How To Grow As A Disciple

With appreciation I acknowledge I have used Sermon Central among many other resources in crafting this sermon.

A PATHWAY FOR THE NEXT 60 YEARS: DISCIPLESHIP

January 14, 2007 Jay Davis Robison LUKE 6:46-49

We are in midst of series of sermons pathway for next 60 yrs

Dealing with 5 dream teams of our Long Range Planning

Last week talked about loving God. That’s called what?…Worship.

This week an important pathway for next 60 yrs

Bonnano Pisano’s big job . . In 1174 Italian architect Bonnano Pisano

began work on what would become his most famous project:

A separately standing bell tower for the Cathedral of the city of Pisa.

Tower was to be 8-stories & 185-foot-tall tall. One "little" problem:

builders quickly discovered the soil was much softer than they

anticipated, & foundation was far too shallow to hold the structure!

Sure enough, before long tower began to tilt continued to tilt

Finally architect & builders realized nothing could be done to make

Leaning Tower of Pisa straight again. Took 176 yrs to build Tower

many things were done to try and compensate for the "tilt."

Foundation was shored up; upper levels were even built at an angle

to try to make the top of the tower look straight. Nothing worked. Tower has stood for over 800 years, but it leans 18 feet away from

where it should be. 1995-2001 attempts to straighten it disastrous

caused a greater shift despite freezing the ground and injecting lead

One day, experts say, because it wasn’t built on right foundation.

Do you know about anyone’s life not on right foundation?

Now God’s plan has always been, to make you like Jesus Christ.

Plan from very beginning has been to make human beings like self.

Now, don’t get me wrong, let me be clear, He’s not saying you’re

going to be a god. You will never be a god.

Word we use for that is Discipleship =BECOMING LIKE CHRIST

God doesn’t want you to become a god; wants you to become godly.

God wants you to develop his character, way He thinks, way He acts,

the way He feels, His values, His moral character.

God wants to make you like him that’s God’s plan you on this planet

There’s a process to it. Doesn’t happen overnight. Not like one day

all of a sudden – ZAP – you’re just like Jesus.

Process is called “discipleship” & it takes an entire lifetime.

Going to take the rest of your life for God to build character in you,

A little boy constantly fell out of bed. No matter what his parents did,

boy couldn’t sleep without rolling out of bed. When asked why he rolled out boy said “I don’t know, unless its because

I stay too close to the place where I get in.”

Leading assumption in world today is that you can be Christian

without being a disciple settled for marginal commitment

People who will give God only the leftovers $$ time etc.

But their best efforts are going elsewhere

10% of church members cannot be found?

20% of church members never attend church

25% admit that they never pray

35% admit that they do not read their Bibles

40% admit that they never contribute to the church Tithe or offering

70% never assume responsibility within the church

85% never invite anyone to church

95 % have never won anyone to Christ

BUT! 100% expect to go to heaven

(The Choice, Thomas Trask, Zondervan Grand Rapids, MI, 1999)

How does God do that? Make us like Jesus What part do we play in it? Jesus talked about that in Luke 6

Matching your CREED and your DEEDS

George Gallup said, "We find there is very little difference in ethical

behavior between churchgoers & those not active religiously...

Levels of lying cheating\stealing remarkably similar in both groups

8 out of 10 Americans consider themselves Christians, yet only

about 1/2 of them could identify who gave Sermon on Mount, and

fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments.

Only 2 in 10 in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith.

Why do you call me, Lord Lord and do not do what I say? Vs 46 NIV

Some people are not a very good advertisement for God

They don’t encourage you to be like them

How can we be different?

1. Spend TIME WITH GOD

Allow God to shape our opinions ideas approaches relationships

Read Bible. It takes truth to transform us. To grow up spiritually,

you’ve got to get into this Book. More you do more you’ll grow.

You need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it. Think about

it and apply it in your life, because it takes truth to transform us.

It is not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong;