The GoodShip: Disciple-Ship
John 6:60-71
Intro.:
A. As I mentioned last week, an Aircraft Carrier is a good ship for Offense as it has about 90 airplanes onboard. However, an aircraft carrier needs the help of other ships for support. A DESTROYER is one type of a Ship in the Task Force of a Aircraft Carrier. The modern Destroyer is a vital part of any military campaign. Destroyers are usually named after Naval heroes or notable persons. The USS Zumwalt is named after Admiral Zumwalt. Today’s destroyers are being built and modified to be a multimission force. It’s primary mission will be land attack support for ground forces. It can provide gunfire up to 100 miles inland with its 155mm Howitzers; it has a missile system that will support land efforts from 100-200 miles inland and with its Tactical Tomahawk missiles it can extend its range to up to 1600 miles inland. It also has a few helicopters onboard and provides some submarine like sonar and minesweep suvalence capabilities. All this with only a crew of about 95.
B. But today, it is not this good Naval ship that I want you to remember but to reflect on the Good Ship – Discipleship! This ship is key for every Christian and Church. It is our overall purpose, as a church, to Make Disciples, (Mt. 28:19-20) It is our main purpose to be a Disciple. And being a Disciple is a multitask mission: from drawing closer to the Lord, to living our life differently as a Disciple of the Lord, to Making Disciples of others.
C. In our passage today we learn about being a Disciple. This chapter begins with Jesus doing a great miracle: as the crowd was following Jesus, it was getting late and so Jesus taking the 5 loafs of bread and 2 small fish, from a boys lunch – used to feed over 5000 people. The people and disciples were amazed.
- Later Jesus’s disciples at night were on a boat to Capernaum when a storm hit. Jesus came to them walking on water and they arrived safely to Capernaum.
- The next morning the crowd realized that Jesus nor His Disciples were around so they headed to Capernaum to find them. They did and Jesus began to teach them that He is the Bread of life. Jesus told them they were curious because he fed them (vs. 26); that the work of God was to believe the one He has sent (vs. 29); that Moses wasn’t the one who gave the manna it was God the father, (vs. 32), that He is the Bread of life (the bread that came down from heaven, like manna, that it is a bread that as you eat you will never be hungry again, this bread is my flesh which I give for the world and he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have life and he who doesn’t will not.
- Jesus was referring to His death and the shedding of his blood for the forgiveness of sins. We remember this precisely as we partake in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus says; that it is only through a person’s total faith in His death and Rez. That one can have eternal life.
- This was very hard for the Jewish people who thought they had a natural association for eternal life because they were Jewish and because of their works in seeking to obey the law.
C. So we pick it up in our passage today and see that when Jesus taught this, it was hard for people to accept it – not to understand it – but to accept it and so they left. We learn as we look at this passage some of what it means about being a Disciple!
Body:
A. A True Disciple is one who totally believes Jesus is the Holy One of God. Vs. 68-69, 64
- Some of them – those who left did not believe have Faith, Trust in Jesus, vs. 64
- The True Disciples – who didn’t leave Believed – they trusted and had Faith that Jesus was the Bread of life – that He was the Holy One who had come from God the Father and that He did have the words for Eternal life.
- It all starts here for a True Disciple: Do you believe, Trust that Jesus in His death on the Cross paid the price for your sins and through Him alone, as the Holy One from the Father is eternal life – or do you still believe that your works can save you be trying to be good?
- This believing is demonstrated by us Confessing our sins to Him and Receiving Jesus as our Savior and Lord. John 1:12 “To all who received him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Rom. 10:9-10; if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and you confess with your mouth, He is Lord, you will be saved.”
- True Disciples believe and Confess Jesus as their Lord! Are you a True Disciple?
B. A True Disciple seeks to Apply and live according to the Teaching’s of Jesus – even the hard ones. Vs. 60-62
- John 8:31-32 Jesus said that if you hold on to my teachings you will be my disciple for the truth will set you free.
