VG Sermon: The Karate Kid

ENGAGE

‌In 1984, Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita starred in the iconic Martial Arts film, The Karate Kid.

There have since been several sequels and even a remake in 2010.

While the title suggests that Daniel LaRusso, the kid in the movie, is the main point, one would argue that while he is the one who the movie is focused on, the real power of the movie and the power in Daniel's life is Mr. Myagi, the wise elderly karate instructor.

Myagi took Daniel in as a student, but he was so much more to him.

Not only teaching him the physical moves, but also life-skills and a code of ethics.

Myagi was a father figure, a source of confidence and most of all, a source of love.

Daniel went from knowing absolutely nothing about martial arts to becoming an instructor himself where he mentors several students in the new series, Cobra Kai, streaming on Netflix.

TENSION

Now, the hardest part of HAVING a mentor, is that point when that mentor allows you to step out on your own, where you only have yourself and what your mentor has passed on to you.

On the other side, the hardest part of BEING a mentor, is knowing that after you have put all the work into investing in your apprentice, they could still abandon you and not follow through with the teachings you invested in them.

The second hardest part of BEING a mentor, is knowing that your work is not done until your student becomes a mentor to their own student.

But a wise person knows that even at that point, no one is ever really done being mentored.

We still need people pouring into us, praying for us, investing in us, and showing up for us.

This is why we are THE CHURCH.

Turn with me to the letter of 1st Timothy chapter one.

We will take a look at mentoring, or as we refer to it, discipleship.

We will see from the Bible that we as individuals, and we as the church are called to be be disciples who make disciples.

TRUTH

1 Timothy 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul calls Timothy his true child in the faith, he is giving authority to him, and laying claim to him for training him in the ministry of Christ.

This authority was given to Paul by Jesus himself, and then was passed on to Timothy.

In the Karate Kid, Mr Myagi was trained in martial arts by his Master and then Myagi passed it on to Daniel.

Myagi had a purpose, a mission- he was to train Daniel-san in karate.

Paul was also called to a mission. His purpose, given to him directly by Jesus himself, was to spread the gospel and make disciples of Christ through his relationships with others.

We are called to be a missional people today. We are to take what we experience, hear, and study and pass it on.

1 Timothy 1:3–7 ESV

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Chronologically, after the events in the book of Acts, we find Paul and Timothy ministering together on the road and they ended up in Ephesus, in what we call Turkey today.

Paul is writing a letter to Timothy because Paul has to keep traveling, and he is leaving his student in Ephesus with a mission of his own.

There are teachers there who are teaching things that are different than what Jesus taught Paul and Paul taught Timothy.

From the phrase “desiring to be teachers of the law” we can assume they are using the law as given from Moses and are twisting it, or swerving from it.

So they started from the same truth, but they have wandered off the path and have no idea what they are saying, even though they say it very confidently.

You know anyone like that? They have no clue what they are saying but they are saying it very loud and proudly?

These teachers are teaching something sort of true, or something that sounds like it could be true, but it is not the pure gospel of Christ and salvation through faith in him alone.

Throughout the Karate Kid, Daniel is faced with the Cobra Kai, the rival martial arts school in town.

While they have the same background in martial arts as Daniel and Myagi, they have interpreted it very differently.

They have taken the core concepts and twisted them for their own benefit.

They take shortcuts and have swerved away from the original intention and honor of the art.

Mr. Myagi holds Daniel accountable to use the martial arts honorably and not for selfish gain.

In this letter, Paul holds Timothy accountable to his mission.

Timothy in turn holds the false teachers accountable to the truth of the Gospel.

We are called to be accountable people. We have to make sure that our lives reflect Jesus, and we share the true, pure Gospel of Jesus with others.

1 Timothy 1:8–11 ESV

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

‌Paul goes on to expand more about the law.

Paul emphasizes the righteous use of the law - the bible as the had it, the words of Moses, the prophets and the writings.

The law’s purpose was to reveal sin, and then Jesus brought his teachings and his sacrifice that brought the forgiveness of that sin once you recognize and repent of that sin that the law pointed out.

The law serves as a guide for believers to live in accordance with God's will. This takes discipline, self-control, humility and integrity.

Mr Myagi passed on the correct use of martial arts, as he taught Daniel these same traits.

The law as given by Moses in the Ten Commandments include the first four which govern our relationship with God, and the last six which govern our relationships with other people.

If you notice that in verses 9 and 10 Paul references the commandments in order in the things that are different than, and contrary to sound doctrine that came from Jesus to Paul to Timothy.

Why the call back to the ten commandments?

Because when we love God and love our neighbors, we develop community.

We are called to be a communal people. We cannot stand alone, we are designed to seek out community.

1 Timothy 1:12–17 ESV

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul looks at his past, and the mercy and grace of God that transformed him from a violent anti-christian to one of and most would say, the most successful witnesses for Christ the world has ever seen after he met Jesus, and in essence is directly discipled by him.

Paul wants Timothy to know where he came from. He reminds him that he was the worst of the worst, but God still chose him and saved him.

If God saved Paul, surely he can save someone like me, or someone like you.

It was Christs mission to save sinners like Paul, and like the ones listed in verses 9 and 10.

