The Walk pt1 "Disciple"

Big shout out to Kristen on the piano. Also. She's doing awesome guys. We are going to jump into our Series this is we're starting a new series. And I'm this is going to be a three-part series.

three of them

And it's called The Walk basically and they just full disclosure. I think we all know it's kind of hot in here. It's a little warm if you have layers that are appropriate.

Emphasize the appropriateness of that but I literally propped open that door and that door returning. She's not a cool breeze will work it out them. So the walk the idea behind this is our life as a Christian our life as a disciple of Jesus is sometimes referred to as our and that's good. But what I want to do for the next 3 weeks and I would encourage you guys stick stick it out for the next 3 weeks. Is break that down? when we say what does it mean to walk with Jesus? What is this life that we are called to lead? I am going to break it down into three things and they all have the same root word and they are. They are a disciple. discipleship and discipling

and we're going to look at disciple this morning. We're literally going to define the word disciple. And the next week we're going to look at what does that environment the disciple lives in existing that is called discipleship. And then we're going to look at the relationships involved in this lifestyle that we called. The cycling is just the verb form of the noun disciple. We were talking about this on Tuesday in Avenger. And Tyson came over. We're doing a Bible study and we are talking about this and yes a very important question. I was like who I'm going to I'm going to put that in the sermon. So the people are aware that he asked are you going to communicate this as like a step one? Step two step 3, like like you're leveling up as a Christian and I was like, oh, that's good. No, that's not that's not the way I perceive this at all. The best way for me to communicate. This is like the idea of a race. If if if an alien came down from space and saw this picture you had to explain like what is going on here. Well, there's been noun of like the runner you have to explain like why are these guys doing that? Well, that's who they are. They are a runner and that's why they're there. Why is there numbers in lines on the ground? Pool? That's like a track does a race track. That's the track so that that environment is specific to their talents. And then what what are they doing? Why it why would the Baton? Well, that's how they work together in a relay race. That's how they work together. So that each person can do their thing cuz they're both Runners, but this isn't this isn't the One race. This is a relay race a one person has to help the other person so they can both win. In the same way. This is a beautiful example or analogy for discipleship where we we are disciples. I am a disciple of Jesus and I want to explore like what is that actually mean today? And then I exist in this environment this like specially suited to help me be a disciple of Jesus. And so that's my lifestyle. That's like the the place it's kind of like a racetrack. And then there's relationship. There's things that we do to help. We have a we have a relationship so that you can help me be a disciple and we have a relationship, but I can help you be a disciple. And we also help other people become disciples and that's disciple Ling and we're going to look at that in two weeks. But today we want to just look at the idea of disciple. And if you're anything like me, I grew up hearing the word Christian a lot not so much the word disciple. I'm glad for like American Christendom that we have embraced. This word a lot more. But the thing with me was growing up Christian. I'm going to talk about this a little bit later Christian was such an interesting word because it could kind of mean whatever I wanted it to me. And I thought of disciple almost way some people think of apostle like other Christian, but then there's like super Christians and those are Disciples of Jesus and I get it. That's how I thought but that's not that's not the Bible. That's not the way it actually was. So we're going to we're going to go through and look at I wanted to start with this interesting relationship that rabbis had in the Jewish context before and during Jesus's time. So they would have a student to a rabbi would be a teacher and then they would have tell me that they would they would collect them and they would gather these schools that they would be the teacher of and so the talmid rabbi relationship was very special. And we're going to look at how what Jesus did was so wildly different than what had been done up to that point. Even John the Baptist if you read John the Baptist stories, he did things that were different people are like that guy's weird. And so he's like, he was a totally different. Jesus was way more different insult. But this was an established relationship between a teacher and a student and these are Hebrew words. And I'm going to get it. I hope this isn't like a total like nerd thing. But but this is a this is a lesson that is going to be more of like a like a teacher thing in a preacher thing. So I'm going to I'm going to go through a lot of scriptures and we're going to present a lot of ideas pretty quickly and then I've saved my life Heart level questions for the end and I want you to think about those but I have to do some work on the teaching and upfront first. Okay. I hope that's okay with you guys. So here we go. This is the Greek word that we translate disciple Martha's you can browse. However, you want my CDs. That's not how you pronounce it, but you can browse however you want. My potatoes is the the noun that just means student Lerner and we just we translate that disciple throughout the New Testament. But you could literally swap any that's when you read your gospels when you see disciple and swap it out for just student. And so Jesus is Calling disciples to himself in Matthew Mark Luke and John. And he did this he got his students in a radically different way than the other rabbis got their students. So here we're going to go through it pretty quickly here to hear someone. Number one Jesus invited people. This was actually very rare a lot of the times you applied. If you were a Jewish young man, and you came from an esteemed household and you were like, I want to go into two. I want to be a rabbi someday. You would find a rabbi that you admired where that your dad and mine and then you would say I want to be your your disciple one of your town meeting. And Jesus did things very different. He starts going around asking people. Will you coming? Follow me we come and be my disciple until we seeing Matthew for Jesus 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 where 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 going on from there. He saw two other brothers James son of Zebedee and his brother John they were in a boat with their father Zebedee preparing their nuts. Jesus called them and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. This is very rare. You wouldn't see Jewish rabbis. Just walking around like hey, you want to be my disciple you want to be my disciple? Hey, you should follow me. That would actually be seeing is like a petty or like a mature move like even in business. Now you want to seem too desperate. So you're like to have your image Jesus didn't care about that image for some reason. He was a motorcycle and he and his fishermen were like, let's do it. But then it goes on here is just a sampling of verses where Jesus is like hate. I want you to follow me. And some of them were normal got some of them were people that no one else would touch like Matthew there. They were like, I can't imagine the Jesus would ask that guy to be a disciple of Jesus. I hope you realize you're selling your image right now by associating those people shouldn't be it one of your disciples and Jesus like come on follow me. Follow me follow me. He invites people as opposed to having to submit an application and then he invited a lot of people. A rabbi traditionally a rabbi would be pretty selective. Like hey, I have the the best of the best of the tip top cream of the crop school. Do you want to be part of this clamor Jesus? Like hey, if you want to be my disciple if you want to be my disciple, hey guys going to be my disciple people that no one else would want to be there to stipple hear some examples Luke 6, there's two horses back to back here when morning came he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them who me designated as a possible. So we think Jesus that 12 disciples. He had a lot of disciples and he called the all of them and he said pay you 12 are going to come and do something little bit different but then a few verses later says he went down with him and stood on a level place a large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people It's a Jesus was not selective. He wasn't trying to to to curate a Public Image thing. He wasn't like making your editing his pictures for Instagram. He was like all these people be my disciple. And then you kept you kept being pretty revolutionary. Yeah, same thing. He called his disciples. They weren't based on status. I hope I'm making this like super clear. He in a rabbinic sense. There was a certain level of a steam like Oh, I'm a rabbi and weenies are my disciples and they all come from the best households. They all have a Pet Agree in Jesus is like I'll take some fishermen. I'll take that guy that was demon-possessed. I'll take a bunch of women that was literally on her toe and it and I love an ax is after Jesus died and resurrected but there's no versus says it more clearly than this when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realize that they were unschooled ordinary men. They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. That now became the ultimate like seal of approval. It wasn't that it wasn't that my family is great. I come from the best line or that I'm the best educated the hey I spent time with Jesus and so my life is forever changed because of that.

