The King and Discipleship (Chester).

Clint Miller

[0:00] Help us. Help me to preach your word this morning. Help me to preach it clearly, concisely, Lord. [0:06] I pray that your work would be done in this room this morning through the preaching of your word and the Spirit.

[0:17] God, I pray that you would show us through your word what your will is for our life.

[0:28] Lord, that you came, you inaugurated a new kingdom, you’re reigning on your throne. [0:37] And because of that, Lord, we need to be disciples that make disciples. [0:44] That’s your will for our life. And so this morning, Lord, it would be my prayer that you would help us to see that. [0:50] That you would help us to change, and that you would help us to grow, and that you would help us to carry out your mission. [0:57] To see more and more people come to know you. [1:01] In Jesus’ name, amen.

[1:03] Alright, well go ahead and have a seat, everybody. Welcome. [1:06] My name again is Clint. It’s good to be here. I’m not Steve. [1:11] If that’s who you’re used to seeing up here, I don’t look like him, obviously. [1:17] But Steve will be back with us next week. [1:21] And we’re going to pick it up in Matthew. [1:23] We’ll be in chapter four, so if you have your Bibles, go ahead and get to chapter four there.

[1:28] But we’ve been in this series entitled, Matthew, the King Has Come. [1:34] And so we’ve been going through kind of verse by verse through the first four chapters of Matthew. [1:41] And I’m really enjoying it. I hope you guys are as well. [1:45] We’re just going to pick up there. We’ll be in Matthew four. [1:48] We’ll be going through verses 12 through 22 today. [1:55] And so, you know, when I came to Village, when I first started coming to Village Church about nine or ten years ago,

[2:02] one of the texts and one of the, really, the chunks of scripture that I kept hearing and hearing was 2 Corinthians 5. [2:09] And in that, Paul writes of this great reality that through the work of Jesus, [2:14] God’s reconciling a lost and broken world full of sinners to himself. [2:21] And that’s what he’s doing. He’s done that glorious work through Jesus. [2:25] He’s made a way for us to come back to God as we’ve been separated from God by our sin. [2:31] And Jesus brings us back to that.

[2:33] And he goes on to say, not only has he done that, not only is that a great reality, [2:38] but he goes on to say that we’re ambassadors and that God is making his appeal through us [2:45] to a world that needs him, that desperately needs him, [2:49] that desperately needs to be brought out of darkness into his kingdom of light. [2:54] And so this word ambassadors really struck me. [2:57] And if you think about it, an ambassador is somebody who represents the king.

[3:04] Alright, and so we’ve got embassies around the world. [3:08] In fact, if you were to go to another country, you could see a U.S. embassy. [3:12] And in that embassy, whose rule reigns? [3:16] That of the United States, right? [3:18] And so it’s kind of the same with Jesus. [3:20] Jesus is on the throne and his ambassadors show that his rule and reign exist.

[3:26] Now, if you look around this world and you tell most people, [3:30] hey, Jesus is reigning on his throne and this is his kingdom, [3:35] they’ll be like, really? [3:36] Right? I mean, we know the world, right? [3:38] It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. [3:40] We can’t point people to a castle where King Jesus lives on and show them the throne,

[3:46] although that’d be cool. [3:47] You can go to Disney World and see a castle there, [3:50] but Jesus is not on that throne in Disney, he’s on the throne in heaven. [3:56] And so the fact that we’re ambassadors, [3:58] the fact that God’s making his appeal through us, [4:02] means the way that people are going to come to know that Jesus is the reigning king is through us.

[4:09] They’re going to look at Christians and they’re going to see a life [4:12] and they’re going to hear the words that come out of those Christians’ mouths [4:15] that turn them on to the reality that Jesus is the reigning king [4:20] and they need to turn from their sin and turn to the king, [4:24] the good king who purchased his kingdom with his own blood. [4:28] The king who laid down his life for his citizens.

[4:33] All citizens are disciples and so that’s why today we got the title of [4:39] The Kingdom and Discipleship. [4:41] Because if we’re going to be a kingdom of ambassadors, [4:44] that means that discipleship is imperative. [4:47] It’s not a thing, it’s the thing. [4:51] Alright? And because that’s through discipleship,

[4:53] that’s actually how we’re going to fit the part. [4:56] Alright? And so when Jesus comes and gets us, [5:00] he comes to get us and then he changes us. [5:02] And that process of change is this lifelong change. [5:07] Like you’re enrolled in Discipleship 101 for the rest of your life. [5:11] It doesn’t matter how old you are, you need to change.

