Discipleship: What A Way To Live!
Scripture Reference: Acts 11:19 – 26
Introduction
I believed today that a church should require dynamic worship, dynamic fellowship, dynamic opportunities to understand and apply the word, dynamic opportunities to serve the Kingdom of God both locally and globally, and dynamic principles for living out the faith visibly and deliberately in the context of daily living.
There are principles for living out our faith visibly and deliberately. This should be done in the context of daily living. And that is where I want to focus our attention today.
When you hear someone call himself or herself a Christian what comes to your mind? What beliefs, convictions, or lifestyles become visible across the screen of your thinking? How do you define what a Christian is? After the images and the defining, would you define yourself as a Christian and if so how does anyone know you are one?
We have a lot of people today calling themselves Christians, but their life is or has become suspect. Is it because they have a false definition of what it means to be a Christian?
“A mother was telling her little boy what manner of person a Christian should be. When the lesson was finished, the mother got a stab she never forgot, when her boy asked seriously, “Mother, have I ever seen a Christian?”
Christian was a name or title that caught on after the first century church here in the book of Acts was formed and the multitudes of people, Jews and Gentiles were being converted to Christ.
But you have to understand this morning that they weren’t call Christians merely because of their conversion, but because of their belief, their conduct, and their life in Christ.
And since they were not overwhelmingly called Christians how were the early believers, the early converts described, defined, destined? – They were called Disciples.
Transition
Let me give you a definition of a Christian that I developed for our sharing this morning because of all the confusion in the world today about what one is… a Christian is one who has come in faith to the Savior. He has come to the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Belonging to the party of Christ.
You are not a Christian because you come to Church. You are not a Christian because you were baptized or took your first communion. You are not a Christian because you are in the children’s choir or work on a committee. You are not a Christian because you have cleaner thoughts than your co-worker or more morality than the rapist, murderer, thief, or tax cheats.
You are a Christian because you placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you will have to agree with me that becoming a Christian is not where it stops. But coming to Christ is where it actually begins.
Now a Disciple is something different. Here is a working definition of a disciple for the message of the hour…A Disciple is one who is a lifelong learner and follower of Christ determining to go where He goes, do what He does, and to say what He says.
So we will define Discipleship as the process of being a lifelong learner and follower of Christ determining to go where He goes, do what He does, and say what He says.
It is necessary this morning to distinguish between the position and the practice. Christianity is my position in Christ; Discipleship is my life for Christ. I have to say this again…the defining of the two is not an act of splitting hairs by this preacher.
But with all the claims of being a Christian by people whose conduct many of us would be ashamed of this is needful work. I cannot argue whether or not someone is a Christian, but being a Disciple is a whole different game.
Why talk about discipleship? What is discipleship to those of us who come to church on any given Sunday? Where does discipleship fit into my lifestyle? Is it a requirement? Is it necessary? What will it cost me and how long will I have to do it? I want you to understand…
The Christian received the life of Christ.
The Disciple gives a life for Christ.
The Christian is one who professes faith.
The Disciple is one who practices faith.
The Christian is internal in his/her conversion.
The Disciple is external in his/her conduct.
The Christian talks about being saved.
The Disciple lives like they are saved.
In the context of the Kingdom of God, a Disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian may be a Disciple. You will find in our text today that the lifestyle defined the name and not the name defining the lifestyle.
I. The People of Discipleship
19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
The text states that they were scattered. And why were they scattered? They were scattered because of persecution in their neighborhood for being followers of Christ. They weren’t persecuted because they knew Jesus or met Jesus, but because they followed Jesus in life and example.
But look at the exciting thing in the passage…what do these men do after being chased from their homes, after being forced to run for their lives? They kept on talking about Jesus. Jesus had such an influence upon their lives that they wouldn’t stop talking about Him even though they were run out of town.
The Spirit who had brought them a change of life, a change of purpose, a change of destiny put in them courage beyond description. Some would have been content with just speaking to the Jews only, but the Spirit of God sent some to a placed called Antioch to talk about Jesus to Non-Jews.
Can you draw anything from these two verses about the people of discipleship? They were diverse, they were not afraid to share their faith, they were not easily discouraged by the changes in events, and they were focused on one person and message.
They did not let the crisis of the moment stop them from realizing that the change in them was greater then the change going on around them.
Principle #1: The people of discipleship are those who live out there lives in their relationship to God through Christ regardless of what is going on around them.
What were the disciples named and unnamed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John doing while Christ was walking the earth? They were learning how to live in this life after He was gone.
