Follow-Up — John Advocaat

The Navigators and the Biblical Purpose of Follow-Up

The Navigators is an international, interdenominational Christian organization whose objective is to help fulfill Christ's commission to make disciples of all nations. They individually teach the basics of the Christian life to new believers, who then teach others.

They work on campuses, military bases, and among lay men and women on every continent.

Although the word follow-up does not occur in the Bible, when one looks at the Great Commission, the life of Christ, the life of Paul, the occasion and the purpose of the writings of the New Testament books, it is immediately obvious that follow-up is as essential to the purposes of God as getting the gospel out.

Please turn with me, first of all, then, to Matthew 28, 19, and 20. And here we see the Matthew version of the Great Commission. Here Jesus commands his disciples to go, therefore, and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.

In this version of the Great Commission, it's obvious that the purposes of God include not just getting the gospel out, bringing people to Christ, but making disciples. In fact, I understand that in the Greek, there's only one imperative in this verse, and that is make disciples.

All the other verbs are subordinate, and all these other actions are merely a part of the main action or the main imperative to make disciples. In this process of making disciples, Jesus gives us a clue as to what we are to do.

We're to teach them to obey all things whatsoever I have commanded you. This is so well-worded, because there's a principle called telling is not teaching, and listening is not learning. Jesus said, teach them to obey.

This is not just a matter of developing a school with a curriculum composed of the things that Jesus taught. Because what Jesus taught his disciples is practical. It applies to the way you live, day by day, moment by moment.

It doesn't just involve knowing, but doing, living. And this is, of course, what our Master did as soon as he found a band of faithful men. He began to concentrate on these men more and more. In Mark 3, 14, he ordained 12 that they should be with him and that he might send them forth to preach.

Jesus Christ was concerned in following up on these men. And as we study the life of Christ, we can see very clearly that he concentrated his time not just on evangelism, but on follow-up. Follow-up was very much a part of Jesus Christ's master plan for getting the life, the gospel that he has to impart to men spread around the world.

Paul’s Ministry of Teaching New Christians to Maturity

So, too, it's very obvious as we look at Paul's life that he was concerned not just with getting the gospel out, but imparting the whole counsel of God. In Acts 20, verses 19 and 20, he says,. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

And farther on down, in verses 25 and 26, he says,. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Paul was concerned with teaching the new Christians everything that he possibly could to give them the whole counsel of God. In Colossians 1, 28 and 29, he says,. Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature or perfect in Christ.

Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Paul did everything that he possibly could to bring these new Christians to full maturity in Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 2, verses 7 -12,.

By the way, if you haven't ever done an in-depth study on this chapter, I highly recommend it because there's a great wealth of information on the subject of follow-up in this chapter. We don't have time here to go into every facet of it.

But let me read this portion of Scripture for you and just make a few comments. 1 Thessalonians 2, verses 7 -13,. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us.

For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe, as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

It's amazing how Paul gave himself to people, and not just groups, but individuals. Because here in verse 11 it says that he encouraged or comforted and charged each one of these Thessalonians as a father does his children.

We can't go into every one of the principles there in this chapter. However, I think it's clear that Paul was very much concerned with bringing the new Christians that he encountered to full maturity in Christ.

Finally, let's take a look at some of the New Testament books, the purpose and the occasion of their writing. Some were written to individuals. Some were written to churches. Some were written to the people of God in general.

But I think it's obvious that all of them were written for the purpose of follow-up. You might just look at the first couple of verses in the book of Luke and the first couple of verses in the book of Acts, and you'll notice that 52 chapters of the New Testament were written to just one man.

Do you know his name? Probably most of you don't even know his name. But this one man was so valuable that Luke wrote 52 chapters to follow him up. You notice that the book of Timothy, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 and 2 Titus, Philemon, were also written to just one individual.

Books like Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians were written to churches to help follow them up. And books like Matthew, Mark, John, the general epistles and revelations were written to churches, several churches, to the people of God in general to help establish them in the faith.

And this is the purpose of the Bible, so that we might grow up to full maturity in Christ. I'd like to go on and present two absolute prerequisites to successful follow-up. The first, I believe, is a personal conviction that God wants you to make disciples.

The Great Commission as a Personal Christian Calling

And I'd like to go back to Matthew 28, 19, and 20, because I believe when Christ gave this command to his disciples, he very definitely intended it to be passed on to every generation of Christians. Our Lord commands his disciples to make disciples.

