Sermon Tone Analysis

Zach Papuga

Discipleship

12/27/17

INTRODUCTION:

Since tonight is the first time many of you will have heard me share something other than announcements, I figured I would share a little bit of my story and how I came to be a pastor at Calvary PHX!

I am a whopping 27 years old and am married to a wonderful woman named Aubrey.

We have been married a year and 4 months and we live with our dog, Pepper, in Tempe, AZ.

I was born in Glendale, AZ and grew up just a few miles from this church.

My family began attending Calvary when I was around 4 years old (1994) and I was saved shortly after at the age of 5 when my grandmother led me in the sinners prayer at her little café table in her kitchen.

After a short stint at Lakeview Elementary around the corner, I began my journey in Christian education at NWCA which I fondly still refer to as the “bendy-tree church” on 43rd avenue (Now Pure Heart)

From there I transferred to NCS just a few miles away and finished out my Jr. High and High School years there.

It was during this time I began to serve in the international youth ministry, Young Life, but also started to get myself into some real trouble.

This is where I began to live what I would consider: a double-life.

I learned how to put on my Christian face when need be, but then take off that mask within seconds and be who I really was underneath.

Emotional, foolish, and quite sinful.

I graduated from High School in 2008 and decided I would attend ASU for college as I got a scholarship there.

At this point in my young adult journey I would say my faith was about as steady as a clown, on stilts, in row boat, in the middle of the ocean… in a storm.

I knew God.

I knew right from wrong.

I had all of the head knowledge to explain the gospel and my faith pretty well.

I just hadn’t let that translate to heart knowledge quite yet.

The kind of knowledge that leads to living the Truth, not just knowing it.

As is the case for many millennial students, I sort of floated through college without much rhyme or reason and I began to live a life that didn’t resemble that of a Christian.

I made quite a few bad decisions and reaped the consequences from them.

Broken friendships, dead-end relationships, more anger, more depression, more pain.

Unbelievably during this time, I continued to serve in Young Life, and was constantly astonished at how God would still use a wretch like me to help the impressionable students around me.

Over the years I had honed in my skill of playing the part of a “Christ follower” when I needed to, and it was during these times away from Tempe I began to feel God speak to me and show me there was so much more to life and that He had bigger plans for me.

As I would enter back into real life, after a camp or a club, I would shove the voice of God aside once more and continue on living my life of vanity.

This back and forth lifestyle was short lived.

As sin does its work of death and destruction, I finally found myself in a place I had never dreamed I’d be.

I had reached my bottom.

I was 21 and had my senior year of college looming in front of me with no foreseeable plans after that.

I had progressively made a name for myself in all the wrong ways and had just got out of a tumultuous 3-year relationship.

I was trapped in a prison of addiction, depression, and confusion.

I was in every aspect a broken mess.

It was at this time my angelic mother decided it would be best for me to come back to my church, Calvary, and listen to a message from Pastor Mark.

I begrudgingly agreed and…

It was on that fateful Wednesday Night in August 2011 that Pastor Mark shared some scripture that forever changed my life.

He shared a portion of scripture out of Galatians that finally connected the dots for me.

I would like to share it with you tonight

It was this out of:

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[fn] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

This was it.

It finally all made sense to me.

I had been living in the flesh and I was reaping the fruit of worldly living.

If I truly wanted to see true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life I realized it was time to take being a follower of Christ seriously.

It would no longer just be a title I took, but a complete and utter identity transformation.

It was in that moment I felt like a lightning bolt hit my chest.

(sitting over by the drums)

I was instantly repulsed of my old life!

It was the most incredible thing.

I finally understood why Jesus died for me.

I understood how badly I needed Him.

That I couldn’t do this on my own.

That He loved me and that it was only through Him I would find true meaning in life.

Here is the only problem with that moment.

I knew after church I had to return back home.

Back to Tempe.

Back to my crazy life.

How was I going to survive or actually grow spiritually?

Little did I know, God had already worked this out for me.

The next day happened to be my first day of school.

I have no clue why ASU starts on a Thursday?!

But I’m glad they did that year!

As I was headed across campus to my first class I ended up passing by a table for a new church that had just been planted in Tempe.

I felt something inside me tell me to stop and speak with them.

I gave them my information and was invited to meet with them the next day at… Chick-fil-a.

(of course where else would good respectable Christians meet?!)

I met with them the next day and was introduced to the pastors.

I shared my story with them and how God had just moved in my life the night before.

They were so excited for me and immediately the senior pastor asked to meet again with me.

I thought this was cool but a little strange.

But I was desperate to hang out with Christians so I agreed.

Well soon our meetings became intentional weekly hangouts and Travis explained to me what we were doing had a name.

It was called Discipleship.

As my senior year raged on Travis helped me through some of the most difficult growth moments of my life like a father to a son or a teacher to a student.

He inspired me and guided me in how to live a life in the Spirit

He explained to me my identity in Christ

He helped me start living an active Christian life.

After that year our schedules changed and I was handed over to another pastor named Adam.

He would be my discipler for the next 4 years.

Adam brought me into his family and his life completely.

He taught me how to be a man of God, a Christ-like husband, a humble servant, and how to have healthy relationships and boundaries.

He also taught me how to be a discipler, a leader, and a pastor.

I watched him live his life week by week, month by month, and year by year, and through it I was transformed as well.

Because of their influence and dedicated hearts to disciple me, I am a pastor here today.

I sometimes tear up just saying his name because of the impact that he had on me during that time.

You see Travis and Adam knew something that I didn’t before.

And they took the commands of Jesus very seriously.

Especially the final one Jesus gave before He ascended into Heaven.

So because it has affected my life so powerfully, there are three things I want to share about discipleship that I hope will inspire you to seek it in your own life!

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In recent years I have become quite the novel reader.

I can burn through a book in a matter of days if I’m not careful and can drive my wife a bit crazy with my love for stories.