Becoming a Fisherman

Introduction

Name

Honored that you’re here

Vision

Grace Empire exists to restore, revitalize, and refresh the Tampa Bay Area through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Special thank you to all the people that helped this week.

Special thanks to Church on Wheels

Vision for the future - we dont want a bunch of leaves, we want fruit. We want growth, but the right kind.

So we are going to be talking about multiplication, specifically how we can multiply as a church. The kind of multiplcation we are looking for will require us to look into our own hearts and into our own lives and begin asking some hard questions that will require some honest answers.

So we are going to be doing some introspection as a church and I’m urging you to think deeply, be honest with yourself, and see where this goes.

You guys ready for this? God is going to do something unique in your lives for the next five weeks IF you allow him too.

We are called to multiply and make disciples of all nations. Its time to take up our place within the body of Christ. Its time to Go Fish.

Matthew 4:19 NLT

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

What is a Disciple

Can you image being one of the few people Jesus called to “Follow Me.” Those two words changed the trajectory of 12 peoples lives.

So I have wondered, do you think you would have followed?

Would you have left your jobs, your families, your hobbies, your social lives if Jesus came calling?

Thats what happened to the men and women who began to follow Jesus. I don’t think any of them could have known what they were getting into when they began following Jesus.

But I wonder…does any of us?

Peter and Paul

Both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

Andrew

went to the "land of the man-eaters," in what is now the Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their land. He also preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and in Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.

Thomas

was probably most active in the area east of Syria. Tradition has him preaching as far east as India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder. They claim that he died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers.

Philip

possibly had a powerful ministry in Carthage in North Africa and then in Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation the proconsul had Philip arrested and cruelly put to death.

Matthew

the tax collector and writer of a Gospel, ministered in Persia and Ethiopia. Some of the oldest reports say he was not martyred, while others say he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

Bartholomew

had widespread missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to India with Thomas, back to Armenia, and also to Ethiopia and Southern Arabia. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr for the gospel.

James

the son of Alpheus, is one of at least three James referred to in the New Testament. There is some confusion as to which is which, but this James is reckoned to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.

Simon the Zealot

so the story goes, ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.

Matthais

was the apostle chosen to replace Judas. Tradition sends him to Syria with Andrew and to death by burning.

John

is the only one of the company generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was the leader of the church in the Ephesus area and is said to have taken care of Mary the mother of Jesus in his home. During Domitian's persecution in the middle 90's, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he is credited with writing the last book of the New Testament--the Revelation. An early Latin tradition has him escaping unhurt after being cast into boiling oil at Rome.

When I decided to follow Jesus, how could I have known it would lead me to Florida planting a church?

How could Pastor Ryan could have known that following Jesus would lead him down here as well?

For those that have come to know Jesus and decided to call him Lord, many cannot have anticipated where following him would lead them. It is truly an adventure.

So what does it mean to be a disciple?

The answer is fairly simple, but it is going to challenge you and for some will change your life completely.

“The word disciple refers to a student or apprentice. Disciples in Jesus’s day would follow their rabbi (which means teacher) wherever he went, learning from the rabbi’s teaching and being trained to do as the rabbi did. Basically, a disciple is a follower, but only if we take the term follower literally. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is as simple as obeying His call to follow.”

To become a disciple is to be a follower…and as you walk as they walk, talk as they talk, do as they do, it becomes clear that you begin to become like them. To become follow Jesus is to become like him. He begins to rub off on you.

Luke 6:40 NLT

Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

You ever spend so much time with someone that you begin to act like them?

Matter of fact, there is a scientific study by University of Michigan psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted an experiment to test the phenomenon that couples that stayed together begin to look like each other as time goes on.

He analyzed photographs of couples taken when they were newlyweds and photographs of the same couples taken 25 years later.

The results showed that the couples had grown to look more like each other over time. And, the happier that the couple said they were, the more likely they were to have increased in their physical similarity.

https://www.livescience.com/8384-couples-start.html

I believe the more time you spend following Jesus the more you will become like him.

https://www.livescience.com/8384-couples-start.htmltn the qualities…now following Jesus may not have you wearing open toed sandles, sporting a beard, and wearing a tunic, but I do believe, as you spend time following him you will be come ti become more like him.

Now following Jesus may not have you wearing open toed sandals, sporting a beard, and wearing a tunic, but I do believe, as you spend time following him you will be come ti become more like him.

Heres a hard truth: even though this definition is simple, there are many Christians that believe in action that they can take on the name of Christ and not actually live their lives following him.

No one really believes this is how to live as a Christian, but many of us can’t help but live this way.

So heres something to consider: up to this point in your life, would you consider yourself as a follower of Jesus? What evidence is there of it as described in :40?

Whats the first step to becoming a disciple?

Matthew 4:17–19 NLT

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

It’s true that Jesus first called his disciples by saying “follow me,” but I think the start of discipleship comes from something he said even before that.

Matthew 4:17 NLT

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

I want you to think about this statement practically? What would someone do if there were told that a king and his army were approaching…if they were smart they would prepare to fight this army, or you would do whatever you could do to make peace with him.

The bible tells us to repent. To repent literally means to turn yourself around and go in the opposite direction.

“In this context, Jesus was telling people to prepare themselves—to change whatever needed to be changed—because God’s kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) was approaching.”