[5:15] Doesn’t matter how old I am, I need to change. [5:18] And so that’s what discipleship is and that’s where we’re going today. [5:23] So the fact that the kingdom have come, [5:24] that’s the reality. [5:26] Discipleship is our response to that reality. [5:30] And so, number one this morning,

[5:33] point number one is that the kingdom of God exposes darkness. [5:37] The kingdom of God exposes darkness. [5:39] We’re going to pick it up here in Matthew chapter 4. [5:44] I’m going to get through 12 to 17. [5:46] Here’s what it says. [5:48] Now when he heard that John had been arrested,

[5:51] he withdrew into Galilee and leaving Nazareth, [5:54] he went and he lived in Capernaum by the sea [5:57] in the territory of the Zebulun and the Naphtali. [6:00] So that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. [6:05] The land of the Zebulun and the land of the Naphtali, [6:09] the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

[6:15] The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light [6:18] and for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, [6:22] on them a light has dawned. [6:26] From that time Jesus began to preach saying, [6:28] repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [6:32] So this week right off the bat,

[6:34] Matthew kind of shifts us into the next phase of this king’s ministry. [6:38] Jesus’s official ministry is about to go fully public. [6:43] He’s inaugurated his kingdom. [6:45] Now when a king’s inaugurated, right, we know it’s a big deal. [6:48] We have a president here in the United States [6:51] and each time a president is inaugurated it’s a big spiel.

[6:54] But what people really want to know, what’s he going to say, right? [7:00] What’s he going to say? [7:01] We want to know the king, we want to know who this guy is [7:04] and really what his agenda is, where he’s taking the kingdom [7:08] and we got to live with the reality that we live in that kingdom. [7:12] And so Jesus rolls up here and what’s his message?

[7:15] Well, it kind of gets answered for us in verse 17. [7:19] He says, from that time on Jesus began to preach, [7:23] repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. [7:27] Now most of us are like, wait, didn’t we already hear this? [7:30] All right, that was back in chapter 3, who said it? [7:33] Well, that was John the Baptist.

[7:35] And John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus. [7:38] He was sent by God to get people ready, [7:41] announcing the reality that the king is coming [7:43] and if you don’t turn from your sin [7:46] you’re going to miss the work that God is doing. [7:49] That Jesus, the God of the universe who created the world

[7:52] is about to be dwelling, he is dwelling on earth [7:56] and you need to see him. [8:00] But he’s going to be somewhat easy to miss. [8:02] He’s not going to be much where his stature is concerned. [8:05] He’s not going to throw a military coup [8:07] that’s going to overthrow the Romans.

[8:11] If you’re not careful, if you’re stuck in your sin [8:13] you’re going to miss him, and many people did. [8:16] It’s true for us too today, if we don’t turn from our sin [8:20] and our self-rule, we’ll miss the work [8:23] that God has done in Jesus. [8:26] And so John is decreased and Jesus is increased

[8:29] just as God planned this inauguration [8:31] before the foundation of the world. [8:34] This drama was planned long ago [8:37] and the sovereign father is orchestrating it [8:40] and it’s going perfectly. [8:42] Now we might not say that John the Baptist

[8:44] had been put in prison, but things are going [8:46] exactly the way that they should. [8:49] Now how do we know that? [8:51] Well, we know that because Jesus is gone public [8:56] and we see the reality that the prophet Isaiah predicted this. [9:01] Matthew takes us back to a prophecy

[9:03] that God through Isaiah gave. [9:06] And if we go back, we see it in verses 14 through 16 [9:11] or rather 15 through 16, it says this, [9:14] the land of the Zebulun and the land of the Naphtali, [9:16] the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, [9:19] Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness

[9:22] have seen a great light, and for those dwelling [9:26] in the region and shadow of death on them, [9:30] a light has dawned. [9:32] Now this isn’t the hot spot, all right? [9:35] Judea, Jerusalem, that’s really the capital city, [9:38] if you will, up in this area, it’s kind of a place

[9:43] that we might try to avoid. [9:45] In fact, many Jews did try to avoid it altogether. [9:51] So if we were to think of it this, [9:52] it might be like kind of a Vegas, right? [9:54] We wouldn’t think of it as a Christian city [9:57] where the king would come.

[9:58] In fact, it would be like, man, [9:59] those people don’t deserve a king. [10:02] Those people are nasty, they’re dirty, they’re sinful. [10:06] They don’t deserve God. [10:09] And so this is significant. [10:11] In fact, the Zebulun, the land of the Zebulun and Naphtali,

[10:14] these were two of the tribes of the 12 tribes of Israel. [10:18] And in fact, it’s interesting, these tribes [10:22] had rebelled against God really from day one. [10:24] They failed to push the people out of the land, [10:27] and because of that, they mixed religion with them, [10:30] and they became a people who weren’t obedient to God.

[10:35] And so God does predict and brings judgment on them [10:40] in the form of the Assyrians. [10:42] The Assyrians come in, they take the land, [10:44] they conquer them, and that happens in 722 BC. [10:48] And the reality here is they take over the land, [10:51] and they actually export a lot of the people,

[10:54] and then they import more people. [10:56] And so what do you have now? [10:58] Well, you have a people who have lost the way of God. [11:01] You have a people who are living in darkness [11:03] and under a shadow of death. [11:05] You see, when we’re without God, that’s all we have.

