time he left they were by no means perfect and they had all kinds of problems. But he played his part, they played their part and following along his instructions. And ultimately it was God through His Spirit that lead them and guide them which lead to the church continuing to expand.
We can always trust God to be present doing his part, but we also need to remember that disciples need to choose the path of discipleship, as we choose to guide them, out of the love that God has shown us. I need to understand my responsibility as a leader in light of God’s role, learning to be patient and rest in God’s plan and timing while being alert to opportunities he provides.
My part that is 1%, is a huge part and the more I am intentional, the more disciples I am going to make. There are things that you learn as you follow Jesus that you again can pass on. There are lots of things that you haven’t figured out and that you don’t know, but your part is very important.
If Gods part is 98% and your part was 1% and their part was 1%, you are still 100% responsible for your part. Don’t get worried on how exactly this work out as far as percentages, you just need to know that you are totally responsible for your part.
Disciples are not made in a vacuum alone. It takes relationships. Think of your own life. Maybe you think that no-one ever invested or helped you, but think about those who wrote the books you have read, those Christians that invested in you, those who you admire that loved God. You saw things in them and they may not have been intentional about it, but you picked up on things from people and you watched them and you saw what they were doing, and you tried to copy what them. People had a huge impact in you following Jesus.
What about your part? When you think about the discipleship process you need to ask, “Is this my part or is this your part?” If there is someone in your group and you have challenged them on something, you need to ask, “I am trying to be God?”, because you can’t do Gods part. You can’t convict, you can’t change or empower, but you can pray. You can ask God to convict, but only God can do that.
Their part would be to receive the instruction, think about and pray about it, consider what I’ve shared and really looking into it. And then God might begin to work on this person’s heart as they are open to receiving, with our help and encouragement, God continues to move and work, and you see that people’s lives are changed.
God changes us when we open our hearts to Him. The word is “surrender.” As we surrender our lives, God brings people, circumstances and His power to guidance us and change us. We play a vital role, God plays a vital role and people must respond.
We know the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler. Jesus says to him that he must go and sell all that he has and give it to the poor and then come and follow Him. His part was to go and sell everything. Jesus’ part was to tell Him what to do. The disciples were standing there puzzled and said, “if this is true, then who can be saved?” Then Jesus invest in them and begins to explain what He is talking about. Jesus is very intentional. Jesus model’s intentional discipleship.
It helps us to take on the role and responsibility we have not take on the roles that are not ours. You can’t do someone else’s part, you can only do your part and you can’t do Gods part. You can cry out to God to help you, and you can be intentional, but ultimately people has to respond to Gods calling.
Although we can support and encourage and love, and even challenge them, we can’t take on the attributes of the Holy Spirit or try to do things for people. We do a lot of damage if we try to do things for people.
You can’t do anything over (your) here 0%, and you can’t do anything over (Gods) here 0%, but you can do you 100% and be intentional.