And in the process, he expects them to teach them everything that he taught them, including the last commandment to go and make disciples, teaching them everything that he taught the original eleven. And so the process goes on until it gets to the 20th century.

And the Lord's command still is to go and make disciples, and teach these disciples everything that the Lord taught his original eleven disciples. Now the question is, have you heard his voice? The Bible says, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

And I'm afraid many Christians do not clearly understand what their purpose is as a Christian. But I believe Christ leaves us with a very clear imperative. Go make disciples. Secondly, in John 12, 24, the Bible says, truly, truly, unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it remains alone.

But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. Another way to say this is total commitment. The grain of wheat has got to give itself. It's got to go for broke. Think for a minute with me. How many people are you acquainted with that have a consuming, burning passion that completely controls them and directs their lives?

Paul was this kind of a man. Not that he didn't have weaknesses. He had many. But in Philippians 3 .10, he states his consuming desire, that I might know him in the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

It's interesting that this desire of Paul's to know Christ leads him to a knowledge of Christ's love, which constrains him. 1 Corinthians 9 .14, Paul says, the love of Christ constrains me. Do you know that constraining love of Christ?

Paul knew it in such a way that he made a statement like 1 Corinthians 9 .19, Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. Paul was not satisfied with just winning a few people to Christ, or making a couple of disciples.

He was consumed with this burning desire, so that he gave himself as a servant to all men, that he might gain the more. 1 Thessalonians 2 .8, he says, So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls.

Paul was so compelled by the love of Christ, that he was willing to give his own soul to the people. In the book of Romans, he mentions how he would rather that his own name be blot out of the book of life, so that the names of his brethren, the Jews, might be written therein.

Not only was Paul so consumed to give himself, but this desire, this passion of his, caused him to pray, and to pray without ceasing for his converts. 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, and 3, he mentions how he prays for them constantly, and it causes him also to hold back nothing in his teaching as we saw in Acts 20, verses 19 and 20.

It may be that as you listen to me, you say, I'm just not that committed. I'm not on fire, and I know it. What do I do? How do I get committed? How do I get so dedicated? And I believe that the first step is to commit yourself totally to Christ, and to getting to know Him.

And as you get to know Christ, as you get near Him, I tell you, He'll motivate you. He'll put a fire in your heart. He'll put a passion, a drive, that will control you. And this is really essentially what it means to be filled with the Spirit, to be controlled by God, by the desires that are in His heart, by His objectives.

Many Christians get frustrated in their attempts at follow-up, but you know it's not necessary. Follow-up is easy enough so that everyone is a candidate. I don't know of anybody that isn't capable of making disciples, if they're only willing to pay the price.

At the same time, follow-up is very difficult. It's difficult enough to eliminate the proud. It's difficult enough to eliminate the wise, the half-hearted. Isaiah 66, verse 2 says, But this is the man to whom I will look, He that is humble and of a contrite spirit and that trembles at my word.

If we're that kind of a man, the kind of man who responds to God, to His commands, who obeys the voice of the Lord when He says, Go and make disciples, who depends on God, who falls into the earth and dies, is willing to give of himself completely and totally, then God is going to greatly use us and we'll find that we're capable, we're able to follow up new Christians.

Total Commitment, Dependence, and Dedication

In 1903, Lenin met with a handful of communists in London, and at this particular conference, he outlined for these men the four totals of communism. I'm not sure I've got them worded exactly, but essentially they go like this.

Total acceptance of the cause. Secondly, total commitment to the cause. Thirdly, total discipline for the cause. And fourthly, total action for the cause. You know, this caused me to think when I heard that Lenin had spelled out those four totals because this handful of men have really made an impact on this world of ours.

Understand that today they control approximately a fourth of the world's population. I believe that Jesus Christ demands no less of the Christian and that he also has a few totals that he wants to impart to us.

And as I've thought about it, I believe there are essentially three totals that Christ asks of us. The first, total commitment to the lordship of Christ. Apart from this, Luke 14 says you cannot be a disciple.

Secondly, total dependence on the sufficiency of Christ. John 15, 5. Apart from me, ye can do nothing. Thirdly, total dedication to the cause of Christ. And we've just been talking about that. You know, my friends, if this is true of your life, if you're totally committed, I believe that you'll be absolutely astounded because God will bring into your life so many people who will be healthy, young, eager Christians.

And they'll be so desirous of getting your help, of being followed up, that you'll have to really work at keeping up with them. It'll stretch you. And of course, this is just exactly what he promised in Isaiah 43, 4 -8.

Since thou is precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west.

I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every one that is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory.