[11:09] We have our sinful desires, we have our sinful lives, [11:13] and we live in darkness under the reign of sin and death, [11:17] and that’s what was happening there. [11:20] Now, there’s two reasons this really matters. [11:23] One of them is this place did make sense for Jesus. [11:26] It had a lot of highways.

[11:27] He could easily get around, but beyond that, [11:30] the point here is that Jesus came [11:34] to rescue people out of darkness, [11:37] people that don’t deserve it. [11:39] You guys are nasty, right? [11:41] You guys know the type, right?

[11:42] Some of us might be that type. [11:44] In fact, if you know yourself as a sinner, [11:47] you know what comes out of your heart. [11:50] You know the fact that you don’t deserve God, [11:53] yet the reality is we see a God of light [11:57] who’s coming into the darkness,

[11:59] not to just judge it, but to rescue [12:01] the people out of darkness. [12:04] All right, and so that’s the good news of Jesus. [12:06] We see this in John 8, John 8-12. [12:11] We see it right here. [12:12] Here it says, again, Jesus spoke to them, saying,

[12:15] I am the light of the world. [12:17] Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, [12:21] but will have a light of life. [12:25] Now, Jesus says this at the Feast of Tabernacles, [12:28] when large lamps are burning bright. [12:31] And so, Jesus is actually God himself.

[12:34] He’s given a picture here saying, [12:36] I am the light of the world. [12:38] I’ve come into the darkness. [12:40] The only question for us is, [12:41] do we realize we’re in darkness? [12:45] Do we realize we’re stuck in our sin?

[12:47] Do we realize that a holy God comes, [12:50] and that means we’re in trouble [12:51] unless he cleanses us of his sin? [12:54] Now, Jesus is the light of the world, [12:58] and he does come to rescue us out of that darkness. [13:02] We’ll look again here in John 12, verse 46.

[13:05] Here it says, I’ve come into the world as light, [13:09] so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. [13:16] Again, Jesus is the light of the world [13:17] who’s come into the darkness. [13:19] He’s the one who lived a perfect, sinless life. [13:23] We have not.

[13:25] We’ve actually rebelled against God. [13:27] We actually love to sit on the throne of our heart [13:30] and rule our life in the face of God. [13:33] We have trouble seeing God in the darkness, [13:36] and that’s why we need the light to come in. [13:40] Jesus exposes our sin.

[13:43] You ever think about somebody, [13:45] one of the things I used to tell the kids that I taught, [13:49] a real holy figure in the family often, [13:52] for that population of the kids was their grandma. [13:56] It’s a woman, of course, what grandma’s a sinner, right? [14:00] Everybody has a sweet grandma, and they never sin, right?

[14:03] That’s not true, but we do have that picture, okay? [14:07] And so, a lot of the teens who were up to their [14:10] kind of nefarious ways and schemes, [14:13] I’d always be like, well, would you feel okay doing that [14:16] if your grandma just came in? [14:19] And they’re like, oh no, I’d stop immediately.

[14:21] It would stop the way they talk. [14:23] It would stop the things that they talked about, [14:25] that they boasted about, that they bragged about, [14:27] that they really wanted. [14:30] But the reality is a holy God is coming into the darkness, [14:34] and we have two options.

[14:37] We can run back further into the darkness [14:39] to hide from the light, [14:40] or we can allow him to take us out of the light, [14:43] and that’s what he came to do. [14:45] He came to take us out of the darkness [14:47] and into his marvelous light,

[14:50] and so that’s the good news. [14:52] Now, if we go back there in 17, it just says, [14:55] from that time, Jesus began to preach, [14:59] saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[15:05] Now, preaching is important, [15:08] and obviously, preaching on Sunday mornings is important. [15:12] Thank goodness that God gives us gifted teachers [15:15] who can preach the word boldly, and proclaim, and teach, [15:18] and we love that environment, [15:20] but the reality is the good news of the kingdom

[15:24] has to be proclaimed by all Christians. [15:27] As ambassadors, that’s what we do. [15:30] As disciples, that’s what we do. [15:32] In fact, we’ll see later that Jesus is going to leave, [15:37] but this message is still going to be told by the disciples, [15:41] and so preaching is crucial,

[15:44] and here’s the reality of, [15:46] I mean, imagine listening to Jesus, right? [15:50] I mean, the Gospels unfold this, right? [15:52] He preached as nobody. [15:54] One of the things that amaze people about Jesus [15:56] is he preached with authority.