They learned how to live for God and talk about God while facing opposition, temptation, and yes, even persecution. I am looking for a few people in here who have remained a follower of Christ despite the heartaches you have been through.
I am looking for a few good men and women who understand that the disciple of Christ is learning how to deal with the pressures of life, but yet is still learning how to keep on moving by what Christ taught and how He lived.
Something was going on in the lives of these believers. God was at work in their midst. They had been marvelously born again by the power of God. They were learning to follow Jesus and to be filled with His Spirit on a daily basis.
Their lives were being changed and He was the center of it all. He was the center of their conversation because He was the center of their lives. Everywhere they went they spoke of Christ. I’m sure every person to whom they spoke heard the old Gospel story of how Christ had changed their lives.
You are not a football player because you go to a football game.
You are not a baseball player because you go to a baseball game.
You are not a basketball player because you go to a basketball game.
You are not a computer scientist because you can access a computer.
No more than you are a disciple because you come to church or you know Jesus by name. As someone said, "Not all who profess Christ really possess Christ." When you are a Christian, but not a disciple then it is like auditing a college class, but not getting the credit.
What is one of the main differences between auditing a class and taking a class for credit? This is easy…the cost. What is the difference between a professing Christian and an empowered disciple? This is easy…the cost.
II. The Marks of Discipleship
21The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
Did you see, hear, and understand the marks that identified them as disciples? First, the Lord’s hand was with them and because of that other people believed and turned to the Lord. How many people have turned to God because His hand is upon your life --- that’s discipleship?
Secondly, news got all the way to back to the church in Jerusalem about the lives changed in Antioch among the non-Jews. Listen, Antioch was some 300 miles north of Jerusalem, yet the word was out.
No CNN, no Associated Press, no New York Times, no LA Times, just peoples lives changed so drastically that it spread by word of mouth. Who is talking about the changes in you? When you say that you are going to live more for God are people saying, “This won’t last long.”
Thirdly, Jerusalem sent an investigator to check it out. They sent a man by the name of Barnabas, the son of Encouragement. He came some 300 miles to inspect the fruit of their conversion. Somebody somewhere is on their way to check you out.
Listen to what the Spirit says, people are not interested in what you have to say about God if your life is not any different than theirs. If your life is not lived to a higher standard than what they themselves are living then they won’t hear about God.
Matthew 5
20For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Fourthly, when Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. You know what I am going to ask, right?
Is there any evidence of God’s grace in your life? I not talking about what you say is God’s grace, but what others see as God’s grace. Sometimes I believe the less visible we are in our faith, the less people see God at work in us and through us.
Principle #1 restated: The people of discipleship are those who live out there lives in their relationship to God through Christ regardless of what is going on around them.
Principle #2: The mark of Discipleship is the hand of the Lord upon your life to help turn others to God so that we may rejoice and encourage them in Him.
The people of Discipleship, the mark of Discipleship and finally the practice of Discipleship…
III. The Practice of Discipleship
24He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Eric and I have learned in the last couple of weeks that you never give people the “what” without also giving the “how”. The practice of discipleship is the how. Let’s reemphasize how I defined discipleship:
Discipleship is defined as the process of being a lifelong learner and follower of Christ determining to go where He goes, do what He does, and say what He says.
The real problem in this country is that we are not good followers. The problem is in all facets of our society.
George Barna - "Even though less that 1/5th of the population describe themselves as leaders, few people are willing to follow the vision, the plans, the methods, or the exhortations of leaders on a consistent basis. Americans have not only become a diverse culture but an unruly one, unwilling to follow anyone but themselves."
A man by the name of Kierkegaard once said “To become an ‘admirer of Jesus’ is much easier than to become a follower of Jesus.
SPURGEON: An unchanged life is the sign of an uncleansed heart’
William Barclay writes:
It’s possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple; to be a camp follower without being a soldier of the king; to be a hanger-on in some great work without pulling one’s weight.
Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, "So and so tells me that he was one of your students." The teacher answered devastatingly, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students." There is a world of difference between attending lectures and being a student. It is one of the supreme handicaps of the Church that in the Church there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so few real disciples.
R. G. Lee told about walking down the street and a drunk staggered up to him and said, “Oh, Preacher, I’m one of your converts.” The preacher looked at him and said, “Yeah, you look like one of mine. You certainly don’t look like one of the Lord’s.”
Illustration
The story is told of Alexander the Great a conqueror who often sat in judgment on the battlefield. There he was judge and jury. His word was law. When he had spoken, it would be done. Many times his judgment could be extremely harsh, especially in those situations of desertion.