And then this is the crazy part. It's an ongoing invitation what I mean by that is the goal of being a talmid was to be trained and then one day be a rabbi. Like I wanted I'm going to be able to submit myself to a life of discipleship to that guy for a while and then he's going to teach me everything he knows until I can go off and be my own Rabbi and I'll get my disciples. And then I'm going to raise them up and they'll go out and be a rabbi the to their disciple. But what Jesus did was he said when he died, he told people keep making disciples.

of me

So in Matthew 28, we all know that then Jesus came to then said all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything. I have commanded you and surely I Am With You Always to the very end of the age was tricky is for a rabbi who teaches his people eventually. Rabbi died. He can't teach people anymore. And Jesus is like I'm I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying with you. I will be with you to the end of the age and you're going to teach people how to be my disciples you're going to teach people how to do what I come in and then an ax 6 after Jesus has died resurrected Gone to Heaven. It says in those days when the number of disciples was increasing not Disciples of Peter Disciples of Andrew Disciples of John, they didn't break off and now Peters Arab I and Andrew's Rabbi and John's Arab. I they're all still disciples and they're inviting other people to be Disciples of Jesus and imagine that in a culture where you could only find and seek out a rabbi and it really mattered if it came from the right family if you were smart enough if you would look the right. And the rabbi got to submit an application. And then your friend your cousin. Let's just say your friend you here like, oh, he's following Jesus around man. I heard great things about Jesus. That would be awesome, but I'm over here. And then your cousin comes to you and it's like yeah, Jesus was the Messiah.

