“The Thrill of Discipleship”
Introduction:
Brother Dan Shafer sings a song that says, “When you walk with the Lord you won’t get bored”. I think Brother Dan is right. In the world today there are many misconceptions about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. Most Americans claim to be Christians, but few claim to go to church. Most Americans claim to be Christians, but few claim to spend time in prayer and the study of God’s Word. Many people claim to be a Christian, but very few live the life that Jesus called people to live. As you look across the world and see the way people act you can see the world is far from a Christian place. To many people, and maybe even to some here Christianity may seem boring. Perhaps you today think of being a Christian as a boring life. Many people have the misconception that when you become a Christian you can’t have fun, and that you sit in a monastery all the time and don’t talk. The reason that many people see Christianity as a boring life to live is because they have not surrendered everything to Jesus; it is because there are many people in the world who live their lives halfway committed to Jesus. Many people honor Jesus with their lips, but their hearts are far away. I am here this morning to suggest only when we sell out to Jesus can being a Christian be a true thrill.
When I say names like Peter, John, Andrew, Judas, James and Thomas you immediately remember Jesus’ twelve disciples. When I say the names Don Maney, Frank Harrison, Todd Graham, Stephanie Cole, Tommy Sawyngim and Billy Jones what do you think of? Perhaps you think of a relation they have to you. Perhaps you think of their occupation, but do you ever think of them as Jesus’ disciples. I hope that above anything you think of those people and me as disciples of Jesus first, and then anything else. I am a Christian first, and husband second and preacher thirdly and the same order applies to you. We today are called to be disciples of Jesus as well. Over these next several weeks I want to look at the importance of being a true disciple of Jesus and how we must give everything to follow Him. Jesus expects more of us than simply coming to Him for the forgiveness of our sins, but he expects our dedication and surrender. He expects us to be His disciples, and to imitate Him. I hope that over these ext several weeks as week look at the idea of being a disciple of Jesus that we will get excited in our faith and begin to take seriously our commitment to follow Jesus. I really believe that the commitment that we made to Jesus is the greatest commitment we have made, and we need to take our faith seriously. It seems that in the church as a whole there are many half way committed believers, and very few disciples. May that never be said of Oak Grove? I pray that we each will be disciples of Jesus. Just think, the world was turned upside down because of the work of twelve disciples. What can us here at Oak Grove do to this community and this world with 75 disciples of Jesus? We can impact the world. There is no reason why we cannot change the world like the early Christians did. We have the same message, the same God, and the same Spirit to empower us. I hope that by the end of this message you will say, I don’t just want to be a Christian, but I want to be a disciple of Jesus. The truth is all Christians are supposed to be disciples. I believe that the Scriptures make it very clear that ever person who is a Christian should be completely and totally sold out and excited in the Lord. Each believer should be dedicated to serving and living like Jesus. Each believer should be committed to sharing their faith and leaving an example. I believe though that there are many lukewarm Christians in the church today, and Satan’s greatest weapon in the part-time Christian. First of all, because there is really no such thing. Those that are not totally sold out to Jesus are not Christians at all, but they are self-deceived. Secondly, because Satan uses those people to discourage the faithful, and hold back the work of the Lord. If you are a part time Christian it is time to take a full-time role. It is time to take seriously serving Jesus. We are not here on this Earth for long, and we are not going to be judged by how much money we make, how successful we were, but we will be judged by what we do for the Lord. Are you ready to see the true thrill of being a disciple of Jesus?
Text: Luke 14:25-33
I. Can one be a Christian and not a disciple?
A lot of people in the world today want to be Christians, but not disciples. Perhaps there are some here who think that they can be a Christian without being a disciple of Jesus. According to God’s Word though there is no dividing the two. A person cannot be a Christian without being a disciple. What does that mean for the church? What does that mean for us here today? You cannot be a Christian without being a disciple as well.
a. Great Commission – Matthew 28:19
Did you notice that Jesus didn’t say go and make Christians, he said go and make disciples. In the New Testament the words were interchangeable, but today they are quite different. A Christian is anyone who believes in Jesus, being a Christian is just a religion. A disciple though is a person committed to living like Jesus and for Jesus. A disciple is one who loves to go to church and to worship. A disciple is one who regularly reads God’s Word and prays. Being a disciple is not just a religion, but it is a lifestyle. One problem in the church today is that people are not making disciples anymore. What we do here is not just religious rituals. Christianity is not just a religion, but it is a way of life in which we imitate our master. God does not want us to make Christians, but to make disciples. One cannot be a Christian without being a disciple as well.
b. Early Church – Acts 11:25-26
In the early church the followers of Jesus were all called disciples. There were more disciples than just the twelve and one hundred and twenty, every believer was a disciple, and that is why the disciples were called Christians. You cannot be a Christian without being a disciple; the two words Biblically are interchangeable. The disciples were Christians and the Christians were disciples.
Perhaps you today would consider yourself a Christian, but not a disciple. I hope you would consider that the two are interchangeable. Just because you to be a Christian does not make you a Christian. Just because you mark on your census paper that you are a Christian does not mean that God will consider you one of His own. Only when we are His disciples can we be saved. One cannot be a Christian without being a disciple also.
II. What are the traits of a Disciple of Jesus?
Anyone who claims to be a disciple ought to have certain traits that identify them as a disciple. What traits will identify you as a disciple of Jesus? Is it the fact that you go to church regularly? Is it the clothes that you wear? Is it the way that you talk? The answer is no. The traits of a disciple are much deeper. I am convinced that you can be identified as a disciple of Jesus by the way in which you live. There are several traits of disciples.
a. Imitates his master
If a person is a true disciple of Jesus they will imitate their master.
Matthew 10:24-25
If you want to be a disciple of Jesus you must live like Jesus. When Jesus walked this Earth he left us a perfect example of how we should live. Surely we cannot be perfect, we will all fall short, but Jesus is our example and we should strive with all that we have to imitate Jesus. Many people though who claim to be disciples of Jesus show no sign of imitating Jesus. Many people claim to be a disciple of Jesus on Sunday, but come Monday they are telling dirty jokes with the guys. Many people claim to be a disciple of Jesus, yet the things that they watch and listen to are the very things that Jesus came and died for. Many people claim to be a Christian, but when they get home fall into the same immorality that they had been in before. We are Christians, which means that we imitate and represent Jesus and many of us are not being good representatives. The reason why many people do not want to have anything to do with the Lord’s Church today is because of people who claim to be a disciple failure to imitate their master. Perhaps there are some here who are not living a life imitating Jesus, if you are not then you cannot be a disciple of Jesus. In the early church there was no question that Jesus’ disciples imitated their master. They imitated Him in the way they live, the way that they talked, and the way that they acted towards other people. Don’t you want to be a true disciple of Jesus too? You cannot enjoy the Christian life unless you imitate Jesus; if you are not imitating Him the Christian life will seem boring and burdensome. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, imitate him in the way you live and you will see the thrill of being a disciple.
b. Desires to Learn
A Disciple of Jesus should desire to learn more about Jesus. The Greek word for disciple is “Mathetes” which means a learner. Do you desire to learn and hear God’s Word or is coming to church and hearing God’s Word a burden to you? The Christian should want to hear and learn more about Jesus.
More, more about Jesus
More, more about Jesus
More of His saving fullness see
More of his love who died for me
For the true disciple there should be an indescribable desire to learn more because we want to know about Jesus. For the disciple of Jesus they should make every opportunity to hear God’s Word. This means the disciple would want to get up an hour earlier and come to Sunday school. This means the disciple would want to sacrifice time to make it to other church services, this may mean that the disciple of Jesus would spend time regularly reading God’s Word. Jesus said unless you consume me you cannot be my disciple, and the way in which we can consume him and learn of Him is through His Word. Are you a disciple of Jesus? If you are you should desire to learn more about Jesus.
c. Follows Immediately
Another trait of a disciple of Jesus is that they follow Jesus immediately. Like brother Logan Fugate said, I don’t know why people don’t run down the aisles during invitation time.
A young man wrote this to his girlfriend. “Sweetheart, if this world was as hot as the Sahara desert, I would crawl on my knees through the burning sand to come to you. If the world would be like the Atlantic Ocean, I would swim through shark infested waters to come to you. I would fight the fiercest dragon to be by your side. I will see you on Thursday if it does not rain.”...
Mark 1:16; 20
When we come under conviction that we need to follow Jesus people should be excited to claim the promises that Jesus brings. The early disciples left everything and followed Jesus immediately. Why don’t people do that today? Why do people delay so long to follow Jesus? For many people they wait and wait to obey the gospel, they wait until they feel just right; some people are embarrassed to come down the aisle in front of a bunch of people. Some people don’t come immediately because they don’t like to admit they have been living wrong, but if we are ashamed of him, he will be ashamed of us. A disciple should follow Jesus immediately. If you are not a Christian, the same invitation exists that Jesus gave, “follow me” and we should do it immediately. Will you too follow him immediately?