Before him one day was brought a young lad. He was a fair-haired youth and very young. Alexander asked what the boy’s name was. The officer presenting him said, "Alexander, sir." At once, the great general’s countenance softened. It was as if he was flattered that the boy had his name. His men breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps there would be some leniency for this young man, whatever his crime. Alexander inquired as to the nature of the charge against the young lad. His officer replied, "Cowardice, sir. He fled in the heat of battle."
The once soft countenance of the great general was suddenly transformed into an intense, tight-jawed grimace. Looking the boy squarely in the eye, he said to him deliberately, "Son, what did you say was your name?"
The lad replied, "Why, Alexander, sir." Speaking again to the boy, this time in a louder tone he said, "Young man, what did you say was your name?" The young man answered in a stutter, "Why, uh-uh Alexander, sir."
To that answer, the emperor bolted off his throne and grabbed the terrified young soldier and said to him, "Young man, change your behavior or change your name!"
Barnabas made a practice of being good, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and being full of faith. This was not an exception to him or the other disciples but a way of life. This my brothers and sisters is the only way to live.
Practice being good – Matthew 5:16
Practice being filled with the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 5:18
Practice being full of faith – 1 Corinthians 2:5
You and I spend more time in the community or communities where we live and where we work and where we go to school and where we shop then we do in the church. I don’t reserve my life as believer for in here, but I spend my life as a believer for out there.
Question, what would happen if you and I began to regularly learn about Christ and follow Him, going where He would go, doing what He would do, and saying what He would say? Did you know that Jesus spent more time in the community than He did in the synagogue?
A disciple says to himself or herself the reason why I keep on praying is because that’s what Christ did when he had to deal with what he had to deal with.
A disciple says to himself or herself the reason why I am in the Word regularly is because that’s what Christ used regularly to fight temptation.
A disciple says to himself or herself the reason why I serve is because that’s what Christ did when he walked the face of the earth to demonstrate his love and obedience to God.
"They were called Christians first at Antioch." Why were they called "Christians" for the first time there in Antioch? What was it about these early believers that caused this term to be applied to them?, because of what they were in word and walk.
These early believers in Antioch lived for Jesus Christ; they didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the walk. In their lives, they tried to emulate the life of Christ.
These early Christians not only wanted to speak of Christ, they wanted to live for Him. They were conforming their lives to the image of Jesus Christ. And this was apparent to all who looked on.
So it seemed natural for the term "Christ" to be applied to these early believers. Perhaps those who applied that term desired for it to be a slap in the face. They may have said, "Why, you people are trying to be little Christs. All you do is talk about Christ. Your whole life is centered on Him. I know what you are. You are a Christian."
But a term, which may have been intended to be derogatory, was one, which so accurately described their way of life that it stuck. Barnabas probably ran into the church office one day and said to Paul, "Paul, do you know what they’re calling us now?"
Paul replies, "No, Barney. What is it?" Barnabas says, "They’re calling us Christians." "Christians?" says Paul. "That’s right," says Barney, "Christians." Paul leans back in his lambskin Lazy-boy and says, "You know, I think I like that. Christian.
I like that." Barnabas speaks up and says, "Yeah, I think I like that better than the ‘First Judeo-Apostolic Church of God in Christ International.’" "And they were called Christians first at Antioch." Christians! That described who they were.
Principle #1 restated: The people of discipleship are those who live out there lives in their relationship to God through Christ regardless of what is going on around them.
Principle #2 restated: The mark of Discipleship is the hand of the Lord upon your life to help turn others to God so that we can rejoice and further encourage them in Him.
Principle #3: The practice of Discipleship requires a life dedicated to being good, following in the Holy Spirit’s ways, and being strong and confident in your faith.
CONCLUSION
I am a soldier in the army of my God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer.
The Holy Bible is my code of conduct, Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare.
I have been taught by the Holy Spirit--
trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.
I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army;
but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out.
I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable.
If my God needs me, I am there.
I am committed.
I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.
I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win.
My God has, and will continue, to supply all of my needs.
I am more than a conqueror.
I will always triumph.
I can do all things through Christ.
Devils cannot defeat me.
People cannot disillusion me.
Weather cannot weary me.
Sickness cannot stop me.
Battles cannot beat me.
Money cannot buy me.
Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me.
I am a soldier.
Even death cannot destroy me.
For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him.
I am a soldier in the army and I’m marching, claiming victory.
I will not give up.
I will not turn around.
I am a soldier marching, heaven bound.
~author unknown~
