What a Disciple Looks Like (Part 1) Matthew 10:24-31 Englewood Baptist Church Sunday morning, May 8, 2011

Transcription

1 What a Disciple Looks Like (Part 1) Matthew 10:24-31 Englewood Baptist Church Sunday morning, May 8, 2011 Well, today is Mother s Day and we have a house chocked full of Moms. As you know, Moms are infamous for creating and making all kinds of cool stuff. Moms are manufactures of a myriad of things. Moms can make a hot plate of chocolate chip cookies or even candy-topped cupcakes. Moms can make the hair on a little boy s head lie down like a trained dog. Moms can make a house feel like a home; they can make the contents of a frozen box morph into a meal, in minutes. Moms can make the pain of an overturned bike vanish with a single soft kiss. Oh, behold, the power of a mom. They can make all kinds of things happen. Today, as we continue this series of sermons called Disciple, I want us to ask the question, How do you make a disciple? Not a cupcake, or a meal, not a craft. A disciple. How does a person produce a disciple? The question is not irrelevant. Jesus said in his parting pep talk on the mountainside, Go and make disciples of all nations! That sounds like a big job. In order to make a multitude of disciples, in order to make a world full of them, perhaps we should start with one. A disciple: how do we make one? How do we do, Discipleship? Let me begin with a simple definition of Disciple-making: Disciple-making is the central work of the people of Christ s church, the work of bringing men and women to a saving relationship to Jesus Christ and of helping them grow in His knowledge and likeness. --John MacArthur So let s break that down. This definition has three parts: 1) Disciple-making is the main work of Christians in the church. It is our main job Producing the reproducing Christian that is what we are called in the Great Commission to do. First importance. 2) Disciple-making begins with evangelism. A caterpillar and a butterfly may be the same creature, but something dramatic has happened. In the same way, a person must be born anew if he is going to follow Jesus. Good moral upstanding citizens is not the goal of the church, but instead, saved sanctified followers. Discipleship begins by leading people to Jesus in a life-changing encounter with him. 3) Disciple-making involves helping others grow in knowledge and in likeness. Remember, in the Great Commission, Jesus said, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son

2 and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Teach them. Tell them. Impart knowledge and as you do, they will be transformed. So discipleship has an educational element to it. Reading, listening, learning, growing. As the mind is changed, then the heart will follow. In discipleship, transformation is the goal. Life-change. If you ask me what gets my heart pumping as a pastor? That s it. Life-change. People that begin here, and are now here, on there way to being here. Growth. So how do we make that happen? How do begin discipling others? Today, we look at Matthew 10, a key passage of Scripture to understanding discipleship. Jesus speaks at the start of this chapter, to his original 12, and what he wanted them to do immediately in the Middle East. But what he does in v.24+, he lays out the hallmarks of discipleship. This what a disciple looks like. This is what we aim for. Today we look at the first two qualities, and we will pick up the rest next week. Read with me Matthew 10:24-31 Jesus repeated this discipleship teaching in other places in his ministry. Skeptics of the Bible have picked up this stone and said, See, the Bible has many errors. Matthew reports Jesus saying this here, Luke reports these words in another place, other gospel writers pick up bits and pieces of this in other locations. You see! Scripture is a loose collection of sayings, inconsistent stories. So the integrity of the gospel is questioned by these redaction critics. This is ridiculous. There is a good explanation of why Jesus is found teaching this in various places. Every good teacher teaches the same foundational truths in various formats, in various circumstances, at various times. Every area of study, from Christianity to Chemistry, has a core of information, a body of truth, that is foundational to understanding the whole. A good teacher emphasizes and re-emphasizes the most important things. This is how we learn, by repetition. And so Jesus says this in more than one place. So here in Matthew, Jesus says some foundational things about being a Disciple and what that looks like. What a Disciple Looks Like 1. A disciple is one who copycats his master. (vv.24-25) We see kids do this all the time. They find people that they look up to, and they copy them. They might dress like their hero, start using words like their hero, they might aspire to the same profession as their hero. What they are doing is imitating; they are following their leader.

