The word disciple literally means to “sit at the feet of”. It refers to the fact that in Jesus’ day the followers of a particular rabbi would sit at his feet as he taught them. They were his disciples.
A disciple is a pupil of learner. The root of the Greek word for disciple means “one who learns by doing or practicing”.
A disciple of Jesus is one who learns by studying and doing.
We grow in our relationship with Jesus by studying the Word of God and then living out the truth that God reveals to us.
Disciples reach out.
Matthew 9:35-38
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into harvest.”
Jesus knew that:
People are lost and broken.
People need a shepherd.
People need to hear His message.
There is a huge need for more laborers (disciples).
John 3:22
After this Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, and He remained there with them and was baptizing.
Jesus takes His disciples with Him and He shows them how to minister to others. He as their Teacher and Shepherd is their model for ministry.
Luke 9:1-2
And He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Jesus moves His disciples from watching Him do ministry to doing ministry themselves.
Being a disciple of Jesus is not a spectator sport.
Luke 10:1
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go.
Jesus takes a large group of His disciples and has them go out ahead of Him to prepare the towns and villages where He was going to teach and minister. He is again helping His disciples to learn by doing.
In Matthew 10:7-8 as Jesus sends out the twelve He outlines several spiritual needs that He gives them the power to deal with. Jesus tells them to:
Proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand - share the gospel with people who are lost
Heal the sick - comfort and help people dealing with health issues
Raise the dead - comfort those who are grieving over the death of loved ones
Cleanse lepers - help the outcast and the powerless people in the society
Cast out demons - help those who are dealing with difficult spiritual struggles
Disciples of Jesus are to do all this freely because Jesus has done it freely for them.
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus outlines ministries to help people with their physical needs that His disciples are to be involved in. Jesus’s disciples are to give:
Food to the hungry
Water to the thirsty
Hospitality to the homeless
Clothes to the poorly clothed
Companionship to the sick
Compassion to those in prison
The importance of disciples of Jesus reaching out and ministering to others is seen in two verses in this passage.
Matthew 25:40
And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
Matthew 25:46
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Jesus says that when we reach out to those with needs and minister to them we are ministering to Him. He also indicates that people who have been made righteous by God will reach out and those who have not been made righteous by God will not reach out.
In John 13:34-35 Jesus commands us to love each other and says that loving others will be a way that the world will know that we are His disciples.
Disciples are people who have been made righteous by God, and out of this righteousness they love others, and out of that love they reach out to others and serve them in Jesus’ name.
There are two types of reaching out that Jesus desires for His disciples.
Acts 6:1-3
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
The twelve were called and commissioned by Jesus to proclaim the word of God. Their priority was to reach out to others and meet spiritual needs.
The church then chose some men to have the priority to reach out to others and meet physical needs.
The church is made up of disciples who are all called and commanded to reach out. Some will primarily meet spiritual needs and others will primarily meet physical needs. The goal is the same for both. The goal is:
To glorify God
To bring people into a relationship with Jesus
To make disciples
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about reaching out and ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of others in the name of Jesus with the purpose of showing the love of Jesus and helping them to surrender their lives to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
People need to see how much you care before they will care about what you have to say.
Jesus healed the sick.
Jesus fed the hungry.
Jesus showed compassion to the repentant.
Jesus proclaimed the truth of God’s Word.
Jesus comforted the hurt and broken.
Jesus accepted the outcast.
Jesus lovingly confronted the proud and arrogant.
Jesus reached out and He commands us as His disciples to reach out.
Reaching Out to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls
Joe
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