I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. It's a tremendous promise. And in the Bible, it says very clearly that all the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus Christ.

And we have the privilege of claiming this promise for our lives. But the condition is also very clear. God will give us people in exchange for our lives. First of all, we have got to give our lives to him, and then he'll give people in exchange for our lives.

A Definite, Reproducible Plan for Follow-Up

In the first message, I mentioned that there were two absolute prerequisites for successful follow-up. Actually, there are three. A person must have a plan. The Bible is very clear on this. In Matthew 28, verse 20, remember, it mentions the things that I have commanded you.

Jesus Christ had specific content in mind when he told his disciples to go and make disciples in all nations. He told them to teach them all things that I have commanded you. First Thessalonians 4, 2, Paul says,.

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. In 2 Timothy 2, 2, he says to Timothy,. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

The things. It was clear, simple, and pass-on-able. And Timothy was actually able to do it. In 1 Corinthians 4, 16 and 17, Paul says to the Corinthians, I urge you then, be imitators of me. Therefore I send to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

Paul had taught Timothy these clear, simple, pass-on-able things concerning his ways in Christ. And this was the same material that he presented everywhere in every church. It was definite. It wasn't something random or hit and miss.

There's one more passage on this in 1 Corinthians 3, 9. It mentions that ye are God's building. By the way, an in-depth study on 1 Corinthians 3 is an absolute must. And if you haven't really studied this matter of building, spiritual building, I suggest that you take this chapter and draw up the principles regarding building.

It mentions here that you are God's building. Have you ever tried putting up a building without a plan? It's clear, isn't it? Paul had a plan involving specific content of that which he wanted to see built into the lives of his followers.

Webster says, A plan is an orderly arrangement of the parts of an overall design or objective. Imagine just using hit and miss techniques and putting up a building. It's impossible. You've got to have some kind of a definite plan.

I don't know what your experience has been with this matter of planning follow-up, but for me, I think it's been one of the major frustrations of my life. If I had a dollar for every follow-up plan that I've scrapped, I think I'd be one of the richest men in the world today.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. But you get the point. I've made many, many follow-up plans, and it seems as though my follow-up plans never were practical. It never fit the situation. Somehow every new Christian that I attempted to follow up never exactly fitted into the plan.

And I just about came to the conclusion that it was impossible to come up with any kind of a definite follow-up plan. So I began to think, what do these passages of Scripture actually mean? Is it possible to have a plan, or is follow-up something we just have to play by ear?

Christian Growth as Relationship with God

About three years ago, through studying passages like John 15, 2 Peter chapter 1, I came to a much better understanding of what Christian growth really is. And I'd like to share just a summary of what I've learned, because I feel it is essential to coming up with meaningful, useful follow-up plans.

In John 15, we very clearly see that the Christian life is a relationship. Christianity is not a religion, in the sense that it is not a system of activity by which man can obtain the new life. Rather, it is a dynamic relationship with the living God, whereby His life and His character are transmitted to us.

So Christianity, then, is a matter of growing in a relationship. And Christian growth has to do with our relationship with God and this relationship growing. I'd like all of you for a minute to think about the person that you have the best relationship with.

If you're married, it's probably your husband or your wife. Maybe for some of you, it's a member of your family or a good friend. Now, ask yourself, how did this relationship develop so that today this relationship is better than any of my other relationships?

Of course, there are many factors involved. Let me list what I think some of the key ones are. We're going to build a relationship. First of all, we've got to communicate. This involves sharing what I'm thinking, what I'm doing with somebody else.

And of course, hearing and understanding what the other person is doing. Communication, it's got to be two ways. Secondly, I think association is very important. It's impossible to build a good relationship with somebody apart from spending time together.

And so we've got to associate, spend time. Thirdly, it seems essential that there would be some kind of a mutual love or commitment one to the other. Also, I think it's pretty important that we'd have common goals.

Also, common interests and activities. Apart from this, it'd be pretty difficult for our lives to really get intermeshed. Sixthly, I think trust is important. We don't trust another individual. It's hard for us to really get close to them or if they don't trust us.

So trust is an essential. And finally, I think it's very important that we have some kind of agreement, harmony, that we can agree on things. I'm sure we could go on and list many more, but this will suffice.

And I think most of you are familiar with what we in the Navs call the basics. And what we've just listed are the basics. And I think in order for you to understand why I refer to this list as the basics, I'm going to have to translate.

And possibly, if you're taking notes, you can just make a second column. Communication for a Christian with Christ means the word, hearing, his word, and prayer. Talking to Christ. Christ talks to us through the word.