He died for our sins. He was raised from the dead and now he sits at the right hand of God, but here's the thing. Do you want to be one of his disciples? That was an idea that had never taken place in the history of the world that you could be the disciple of someone who had died. And it is effectively like ended that that pyramid scheme of r a b a l m a by Tommy by Tommy. Now the best the best that I could describe two is a disciple of Jesus and I'll help you be a disciple of Jesus in the best that you can describe two is to be a disciple of Jesus would imagine that invitation like hate you missed him you're missing while he was here, but you're still invited to be a disciple of Jesus. And now we pick up for granted.

Look at them like we're entitled to that. Someone in the first century, they would be weeping and I don't come from I'm going to come from a good family. I don't look the way you want me to look I'm too old. I'm a woman I was I'm a sinner like it's okay. He still loves you and he wants you to be his disciple. That is an honor. Now I have a little caveat here. And this is total like Bible nerd stuff. I'm sorry, but I think it's cool. Follow me, but don't be a follower. Now even by saying that some some of if you have some pride in your heart. You might be like, yeah, I don't follow anyone. No one tells me what to do. That's not what I mean. Okay. What's an amazing? What's amazing about the scriptures? Is it through Matthew Mark Luke and John we see Jesus going around and what is he asking people to do follow him? He says it over and we saw his like follow me. And so he's asking people to follow him that right. There is a Greek word for that. and yet

and yet there is a Greek word for the noun a follower. Is this a calyptus? We get to work acolyte from this. It means follower act like religious follower. Someone who is scribes to the same ideals as their religious leader and philosophers had acolytes and lots of people had followers. It's just they just literally just means follower. And yet for some reason I find this very very important. That word is nowhere in the Bible.

Jesus said for years follow me follow me. Follow me. Follow me And yet when they when the Greek when the when the New Testament writers had to had to put pick a word for what it meant to be a follower. They didn't pick follower. They picked disciple. student learner

and I'm I don't know. I forget I'm probably just being a nerd your butt. I think about even what I started off by saying like it's easy if we just have the word Christian. Which means like religious follower believer. It's way too easy to Define that however, I want to Define that.

And so I'm almost at wonder when it came time for Matthew Mark Luke John to write their gospel there. They write them in Greek that depicts Greek words to describe the thing. They don't pick the Greek word for religious follower. because I think we we need to be reminded that being a disciple means something. It's not the same Orphus like yeah, I like Jesus. So I'm a Christian.

It's a disciple is student disciple is I am going to learn. From this guy and we're going to look at the next week. We're going to look at like what is that lifestyle look like so if you say Okay, I want to be a disciple. Okay. Well, what is that look like guess what? There's a lot in the Bible about what that looks like.

And so I think it's important that we recognize this very strange phenomenon that we have to be careful not to turn Christianity just into religious. You know, I admire these principles is a good things. We need to remember to be students of Jesus.

All right. Oh and here's where he said that if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Not if you like what I say or if you attend my meetings regularly.

I'm teaching you things you should do them. And if you do them, you are really my disciples spoiler. I think we I did a whole lesson on this. This is the beginning of a conversation that ended with them trying to kill him.

Cuz he like stab them right in the pride. Alright, so here's the thing this I don't have time to go through all of this. But this is a great like synopsis. This is what it meant to be at Almeda in the Jewish, you know culture. It was an academic academic student. I'm going to learn to be smarter. I'm going to submit an application to a rabbi. There's for a limited time. I'm not going to stay at town meeting in definitely the hope is that one day I will become a rabbi myself and then I will gather my disciples. We are in the family of God's people the family of Israel and this is a school What were what we're building here is a school inside a family and it's pretty darn nationalistic. We think Israel's better than every other country in the world. And then Jesus did every single one of these things very differently. Jesus wants Lerner friends He wants to extend an invitation to people you don't have to submit an application to Jesus. You're not going to be a disciple of Jesus for a little while. And then move on you're going to be a disciple of Jesus to the day you die and hopefully for eternity. You're going to stay a disciple. You're not going to elevate to be better than anyone else. Jesus actually says don't call people rabbits.

