The Flip Side of Discipleship
Intro
Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews.
Problem: "Left inside main tire almost needs replacement."
Solution: "Almost replaced left inside main tire."
Problem: "Test flight OK, except autoland very rough."
Solution: "Autoland not installed on this aircraft."
Problem #1: "#2 Propeller seeping prop fluid."
Solution #1: "#2 Propeller seepage normal."
Problem #2: "#1, #3, and #4 propellers lack normal seepage."
Problem: "The autopilot doesn’t."
Signed off: "IT DOES NOW."
Problem: "Something loose in cockpit."
Solution: "Something tightened in cockpit."
Problem: "Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear."
Solution: "Evidence removed."
Problem: "Number three engine missing."
Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search."
Problem: "DME volume unbelievably loud."
Solution: "Volume set to more believable level."
Problem: IFF inoperative.
Solution: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
Problem: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
Solution: That’s what they’re there for.
Where there is a lack of clarity there is always confusion and the potential for misunderstanding. Last week as we looked at the story of the rich young man coming to Jesus seeking eternal life we saw that there was no room for confusion as to what Jesus was seeking. There could be no mistaking Jesus call to him.
Review
The story of the rich man who came seeking eternal life is challenging and confronting. Because Jesus called him to devotion and surrender – he got more than he bargained for – and when he refused Jesus allowed him walk away. It makes us wonder what would Jesus say to us and how might we respond? I know some of you have been grappling with that question this week – and it’s a good question to grapple with.
A short summary of last week would be that Jesus is seeking followers not fans – disciples not admirers. That its easy to say ‘yay Jesus’ – its much different to say ‘yes Jesus’. In fact its world’s apart.
In the story we see a Jesus who doesn’t have ‘levels’ of followers. He doesn’t have the dedicated and the recreational and the occasional. He only has one bar that he calls us all to jump. That bar is complete devotion to him that shows in obedience to whatever he asks.
And the Jesus we see in that story is a Jesus who loves us – a Jesus who calls us to follow him with simple childlike faith that trusts his love and obeys his call on our lives wherever that may lead. That’s what it means to be a disciple.
Questions
And as much as we can read that and know that – and maybe have read it umpteen times, its still a daunting thing to genuinely be a follower of Jesus – to say ‘yeh that’s me!’
You could feel overwhelmed – you could feel like you will never get there – you could feel like just giving up perhaps.
If you feel that to some degree then you’ve probably grasped some of the significance of what Jesus is asking. It is a big call. And I put it out there as starkly and as unrestrained as I did last week because that is what he asks. That’s what the Bible says – no matter how we might like to soften it. Jesus does call us to a life of surrender and devotion – to a life of submission to him – we cannot ever shake the truth of that and neither should we want to I’d like to say. That is where real life is found.
And yet reality is that we can’t do it. Let’s just admit it. That’s the truth – we can’t do it – we can never fully be the people Jesus calls us to be – not while there is sin in our lives – not while there is a hint of self centredness. So we live in this place between what he calls us to and what reality is. It’s a place that can be uncomfortable.
Possible problems:
Guilt – We can feel guilty because we aren’t ‘good enough’ – we can feel like we never make it and we are always disappointing God. We can beat ourselves up because we are such lousy disciples. Ever do that!? Walk around with a load of guilt feeling like the world’s worst Christian?
Work Harder – Or you can try harder – you bust your gut and work harder and harder to try and be the person God calls you to be and in the end you maybe even feel like you have made some progress. In fact you might even feel quite proud of the progress you have made compared to some of those other people who just don’t even seem to care. Losers! Ooopps!… Would that be my pride showing?
Quit – Or you might just quit – you might just give up altogether because its too hard. I know I’ve come across a whole bunch of people who have told me that they quit being a Christian because it was just ‘too difficult’ – as they saw it. There were too many things they felt they had to do that they couldn’t. And too many things they weren’t supposed to do that they kept on doing. They just kept on sinning and they couldn’t live with their continual failure so they quit.
It seems that maybe its impossible to be a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ if he is calling us to follow him exclusively, love him above all others, serve him devotedly.
Which kind of raises a few questions for me.
If we can never get to where Jesus calls us to be why does he bother to have us start? Why does he make it so unattainable? Surely he knows what we’re like.
Is this just a game he is playing with us?
Does he enjoy seeing us fail?
Is discipleship only for the elite? Is there a special kind of person who qualifies as a disciple of Jesus Christ and I might not be one of them?
This morning I want to look at what we’ll call the flip side of discipleship – it’s the side that gives ordinary garden variety folks like you and me a bit of hope. If we simply hear Jesus words we could easily finish up discouraged or guilty or legalistic or even just quitting, but if we look at the twelve guys Jesus chose as his own disciples then I think we can get incredible hope. It puts us back in the game in a big way – because these were not elite people – these were not supersaints – they were people just like us!
I don’t want to take anything at all away from Jesus’ words we heard last week, but I want to look at how it works out for us in ordinary every day life.
1. The Disciples
Perhaps it would help first to see who Jesus disciples were and who they weren’t.