3 Look what Jesus says in v.24 Jesus says a disciple is beneath his teacher. A slave is beneath his master. A disciple learns from the one whom he follows. And so, the key idea here is submission. Jesus is worthy of total submission. Jim Elliot is a well-known missionary who died at a young age by the spear of an Ecuadorian Indian. Years before he died, he wrote this in his journal: God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like You, Lord Jesus. --Jim Elliot What an idea to ponder! The difference between a full life and a long life! We continue to celebrate men like Jim Elliot because they inspire us to live lives of total commitment and complete dedication. A disciple s single overriding purpose is to emulate his teacher. Jesus lived a full life. Jesus gave up his right to comfortable, easy living and he made sacrifices for people. He gave his time away to people, he gave his energy away to people, he gave food away to people, and in the end, he gave his very life, for people. And now he says, No student is greater than his teacher. What I taught, I lived. What I live, you now live. Jesus taught us what it means to live a full life a life of service to people and sacrifice for people. You can live 95 years on this planet and die an empty death. On the other hand, you can live for 25 years in fullness. What s the difference? Service and sacrifice to people. You can t control whether you live a long life or short one, but you can determine full vs. empty. So here are: Key Questions for a Disciple of Jesus Take these into your quiet time this week: Who are the persons that I am intentionally investing my time in? Jesus intentionally poured his life into the 12. He created space in his world for them. Who are you bringing to your world? Who are you building up? If you are married, your spouse is your first ministry. If you re a mom or a dad, your children are your second ministry? But what about, also, outside your immediate family, is there a person or two or three that you are serving and making sacrifices for? Who are the persons that I am investing my prayer in? Jesus taught us to pray for others, right? He said, Simon Peter, I am praying for you! Satan has asked

4 to sift you like wheat! I am investing my prayer life, not just on my own problems, but I m praying for YOU! One of the most selfless things you can do is to write down a person s prayer requests and say, I have got your back. I am praying for you. Paul Lee, one of our deacons, approaches me once a month with a pen and well-worn book, and he asks me the same question, Pastor, what are your prayer needs. He prays for me. That means more to me than money, than hand-written notes, than words of praise. What a blessing to know that there is somebody who is on their knees before God, on my behalf. Who are you praying for? Who are the persons that I am investing my money in? This is where it gets convicting, doesn t it? One of the most wonderful ways to make a sacrifice for someone is by giving them money. And you can t give all of your money to all the people who would ask, but when God lays a person on your heart, that you re investing time and prayer into, it is only fitting that your wallet follows. Give a gift. Be generous. And don t do it for glory. Don t do it with strings attached. If you can, do it anonymously. But, if somebody that you re pouring your life into, if they have a financial need, then gift them. I ll never forget, when I was dating Lynley long-distance, I was headed to the airport in Orlando FL to pick her up. She would be in town for just a couple of days. I was fresh out of college, with school debt, a car payment, and a meager salary from the ministry I worked with. A man who had taken me on as a project, Kent Sterchi, he asked me what I planned to do with Lynley. When I gave him no good answer, he handed me a $100 bill and said, Take her somewhere nice. A hundred bucks! You bet I will! I was humbled that he would sacrifice $100 for me. And you know what I ve learned over the years, I have learned that the giver always receives more than the getter. When Kent saw my eyes light up that day, I m sure that he felt blessed to be able to do it. Those people that God has drawn a circle around in your life, do you care enough about them to give up your own money? Giving makes you feel full. Let me tell you when your life feels full when you matter to people. You can t give yourself to everybody, but give yourself to somebody. Jesus gave himself away his time, his prayers, even his body. Follow your leader. And here is the thing you have to understand about discipleship. The church cannot mass produce disciples. We can t spit them out in bundles of 20, but if every person in this room right now took on one person or two persons, and said, I m going to give my life away, wow! I m going to follow my leader, and invest myself in people. Hallmark #1 of a disciple: he looks like his leader. He imitates Jesus and he matters to people. What else does Jesus say about his disciples? (vv.25b-31)

