20 Luke 6.43-49

The Marks of a true Disciple

Luke 6:43-49

Is it possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple?

To be a camp follower without being a soldier of a 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 young man.

He said, "So and so tells me that he was one of your students:' The teacher answered, "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.

v    In the crowd that Jesus is addressing…

Ø     There were people attending his lecture and true students

Ø     There were followers and disciples

§        Remember how Luke introduces this teaching…

·        Look at v. 17

¨     Jesus is surrounded by…

Ø     The newly ordained 12 Apostles

Ø     Then disciples

Ø     Then followers

v    He teaches them basically about…

Ø     Discipleship

§        Loving their enemies

§        Not judging and being merciful

v    And he challenges them to ask themselves question at the end of His sermon

Ø     Are you a “follower” or a “disciple”

v    He asks this question of us today

Ø     Are you a “follower” or a “disciple?”

READ Luke 6:43-49

v    You see…

Ø     Anyone can be a follower

§        Jesus had 1,000’s of followers

·        John 6 ~ Feeds the 5,000

¨     Teaches them the great “I am the bread of life” discourse

¨     Teaches that only through him can people be saved

Ø     Difficult teaching!

§        Jn 6:66 says…

·        From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him

§        Jesus had 1,000’s of followers

·        But few disciples

¨     RQ: How do you tell the difference?

v    Jesus says that it is easy to spot a disciple

Ø     The disciple is marked in two ways

v    The first mark of a true disciple is…

Ø     The Fruit of Good Words (6:43-45)

§        Verses 43-45 are talking about the words you say

·        What a person says gives evidence to the disposition of their heart

¨     Or sometimes what they don’t say…

Ø     Scripture teaches us to…

§        Listen more than talk

·        James 1:19

¨     My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

Ø     Greek writer Zeno:

§        We have two ears but only one mouth so that we may hear more and speak less

¨     James goes on to talk about the tongue being a very powerful but dangerous part of the body if not used correctly

Ø     Very small but powerful

§        Ship rudder

Ø     Very small but dangerous

§        Spark that starts a forest fire

·        We all know the feeling of saying something you regret later

¨     Not being able to put the toothpaste back into the tube

§        Encourage more than criticize

·        1 Thes 5:11

¨     Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing

·        It is so easy to criticize!

·        It comes naturally

While traveling from one city to another, an old man was leading a donkey on which his grandson rode. The man heard some people say, "Would you look at that old man suffering on his feet while that strong young boy is totally capable of walking."

So they switched and the old man rode the donkey while the boy walked. And he heard some people say, "Would you look at that, a healthy man making the poor young boy suffer. Can you believe it?"

So the man and the boy both rode the donkey, and they heard some people say, "Would you look at those heavy brutes making that poor donkey suffer." So they both got off and walked, until they heard some people say, "Would you look at that! What a waste, a perfectly good donkey not being used."

As they entered the city, the people there were greeted with a strange sight. A young boy was walking ahead of an old man carrying a donkey!

Ø     No matter what you do, someone will always criticize it

§        We see that in churches as well

·        Whatever improvements are made, there are always criticisms

¨     We have to understand that the spirit in which they are made is a good one

Ø     Improvement

·        Heb 3:13

¨     But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness

Ø     The water that should overflow is that of encouragement

§        Praise God more than anything else

·        Ps 34:1-3

¨     I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.  My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

Ø     What should be on our lips at all times is praise of God

Ø     That is why we were made

§        To praise God

·        That is what we are doing today…Praising God

¨     Practicing for eternity

Ø     Revelation 7

·        Sounds boring?

¨     Think of what you love to do best

Ø     When sin is finally eradicated…

Ø     You will want to praise God more than that

·        I think this is what the Psalmist is writing about in Ps 84:10

¨     Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere

v    The second mark of a true disciple is…

Ø     The Obedience of Good Deeds (6:46-49)

§        READ 6:46

·        Here by negative example Jesus is saying…

¨     They are adamantly (Lord, Lord) claiming to be disciples of mine…

Ø     Yet do not obey Christ’s teachings!

§        There is a great disconnect if one is claiming to be a disciple of Christ

·        And then does not obey his teachings!!

¨     1 John 2:3-6

Ø     We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did

¨     And Jesus takes obedience very seriously (v. 49)

Ø     Jer 38:20 ~ to Zedekiah, last King of Judah

§        Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared

Ø     Obedience is a life and death issue

In July 1976, Israeli commandos made a daring raid at an airport in Entebbe, Uganda, in which 103 Jewish hostages were freed. In less than 15 minutes, the soldiers had killed all seven of the kidnappers and set the captives free.

