Follow Me
Purpsoe of the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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Discipleship
Discipleship
Discipleship is a scary word.
Lexham Theological Wordbook Discipleship
Discipleship is the process of devoting oneself to a teacher to learn from and become more like them. For the Christian, this refers to the process of learning the teachings of Jesus and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple but of making other disciples through teaching and evangelism.
It is the heart of being a follower of Christ.
Discipleship is learning but so much more than books.
Discipleship is being taught, but so much more than sitting in a classroom.
Discipleship is being disciplined, but so much more than being punished.
Discipleship is about devotion, but so much more than Sunday morning worship.
Discipleship is about commitment, but so much more than a weekly Bible study.
Discipleship is about all of these things, but to a degree few have ever reached.
Discipleship is fully following the heart and teaching of Jesus. It is becoming like him.
So much so, that you and I can say to others what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
But you don’t start there you have to start
The First Disciples
The First Disciples
Discipleship is simple but not easy. The first disciples showed exactly how easy it was to become a disciple.
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
Leave everything and follow Him.
Leave everything and follow Him.
The 12 disciples had a specific purpose. To actually walk with Jesus for 3 years. They were with him almost 24 hours a day 365 days a year for the three years of his active ministry. They were taught by him. They were disciplined by him. They were equipped by him, and they became like him.
So much so, they were willing to die for him. From that simple instruction of Follow me, their lives were transformed into something new.
Same calling for us.
Be a Disciple
Be a Disciple
We are called to be disciples.
Follow me. That is where is all starts for us. Follow Jesus. While we cannot walk with the physical Jesus, Jesus has left us the scripture and sent the Holy Spirit to teach us and discipline us.
Learn
Receive discipline.
Be transformed.
So our best way to follow Jesus is to spend time in the word of God.
But he has also given us people to show us what it looks like to be a disciple.
I have said this before, and I will say it again many times: We need to be in discipleship relationships. We need to be meeting one on one to three on one on a regular basis and intentional time to be discipled. All of us.
A time where we spend time on learning what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ. When we think we no longer need to learn from someone, then we need to sit under someone the most.
Someone to teach us, discipline us, empower us, and show us what it looks like to be like Jesus.
Think about it. All of us who are believers were shown Jesus by someone. It might have been a parent, a teacher, a minister, a friend. While we may not have known it, we were being discipled. We learned from how they lived.
PHONE CALL FROM BRAD
JOHNNY
Find someone who looks like Christ, and ask them to disciple you. Be intentional. Be transparent. Be real. Be Open to change. FOLLOW!
But we are also called to:
Disciple Others
Disciple Others
The Great Commission, right. GO and make disciples.
Let’s look at the entire passage of Paul’s instruction to the church at Corinth about following him.
I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.
Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
We cannot do that well if we are not faithful in our own walk with Christ. That does not mean perfect in our walk. Just faithful.
We have learned what it means to Follow Jesus.
Check out our calling.
Matthew 10
Matthew 10
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Disciple Others
Disciple Others
The disciples were far from perfect when Jesus sent them out to do miracles and spread the gospel. He sent them out before he was resurrected. He sent them out even before some of them messed up royally. Think about this Jesus sent Judas who would betray him.
So, none of us have an excuse.
We need to seek out people to show them what it means to follow Jesus. We need to call people to follow Jesus. We need to show them how we follow Jesus. How we walk with him, and talk with him. How we learn from his word. What it looks like to be faithful. Believe me none of are ready fully, but Jesus didn’t call fully trained and fully committed disciples. He called sinners, but they were willing to drop everything and follow him.
Discipleship is the actual single purpose of the church. All the others are part of being a disciple. Evangelism, Fellowship, Service, and Worship. They are all part of what it means to be a disciple. That is why Jesus commanded them and us to GO and make disciples.
Daniel,
Chris,
Rich,
CURRENT
Go and Make Disciples.