He uses the law to confront us with our sin, and through the gospel we can be restored to a right relationship with God through Jesus.

Paul knows Timothy needs to remember this because he is being called to disciple men who are not teaching the correct things, in an area that is full of people worshipping anything and everything but God.

Timothy has to confront them, and restore them to a right relationship with God, and he is going to do that through discipleship.

He is going to replicate the same process that Paul had gone through with him, teaching the truth and the life that Jesus passed to Paul and Paul passed to him. Now hes going to hand it off to the teachers.

In the Karate Kid, we see Daniel come to life and grow when he is invested in by Mr. Myagi.

Myagi was willing to be a positive influence on him, teaching him redemption, honor and integrity, all while fighting the rival school and their twisted interpretation of martial arts.

We are call to be reproducible. We are to pass on the faith to others through our relationships and see that they grow up to be able to do the same.

1 Timothy 1:18–20 ESV

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

‌Even in the middle of trials and tribulations, among false teachers trying to persuade him to give up his faith for false stories and half truths, Paul is encouraging Timothy to remain steadfast to the basics of the faith, what he had been taught by Paul.

He is encouraging him to stay the course and remain true to Jesus' gospel and not to stray like others have.

Mr Myagi trained Daniel and had to keep reminding him of the basics of his art, that the most foundational things are what will will save you.

He taught him early on wax on, wax off, paint the fence, wash the car.

These all would come into play later and when paired with the values Myagi had instilled in him, would allow Daniel to be victorious.

We as Disciples are called to hold tight to the essentials of the faith and cling to scripture as our basis for living.

Most importantly, we are to be a Scriptural people. We have to get into the Word and get the Word into us.

APPLICATION

Just as Daniel benefited from Mr. Myagi's mentorship and guidance, we are encouraged to seek out mentors in our own lives who can instill valuable life lessons and perspectives on us.

Now - we are the Church, we desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ, so we have something that we are looking for in our mentor, a non-negotiable- the truth of the gospel of Christ.

If that is not their foundation, if the law of the Lord is not their delight, then we do not want to allow them to influence us.

Those who do not have that firm foundation are like the false teachers in Timothy’s day.

They are like the wicked, the sinners and the scoffers from Psalm 1.

They are like the Cobra Kai martial arts school.

We are disciples. We are following a long line of spiritual parents and children.

Jesus passed it to Paul, Paul passed it to Timothy, Timothy passed it to those teaching in Ephesus, and who knows who else, and who knows how many people those teachers went on to impact once they got their teachings straightened out by Timothy.

My favorite definition of discipleship comes from Pastor Robby Gallaty:

Discipleship is:

Intentionally Equipping believers

with the Word of God

through accountable relationships

empowered by the Holy Spirit

in order to replicate faithful followers of Christ.

My heart is discipleship.

My calling is to equip believers for works for service, building up the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us about the role of preachers, teachers and mentors in the church:

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

It is the job of a pastor, of church leadership, of mentors, of all of us, to make sure that the church is equipping disciples, not just providing entertainment and “good morals”.

Equipping Disciples means that we:

Encourage them - to persevere and continue to grow

Qualify them- give them the tools and confidence they need.

Understand them - we know them and their struggles

Instruct them - in what needs to be done and how to feed on God’s word, and most importantly we are constantly

Praying for them and with them.

Biblical Leaders are not the ones who just DO THE WORK OF THE CHURCH,

according to the Bible, they are the ones who EQUIP THE CHURCH - TO DO THE WORK.

Yes, Pastors and ministry leaders are on the front lines leading the charge, but the real work is done by the everyday disciples, sharing their faith in mentoring relationships.

Discipleship is important to me, because without the encouragement and support of my peers in high school, I never would have became a believer.

Without my college mentors, I would not have become a disciple.

Without the influence of the godly men in my life, I would never have become a pastor.

I have several faithful men of God- some older and some my age, who pray for me and with me, they give me advice, and keep me going in my faith.

I know they are praying for me and they will show up for me.

At the same time, I have a couple young men who I am able to reach out to and help mentor in Christ.

INSPIRATION/REFLECTION

Listen to me church, by embracing the teachings and principles passed down to us, we can be more than church attenders.

We can be more than believers. We can be intentional in our relationships.

We can be and are called to be disciples who make disciples.

Everyone is caught up in how to grow their church because Covid wiped out church attendance, or we’re getting older, or we don't have any money, or whatever the situation is,

But the fact of the matter is still the same today as it was back in Jesus’ day, in Paul’s day, and even Timothy’s day.

The only way to grow a church, is to grow the people in the church to the point that they become disciples who make disciples.

NEXT STEPS

Are you taking part in growing your church?

Do you have a mentor who is investing in you like Daniel and Timothy had in Mr. Myagi and Paul?

Are you mentoring someone and investing in them like Mr. Myagi and Paul did to Daniel and Timothy?

No matter how long you have been a believer, from day one to day one billion, it is never too late to be discipled.

And as long as you have the basics of faith and the truth of the Gospel, its not too early to begin to disciple someone else.

If you are not currently in a mentoring relationship where you are being discipled, and you are discipling someone, be on the look out for who those two people could be for you.

They are out there waiting for you to become a disciple who makes disciples.

Let’s pray.