WHY DO I HAVE TO BE A DISCIPLE?
Matthew 28:18-20
Two weeks ago I asked the question, why are we here? The answer was Jesus’ call for us to be, first, disciples, and second, to disciple others. Last week I asked you, who have you been hanging out with?
So I went home thinking over what I had said and I asked myself, why do I have to be a disciple? Why can’t I just come to church and relax? I know I need to be saved, but why all the fuss about being a disciple? Why all the push to try and make other people Christians? A friend of mine goes to a church were they want everyone to be comfortable. Everybody only has to do what they want to do. I call it a fell good, do nothing church.
So why should I be a disciple of Jesus? Let me tell you a story.
John Harper became a Christian when he was 13 years old. He started preaching by age 17. He received his biblical training at the Pioneer Mission in London. In 1896 he pioneered a church that is now known as Harper Memorial Church. He began with 25 and the church grew to over 500 by the time he left it 13 years later.
In 1912 John was traveling on the Titanic with his 6-year-old daughter. After the ship struck the iceberg and began to sink, he got his daughter into a lifeboat but made no effort to follow her. Instead, he ran through the ship yelling, Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats!
Survivors report that he then began witnessing to anyone who would listen. He continued preaching even after he had jumped into the water and was clinging to a piece of wreckage.
John’s final moments were remembered four years later at a meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, by a man who said, I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a piece of the boat that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper near me. ‘Man,’ he said, ‘are you saved?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I am not.’ He replied, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’
The waves took him away, but, strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, ‘Are you saved now?’ ‘ No,’ I said, ‘I cannot honestly say that I am.’
He said again, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,’ and shortly thereafter he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I was John Harper’s last convert.
What made John Harper so passionate about Jesus and telling others about him? So much so, that his last moments were used to tell one last man about Jesus.
John had read Jesus’ last command and it affected everything he did from them on. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
This statement was made by Jesus to his disciples shortly before he ascended to Heaven. This is what we call the Great Commission. It was the marching orders for the eleven disciples, and it has been the orders for the church ever since. So, why do I have to be a disciple? Because Jesus said so!
Jesus’ command to us is simple and straightforward, go and make disciples of all nations. Go make disciples of everyone, not just people we know or people we are comfortable around, but everyone who does not know him!
Jesus didn’t preface it with, when you have spare time, when it’s convenient for you, or when you decide you’re comfortable to do it, it says go and make disciples.
I think we as a church body, have gotten comfortable with where we are at in our walks with the Lord that we have completely lost site of this command that Jesus left us with.
I consider myself to be a pretty giving and unselfish person. I’m willing to give of my time, talents, and money to those that are less fortunate than me. If someone calls me to help them out, I’m willing to change my schedule to accommodate them.
But all of that aside, the truth is I am a very selfish person. I’m as selfish as they come, because I have become comfortable simply focusing on my walk with God rather than focusing on those who still need the Lord.
You’d be surprised how often I’m asked if I preached a particular sermon with that person in mind. I tell them that the message is as much for me as it is for anyone else.
I believe any pastor would tell you that they need to hear this message as much as any one else. The reason I mention this is so you know that we are all in this together. We are all called to the same task no matter what our career may be.
My goal isn’t to make you feel bad about yourself, but to make you feel convicted enough to want to refocus your energies on Jesus’ command to go and make disciples!
That doesn’t mean that we are not concerned about ourselves and our own walks. I believe one of the biggest reasons Christians aren’t making disciples is because we ourselves aren’t living as disciples. And we absolutely cannot make disciples of others if we ourselves aren’t disciples!
That doesn’t give you an excuse not to go make disciples, it means being and making disciples have to go hand and hand.
What is a disciple? A disciple is simply one who follows another’s teachings.
Jesus described it this way, A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. Matthew 10:24-25
A disciple of Jesus is one who follows Jesus and learns how to replicate the life, spirit and work that Jesus came to do. We are to become Jesus to the world around us.
A disciple is anyone who follows Jesus. It is not about whether you are a pastor or not. It is not about whether you have a formal education. Everyone who claims the name of Jesus, must be a disciple.
There are many qualities to a good disciple. Today I want to look at one specific one.
A disciple puts Jesus first in all areas of his life.
A disciple is committed to a life of purity and is taking steps to separate from sin. He has a daily devotional time and is developing his prayer life, he demonstrates faithfulness and a desire to learn and apply the word of God.
He demonstrates he has a servant heart by helping others in practical ways. He has a heart for witnessing by sharing his own testimony, sharing the good news.
