Discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew

Happy New Year: Thanks to Pastor Josh- Loved watching the stream-Encouraged by all that God is doing in you and through you-I’m grateful to be a part of this work that God is doing in us and through us.

Let us pray:

We start our new sermon series this morning: Discipleship in the New Testament

New Year causes reflection and anticipation. There have been really difficult things this last year for me that have shaped me and I will remember them for the rest of my life. There have also been some beautiful moments that have shaped me and I will remember for the rest of my life.

Underneath these things… there has been a question that has been forming deep in me over the last few years as I have navigated relationships in the church… little “c” and big “C”

Deeply beautiful things:

Revivals and awakenings to the Spirit of God in Iran and Africa

The church is getting better at loving LGBTQ+ individuals and walking with sexual minorities

There has been substantial movement politically in our country to recognize and acknowledge life beginning in the womb

New believers coming to faith this last year… it was only a few, but praise God for their eternal life with Christ

Our staff, elders, deacons, ministry leads… you who volunteer… I’m humbled by your kindness, your service, your humility, your generosity

Deeply difficult things:

Relationships broken and reconciliation probably on the other side of heaven

Finances and budget cuts

The coopting of faith to use for political means and manipulation

Scandal in the “C”hurch (abuse, infidelity, financial malfeasance, etc.)

There are times where I look at scripture, I look at what takes place (locally & globally) by Christians and ask these two questions...

Did Jesus really need to come?

Why did Jesus come?

Have you ever pondered those questions? I wonder if the people in Jesus’ day thought that too?

Did the Jewish religious leaders really want a messiah… the King to come?

They had the scriptures

God’s chosen people

Did the everyday Jewish people really want a messiah to come?

They had Rabbis/teachers who taught them what they needed to know

They memorized just about everything they needed to know for life and godliness (the shema, psalms, prayers, narratives, prophecies)

Did they need saving?

They would have said, “Yes, of course”… but not for life transformation or to be born again (for they were already children of Abraham)

They wanted saving from Rome, oppression, to be their own sovereign kingdom again.

They wanted God to wipe out the unfaithful, the half-breed Samaritans, the compromisers AND the Gentiles (pagans).

What about today? Do we need Jesus? Do we need Jesus to come?

I think many self-ascribing Christians would say, “Yes! Of course!”… do we really want a King (really?)?

But like the Pharisees and those in Israel in Jesus’ day… do we know what we need saving from?

Those want a savior to free them from the political Red Team or the political Blue Team. That it would be on Earth as it is on their side of the aisle.

Save us God from the scary immigrant or refugee.

Save us from confused and disordered sexuality.

Local preachers can harness the world today and what is happening in our community and Jesus becomes our magic genie to get what we want and what we think needs to happen.

Or maybe we have our life perfectly scripted and need a little help from the “Big Man” upstairs to line it all up.

THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED A SAVIOR FOR… THIS IS POSITION WE NEED TO BE SAVED FROM… WE NEED TO BE SAVED FROM OURSELVES

The Jewish people then, like people today, found that Jesus threatened their idols… those things they held more dear than God.

We don’t have statues that represent ancient gods/idols… but we do have idols of comfort, pleasure, security, familiarity, pride

We can seek to curate our “Jesus”… having my truth and your truth… my Jesus and your Jesus…

Yes, we need Jesus today. (Slide) When we say, “Yes” to Jesus… what we are saying is we want to be His disciple...

You are my master and I am your apprentice (authority)

My priorities will be reordered according to your priorities (mission)

My loves will be reordered according to your loves (posture)

This is Discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew.

Faith looks like being transformed into children of God who have allegiance to Jesus, His teachings, and who hold onto faith until He comes again.

I think you will find that as we journey through this series, Discipleship in the New Testament, it will be invaluable to be reading the books of the Bible each week.

Can I mention… unless we are reading our Bibles, our growth, maturity, our ability to understand God and His plan is greatly diminished. Constantly reading, studying, memorizing, taking in the Word of God is how God has chosen to reveal Himself. We can not know Him deeply and intimately apart from His revealed Word.

Helpful hint: Look at the book, take the chapters, and divide by 5 or 6 and commit to read that many each day if not the whole thing

As the weeks go on and we get past Acts and Corinthians, the chapters get less and less.