We talk to him through prayer. We have association. What's association? Well, for the Christian, we associate with Christ through our devotional life by spending time with him in the morning and then associating with him all day long.

He said he will never leave us nor forsake us, so he's with us all day long and we can associate with him. Thirdly, mutual love or commitment is basically lordship. Christ commits himself to us, and he made a very total commitment to us when he died for us on the cross.

He's committed to giving us all things that we possibly could want or need. But we've got to commit ourselves to him, and this is called lordship. Fourthly, common goals. For the Christian, to have common goals with Christ involves witnessing and follow-up.

Essentially, the Great Commission. These are the things that are really on the heart of God. Fifthly, common interests and activity. What is God primarily interested in? His people. And so, we need to develop friends and friendships and associate with the people that God is associated with.

And this is generally called fellowship, fellowshipping with other Christians. And then trust. Well, trust is basically faith. And finally, agreement. Agreement, another word for that is obedience. And these eight things that we've just listed, I believe, are the basics, the essentials of the Christian life.

And now, why do we refer to these items as basics? It's because they're basic to our growth in Christ, to the growth of our relationship with him. And this is what growth really is, isn't it? Growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Results of Growing in Christ

Now, what do you suppose happens when a person develops a relationship with God? There are many things that result, many things that happen. And you might make a third column on the right. One of the first things that I have observed that happens when a person develops an intimate relationship with Christ is a change in attitude.

And then also, changes in motives, changes in goals, changes in value, changes in character. And, of course, the fruits of the Spirit begin to appear in the life of a person who is so vitally associated with Christ, as Galatians 5, 22 and 23 spells out.

And these results, I believe, are absolutely inevitable as a person grows in his relationship with Jesus Christ. I've titled column 3, Results. And I think it's very important that we see column 3 as results.

And that 1 and 2 are basically the means for growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ. The only difference between column 1 and 2 is they're different terms. But it's the same thing. Same thing, just different language.

But column 3 are results. And it's very important to realize this because in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 6, it says that God gives the increase. In the process of building into the life of a person, it's God who gives the increase.

In other words, God changes the person's life. Now, we can talk to a person about changing his attitude or changing some aspect of his character. And this is good. But if the person is not vitally hooked up with God and knows how to draw on Jesus Christ for the strength, for the grace, to make the appropriate changes, what we are talking about is merely moral rearmament, pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.

And therefore, it's very essential in follow-up that we concern ourselves with helping new Christians become established in their relationship with God. If we challenge their attitude on different things or some aspect of their character and do it in such a way that the individual interacts with God regarding the matter, then we will see significant growth, real Christian growth.

And we want a person to learn to be able to interact with God regarding different aspects of his personal life, to become sensitive to God so that God can deal directly with him. And for this reason, it is important that we ourselves become sensitive to God and to what God is doing in the lives of the people that we are helping.

I'm afraid that too frequently the situation occurs where God is speaking to an individual. Through his daily devotional life or through the circumstances of his life, God is trying to communicate to him.

And then we come along and change the subject. We've got to learn what 1 Corinthians 3 .9 says, what it means to be co-laborers with God. The verse actually says, for we are laborers together with God.

Depending on God Rather Than Methods

I'd like to give another illustration, and hopefully this will stress three things. First is that God gives us people in exchange for our lives. It's a very subtle trick of the devil to get our thinking concentrating totally on methods.

Ian Bounds said, men are looking for better methods, but God is looking for better men. Those of you who are going to depend on the method outlined in these messages rather than on God's promise in Isaiah 43 .4 are going to fail.

But I want to be sure that you don't put your faith in the method but in the promise of God. Secondly, the importance of thinking for yourself. Some of you will want me to tell you everything from A to Z.

To do so would be to violate being co-laborers with God. We have got to develop discernment in order to be able to do the right thing at the right time. Thirdly, we want to be prepared as possible for this matter of follow-up.

And this, of course, involves planning. But it also involves walking with God in such a way that our life is an example to others. And it involves having a practical grasp on the Word of God so that we can effectively minister to others.

Now, if we don't have a practical grasp on the Word of God and the know-how as to how to pass it on to others, then essentially we are unavailable to God. And He can't use us to help other people. We can cry out to God asking Him to use us, but He says I can't, unless you take the time, first of all, to get a good practical grasp on my Word, because I have decided to use only those people that use my Word.