I know enough about cars to be truly dangerous. One thing I know very well is that everything has to be working in order for the car to run at an optimal level.
The spark plugs have to be working, the belts and hoses need to be in working order, you need gasoline and oil to make it run, and brakes and steering to survive. The tires need to be inflated correctly. If there is no gas the car isn’t going to run and if there are no brakes, you aren’t going to make it very far without crashing.
This isn’t the best analogy, but it works well enough to make my point that as disciples we must possess all of the traits I’ve discussed to be effective disciples.
If we aren’t submissive to God, if we don’t make him first in all aspects of our lives, we will never be able to surrender to his will and accomplish his goals for us in our lives.
If we aren’t living a life of purity in speech, thought, and action, our witness will be destroyed. If we aren’t committed to the study and application of the scriptures, we will be unequipped to do the work of God.
If we are lacking in our prayer and devotional time, we will be lacking direction and instructions from God.
If we fail to be servants to others, we will never be able to share our message with those that desperately need to hear it.
And finally if we aren’t witnessing and being evangelists, all of our other actions will be for nothing.
This call to discipleship is not a passive following. His call for us to follow was not a call for us to be Jesus groupies. It was not his intention for us to just follow him around to just sit at his feet and eat from his hand.
Jesus’ call for us to follow him is so we can learn how to be like him, and to do what he did.
Jesus knew that he had a limited time on this earth. If the good news was to be given from generation to generation and to grow in magnitude, Jesus had to pass on who he was and his purpose on this earth and send each of his disciples to the ends of the earth to do the same.
In order to fulfill our commitment to be disciples and share the good news we need a sense of urgency. Sadly, we are too passive about sharing our faith. I know, there’s a level of aggressiveness that turns people off, but I don’t think that is our problem.
We have such a casual nonchalant spirit about sharing Christ that people don’t even know we are Christians. A recent church study revealed that 95% of evangelical Christians admitted that they had never led anyone to the Lord. I think that statistic shows that we are way passive about lost people.
You and I are here this morning because those before us were passionate about making disciples, even to the point of death. Have you ever heard about what happened to the disciples?
Andrew was crucified, Bartholomew was beaten then crucified. James, son of Alphaeus, stoned to death. James, son of Zebedee, beheaded. John was exiled for his faith, died of old age. Judas, stoned to death. Matthew, speared to death. Peter, crucified upside down. Philip, crucified. Simon, crucified. Thomas, speard to death. Matthias, stoned to death.
Each of the 12 apostles left family and jobs, traveling to distant countries, preaching that Jesus died and came back to life. If the 12 disciples were making it all up, each of them chose to die prematurely for something they knew wasn’t true. Doesn’t make sense.
These disciples went to their deaths proclaiming what they had no doubts about, that Jesus had risen from the dead, proving that he was everything he claimed to be, the Son of God. They had an urgency about what they were doing.
God wants us to be disciples just like them, with a sense of urgency, like John Harper showed as the Titanic was going down.
Paul had that sense of urgency. As you read the last nine chapters of Acts you get a glimpse of the kind of man that Paul was.
After one of his many trips, Paul arrived in Jerusalem where he immediately begins sharing the good news of Jesus. He went looking for all the Jews who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. He wasn’t pushy and he didn’t force it upon them, but he did it with an urgency that showed he truly cared about their salvation.
Shortly after his arrival in Jerusalem, Paul was arrested for sharing the good news with the Jews in and around Jerusalem. Paul was chained up and thrown in jail all while many people were plotting to kill him.
Over the next week Paul was transferred to Caesarea and had a trial before Governor Felix but Felix left him in jail for the next two years until he was succeeded in office by Festus. Festus summoned Paul to hear his case.
The trial starts in chapter 24, but the part I want you to see is with Governor Festus and King Agrippa in chapter 26.
Paul asks the king, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do. Then Agrippa said to Paul, Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? Paul replied, Short time or long, I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains. Acts 26:27-29
In Paul’s answer to the king, you can see the compassion and sense of duty he has to all of these people. Here he is bound in chains and surrounded by people that want him killed, but instead he is more concerned about their own salvation then he is for the removal of his own chains.
Do you have a burning desire to see others come to know the Lord? A desire so strong that it overshadows even your own problems?
I encourage you to take time to think about the important task God has given us to go and make disciples.
I want our study to be more than a time that is simply enlightening; I want it to be a time of transformation.
No matter where you are in your walk with God, I know that there is room for God to transform you. I urge you to ask God to reveal to you how you can become a better disciple for him and one that truly desires salvation for everyone you come in contact with just as Paul desired for everyone he met.