As successful as the rescue was, however, three of the hostages were killed during the raid. As the commandos entered the terminal, they shouted in Hebrew, "Get down! Crawl!" The Jewish hostages understood and lay down on the floor, while the guerrillas, who did not speak Hebrew, were left standing. Quickly the rescuers shot the upright kidnappers.

But two of the hostages hesitated-perhaps to see what was happening-and were also cut down. One young man was lying down and actually stood up when the commandos entered the airport. He, too, was shot with the bullets meant for the enemy. Had these three heeded the soldiers' command, they would have been freed with the rest of the captives.

Salvation is open to all, but we must heed Christ's com­mand to repent and make him Lord. Otherwise, we will per­ish with the judgment meant for the Enemy.

Ø     Obedience is a matter of life and death

§        That is what Jesus is trying make us understand through his parable

·        V. 49

v    But if you do obey the Lord, the Bible is rife with blessings that flow from this

Ø     Ps 1:3

§        He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season

Ø     Isa 1:19

§        You will eat the best from the land

Ø     Jer 7:23

§        It will go well with you

v    Best of all, obedience is the foundation on Christ, our solid rock

Ø     And when we build our foundation through obedience on upon that rock

§        When the floods and torrents come

·        You will not be shaken

Pastor Scott Willis and his wife Janet had no idea of what awaited them when they and the youngest six of their nine children piled into their minivan, buckled up, and left their home on Chicago's south side for Wisconsin. It would turn out to be a day of excruciating pain and horror.

While driving north on Interstate 94 in Milwaukee, the van ran over a large piece of metal that punctured the gas tank, turning the van into a raging furnace. By the time the van stopped and the parents fell out, their children were hopelessly trapped.

One could suppose that for the Willises God had never been so far away. Yet, at a news conference, the burned bandaged couple, still in phys­ical pain, gave witness to God's grace. Janet said that when she looked back toward the van and began screaming, Scott touched her shoulder. "He said, 'Janet, this is what we've been prepared for.' And he was right.

He said, 'Janet, it was quick and they're with the Lord,' In their shared hospital room they comforted themselves by watching videos of their children, reading passages from God's Word, and talking openly about what had happened.

The Willises' living testimony amidst this torrent and flood of heartache is inspiring. "I know God has purposes and God has reasons," says Scott. "God has demonstrated His love to us and our family. There's no question in our mind that God is good, and we praise Him in all things.”

v    The Willises should have been swept away by the torrent of losing their children

Ø     A “follower” of Jesus would have been!

§        But the Willises were disciples of Christ

·        Their roots were deep in soil of God

¨     They are living proof of a house that is built on a foundation of discipleship and planted solidly on the rock of Jesus Christ…

Ø     Will not fall

Ø     May my deeds and my words be acceptable to you Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen.

Ø     Notes:

§        “Lord, Lord”

·        Anything repeated in Scripture is for stress or intensity

¨     Jesus in his teaching in John’s Gospel

¨     25x

Ø      “Truly, truly, I say to you…” = NAS, etc

§        NIV = “I tell you the truth”

§        KJV = “Verily, verily…”

§        In Greek = “Amen, amen”

·        Listen to this teaching

¨     E.g. John 3:3 ~ Nicodemus

¨     I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again

·        “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

¨     Crying out to God the Father when the sins of the world were heaped onto Jesus

¨     Misery, pain, separation, wrath, condemnation

§        Here…

·        “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

¨     Encouraging his disciples

¨     Warning the followers

¨     But true disciples not only receive from Jesus, they act on Jesus’ teaching

¨     An intense affirmation of allegiance

Ø     Ironically, Jesus has followers who are self-appointed or self-deluded who do not do what Jesus says

v    The question that Jesus is asking them and us is…

Ø     RQ: Can we truly call ourselves “Christians” and not obey Christ’s teachings?

§        Salvation is not achieved by works…

·        But it is perceived by works

v    This is a very important point to understand

Ø     Jesus i

¨     Deeds are proof of salvation

Ø     Deeds are in response to God’s gift of Grace

Ø     Loving your neighbor

Ø     Showing mercy to those around you

v    V. 47

Ø     Jesus encourages us to practice what he preaches

§        Become a disciple

Ø     Practicing what Jesus preaches has its benefits…

§        It prepares you for the hard times

·        Explain parable

¨     Building during dry season near riverbeds

§        No one knows the heart of another except God

·        And we are not to judge the heart

¨     That is what the previous section was talking about

§        But you can get insight into the heart through the Words that come out of the mouth

·        Bible teaches that a disciple is…