[15:59] Why? [16:00] Because he’s God. [16:02] His word is, and so Jesus isn’t coming to earth [16:06] to debate things. [16:08] He’s not coming to earth to put ideas out there, right? [16:13] He’s not coming to earth to really say,

[16:15] hey, you know what, here’s some good advice for your life. [16:19] His word is the word. [16:20] He’s the word. [16:22] And so Jesus proclaims the truth. [16:27] Repent, turn from your sin, and turn to him. [16:30] Now, we have that same responsibility.

[16:33] I want us to know that, but preaching is crucial. [16:36] Jesus showed that he was pushing the kingdom back. [16:39] He showed his power in ways that were amazing, right? [16:42] He showed his power over sickness and even over death. [16:46] He rose people from the grave. [16:48] He shows his authority over demons, right?

[16:52] But the main thrust of Jesus’ ministry was preaching, [16:57] was telling the message, and that’s what we can do, all right? [17:02] We can’t raise people from the dead, I don’t think. [17:06] Anybody? [17:08] No, of course not. [17:09] None of us can do that.

[17:10] None of us can show that we’ve kind of, [17:13] as the king, penetrated this domain of darkness, [17:16] and we’re able to push back on it. [17:17] Like, we actually have the authority to do that, [17:20] but we do have the ability to announce the good news, [17:24] to tell people about what’s going on,

[17:27] to tell people that the king is reigning. [17:30] And so, number two this morning, [17:32] the kingdom of God makes discipleship the priority. [17:37] The kingdom of God makes discipleship the priority, all right? [17:43] So, Jesus inaugurates his kingdom. [17:45] That’s the new reality.

[17:46] And so, really, he begins to then lay out his agenda. [17:50] I mean, what’s this king going to do? [17:51] That’s how we got to think. [17:53] That means the citizens of the kingdom are going to have to react, [17:56] and they’re going to have to fall in line with this new agenda. [18:01] Now, it’s time to get busy, right?

[18:03] If we were the citizens of the kingdom, [18:04] then we must respond to the demands of the king. [18:08] We must, in fact, submit to his reign over our lives. [18:12] Jesus calls his followers to total change.

[18:17] He is not looking for church attenders. [18:21] He’s looking to make fully devoted followers of Jesus. [18:26] He’s not making you more like him for no reason. [18:30] He’s making you more like him so that you can take the good news of Jesus to others. [18:36] He’s making you a fisher of men. [18:40] And that’s where we’re like, wait a minute, I don’t know about all that.

[18:45] I don’t think he knows me very well. [18:48] And so, that’s what we’ll get to here. [18:50] Let’s pick it up in Matthew 4. [18:53] We’ll read 18 through 19. [18:57] Here’s what it says. [18:58] While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

[19:02] Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea. [19:08] For they were fishermen. [19:09] And he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. [19:15] Immediately, they left their nets and they followed him. [19:19] Now, a few things grab our attention here. [19:22] Matthew’s kind of abrupt, right?

[19:23] I mean, Jesus is walking around. [19:25] He’s just out for a walk. [19:26] He encounters two guys. [19:28] They’re fishing. [19:28] That’s what they are. [19:29] They’re fishermen.

[19:30] So, they’re just like you. [19:31] They’re having their day at work. [19:32] And what does he say to them? [19:35] He says, follow me. [19:37] And then, as Hector says, immediately, they left. [19:40] It’s like, just dropped it.

[19:41] If we continue on there, one of them was with their family. [19:46] They’re in the middle of their job. [19:47] They just leave. [19:49] That doesn’t make any sense, does it? [19:50] I mean, would we do that? [19:52] So, there’s a couple things here that we need to see.

[19:55] Now, the king does summon his disciples. [19:57] Now, at this time, teachers went around the land [20:00] and people would listen to a teacher. [20:02] If they liked them, they’d try to attach themselves to that teacher [20:05] and they would become that teacher’s disciples. [20:08] They would follow him around.

[20:09] They would try to learn everything that they could from him. [20:12] They would learn what his teachings were. [20:14] They would stay with him. [20:15] They’d watch the way he walked. [20:17] They actually learned each and everything about him [20:20] and just copied themselves to it, if they could.

[20:22] Now, Jesus is, of course, not that type of teacher. [20:29] He’s not that type of rabbi. [20:30] He’s the Son of God in flesh. [20:32] And so, he’s before them and the king summons the disciples [20:35] and he says, follow me. [20:38] Now, the reality here is, what option do you have?

[20:44] Right? [20:45] Now, the other Gospels do help us, clue us in a little bit. [20:48] It’s like, still, if I were looking at this guy [20:50] and he just said, follow me, I’d be like, why? [20:53] I mean, that’d be at least one question I would have, right? [20:56] Some of y’all would have more than that, I’m sure.

[21:00] But the reality is, we do see in the other Gospels [21:03] that Jesus had, these men had encountered Jesus [21:07] really a year before this. [21:09] And so, the first year of Jesus’ ministry was pretty quiet. [21:12] It was pretty low-key. [21:13] He made his way through Samaria.