III. How do you Begin the Sellout?
I’ve spoken about the importance of selling out to Jesus, but what does that mean to sell out? How do we begin that process? I think first of all it begins right now. Many times we sit back and wait and wait to make changes in our life. We tell ourselves that one day we would like to get more involves, one day we would like to really serve, but the truth is today is that day, and we must simply dive in and begin the process of selling out to Jesus. I believe that process involves several things.
a. Have a Servant’s Attitude
First, beginning the sellout starts with a servant attitude. We first need to realize that the world does not revolve around us and that we do not come to church to please ourselves and see what we can get out of it. Many Christians come to church for themselves. They really get something out of it. There is nothing wrong with getting something good out of coming to church, but when we do not get what we want that is not an excuse to turn our backs on Jesus. If we have the attitude that we are coming to church to serve and not to be served I believe that our relationship with Christ will be a true thrill. You have heard it said it is more blessed to give than to receive and I believe that is true. A servant attitude must prevail in order for us to begin the sellout to Jesus.
Mark 10:45
When our attitude is to serve we will grow exponentially in our faith. People will be won to Jesus, and we will feel important and used in the Kingdom of God. Christianity is not a consumer religion, but we are to serve as Christ served. When our attitude goes away from ourselves we will not leave the church over petty issues and we will be effective disciples of Jesus Christ.
b. Change Your Priorities
Sometimes we need to re-evaluate what our priorities are. What is it that comes first in your life? Is it your family? Your job? Your money? Or maybe to you God is number one. I will tell you God is number one in my life. God take priority over Stephanie, God takes priority over my friends, and God takes priority over everything in my life. Yes, other things are important to me and matter to me, but with as my number one priority I will not miss church for the basketball game I really wanted to watch because my priority is Him. With God as my priority when Stephanie is sick and cannot make it to church I still come to be with the Lord’s people and meet around the Lord’s table because, God is number one. There is nothing, I mean anything that will hinder me from doing what is right with the Lord when he is my priority. Look what Jesus had to say about priorities:
Luke 14:26
This does not mean hate in the since we think of hate, but means more that we like less. I love Stephanie, but God comes first. I love my friends, but God comes first. In order to sell out to Jesus we must re-evaluate our priorities and out God number one and do more than say he is our priority, but show it in how we live. If he is priority over other things, how much time should we spend with Him as compared to with other things?
c. Carry Your Cross Daily
Are you daily carrying you cross? I know, what does it mean to daily carry your cross? It does not mean that you have to carry a wooden cross literally, but it means that you have to deny yourself and follow after Jesus. It may mean that you have to sacrifice things in your life to follow Jesus. Jesus says it as important for us to carry our cross and follow Him.
Luke 14:27
Are you carrying your cross? If you are not then that means that you are not a disciple of Jesus. That is something to consider isn’t it? Maybe we should take more seriously how dedicated we are to our faith. Maybe we should consider the fact that this is not just a preacher ranting and raving, but Jesus was serious when he said you must carry your cross to be a disciple.
d. Count the Cost
We seem to want to know the cost of everything, but the price of nothing. This shows in our faith in many ways.
Have you counted the cost of being a Christian? Before I was immersed into Christ, my Youth Minister made me look at a calendar, and he said, do you realize that you are committing to being in church each Sunday? He told me the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. Many people do not consider that it costs us time to be a Christian. Have you counted the cost of being a Christian?
Luke 14:28-30
I think that after you have counted the cost you will say that it is worth it to be a Christian and that it is a true thrill to be a disciple of Jesus.
Matthew 13:44
e. Surrender
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to thee my blessed savior
I surrender all
It is easy for us to stand here in church and sing those songs, but have you surrendered all to Jesus?
Luke 14:31-33
Have you left everything to follow after Him? Do you remember when Peter and Andrew were called to follow Jesus? They left their jobs to follow him. When James and John were called to follow Jesus they left their families to follow Him. When the rich man came to Jesus, he was told to leave everything and follow Him, and he couldn’t do it. Another man wanted to say goodbye to his friends first, and still another wanted to bury his father. What have you left behind to follow Jesus? What are you holding onto and what excuses are hindering you from following Jesus? You cannot be His disciple if you do not give everything up and follow Him. Have you surrendered your will to him? Sometimes we have to give up what we want in order to serve God and be His disciples. Have you surrendered your heart to him? With a heart surrendered to Jesus he can work in you and through you.
I’m here today to tell you that it is a thrill to be a disciple of Jesus. I hope that you feel the same way today. Only when you are totally and completely committed to serving Jesus can our faith be a complete thrill and excitement. Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said these things and made these commands; he was serious and let us take Him seriously. If you want to experience the thrill of discipleship, then you must commit to following him.
