Church on Purpose- DISCIPLE: An Example of Godliness

Sermon: FCC Afton January 22, 2023 Church on Purpose Series Disciple: "An Example of Godliness" Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:12; 6:18-19 We continue this week in our Church on Purpose series, where we are discussing how we, as the Church, can effectively and tangibly influence the world in the way that Jesus has commanded us to- by making disciples, teaching them what He has taught us and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are taking a deeper look at the purpose of the Church, at our purpose as the Church. What does it mean to go unto the world for Jesus as readied, disciple-making disciples and to grow the Kingdom of God? Last week, we looked at the second part of our purpose statement's "Teach" pillar. We looked at how Jesus has instructed us to teach others what He has taught us, so we must be prepared and ready to speak when God leads us to do so, to know what we will say before He leads us to even open our mouths. We must be active listeners, putting our own preconceived notions behind us, shutting out mouths, and opening our ears to what God is giving us to say. This week we begin the first of three parts of the "Disciple" pillar, at what it means to be an example of Godliness. How can we make disciples if they do not see Godliness in us, if they don't see Jesus in us? How can we ask others to commit to Godliness if they do not first see a lifestyle of Godliness in us? Read 1 Timothy 4:12; 6:18-19 [Pray here] Main Idea: We are called to be disciples of Jesus- disciple-making disciples and disciples who are ready and prepared to go into the world to grow the Kingdom of God. The first part of this equation is that we must be disciples of Jesus. This is more than simply believing in Jesus for salvation- this is the act of surrender, of putting aside myself and taking on the personhood of Jesus so that when people look at me, they literally see a reflection of Jesus. Do you get this? You can believe for salvation, you can go to church, and never be a surrendered Follower and disciple of Jesus. The surrender of discipleship is the difference between Peter and the rich, young ruler- Peter responded when Jesus called; he dropped everything and began to follow, even when Jesus did things contrary to how Peter would have done them, even when Jesus asked Peter to do things that didn't make sense to him, even when it was uncomfortable- he follower; he gave up everything to follow Jesus. Compare that to the rich, young ruler- he came to Jesus with such enthusiasm, ready to follow the Good Teacher, ready to watch miracles, ready to see people's lives changed; but he was unwilling and unable to put his own stuff behind him and so he was disqualified to be a Follower of Jesus. This morning, you may not have untold riches keeping you from following- maybe it is just your ideas about what church services should look like (let me tell you, this model of church is not found in the Bible- this is our invention); maybe it is an opinion about the teaching or the worship; maybe it's a preconceived notion about what men of God should look like or what their schedule should be each week (we can stop and examine Jesus and John the Baptist- they were well outside the accepted norm)- if you are going to be a disciple of Jesus, you have got to stop putting limits on what the Holy Spirit wants to do and simply follow. You are called to be a true reflection of Jesus to the world- he was counter-cultural, counter-religious. Why do we try to present Him as anything else? We are called to be apprentices of Jesus. You know the idea of apprenticeship. Parents send their children to work with and learn from an expert in some trade, because it takes more than education to become proficient- it takes hands-on experience. It's why Jesus had the disciples follow Him and serve alongside Him rather than simply go study Torah in the synagogue. When Jesus tells us to go out and make disciples, it is not a call to sit in the church pew, nor to put together some church programs and begin preaching. No, it says, "You can see Jesus in me. Now let me teach you what it means to take on the personhood of Jesus in your own life and surrender to Jesus." We must become this reflection of Jesus- we must become an example of who He is, an example of the Godliness that is personified by Jesus. In Galatians 6:9-10, Paul instructs the church: "Do not become weary of doing good." Don't grow tired of being this reflection of Jesus; don't give in to the temptation to make the Jesus you show to the world the Jesus as you want Him to be rather than the true Jesus. Paul says, "Because if you can continue in this, be faithful in this, then you reap a harvest in due time." This truth is still accurate for us today! There is a harvest out there, waiting on someone to come, not just tell them about salvation, but to show them an accurate picture of who Jesus is by how they act, by their attitude, by the love that they show others! There are people out there, ready to surrender to Jesus, who have been burned by the church, would by religious people, and are just waiting for someone to give them REAL JESUS! Point # 1. Be an example of Godliness to the world. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 "Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real." Godliness does not mean removing yourself from the world and the culture or never doing anything fun- nor does it mean that you're perfect or that you've got it all figured out. Jesus was the ultimate picture of Godliness, but He was not boring- we get a pretty terrific picture of His sense of humor, wit, and even sarcasm in the Gospels (just read the story of Jesus walking on water in the middle of the night and completely terrifying the disciples). Godliness is not a synonym for "boring," even if our culture caricatures it that way. Rather godliness should be seen as a life that is rich in good works for the Lord that is full of enjoyment of life and of God- healthy, balanced, God-oriented living. The word "godliness" comes from a Greek word meaning "to have awe and respect for the divine." In the New Testament, the word is used in the sense of, "awesome respect accorded to God, devoutness, piety." -Being an example of Godliness means taking the righteousness of God, His holiness, His grace, His mercy, and His love, which God expects us to show to others, and inserting it into the world! We are called to be rich in good works- to bring our Godliness into this world. We've neglected to bring our Godliness, our Godly character that reflects who Jesus is and what His plan and purpose for the world is, into the homes of our neighbors, to the park with our children, and to our jobs. Far too many within the faith have allowed themselves to become two-faced: Christians at the church on Sunday and just like everybody else the other 166 hours of the week! A. You must know what is good so that you can do it. "Instruct them to do what is good." -How can you know what the good is that God has for you to accomplish