Join us at ReST each week as we will be discussing that Sundays book (9am downstairs) and glean from one another what you are finding and seeing.

The gospel of Matthew has 5 major discourses that highlight the authority of Jesus as master, the mission of Jesus (and therefore the disciples), and the approach (posture) of those who follow Jesus. We’re going to Bible-nerd out here for a moment, so hang with me…

1: Pursue covenant faithfulness in light of the arriving Kingdom of God (chps 5-7)

chp 5: Beatitudes are plural… a community of people that are doing these things

chp 6: First three imperatives of Jesus’ model prayer: “Your name be honored as holy”, “Your Kingdom come”, “Your will be done”

chp 7: There is no better or more solid foundation when we DO the things that Jesus says.

Slide: We become the best citizens of the community, nation, and world when we seek to be faithful to our relationship/covenant with Jesus. God’s deepest desire is the flourishing of all people.

2: Emulate Jesus’ mission which has focus on enacting God’s reign (chp 10)

Jesus sends out (authority) the 12 to do what He has done (mission and posture)

Slide: Disciples are to do the things that Jesus does helping bring the will of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven. (applying the last discourse)

3: Respond to the Kingdom as an already and a “not yet” reality (chp 13)

Parable chapter… Sower/Seeds, Wheat/Tares, Mustard Seed, Leaven, Hidden Treasure, Priceless Pearl, Net, Storehouse of Truth

Slide: We’re in this for the distance race, the long run, not the short sprint, the emotion fades, fatigue can set in, but we rest and trust. We look for where the Kingdom is and look forward to where it will be. (encourage yourself with notes/reminders, encourage someone you know is having a hard time)

‌4: Directed away from preoccupation and toward care of the marginalized (“little ones”), protection of the purity of the community, and lavish forgiveness (chp 18)

Slide: Jesus goes after the lost sheep.

5: Living in ways that are prepared, faithful, merciful, and just in the face of the future realities of the temple’s destruction and the reappearing of the Son of Man

We could put “life falling apart” when we see “temple destruction”.

Slide: Until that time, we are not to put our complete trust in government, in systems, customs, traditions, rituals or put our sole allegiance into those things… but we are to put our faith and complete allegiance first and foremost in Jesus and His Kingdom.

Yes, we need Jesus today. When we say, “Yes” to Jesus… what we are saying is

You are my master and I am your apprentice (authority)

My priorities will be reordered according to your priorities (mission)

My loves will be reordered according to your loves (posture)

This is Discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew.

Faith looks like being transformed into children of God who have allegiance to Jesus, His teachings, and who hold on to faith until He comes again.

Ask this week:

God, am I following you… am I emulating you? Are there areas and spaces that I need to surrender to you?

God, are your priorities my priorities right now… am I living distracted?

God, is my posture towards you and others reflective of you?

**Confession… not all of this lines up in my life. This is a journey… following Him.

Church if we embody these things, if we give ourselves to these things, it will transform the way we see God, the ways in which we are committed to each other, the way we see others, and probably most profoundly the way that we see ourselves. We are deeply broken and flawed (I don’t need to tell you that) but we are deeply loved and cherished by God.

Why did Jesus come? Because He loves you and me so much, he set the example for us so that we might follow in His footsteps… in Him is life and life abundant.

Last encouragement from the book of Matthew… he wants us to remember and to know… no matter what we go through… no matter how hard or bad the “suck” is… He is there, Jesus is with us.

In the very first chapter of the book and the very last chapter of the book… Matthew tells us that God is with us!

Matthew 1:20-23 “But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: (SLIDE) See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.””

Matthew 28:18-20 “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. (SLIDE) And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Conclusion

This is the beginning of the call to discipleship. Will you follow Him?

We have longings? We have deep, deep desires that we try to fill in other ways left to our devices? Really what we are searching for is that reordered life in Jesus.

In serving Him, and giving our life to these things, as crazy as it may sound… we find what we created for.

In Jesus the lonely find community

In Jesus the helpless find help

In Jesus the hopeless find hope

In Jesus the offender finds forgiveness

In Jesus the lost are found and are given purpose

Would you stand with me...

If you want to respond to this today, I want to invite you to pray with one of our elders, staff, deacons or ministry leads. They are moving to the back room now.