Do you remember picking teams at school – some were the ones you wanted and others were left to last – even now – we still choose the best.
And when Jesus was picking his team of twelve guys he probably could have had the pick of the crop at the time. If he had approached the prominent business leaders of the time, or the political leaders and if he had presented his case right he probably could have got them on board. He could have influenced society through its key leaders – which to me seems quite sensible. But it seems he didn’t go chasing those guys.
Other Rabbis were also keen to select their disciples from only from those who were strong adherents to Jewish law – the ceremonially clean – those with sufficient intellect to study the Torah and who had shown themselves to be potential future rabbis themselves. The intellectual and religious upper crust.
But Jesus seemed to bypass the elite of society and the elite of the religious system and he picked ordinary blokes. And just by the way, if he were around today I think he would have had some women in his group as well – (he would have had to otherwise the equal opportunity board would have been on his case!) But the fact that its an all bloke squad is a 1st Century cultural thing and not a gender bias in Jesus – just in case you are wondering.
Ever looked at who Jesus did pick? If we’re honest it’s a pretty mixed bunch – a fairly motley crew – an unusual group to change the world with. Some were down to earth fishermen – maybe tradesmen types. James and John were sons of a zealot. The other Simon, not Simon Peter is almost certainly believed to have been a zealot himself. There was Matthew a tax collector and considered a traitor to his country men and we know that there was probably a mix of ethnicity with there being both Jewish and Greek names among the list. Just a cross section of society.
This was no elite crack squad – but Jesus chose them. He spent a night in prayer and then hand picked them. These were the ones he wanted. Ever wonder why?!
And the whole deal gets even more confusing when you look at some of what happened while he was their leader.
If you watch Sports Tonight at the end of the week you’d know they have a highlight reel of all the great moments and sometimes they have a collection of the blunders – a bloopers reel. If we were to follow the disciples around with a video camera I reckon we could come up with a pretty good set of bloopers.
If you know the gospels you’d know these moments:
· There’s their lack of understanding that comes up time and time again. In fact Mark quotes Jesus as saying ‘Are you still so dull!!!’. This happened regularly. They just didn’t ‘get’ stuff.
· There’s the jostling to be king pin in Mark 9 – to be the greatest and most important while all the time Jesus is trying to teach them about servanthood.
· There’s James and John’s overconfidence when during that discussion (Mark 10:37-38 NIV) They ask, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." {38} "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" We can they answered.
· There is Judas betrayal – one of his closest men lets him down in the biggest way.
· There is the night in Gethsemane just before Jesus is arrested when Peter James and John fall asleep while they are waiting for Jesus. What a discouragement that would have been!
· There’s the time of the arrest when Mark says they all deserted him and fled.
· After the arrest there is Peter’s denial – he got scared and said he had never met Jesus – no small thing after 3 years with him.
· When Jesus does return Thomas questions it – in fact they all struggle to believe that he’s back.
These were people who blew it regularly and quite spectacularly. Let’s be honest – if you had a thousand bucks and I gave you odds of 100:1 would you have backed them to reach the world with the gospel? Would you?
Are you starting to feel like being a disciple of Jesus is a bit more in the ballpark?
Let me tell you – If you ever feel just too darn plainjane ordinary to be a disciple then you need to go back and read about the guys Jesus picked. These guys give all of us hope!
2. So what’s the deal?
Perhaps the obvious question that comes out of looking at their lives and those three years they spent with Jesus is ‘how were they surrendered or devoted to Jesus? How could they have been living in a submitted relationship to him if they made such a dog’s breakfast of things so often?’ Surely a person in a relationship with Jesus looks a bit more stunningly spiritual than that?
Its here that I just want to hit on one thing today that I believe characterises true disciples. There are many things – but let me pick the one thing that I reckon Jesus was looking for when he chose them. It’s a quality that might seem insignificant in some ways but its probably one of the most essential qualities if a disciple is to actually be a disciple and if a disciple is to be the person they are called to be. As a youth pastor it was a quality that I was always seeking in young people – and its not related to giftedness or any talent.
The quality is ‘teachability’ – I told you it wasn’t all that impressive – teachability – which simply mean an openness to learning, a humble spirit that isn’t always right – a desire to grow and develop. A recognition that I don’t know everything.
I reckon Jesus said ‘give me twelve teachable people and I can change the world’.
I think that’s why he didn’t chase high flyers or big shots. I wonder if he didn’t want to waste his time trying to fight them and convince them of his truths when these guys would just buy in.
And that doesn’t mean they were mindless morons who couldn’t think for themselves. Not at all. These were capable people – its just to say they were open to new ways. They were keen to learn. The very term disciple means learner. They hadn’t become arrogant – thinking their way is the only way nor had they fossilised into a way of thinking that could never change.
When he called them he said ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men’. He told them this was going to be a learning thing. Not a classroom – he called them to be ‘with him’ Mark says and to learn by being with him. Hear that – being with – we still need to be with Jesus today as disciples.