Isaiah 66, verse 2. I hope to make it clear how we can achieve a practical grasp on the Word as we look at a basic framework for follow-up. Essentially four parts. The first is our objective, where we want to head.

Secondly, there's the content, that which we would like to impart and see in the life of the person that we're following up. And thirdly, how we impart the content in such a way to accomplish our objective.

And then, fourthly, evaluation. How do we tell when we have accomplished our objective? Okay, first of all, then, the objective. And I believe it's essential for us to get a clear picture of what we want to accomplish.

A profile of a person who is followed up. You might ask yourself, when I'm finished following up on a person, what do I want to see in this person's life? Jesus told us to make disciples. So we want to look in the Bible and get a clear picture of what qualities should be obvious in the life of a disciple.

What's been a tremendous help to me the last couple of years is the profile of a disciple. I've taken this profile and broken it down so that I have ten specific topics that I can really get my fingers on.

Until you know where you're going, it's impossible to plan on how you're going to get there. Secondly, the content. We can ask ourselves, what must we provide for the young Christian in order for them to be followed up?

I believe there are four main things. The first is we must pray. If you've never studied the intercessory prayers of Christ or Paul, I suggest this because it would be very helpful and very practical for you in knowing how to pray effectively for the new Christian that you're helping.

Secondly, we've got to provide an example. Christ, of course, told his men to follow me. Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. When we look farther in the New Testament and we see Paul saying the same thing, for example, I already mentioned 1 Corinthians 4, 16, there Paul says, I urge you then to be imitators of me.

He says it again to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1, 6. He says it to the Philippians. This is essential that we provide an example for the new Christian. Thirdly, we must provide fellowship, the proper environment.

Again, as you look through the New Testament, you can see how important it is for Christians to get together in fellowship. In Acts chapter 2, the first example that we see in the book of Acts of people being led to Christ, what's the first thing that we find happening?

That is, Acts 2 .42, that these people are together in fellowship around the Word and prayer, sharing, very generously sharing what they have. And fourthly, we must provide instruction. We must feed and teach the new Christian.

We must train him so that he will be able to continue to grow in his relationship with Christ on his own. Thirdly, that takes us to the how. How are we going to impart this content in such a way that it will accomplish our objectives?

And again, I want to go back over the four things that I mentioned on content. First of all, prayer. Jot down specific verses for each person that I'm helping and ask God, in prayer, to build these verses, these truths, to incorporate them into the life of this person that I'm helping.

An example, Christ ordained 12 that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach. It's important for us to spend time together with those that we're following up, to do things together, to have quiet times together, to pray together, to do Bible study together, to recreate together, or maybe work together.

Capitalize on every opportunity that we have to be together with those that we're attempting to follow up. Thirdly, fellowship. I think it's important to introduce a new Christian immediately to your Christian friends.

What I like to do is introduce them and then ask a new Christian to share with my friend what he just did. This helps a new Christian to explain what he did in accepting Christ and it helps to seal it in his heart as he shares with another person.

And then also, after he has shared this very intimate thing that he has just done, it helps bring him into a relationship with these other Christians. But as we do this, it's also important for us to remember that a lot of people experience a tremendous culture shock when they first are introduced to the Christian community.

The best I can say here is be sensitive and try your best to make this culture shock as gradual as possible. And also, I might suggest that you study Romans 14 through chapter 15 verse 7 and not apply any non-essential regulations or laws to the new Christian.

Fourthly, we're responsible to provide training and instruction. How do you instruct a new Christian? And what instructions do you give? Just as the basis for our prayer and for our example and for our fellowship should be the Word of God, so too with our instruction.

Our textbook, you might say, is the Bible. This is our infallible guidebook for life. And it's the Bible that helps us to grow up in Christ. Acts 20 verse 32, Paul says,. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.

Five Steps in Follow-Up

Remember, I mentioned that it's important to have our objective clearly spelled out. And I mentioned that we have this profile, and I've taken that profile and studied it and tried to digest it. And in the process, I came up with ten specific topics that I want to work on in following up a new Christian.

What I've done is taken each one of these topics and carefully studied the Bible in each subject. Once we've done these studies, it gives us the basic subject matter for instruction. So we can teach what the Bible says about the devotional life or about prayer.

How are we going to pass on what we've learned in our study? We can lecture. Secondly, we can do it with them. For example, prayer again. We can pray with the person. Thirdly, we can give the person a Bible study assignment.

Give them five or six or ten verses and say, Look, why don't you look these up, study them, and draw up the practical principles and see how you can apply that to your life. We can give the person an action assignment.