[21:16] That’s recorded in the book of John. [21:18] And then, another scene that Luke records here is that [21:22] one time, Jesus tells these fishermen to go out [21:26] and drop their nets and they’re gonna have [21:28] this big, massive catch. [21:31] And of course, this happens to be on a morning

[21:33] after a night where they caught no fish [21:35] and so, he sends them out. [21:37] They drop their nets and they have the catch [21:39] of the lifetime. [21:41] And so, they see that this Jesus is no rabbi. [21:44] He’s not an average teacher.

[21:45] He is, in fact, the lamb of the God who’s come [21:48] to take away the sin of the world. [21:49] He has all authority. [21:51] He just filled their boat with fish. [21:53] Peter sees it. [21:54] He understands that Jesus, that God himself,

[21:57] is in his boat and he hits his knees and says, [21:59] “‘Away from me, for I’m unworthy.’” [22:03] And he is. [22:04] But Jesus says, “’Don’t worry. [22:05] “‘Have no fear, because Jesus is gonna cleanse them.’” [22:09] But Jesus isn’t just gonna cleanse them.

[22:10] He goes on and says, “‘I’m gonna make you a fisher of men.’” [22:14] And so, this is the reality. [22:18] Now, again, even if you knew, right? [22:21] Even if you knew that the Son of God was right there [22:24] and he just says, “‘Follow me.’”

[22:28] Eh. [22:30] We’d have some objections. [22:31] I wanna deal with some real quick. [22:33] One objection. [22:35] We should imagine ourselves here, [22:36] because this is reality.

[22:38] When Jesus calls you to faith, [22:40] he does call you to a life of discipleship. [22:44] He doesn’t call you to wait till you die [22:47] or till the kingdom’s consummated. [22:51] He saves you to change you. [22:53] We need to change.

[22:54] And so, one objection that we might have is just this, man. [22:58] Yo, I’m busy, Jesus. [23:01] I mean, look at my schedule, right? [23:05] I mean, I got a lot going on now. [23:06] I’m not sure now’s the best time. [23:08] Tell you what.

[23:09] Maybe come back in a year. [23:11] Maybe things will chill. [23:12] Maybe things will be better. [23:15] Right? [23:15] You could see yourself. [23:16] Sometimes we have that very objection to discipleship.

[23:20] What gets in the way? [23:21] Well, I got a lot going on. [23:23] The reality is, this situation means that [23:27] we’re still kinda more interested in building our own life [23:30] than we are the life that Jesus wants us to build. [23:34] We’re playing with our sandcastles

[23:36] as he’s building a kingdom. [23:39] Which one do we wanna do? [23:41] I mean, sandcastles are fun, but that’s like a day. [23:46] It’s not that great. [23:47] It has no lasting value. [23:49] It has no lasting significance.

[23:53] Another objection. [23:54] Man, I got a job. [23:55] I got this career. [23:57] You don’t know what to put into it. [23:58] I put a ton into it. [23:59] I mean, these guys had built a fishing business

[24:02] that was profitable and they were successful. [24:04] What did they do? [24:05] Immediately, they left. [24:07] Now, to be square, Jesus doesn’t call all of us [24:11] to immediately leave our job, but he might call you. [24:15] He might.

[24:17] It’s on the table. [24:18] Everything’s on the table when it comes down to Jesus. [24:20] But here’s the reality. [24:23] Jesus does say that your discipleship [24:27] is more important than everything else. [24:31] It’s more important than your career.

[24:33] And so if your career is a barrier to you being discipled, [24:38] to you spending time getting to know Jesus [24:40] and becoming more like him, [24:43] then you need to deal with that. [24:45] You need to find time. [24:46] Another objection.

[24:47] Jesus, I got a family. [24:49] Hey, man, that’s great. [24:50] Jesus loves families. [24:52] But family’s not God. [24:54] Your family’s not your God. [24:55] Jesus is.

[24:56] And so Jesus aims to come into your life [24:59] and he aims to actually change your life [25:02] so you can walk into your family life [25:04] and disciple your family well. [25:06] You can point them to Jesus. [25:09] That’s how you need to love your family.

[25:11] But you gotta love Jesus more. [25:13] You gotta follow him. [25:14] You gotta make time. [25:15] Husbands, wives, make sure you allow your spouses [25:20] to be in discipleship. [25:22] Make time for that.

[25:24] Another objection. [25:24] Man, what if it gets dicey and dangerous? [25:27] I mean, let’s be honest. [25:29] If we just follow you and go out, [25:31] what happens if people don’t like us? [25:33] People reject us?

[25:35] Well, Jesus deals with this issue of comfort and security. [25:39] A lot of times, comfort and security [25:41] is our God in this culture. [25:45] Here’s what it says. [25:45] Look in Luke 9, 57, 58. [25:48] As they were going along the road,

[25:49] someone said to them, [25:50] I will follow you wherever you go. [25:53] And Jesus said to them, [25:54] foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, [25:56] but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. [26:01] To another, he said, follow me.