if you are not learning and studying? If you are not being instructed? If you are not putting yourself into a place where you can hear from God and hear from Godly mentors? If you are not hearing the truth preached to you? When Jesus told Peter, "Feed My sheep," He was instructing Peter to get his direction from the Holy Spirit and then to pass along the Lord's teaching. As we've discussed the past two weeks, you must listen before you can know what to do and speak. You must have experience in what is good before you can show others what is good. B. Be devoted to good works. Quote: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." (John Wesley) This is literally the idea of committing yourself, of making the good works Christ has prepared for you in advance (Ephesians 2:10) the thing that takes top priority for you, that you pour yourself the most into. You might reword it this way: be an expert about good works. Let the good works that God wants to do in you and through you be the thing that you know the most about, and that you are most involved in. -Don't just know that God has a plan for you and a purpose for you to accomplish, actually do the things God has prepared for you to do. Whether today it is a kind word for someone, or taking time out of your day to help someone with a project, or to spend the next portion of your life going to work with orphans in another country, or giving up your plans to simply follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, commit your life to doing the little things that God brings you to do! Be obedient to God working through you! Point #2. Be an example of Godliness to other Believers: 1 Timothy 4:12 "Be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, [in spirit], in faith, in purity." -Timothy is instructed to set a good example, to be a good reflection of Jesus, for other Believers to observe and imitate. This instruction goes for anyone who will call themselves a disciple of Christ, for anyone who is committed to the Commissions of Matthew 28 to "go and make disciples" and Acts 1 to be Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth. Timothy faced a similar situation to what the church finds itself in today. Where we now are dealing with the heretical gospel of moral relativism, of whatever I feel is true is the truth, no absolute truth, what feels good is what we should do, the early Church was faced with the heretical teachings of Gnosticism, which was a teaching of Greco-Roman morality that viewed salvation as sort of revealed self-knowledge, refused the humanity of Jesus and maintained moral relativism, the idea of "eat, drink, and be merry." Gnosticism was invading the church and causing a falling away of Christians into immorality. Very much like where we find ourselves today, with so-called Christians claiming that you can live however you want, do whatever you want because God loves you and has made you to feel good. It was in the midst of such teaching that Paul instructs Timothy: you have to live out the truth- people should notice the truth because you are acting in such a different, set apart manner. -Be an example in speech: Your speech should always be that which glorifies God- this means avoiding that which is distinctly obscene or perverse, but also avoiding anything that is not edifying to those around us (gossip, complaining, etc.). This is more than simply while preaching the Gospel- this includes verbal intercourse of every kind! Every word that passes over your lips needs to set an example of Godliness and glorify God! -Be an example in conduct/ your behavior: Your actions and behavior, even your demeanor and attitude, should reflect who Jesus is. Nothing about what you do or who you are should cause reproach against the name of Jesus. No one should be able to look at you and say, "I would never have guessed that he was a disciple of Jesus." -Be an example in love: This suggests that the love of Christ should be the source of, as well as the motive for, everything that we do. Note that the love of Christ is not necessarily the same as the love of this world. Christ's love says, "Because we love Jesus, we will obey His commands" and "Pour out yourself sacrificially for others." Christ's love disciplines in order to point a person back toward righteousness, whereas the world says, "Love means I'll let you do whatever feels good." -Christ's love is what spurs a parent to say, "No, son, you can't dress up like a girl and then get hormone injections, because that behavior is contrary to God's design and purpose for you." Christ's love is what teaches their child to respect herself and God's plan for her and not be sexually active just because the world encourages it. Christ's love spurs action, involvement and mentorship even when it's hard and even when it is a sacrifice. -Be an example in spirit: This word means enthusiasm. It is omitted, for whatever reason, from many modern translations, but I wanted to include it here because I believe it to be important. It is an enthusiasm for God and for what He is doing in you and trying to do through you! It is what Paul refers to in Colossians 3:17 when he says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." The enthusiasm, the excitement, for doing this life FOR Jesus is something that is strangely lacking in too many Christians today! Quote: "There is plenty of enthusiasm for a football match, or for an election campaign, but so little of it for the service of God. How the magnificent enthusiasm of the Christian Scientists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, [the Mormons], the Communists puts us to shame. Oh, for the flaming zeal that the church once knew!" (Guy King) Where is our joy to come fellowship together? Where is our enthusiasm to worship our God? Where is our enthusiasm to be fed by the Holy Spirit!?! Where is our spirit to make a difference in the world for Jesus???? -Be an example in faith: this denotes the idea not of belief and trust in Jesus, although we should set an example there, as well, but of faithfulness- of being dependable and steadfast, of being the person that your brothers and sisters can count on, lean upon, and trust. Be trustworthy and dependable- remind others how they can trust and depend on Jesus by how they can trust and depend on you! -Be an example in purity: This is a characterization of purity in action as well as in motivation, again relating to being trustworthy. Can people trust that you have pure motives? This goes beyond simple morality, of one's behavior, but also of being above reproach- of preaching the Gospel with unmixed motives, with a pure heart, mind and soul. Do those around you know that you are who you say you are, not only that you are going to act in a pure, Godly fashion, but that they don't have to question when you do or say anything? Invitation and challenge: -Be an example of Godliness, ready to make disciples of those watching your life, by being devoted to doing what God wants to do in and through you! God has an active plan for you- He's just waiting on you to get with the program!