Old School Discipleship

OLD SCHOOL DISCIPLESHIP

DEUTERONOMY 6:1-12

#discipleship

INTRODUCTION… “Old School” (p)

If you use the phrase “Old School,” you are using a slang phrase that means “anything from an earlier era that is looked upon with respect.” (urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=old%20school). It is very similar to the phrase “back in the day.”

For example:

Super Mario 3 is an “old school” video game.

Harry Houdini is an “old school” magician.

Knight Rider is an “old school” action TV show.

Vinyl record and a turntable is an “old school” way of listening to music.

Looney Tunes are “old school” children’s cartoons.

Making spaghetti sauce from scratch is “old school.”

Pin the tail on the donkey is an “old school” birthday game.

Today we are going to continue our emphasis on “discipleship” (as we have done all month), but we are going to take a step back and look at discipleship from a different perspective. All of the passages we have looked at thus far have been in the New Testament and come from Jesus Christ. Today, we are going to look at the Old Testament at an example of “old school” discipleship. The Old Testament is not without passages that inform us about discipleship. Moses and Joshua can teach us. Elijah and Elisha can teach us. King Josiah can teach us. Some of the proverbs can teach us. The passage we are going to look at today is from Deuteronomy 6 and has much to share with us about the topic of “discipleship” especially because this passage is quoted by Jesus in Matthew (22:37), Mark (12:29-30), and Luke (10:27).

READ Deuteronomy 6:1-12

“These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you-- a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant-- then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

This passage presents to us several key truths about being a follower of God and the relationships that we have with the people around us. This passage is directed to people who are holy to God – who are separate, distinct, selected, chosen, and elected. These people are the children of God. They are disciples of His Way. We find in this passage a great description of the inside of a disciple, the actions of a disciple, and the blessings of being a disciple.

INSIDE OF A DISCIPLE (verses 5-6)

RE-READ DEUTERONOMY 6:5-6

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

This passage informs us, much like the New Testament does, that being a follower of God and a disciple of Jesus means that our whole life and our whole self is involved. There is no part of us that does not serve God.

Notice in the passage that we are instructed to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. The heart is our emotions, our intentions, our motivations, and how we view the world. Our heart motivation should be to have a right relationship with God and do have holy motivations when pursuing Him. The soul is our life essence, our purpose, and our intelligence. When we talk about being a Christian, being a disciple, or being a child of God, we are talking about a personal relationship with God that sinks down into the very core of who we are as human beings. The strength mentioned here is not physical power, but rather the intensity with which we are a disciple. A child of God and a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a person that simply possesses faith or confesses the right godly thing at the right time, but rather we who are the children of God have faith that possesses us and we pursue a life of righteousness, godliness, and faithfulness. Our faith is rooted so far in our lives that no part of us is exempt from God’s influence and His Lordship.