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CHANDRA DAVIS MINISTRY

4Four Indications That a Church Is Making Disciples

10/25/2021

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 Contributing Writer Clarence L. Haynes Jr.
Chances are you are familiar with what is known as the Great Commission.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

Prior to Jesus leaving this earth, he left this massive and weighty instruction to go and make disciples. Somehow along the way it seems we have forgotten that the commission is not just to make converts, but to make disciples. We often spend much of our time, energy and resources on massive evangelism efforts, but forget that salvation is not the end, it is just the beginning. While I love to see people come to Christ, we must recognize these are newborn babes and they need support, training, and help to grow in their new walk of faith. 
What would you think of a mom who gave birth to her baby and then said “my job is done, you are on your own?” You would probably think that mother is irresponsible and possibly unfit to be a mother. Yet, this is what we often do to new converts. We help them through the birthing process and then leave them on their own to figure it all out themselves.
The reason this happens is because, if we are honest, making converts is the easier part; making disciples can get messy. However, it is to the messy that Jesus calls us, because this is the Great Commission. So what does this look like and how do you know if your church is doing this, and doing it well? Let me share with you four indications that a church is doing a good job of making disciples.

What Is a Disciple?
Before we can know whether a church is doing discipleship right, we must know what a disciple is. The word disciple means to be a student, learner, or follower. For a person to be a true disciple, they must have something to study, someone to learn from, and someone to follow. As a Christian this someone happens to be Jesus Christ himself. It is within this definition that we can identify four things which are the indicators that your church is making disciples.

1. Are People Being Taught?
If one of the definitions of a disciple is to be a student, then it behooves us to ask the question are the people being taught? If a church is going to make disciples, then they must create opportunities for people to be taught. Most churches get the aspect of instruction right. There is usually a Sunday service where preaching and instruction happen. Also, many churches still have Sunday School or Bible studies available during the week where people will have opportunities to be taught.

As important as this is to making disciples, it is simply the first step. If all you do is create these opportunities for people to be taught, then you are on your way, but you have not arrived yet. Where this begins to get more challenging, and where admittedly churches often drop the ball, is with the next step in discipleship.

2. Are People Learning?
While churches tend to be good at creating opportunities to be taught, churches tend to not be so good at finding out if people are learning. There typically is no mechanism in place to evaluate whether the people are learning or not. Simply seeing a person show up in church does not mean they are growing in discipleship.
Consider it from this perspective: What good is teaching if you don’t know if the people are learning and understanding? For way too many people in church, they spend their time coming, sitting, and receiving. What’s missing from this is the opportunity to ask questions and get clarity for things they may not understand. I have come across far too many people who have so many questions but no outlet for them to be answered. This simply is not good discipleship.
Granted, this is not appropriate for a Sunday morning worship service. But every other form of instruction needs to allow the opportunity for people to ask questions to ensure they are learning. I would even suggest you take it a step further and in your teaching sessions, give people little quizzes and homework to reinforce what is being taught in these classes. I know some of you are probably ready to throw your shoe at the screen at the suggestion of a quiz or homework, but how else can we measure if people are learning? Remember to make a disciple it is not just about teaching the students; there must also be learning, or discipleship is not taking place.

3. Are They Following? 
The third critical component of discipleship is are they putting what they have learned into practice? I was going to say this is the most important aspect, but you can’t get to this step if you don’t do the first two, so they are all equally important. However, if there is one step that demonstrates discipleship more than others it is this step. Let me highlight two verses of Scripture. 

“And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).
When a person is growing and becoming a true follower of Jesus, it will be seen in their actions. That’s why any discipleship instruction must stress putting what you are learning into practice, and not just focus on teaching and learning. If all we do is teach people and we confirm they are learning, but never encourage and help them to put into practice what they are learning, then we are not making disciples. For there to be discipleship, there must be a correlation with your obedience.
Remember the second part of the Great Commission is to teach them to obey. Teaching them to obey places a greater emphasis on what happens outside of church than what happens inside of church. It is wonderful to come together for worship and instruction, but what happens when the people leave the building? Are they putting into practice what they are learning? 
That’s why, as important as it is to get the doctrine right – and let me stress this is crucial – right doctrine must be accompanied by right actions. Without that, then all people have done is acquired knowledge. If that is all you do, then discipleship is not taking place.