I heard someone say once that Jesus was seeking marshmallows not ginger nuts. Maybe if you forget everything else then just remember the marshmallows and ginger nuts and ask yourself the question ‘which one am I?’ Is my heart soft and pliable and open to responding to God or is my heart crusty, crunchy and brittle.
I know a teachable open heart that is devoted to Jesus will make mistakes – will sin – will struggle – will blow it from time to time – but a soft teachable heart will be able to admit it and get up and start over. It won’t hide behind a mask of false competence.
A teachable person will know that you can only be obedient to what you know about God. You can’t worry about the things he hasn’t spoke to you about.
Mike and beer
Surrender is a both a process and an event. When we come to Christ we ‘surrender all’ – we give our lives to him. But from time to time we grab back bits that we don’t trust him with and we need to just keep on letting them go.
As we see stuff – as Jesus puts his finger on stuff we just need to respond. A disciple can do that – an admirer finds it hard.
These guys were devoted to Jesus – they just blew it from time to time.
In John 6 after Jesus has done some pretty heavy teaching a bunch of people who were disciples actually decide they have had enough. They decide they can’t keep going with him.
John writes 6:66-69 NIV) From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. {67} "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. {68} Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. {69} We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
These guys had put all their eggs in this one basket – they had left everything to follow him – they were devoted to Jesus. They just weren’t perfect people.
But they were teachable.
Ask yourself how teachable am I?
What issue of church or theology have I changed my mind on in the past two years?
Where has God been challenging me this year?
What have I discovered about following Jesus this month that I didn’t know last month?
A disciple will be able to answer those questions because they are seeking to grow.
Arthur’s phone call. An open and teachable spirit.
If we aren’t growing we’re stagnating – if we aren’t learning and implementing what we are learning then chances are we are fossilising.
So what motivated Jesus’ choices? Why pick loud mouthed overconfident Peter? Why pick firey James and John?
Jesus wasn’t seeking people with earthly qualities – he was seeking people who knew their own inadequacy and who would be with him – willing to allow him to empower and train them.
We need to hear that.
Struggle and failure do not necessarily equate to a lack of devotion. It just says that following Jesus can be hard – it does stretch us – it is beyond us.
3. Who They Became
As we read the Gospels we see the disciples with Jesus – we see him teaching them the truths they needed to grasp about God’s kingdom – we see them engaging in various kinds of ministry and from time to time doing well and then on other occasions making a real mess of things. We see Jesus equipping them and helping them grow.
But really!!! If you were banking on them to lead a movement that impacted the world then maybe you’d want to hang around for another 3 years and train them a bit more thoroughly. Maybe you’d leave in fear and trepidation.
And yet if you look at what happened next you see that stuff had been happening – these imperfect people were growing people, learning people who just needed to be set free to serve.
Acts Ch 2 – Peter – the world’s greatest discipleship wooden spooner taking the lead calling the group to prayer and to appointing new leaders. We see Peter interpreting the Pentecost experience – don’t underestimate how freaky and scary that would have been. We see Peter preaching his first sermon – seeing 3000 people respond and starting a new church. Is this the same Peter?
We see Peter and John moving about amongst the people healing and performing miracles – getting beaten up, abused and imprisoned for their trouble but going back for more. Are these the same guys? Where did their passion and confidence come from? Yes – it’s the H.S. but it wasn’t an instantaneous transformation. Stuff had been happening over the previous three years – even if they didn’t realise it. Even when they were making a mess of things.
We see Stephen – not one of the twelve, but a disciple performing signs and wonders and striking some opposition. His is put on trial for crimes he didn’t commit and in his defence he preaches with passion and finished up getting stoned for his trouble. And so begins a great persecution.
Phillip sees the persecution as an opportunity to go and spread the gospel all over the region and heads off to Sam becomes known as Phillip the evangelist.
James becomes the head of the Jerusalem council that was overseeing the development of the church and keeping purity of doctrine.
John and Peter both write a few books that later get published and become best sellers.
These apparently ordinary nobodies actually become incredibly significant people in history and they go on to do what Jesus called them to do. They become fishers of men. They spread the gospel all across the world from right there in Jerusalem. Because they were learners, teachable, moldable marshmallow types.
If you’ve never seen this before then a verse that every Christian needs to have tattoed on their psyche is Acts 4:13. Peter and John have just been arrested and charged for their healing and their disruptive preaching. They had just finished telling the council that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Jesus is the only way.
And Luke writes (Acts 4:13 NIV) When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
These were ordinary unschooled men – nobody special really – but they had been with Jesus. Ordinary men willing to learn and men who spent time with Jesus.
We might feel inadequate to be a disciple of Jesus Christ – at least a really dinkum one because that kind of discipleship is reserved for pastors and church leaders – maybe you’re just an ordinary every day garden variety bloke or girl and you can’t see yourself as anyone special.
Someone once said God isn’t interested in your ability so much a she is your availability. He can do incredible things with ordinary teachable people who make their lives available to him.
Yes – a disciple is one who gives up everything to follow Jesus – yes a disciple is one who messes up from time to time – but a disciple is also one who is teachable, who is growing and constantly learning.
God is still looking for teachable people – not perfect people. I think we all qualify!