[26:03] But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. [26:07] Jesus said to them, [26:08] leave the dead to bury their own dead. [26:10] But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. [26:13] Now this text, it gets to the matter. [26:17] The point is, no matter what you throw up,

[26:20] it’s not to get in the way of your discipleship. [26:23] You are the response to Jesus, [26:25] who is the Savior of the world, as to what? [26:28] Immediately respond. [26:30] Immediately lay down your life. [26:32] Immediately follow him.

[26:34] You’ve got to take discipleship seriously. [26:38] Now discipleship demands change, [26:40] and this is why it’s hard. [26:41] If we just cut to it, it’s hard to change. [26:45] I mean, you’ve got a life of building habits [26:48] that basically dictate your daily life.

[26:52] Now, change is a lifelong process. [26:54] I want you to understand, [26:55] when Jesus calls us into discipleship, [26:57] he calls us into a lifelong process that never ends. [27:03] We must give it attention. [27:05] So what is it?

[27:05] Well, discipleship, one way of defining it is just saying, [27:08] discipleship’s all about bringing all of your life [27:11] under the Lordship and presence of Jesus. [27:14] Jeff VanderSelt goes on to say that a disciple [27:17] is a follower of Jesus that is ever-increasing [27:20] in worship, transformation, and obedience to Jesus,

[27:26] and is someone who helps others. [27:29] All right, so that’s pretty simple. [27:30] Ever-increasing in worship, transformation, and obedience, [27:34] and just helps others do it. [27:36] Disciples make disciples. [27:37] No disciple is a real disciple

[27:39] who doesn’t help other people grow in Jesus. [27:44] That’s not an option. [27:45] It’s not on the table. [27:46] If it’s out there as an option, it’s a myth. [27:50] Don’t follow it. [27:51] Now, you have to have all these for discipleship

[27:54] to actually enter, for you to actually enter [27:57] into discipleship. [27:58] One, you need to be faithful. [28:00] All right, you need to be faithful. [28:01] You need to believe that Jesus is what you need. [28:06] You gotta believe that for real.

[28:07] You actually have to believe, [28:09] he’s the thing that I need more than anything. [28:12] You need to be teachable. [28:14] We don’t get to tell Jesus what we do. [28:17] We’ve gotta come to the scripture. [28:19] We gotta see what he says,

[28:20] and we have to submit ourselves to it. [28:23] Need to be available. [28:26] We already dealt with that. [28:27] In fact, the text deals with those. [28:29] You gotta have time for it. [28:31] You can’t afford not to have time for it.

[28:33] To miss out on it is gonna be to waste your life. [28:36] You’re gonna live in the kingdom of the world, [28:38] which is crashing. [28:40] Jesus already came in overtaking it. [28:44] Jesus is fully worthy of all that. [28:46] Number three this morning,

[28:47] the kingdom of God multiplies through disciple making. [28:54] The kingdom of God multiplies through disciple making. [28:59] Now, in all this, [29:00] we’ve gotta realize that discipleship, all right, [29:02] so when you subject yourself to discipleship, [29:05] you sit under the teaching of Jesus.

[29:08] You come, you subject yourself to the scripture. [29:11] You really seek out, [29:12] what does God actually want me to do? [29:14] Here’s what it’s gonna come out to. [29:15] It’s gonna come out to discipleship is for mission. [29:20] Discipleship is for mission.

[29:22] Now, one of the things that we get wrong is, [29:24] a lot of times we try to do discipleship [29:26] without the end being mission. [29:28] All right, so right away Jesus tells them, [29:31] follow me, I’ll make you fishers of men. [29:33] The goal is for them to be fishers of men.

[29:36] The goal isn’t for them just to learn a whole bunch of stuff [29:39] and then go back to what they’re doing. [29:42] The goal is for them to fish men. [29:43] Discipleship exists for mission.

[29:47] The reason that the disciples needed to be made [29:49] fishers of men was because they didn’t know how to do it. [29:53] They were fishermen. [29:56] They knew how to catch fish. [29:57] They didn’t know how to catch men. [29:59] So we got to know that.

[30:01] And so when you go into your discipleship, [30:04] it’s gotta be connected to mission. [30:07] All right, if you’re just going into your discipleship [30:10] to change for no reason, [30:11] that’s like going to boot camp [30:13] without the prospect of going to war.

[30:16] I know some people pay a lot of money to go to boot camp [30:18] and not go to war, but it’s not [30:21] because they don’t want to go to war, [30:23] it’s because it helps their bodies. [30:25] It helps their health, okay? [30:27] In the same way,

[30:30] discipleship is going to put you on mission. [30:32] Now Jesus didn’t spend three years with these guys [30:35] to teach them all they know to send them back to fishing. [30:38] In fact, this is kind of crazy, right? [30:41] I mean, number one, why does Jesus pick these guys?