5 2. A disciple lives in fear of God, not in fear of man. Look now, what Jesus says about fear. He has a lot to say about cowardice. V. 25b The true disciple of Jesus expects to be treated like Jesus. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being Satanic! They told others that he performed miracles by the power of Beelzebub, the devil. And Jesus never let those men distract him. Three times in these 6 verses, he says, Do Not Fear! Now, today, we read those words and we picture cancer as our enemy, or tyrant bosses, or unfaithful spouses. Those are very real fears, no doubt. I wouldn t wish chemotherapy or adultery on anybody, but in light of what Jesus already said, his disciples were getting a little panicky. You can hardly blame them. Skip up to vv Jesus said, Don t worry. You are only going to be beaten with whips, brought before executioners, and arrested in most cities. When all that goes down, don t you worry about what to say. You will be given words. Words?! They must have thought! Words? We don t want words, we want weapons! We want a legion of angels with swords. We want to escape, not to evangelize. That is human nature, to avoid conflict, and pain, and trouble. But Jesus taught his disciples to expect and to prepare for hardship. Life is going to be full and at the same time, will require great faith. Proverbs 29:25 says, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Prov. 29:25 Around every turn, the disciples were tested. Would they keep the faith, or would they wallow in fear? That same pattern will take place in your life too. Fear of what people might think. Fear of what people might do. Fear of what people might say. These fears will choke the joy out of a Christian. You ever been on a roller coaster? The kind where they bring the harness down over you and it clicks. With each click, it gets tighter and tighter. Without thinking, you take a deep breath and it clicks one more time. Ugh! That s a little tighter than I would have preferred. When you let your mind run free and you fantasize with fear, it s like a snare. A noose around your neck that just gets a little tighter with every breath. Jesus knew that life was going to deal him some difficult cards, but he didn t let his fear swallow up his faith. And he doesn t want me, as his disciple, to sit around and stew on my self-preservation. Life is too short and God has it all under control.

6 Here in the text, Jesus gives us three reasons why should not be afraid. Why Disciples of Jesus Should Not Fear V.26 God will one day vindicate you People are going to tell lies about you. People are going to spread rumors about you. People are gong to criticize and tear you down. The holier you live, the harder they will scrutinize. Every once in a while, I will catch wind of something that has been said about me. We all experience this injustice sometimes. Something completely untrue is being passed along. The temptation is to spend lots of time trying to run that down to the source and let the truth be known. The temptation is to not trust God and to seek to control men and their tongues. That is an exercise in futility. Jesus says, you make it your business to live the truth; I ll make it my business to expose the truth. And one day, the whole world will know all the truth. So, when I whisper truth in your ear, you shout it from the rooftops. Don t be afraid of the truth. Now hear me on this. There is always a gracious way to tell the truth. We need not offend people intentionally, but we must also understand that the truth is sometimes offensive. Example: What if I spoke the truth right now about tithing. I m told that people don t like to hear sermons on tithing. OK. How about just a single sentence? Here it is: The Bible teaches that Christians should give 10% of their money, off the top, to the Lord, and if you aren t giving 10% of your income to God, then you are living in open sin against God. Now, that offends people! That s not my desire, but Jesus whispered to the Pharisees, You should be practicing tithing, as well as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. If Jesus whispered it, then I m supposed to shout it. Tithe your money to God and be afraid of him if you don t! What if I spoke the truth right now about cohabitation? Jesus said that marriage covenant is the only way to have physical intimacy with the opposite sex. If Jesus whispered that, then I m supposed to shout it! It s wrong to live together. Give your body to God and be afraid if you don t! Jesus tells his disciples, Don t worry about offending people with the truth. Don t worry about people spreading untruth. One day, I will settle the account. Don t be afraid. Second reason we should not fear: V. 28 God is the only one that has charge over your soul.

7 When a person lives in fear of God and eternity, human threats seem rather puny. The power of God s promises overshadow the power of human threat, criticism, or abuse. We fear man so little when we fear God so much. You have to wonder how Judas received this speech. There he was, in the circle, being forewarned. Do not reject the One who can destroy both body and soul. I wonder if he squirmed in his seat. I wonder if he avoided eye contact. I wonder if he pretended to be preoccupied with his sandals or his sleeves. Surely, he felt the impact when Jesus looked at each of them and said, You can fear governors or you can fear God. If I were you, I would choose the latter. This earth is so fleeting, but heaven and hell are forever. Think about that. Think about it often. Finally, Jesus supplies one more reason why we should not fear God loves you intensely and intimately. This is the greatest truth of all! God has got your back! Look at v.29 The average person has 144,000 hairs on their head. Some of you have far more than that, some of you have far, far less. The point is, God knows every little hair follicle that lies on your head. He is into the details. To use a painter s lingo, God likes to use the trim brush as much as he likes to use the roller. And you might say to yourself little old me. Living here in West Tennessee. What does God care about my cares? He does. In another place, he says: If God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Matthew 6:30 Let me tell you something, if you have abandoned it all for the sake of the call, if you have said to the Lord, Lord, I m not asking for a long life, but for a full life. Light these idle sticks of mine that I may burn for you. If you say that to God and you mean it, then you should never ever be afraid again. For he has made a covenant with his followers. He loves and cherishes those who are his.