And then you're not going to gather disciples to yourself. You're going to extend my invitation to you. You're going to extend it to other people. You're going to allow people to feel what that feels. Like, even though the world is telling me something totally different. And now we are going to build a family inside a culture and that can be any color. You can build this family in ancient, you know Palestine you can build this family in like 11:00 Germany. You can build this family in you know, 1980s China you can build his family 2023 Grand Rapids because a family is bigger than any culture and now it's all nations. It's not nationalistic. All Nations can be part of this thing that I'm not doing its revolutionary what Jesus did we have reduced this down to church?

I don't think that's made God like super happy.

So here's your my questions.

Am I inspired by Jesus's radical approach to disciple-making? What you think about that the fact that Jesus turned the rabbi talmid model on its head. And did something that was so submersive for the culture and so like radical like does that like fire you up you like man, this is awesome. I can't believe that we get to benefit from this if we inherited this is amazing. my inspired by Jesus is radical approach to disciple making maybe you're like Not really.

I want I want us to get in touch with what Jesus was trying to do. Cuz he didn't come he didn't like try to start a new church or new religion. He was like, I'm going to change everything.

You're my second question for you you I love that. I can extend the invitation to be a disciple of Jesus to someone else that I have been given the trust and the empowerment to be able to go up to a perfect stranger and say you want to be a disciple of Jesus.

Even someone that is hot has a high standing even someone that's intimidating to you. It's not that.

It's not the pyramid scheme. It's not feel like why should I why should I be your disciple? I'm smarter than you and sharper and address better than you. Could you should be my disciple. that was done away with

but my question is do I love that I can extend that invitation. I have something very. If I'm being totally honest. some of us that is gone from our hearts.

Like when we were first we first became Christians were like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I can I get to be a part of this. and when you're passing your like

it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't fire you up like oh my God. I am participating in this divine nature and doing changing people's by so I would I would strongly encourage you if you haven't watched someone be transformed by the love of Jesus. And whose whose transformation is so real they remember their life of Slavery to sin and now they tangibly feel like they've been set free. And it's been a while since you saw that happen. I would just encourage you man. Got got to find a way to get in there with someone who wants to become a disciple of Jesus.

And then lastly here's my last question. What what gets in my way of a humble Learners spirit? Now here's what's crazy guys if I were to say and I've said this a few times before if I were to say, hey, you're being super prideful and you're not really interested in learning how to obey what Jesus commanded you maybe you're not a disciple.

And that carries a lot of baggage with it because we are very very possessive of our stamp on us. It's like I'm saying.

And so we're like, oh are you saying I'm going to go to hell?

what I'm saying is if Jesus clearly defined what it meant to be a disciple. And we did not use religious language. We did not call them acolytes are just followers are believers. We called them students. I need to commit to a life of learning how to live like Jesus.

So we should be humble enough to say man. I was not a good disciple today cuz I took control over my own life. I decided I'm going to make my own decisions. I'm not going to let you know I care what Jesus things.

What is standing in your way maybe? It's the religious pride of like I already know. I'm on my way. I just want to be a follower believer. I want to be a disciple. maybe it's the like like the desires for your that your flesh gives you and your like I do what I want when I want.

Maybe it's something else. Maybe it's laziness. Maybe it's there. It could be for each person here. It could be something slightly different thing, but we should learn what that feels like when something's getting in the way of being a disciple. What's really awesome is if you just say like if you have someone in your life just like man, this is a rough week. Here's all the things that tried to sabotage my discipleship. And that person is like I totally understand I felt all those things. Also. We're in this together. Guess what that's in two weeks that's called disciple. Like I want to help you because like will you help me be a disciple? But I think if we're going to start this thing, like look at the walk the the life of being a disciple of Jesus. It's very important that we Define what that means and there's way more to this that we could look at there's way more to what it means to be disciple. I just want us there's nothing else. I just want us to realize man. It's a very it's pretty simple term. It just means student. So if I want to be a disciple of Jesus, the most important thing I could do is not learn how to be a good church person is learn how to examine what Jesus told me to do. and then live that way until next week, we're going to look at all of those thing for what did Jesus say if you want to be my Disciple This is what's going to look like. Oh, there's so much stuff guys. And that's what we called discipleship the life of a disciple and then in two weeks, we're going to look at the verb form of disciple, which is discipling which is a Greek word where we are going to help each other in the life of a disciple is not meant to be lived in a vacuum. I would even put you for that. It's impossible. You can't you can't live the disciple life in a vacuum. That is our lesson this morning 4 at this time. I have asked Hollywood to do our communion Holly coming up.