4. Is There Mentoring Available?
Typically, no one becomes a disciple on their own; there is usually someone to help them along the way. Remember from our definition, a disciple needs something to study, someone to learn from, and someone to follow. It is in this phase of discipleship where the messy can happen. This is the part that requires someone to ask the hard questions and to deal with some of the issues people bring when they come to Christ.
We may think everything gets solved at the altar when a person gives their life to Christ, but often it doesn’t. There are things that God is going to have to deal with in a person’s life, and this is where mentor ship can be a wonderful tool in the discipleship arsenal. True mentor ship – which is part of discipleship – does take time and it takes a great deal of commitment. That’s why the command to make disciples is not just given to the pastor but to every believer.
If a church is making disciples, there must be a mechanism in place that can connect young believers with more mature believers who can pour into their lives and help them through the challenges of the faith. Again, this can get a little messy because you are dealing with people’s stuff, but if your church is doing this, then they can really help position someone to grow and become a genuine follower of Christ.

What about You?
While the church plays an important role in the discipleship process, so do you. If you are new or young in the faith, see if there is a more mature believer you can connect with who will mentor you. If you are mature in the faith, then look for those younger ones who you can mentor, because this is our responsibility. If we work together, then we can take the Great Commission from a command to a reality as we help people go from converts to true disciples, which is what Jesus wanted all along.

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The Mercy Seat

10/18/2021

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What Is the Mercy Seat, and Why Is It Important?
You may have heard people mention the mercy seat of God. And, depending on the translation you use, you may have seen a reference to it in the Bible. But it is not something that I find discussed much today. This article will take a look at what the Bible says about the mercy seat and why it is significant for believers today.

What Is the Mercy Seat? The mercy seat is first introduced in Exodus 25:10-22. This is part of a larger passage that is dealing with the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. These thirteen verses describe what came to be known as the ark of the covenant. The first few verses describe the ark itself – a wooden box that is about 45 inches long and 27 inches wide and tall. It has legs, rings, and carrying poles, and is overlaid with gold. Contained within the ark were the stone tablets with the words of the covenant written on them.
The rest of this passage describes the cover, or lid, that was made for the ark. The Hebrew word used for this lid was kappōret. Some Bible versions, such as the CSB, translate this word as “a mercy seat.” Others, like the NIV, translate it as “an atonement cover.” It is the same width and length as the ark, and it was made of pure gold. And on top of the mercy seat were a pair of cherubim.
After the description of the mercy seat, God told Moses that it would be the place where he would communicate with Moses, passing on his laws for Israel. This was also where the atoning sacrifice was offered. And in the description of that sacrifice, discussed below, we find that it was where God lived, at least symbolically. The mercy seat represented God’s presence among his people.
What Is the Significance of the Cherubim on the Mercy Seat?Mention cherubs (the singular of cherubim) and most people are likely to picture cute little babies with wings. But the cherubim as describe in Ezekiel are quite different (Ez. 1:4-14). They are actually quite terrifying looking; there is nothing cute and cuddly about them.

