This past Wednesday I got to experience something I never have before. The kids were out of school, so I made arrangements for Jamison and I to grab some lunch to-go from the grocery store. We drove out towards Wellman and pulled into a field. We ate lunch there with a few others and then climbed into a combine to harvest some corn with Jon Gingerich, one of our members. This was Jamison’s first time on a combine. And it was my first time on a combine harvesting corn. Two years ago Jon took me out to harvest soy beans.
So, Jamison and I were excited to get to ride in this big ole piece of machinery. I sat in the small passenger seat and Jamison sat on my lap. Right before we even got started Jon warned Jamison not to lean on the front glass of the cabin. Jon said a few weeks ago he would not have mentioned that, but recently he heard a sad story. He was told about a little boy that was laying on the floor of the cabin and the dad driving put the brakes on quickly and the little boy pushed the glass right out and the child fell into the machinery and was killed. Very sad and a freak accident. And you should have seen Jamison’s face as this is the first thing he hears. He grabbed onto me pretty tightly or held the hand bar for quite a long time. Not a great way to start our fun experience. But eventually Jamison relaxed and enjoyed it.
This morning we are continuing this ride we call 40 Days of Community. We have talked about being better together. You were created for community. And it is in community that we can reach out and share our faith with others. We talked last week about being in fellowship with each other. We need to be with each other and get to know each other as children of God to grow closer to one another. This morning and all this week we will be focused on our next purpose as a community and that is discipleship. You were designed to be a disciple. Being a Christian disciple means that your life looks like the life of Jesus Christ. I would say as a disciple of Jesus you would allow Jesus to live in you. This is not easily done and it definitely does not just happen.
So today I want to lay out the process by which I believe God will help you grow as a disciple. And also remember this is about community.
I also think I will start like Jon did with the harsh reality first. Just as he wanted to warn us that a combine can be a dangerous machine, I want to remind you that discipleship is a very serious subject. I think we often make discipleship optional. It is just for some people that have time. It is for those who may want to go into ministry, but it is not for everyone.
Wrong. If you are a Christian, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian than you are to be following Jesus. You are to be learning and growing in the love of God. And Jesus gets pretty straight in this passage when he says following him must be more important to you than your father or mother. It must be more important than your son or your daughter. Actually it better be more important than your own wants and desires.
I chose to read from the Message paraphrase this morning because it puts this in better wording for me than other translations. What Jesus actually says is if you love your parents more than him, then you are not worthy to follow him. If you love your children more than you love him then you are not worthy to follow him. Ouch, those are hard words, but I also believe they are true.
I believe the best way to love those close to you, is to love God more. You see when you add the love of God to the love you have for others, including friends and family, it multiplies the love you have for others. So in my own ability to love I can love Jamison and Hayden, this much, but if I love God first and foremost, my love for my children expands. It is the same just in myself. If I try to be the best I can be in my own human strength and ability, I can be okay. But when I give myself over to God, when I lose myself to God, I am fully set free to be more than I could ever have imagined. It is true for you also. You can try your best by yourself, but it will only get you so far. God says, I created you for community. I designed you to be a disciple, and when you give yourself to that process, God will free you to be more.
So if you commit yourself to this process of discipleship God will do amazing things in your life. I only say this because I know it to be true. But again, you really need to be committed to it.
The process for discipleship I want to give to you is as simple as 1, 2, 3, but it is also complex enough that it will keep going. The first place to start in being a disciple of Jesus Christ is by committing to worship God. Embrace Christ by joining other believers in worship. I believe this is the starting point because if you do not think God is worthy of our worship, then why would you want to follow Christ? Worship helps us to believe God is present with us. It helps us to draw closer to Christ. And if you are young in your faith that is the place to start. Or even if you have no faith and still wondering about who God is, I believe worship is a good place to seek God. We will talk more about worship in two weeks because that is another purpose we have together.
So, step one is worship. If you are growing in worship and want to take the next step you should seek out a discipleship small group. This is really the core of discipleship, having a group of people who will help you grow in your faith. Now this small group is not just a fellowship group to hang out with. It is not just a social club. To be a discipleship small group the group needs to study the Bible together and pray together. The group should also encourage you as you follow Jesus, but also hold you accountable to living the way Christ wants us to live. This group will teach you and grow with you. And not only will they be helping you grow, but you will be doing the same for them. You will encourage them, teach them, and hold them accountable. This what our memory verse for this week says. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Encourage one another and build each other up.”
I personally have an accountability partner that I meet with regularly to disciple me. Then I also have a small group that I meet with besides my 40 Days group. If you are in a 40 Days group you might decide to continue to meet and we will have material for you to look at to choose how you can keep growing as a small group. Or maybe you want to find another small group depending on what you are learning. You need a small group where you can be discipled and grow in your faith.
So we come together in worship, we then experience Christ in a discipleship small group, and if you are doing those two things the next step is to serve in ministry. As you are growing in your faith God wants to use you to show His love to others. As you practice what you are learning by following Jesus you will be drawn to serve others. Next week we will have a Ministry Fair where you will be able to look around at many of the different ways to serve through this church. We will also be focused on ministry in our worship service, so we will talk more about it then as well.
So here is the discipleship process. Commit to worship, discipleship small group, and service in ministry. You really do not have to go in that order, but to become a fully committed disciple each of those things should be present in your life. So think about where you are. If you are only committed to one of those areas then pray about taking the next step. If you are committed to two areas, pray about taking the third step. Maybe you are already in all three, then keep going. Dig deeper in your small group or take a step forward in your ministry area by taking on more responsibility. Also, if you are moving forward maybe you need to be discipling someone else and helping them take the next step.
I thought it was fun to go and ride in the combine with Jon and Jamison. And near the end of the ride after Jamison had relaxed, Jon asked if Jamison wanted to drive. The first time Jamison said no and he just kept watching Jon drive, but near the end Jamison decided to give it a try. He hopped over to the steering wheel and began to steer. Now Jon was right there with him and when Jamison started to get off line Jon would reach his arms around Jamison and make a correction and let go again.
This is the perfect picture of discipleship. As we go forward in life and especially as we go forward in faith, we need others who will help us steer straight. We need people who will let us steer, but if we are getting off track to help guide us back on track. God wants to free you for a wonderful life, but to get there you need to follow him. You were designed for discipleship. You need to commit with others to follow Jesus everyday.