[30:46] They’re not the point. [30:48] They’re nothing special. [30:50] Again, Jesus aims to transform. [30:52] Jesus doesn’t need, [30:53] he doesn’t need you. [30:56] He comes and gets you.

[30:59] Jesus isn’t begging for you to follow him. [31:02] He’s summoning you to. [31:04] He’s giving you the power to. [31:06] He’s giving you the power to follow him. [31:08] And then he’s the one who’s gonna change. [31:10] Why? Because he gets the glory.

[31:13] And so we need to understand, [31:16] I mean, I think some of us sometimes were like, [31:18] man, I don’t think I could ever be a fisher of men. [31:21] You’re telling me I gotta make disciples? [31:23] Do you know me? [31:25] Well, Jesus knows you.

[31:27] If you’re in him, if you have faith, Jesus knows you. [31:30] He knows you and he’s wired you the way that you are [31:32] and he aims to transform you. [31:36] He could do more in your life than you could ever imagine [31:39] if you’ll submit yourself to the process of discipleship. [31:44] What could you achieve in 10 years?

[31:47] Some of you, if you submitted your life to discipleship, [31:50] if you entered into environments, [31:52] if Jesus was the priority of your life, [31:57] you could make disciples. [31:58] In 10 years, you could have made [32:01] however many disciples he would have you make.

[32:04] But if you don’t enter into that, it’ll never happen. [32:08] Jesus can transform us, but we’ve got to put effort in. [32:12] Now, Jesus came to seek and save the lost [32:14] and God’s business is saving sinners. [32:17] That needs to be our business as well. [32:20] Sure, pastors and missionaries should make disciples

[32:23] and they do, but ultimately pastors equip the church [32:28] for the work of the ministry. [32:30] And so you’re not off the hook. [32:33] Like, some people don’t get this. [32:34] Some people don’t get that everyone [32:36] is called into radical discipleship

[32:40] and is called to make disciples with their life. [32:44] Part of that’s just, we haven’t gotten it right [32:45] in the church for years and people have grown up [32:48] and seen it and they don’t get it. [32:51] But what does Jesus say? [32:53] He says, I’ll make you fishers of men.

[32:56] Now, think about the scattered church. [32:59] When we go out of this place, several people [33:01] go into neighborhoods all over the area, right? [33:04] We’ve got people, we’ve got people in neighborhoods, [33:06] we’ve got people in apartment complexes, [33:08] we’ve got people all over and the reality is

[33:11] we need to go out and think, how can I make disciples [33:15] amongst the people around me? [33:17] You see, Christians are missionaries. [33:19] They think like missionaries because they are. [33:22] That’s what Jesus has made us. [33:24] And so your mission field isn’t probably in China,

[33:31] but it probably is right around you. [33:33] Just go out your front door. [33:36] There’s plenty of unbelievers who live near you, I’m sure.

[33:41] There’s plenty of unbelievers in your circles at work, [33:43] in your friends and all this. [33:45] So I wanna offer you just some simple steps [33:50] to being a disciple and making a disciple. [33:52] Now, there’s a couple things that you are going to need [33:56] for discipleship.

[33:57] I mentioned a few there, but here’s some simple steps [34:01] really to making disciples. [34:03] And one, you gotta submit to those steps [34:06] from point number two. [34:07] And then two, at the missional level, [34:10] this means you just gotta get out and get to know people.

[34:13] Do you know you can never make a disciple [34:15] of somebody that you don’t know? [34:17] It’s not gonna happen.

[34:20] Neighborhoods, right? [34:21] Take advantage of your neighborhood, your sports teams [34:23] that your kids are on, all that. [34:26] The gym, the coffee shop, there’s plenty of places [34:28] to get to know people, but you gotta get out [34:30] and get to know them.

[34:31] Two, love your neighbor. [34:33] Care for them, bless them. [34:35] It’s the command that Jesus gives, the great command. [34:38] It fits in well with the great commission. [34:40] If you love your neighbor, you’re gonna have a chance [34:42] probably to fulfill the great commission,

[34:45] to share the gospel with them.

[34:49] Two, hospitality. [34:51] Hospitality, your home’s a weapon. [34:53] Your home is a weapon for the mission. [34:54] You need to stop keeping people out of it, [34:56] you need to invite them into it. [34:58] You invite people into your home,

[35:00] you have great equity to build relationships with them [35:03] and to build relationships that can bear the weight [35:06] of gospel conversations. [35:08] All of us can do that. [35:11] I encourage you to learn the gospel. [35:14] You can say, well, I don’t know what to tell people.