The cherubim on the top of the mercy seat are described as facing each other and the mercy seat itself. Their wings were outstretched and overshadow the mercy seat. These cherubim are an interesting feature, one that is not explained anywhere. But from their use elsewhere I believe we can draw some conclusions.
The first mention of cherubim in the Bible is in Genesis 3:24. After Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, cherubim were placed on the east side of the garden, along with a flaming sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. The garden represented God’s presence on earth and so the cherubim also seem to serve as gatekeepers to God’s presence.
In 1 Samuel 4:4, and other places, God is described as being enthroned between the cherubim over the ark. Psalm 18:10 describes God as mounting the cherubim and flying. The first chapter of Ezekiel describes creatures that are later identified as cherubim. These creatures are strange indeed. But above their heads is the throne of God.
It seems like the cherubim are closely associated with God’s presence. And so, these images of cherubim atop the mercy seat could symbolize God’s presence and holiness. No image of God was allowed. But the images of the cherubim point to God’s presence.
What Role Did the Mercy Seat Play in Jewish Religious Life?The mercy seat was initially where God met with Moses to communicate the Law to him. But it had a second more significant role in the ritual worship practice of Israel. Leviticus 16 describes the Day of Atonement, an annual time of sacrifice for Israel. And the mercy seat played a significant part in this sacrifice.
On the Day of Atonement, there were a series of sacrifices made. Of these, one was a bull for the sin of the high priest and a second was a goat for the sin of the people. Leviticus 16:11-17 describes the process for offering these two sacrifices, and it was unique among all the other sacrifices offered.
For each of these two sacrifices, the high priest would take some of the blood of the sacrifice through the curtain and into the most holy place. He would also take a censor of coals and some incense whose smoke would hide the mercy seat so that the priest would not die. God was dwelling above the mercy seat, so to see the mercy seat would be to see God. And that was fatal. The high priest would then sprinkle blood on the mercy seat as well as in front of it. And in that way, he made atonement for his own sin and the sin of the people.
There were other sacrifices made over the course of a year, including the sin and guilt offerings. These were to be made when either a person or the community had sinned. But these offerings seemed to be restitution for the sin – it was payment of a penalty. But only the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement actually made atonement for sin. Only this sacrifice would serve to wash away the stain of sin. Although, as the author of Hebrews makes clear, the blood of bulls and goats could not actually take away our sin (Heb. 10:4).

The Mercy Seat in the New Testament
The mercy seat, using the Greek word hilastērion, is mentioned twice in the New Testament. In Hebrews 9:1-9 the author describes the arrangement of the furnishings of the tabernacle. And in verse five he mentions the mercy seat with its overshadowing cherubim of the Glory. Following that, he describes the annual activity of the high priest offering the blood of the atonement sacrifices. He closes this description with the comment that this earthly tabernacle and its offering were only temporary, until the new order ushered in by Christ had come.
The rest of Hebrews 9, and on into the next chapter, describe how Christ came as a better high priest, serving in the heavenly tabernacle and offering a superior sacrifice of atonement. The author of Hebrews goes to great lengths to show that what Leviticus 16 described was only looking forward to the more perfect sacrifice that Jesus would make on our behalf. The blood of the sacrificed animals could never make atonement for our sin. But the blood of the sacrificed Jesus could, and did.
Jesus As the Mercy Seat The second time hilastērion is used is in Romans 3:25. Here it is translated, sometimes as mercy seat (CSB), sometimes as propitiation (KJV, ESV, NASB), but other times as “sacrifice of atonement” (NIV, NRSV). But, regardless of the translation, it is God who presented Christ as the means of making atonement. And this atonement is received by faith in the blood of Jesus.
I believe the translation of the CSB in this passage is very intriguing. The mercy seat in the Old Testament
was God’s dwelling place among his people, and that is really a good description of Jesus as well. He was God, wrapped in human flesh, and dwelling among us – Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23). In a very real way, Jesus was the fulfillment of what the Old Testament mercy seat was pointing toward.
And not only was he the mercy seat, but as Hebrews points out, he was also the high priest that Aaron and his descendant could never be (Heb. 9:11). And he was himself a sacrifice that was superior to the animals offered by the priests under the old covenant (Heb. 9:12). Jesus fulfilled all aspects of the Old Testament sacrifice of atonement. He was the high priest, the atoning sacrifice, and the mercy seat.
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus declared that he was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. We often take that to mean that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies related to a coming Messiah. But I believe it means much more than that. All the Old Testament points to Jesus and finds its ultimate meaning and fulfillment in him. And this is dramatically illustrated by the Old Testament mercy seat pointing ahead to Jesus and his atoning sacrifice.
The Cross as a Symbol In the Old Testament,
the mercy seat was the physical location where the blood of the atoning sacrifice was offered. In the New Testament, it is the cross that was the physical location where Jesus, our atoning sacrifice, was offered up and his blood poured out on our behalf. The Old Testament mercy seat looked ahead to the atoning work of Jesus, while the cross looks back at the atoning work of our Lord. In this way the cross has become a useful symbol to represent Jesus as both the mercy seat and the atoning sacrifice that was offered there.


This writing is Contributing  Ed Jarrett @ Bible Study Tools


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