- Sometimes those teachings can be hard: because of the way we were brought up, because of our culture, because of our own desires and thoughts.
- Sometimes there might hard teachings in the areas of morals, religious thoughts, practices of faith, etc.
- We sometimes deal with these difficult teachings by just ignoring them. However, our passage here teaches we need to really seek to understand and apply them in our lives as a true disciple.
- I had to deal with my own prejudice’s, language teachings, different theological ideas, etc. that were hard teachings because they didn’t fit into my own ideas.
What hard teachings of the Lord are you struggling with to apply in your life as a Disciple?
C. A True Disciple seeks to Live by the Spirit of God. Vs. 63.
- We learn in Scripture that Jesus will give – baptize us with the Holy Spirit after His ascension. We learn that the Holy Spirit works to bring us to Christ by convicting us of our sins, by leading us to Christ. We learn in 1Cor. 2 that it is through the HS that we can understand correctly God’s Word and accept them. We learn the HS wants to empower us to serve and be a witness for the Lord – He wants to produce Fruit in our lives, etc.
- So the true Disciple is one who seeks to live not by their own ways or will but by being Filled with the HS!
- Are you being filled daily by the HS?
D. A True Disciple Follows Jesus regardless of what others do, vs. 66-68
- I.E. True Disciples don’t Quit – they commit themselves for the long haul – for life.
- I’ve seen people quit Jesus and I am sure you have too.
- I’ve seen people bring broken parts of their life: lost opportunities, mistakes, broken marriages, damaged relationships – but they wanted a quick fix that wouldn’t cost them anything. So when it became inconvenient and too hard, they quit.
- Some people have quit Jesus because of some teaching they found as harsh or just couldn’t understand.
- Others have just gotten discouraged due to the slow nature of progress in their lives.
- Some people have quit Jesus because they were hurt by some one in the Church – even decades ago.
- Have you been tempted to quit Jesus? At some point perhaps every person has been tempted to quit. It is not always easy – it can be a struggle and sometimes things don’t happen like we want them too or as fast we want to – sometimes we do get hurt by others – but as we learn here, we need to Follow Jesus always and not give up! The Lord will nave forsake us or leave us – Heb. 13:5
- We are not only suppose to Follow Jesus regardless of what others do but we are reminded here that we are first and foremost to Please God and not people. Even as Gal. 1:10 teaches us.
Conclusion:
A. Why is the Discipleship – Good? Because it is only Jesus who leads us to abundant and eternal life, John 10:10. Jesus is the Holy One from God the Father and the one who holds the words for eternal life (vs. 68).
B. A Destroyer is used for Battle – so being a Disciple is used to help us in the battles of life. We have an enemy who is looking to devour us – to steal and kill and destroy us – to keep us from and deceive us from the Truth and from the Lord. Eph. 6:10 we are called to put on the full armor of God – Rom. 7 teaches us that we are in spiritual battle of doing what is right and doing our own thing. Growing as a Disciple helps us in these spiritual battles that we find ourselves in.
So as a Disciple accept His Hard Teachings, Seek to be Filled with the Holy Spirit, and Follow Jesus no matter what.
C. I have suggested a Portrait of a Disciple and you can see through the qualities of a True Disciple in this passage today some of the characteristics of being a Disciple:
D = Devoted to the Lord wholeheartedly; Believe in Jesus as your Lord, Follow Jesus regardless of what others do.
Instructed by the Word – Jesus holds the words of eternal life. His teachings.
Spirit-filled –
Conformed to Christ – to be open to the Lord and His teachings. To be more like Him, to accept His teachings, even when they are hard.
D. Questions for you today:
- Are you Teachable, even when the teachings of Jesus are hard?
- Is Jesus your Lord? The holy one of God who holds the words of eternal life?
- Are you a True Disciple of Jesus Christ?
- What area do you struggle with in being His Disciple? Give it to Him today!