[35:17] Well, that’s where discipleship comes in. [35:19] If you read the gospels, you’ll know what to tell people. [35:22] Very simple. [35:23] Making disciples, another way, there’s three things [35:26] that you need to really make disciples, [35:27] and this is taking people from,

[35:29] I’m a believer, I know Jesus, taking them from that [35:32] to fully devoted follower of Jesus. [35:35] Gotta have relationships. [35:36] Gotta have relationships. [35:37] Jesus invested heavily in the 12, [35:40] but he invested heavily in three.

[35:44] Get in a discipleship group. [35:45] We have them here at Village. [35:47] One of the things, one of the easiest steps you could take [35:50] is just simply entering into a discipleship group [35:53] where three or four men and three or four women [35:57] gather around the word and help each other follow Jesus.

[36:01] It’s so simple. [36:04] Another thing that’s essential, it’s gonna be time. [36:07] Man, it takes time. [36:08] It took Jesus two years to transform these disciples, [36:12] two more years from the time we see them here in Matthew. [36:15] Life on life, man, they saw each other

[36:17] in each and every environment. [36:20] That’s a radical element of discipleship. [36:22] Another thing, the Bible’s crucial. [36:24] I already mentioned this, but the Bible is crucial. [36:27] All right, you will not be transformed without the Bible. [36:32] And so if you’re just kind of,

[36:35] the only Bible access you got is Sunday morning, [36:38] or maybe at community group or whatever,

[36:43] you’re just not gonna be transformed. [36:45] That’s how Jesus disciples, [36:47] through his spirit and through the word. [36:49] You’ve got to be in it. [36:50] You’ve got to be changed by it. [36:52] Otherwise, you won’t be made a fisher of men.

[36:57] Now, I did mention environments. [36:58] Again, I realize in this room, [37:00] there’s people at all steps. [37:03] That’s fine, God knows where you’re at. [37:06] Doesn’t matter, he’s come to get you. [37:08] He’s come to take us out of darkness into marvelous light.

[37:11] He says, you’re not a fisher of men yet. [37:15] That’s okay. [37:16] He says, I’ll make you a fisher of men. [37:18] And so you need to submit to him. [37:21] And so, couple easy steps. [37:24] One, Sunday morning environment’s crucial.

[37:26] Invite people into that. [37:27] Number two, community groups. [37:29] These are groups where about 15 or so folks [37:33] gather around the word. [37:35] They gather around the sermon, [37:37] really the sermon that was preached the Sunday before,

[37:39] just to talk about it, [37:41] to really figure out how to apply it to our lives. [37:45] Another environment, as I mentioned, [37:46] was personal discipleship groups. [37:49] You need to take your discipleship, [37:50] you need to own your discipleship.

[37:52] You can’t become a disciple if somebody else [37:54] is just pushing you, pushing you, pushing you. [37:56] You’ve got to grow up from infancy to maturity. [38:01] And so I’d encourage you to find somebody. [38:02] There’s plenty of them that meet around. [38:04] You can easily jump into one.

[38:07] But take ownership of your discipleship. [38:10] Now, this morning, as we close, [38:13] we’re about to shift into a time of communion. [38:17] And I want us to really think here. [38:21] Really think about Jesus [38:24] and the reality that the Savior has come

[38:27] to take us out of the domain of darkness [38:31] into a kingdom of marvelous light.

[38:37] He’s not going to leave us in the life [38:39] that we’ve been building, [38:40] but he aims to change us. [38:43] He aims to transform us [38:44] so that we can build his kingdom, [38:46] bring glory to our name, to his name.

[38:50] We’ve got to get rid of this life [38:54] that we’re building to glory in our name. [38:58] See, God is worth it. [38:59] Jesus is worth it. [39:00] The good King came and laid down his life [39:03] to purchase you out of that.

[39:06] He took your penalty. [39:08] And therefore, when he summons you to follow him, [39:11] the only answer that makes any sense [39:15] is yes, immediately leave. [39:20] Leave your life behind you and submit to his. [39:24] You know, each Sunday morning here,

[39:26] we celebrate the work of Jesus. [39:29] And so around the room on the communion tables, [39:31] you’ll find the bread and the cup. [39:34] The bread and the cup, [39:35] they represent Jesus’ body that was broken [39:38] and the blood that was spilled for us

[39:41] so that Jesus could cleanse us [39:43] and transform us and give us a new life. [39:46] If you believe that, if you’re in Jesus, [39:50] if he is the treasure of your life, [39:53] these tables will be open to you. [39:55] But if he’s not,

[39:56] I’d encourage you to consider following him today. [40:00] He summons you to repent, [40:03] to turn from your own way and to turn toward his. [40:06] He invites you into his kingdom. [40:08] And so if you need to take that step, [40:11] I’d encourage you to talk to somebody after the service.

[40:15] I’d love to talk to you. [40:17] Some others would love to talk to you, [40:19] but talk to us about it. [40:22] So for the rest of us, come, [40:24] come to the table and celebrate the work of Jesus.