Excerpt From: Francis Chan & Mark Beuving. “Multiply.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/multiply/id567310376?mt=11

Why do we need to change direction? Cause we all have sinned. It’s not just about making mistakes, we have consciously decided to do things that were wrong. You dont have to be a Christian or know the bible for this to be true. How? We can’t even keep the rules that we set for ourselves. You don’t need the bible to know that we all need forgiveness for something. If you have ever felt guilt, or shame, or were angry at yourself, disappointed in some decision you made, you know you need a break. But that’s easier said then done right? It’s sometimes easier to forgive others than it is to forgive yourself.

But heres the good news, there is literally nothing you can do to save yourself. Cause if you could you would have done it by now.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Eph

What this means is that no one can brag about his or her good deeds, nor can their bad deeds deny them the gift that God so freely gives. It’s to his credit. It’s to his goodness. It’s God’s strong right arm that lifts us out of our failures. It all comes back to Jesus!

Thats why we follow him. That’s why we call him Lord!

The term Lord, isn’t just another name for God, or is it just a title used in Game of Thrones, it refers to master, owner, or a person who is in a position of authority.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 cor

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So take a second to think about his…is Jesus REALLY your master? Do you believe he is your OWNER? Do you really believe you belong to him?

I know…I want to snap my fingers and say, nobody owns me…but this submission that I give to God i give freely because I know he will take care of me. It’s the reason Carrie Underwood sings, Jesus take the wheel.

But discipleship

Here is another passage as to consider as you think about that last question.

Luke 14:25–33 NLT

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

This is called counting the cost. Have you considered what it actually means to be a follower of Jesus?

It’s a good question because some of you are

The Command to Make Disciples

You know in movies, the final words of a person or a character before they die are considered to be iconic and important:

Acts

Movie Trivia: Can you name who said these words before they died?

"I have been and always shall be your friend...Live long and prosper." Spock - Star Trek 2

“Now I know why you cry…but that is something I can never do…goodbye. Terminator 2

“Now I know why you cry…but that is something I can never do…goodbye. Terminator 2

“Now I know why you cry…but that is something I can never do…goodbye. The Terminator - Terminator 2

I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king."

“I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king." Boromir - The Lord of the Rings

“I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king." Boromir - The Lord of the Rings

“I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king." Boromir - The Lord of the Rings

You know what Jesus last words were?

Matthew 28:18–20 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Some of you have heard this before, and some of you may even know this verse by heart, but let me say something that may surprise you. This isn’t here to inspire you to become pastors or missionaries…this command was meant for everyone, including you.

And if the Great Commission was given as a command to anyone who would follow Jesus…why is it so difficult to find discipleship happening in churches today?

I think a part of the problem is that the church beleives that the work of the ministry is meant for the ministers…which totally makes sense. Salesmen sell, insurance agents insure, and ministers minister. And although this sounds like it makes sense, its actually wrong when it comes to discipleship.

In the New Testament early church, the work of the ministry wasn’t just assigned to the pastors, but to everyone. The burden to spread the gospel was shared by the entire community.

Sometimes we think of church with a CEO business model. Where there is someone at the top of the period. The head honcho. The guy in charge. And when it comes to the church, thats the lead pastor…so the ministering must be done by him.

But that really isnt correct. The work of the ministry is to be shared by all. The ministers job isn’t JUST to minister, its to equip the people to do ministry.

Paul describes the church as a body and explains the function of a church in

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

“He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ … we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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.”

Excerpt From: Francis Chan & Mark Beuving. “Multiply.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/multiply/id567310376?mt=11

“Paul saw the church as a community of redeemed people in which each person is actively involved in doing the work of ministry. The pastor is not the minister—at least not in the way we typically think of a minister. The pastor is the equipper, and every member of the church is a minister.”

Excerpt From: Francis Chan & Mark Beuving. “Multiply.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/multiply/id567310376?mt=11

Do me a favor, take a second to think about someone that you admire in a spiritual sense? It could be your dad, or your old youth pastor, or a friend, or whomever you know personally that calls themselves a follower of Jesus.

Can you name someone that they are intentionally discipling?

Some of you can, but for a lot of you…their amazing love for Jesus, really begins and ends with them...

Or how about you?

Who are you intentionally discipling?

Look we are not saying this to bring shame or guilt on each other…but we are having a candid conversation about our walk with Jesus and what it means to be a follower of Jesus and I think its important to say that we have a major discipleship crisis happening in our churches today.

So how do we make disciples

So what do we do? How do we disciple? Theres a lot to say here, but lets start with what Jesus said first.

Go to them. Baptize them. Teach them.

Baptize them. Teach them.

Go - Find someone to disciple

I think the first step to discipleship is learning to look at the people in your life in a slightly different way. God has placed these people in your life for you to influence in a positive way. God has a desire for every person to come to know him in an intimate manner and it takes someone who knows that intimacy to begin discipleship.

That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect or spiritual or a bible scholar to begin teaching, It just takes someone bold enough to take that first step.

My first group of disciples wasn’t when I got to bible college or when I become a youth pastor. It was when I was 17 years old and I had a class of 6, sixth graders. Was I intimidated? Of course! But Jesus didn’t say go…make disciples of all nations…unless you’re too busy. or unless you don’t know enough, or unless you are less than perfect.

The work of the ministry is for everyone.

Baptize Them - Help them understand what it means to become a follower of Jesus

Baptisim is a big deal. As we have said before, baptism is an outward declaration of your inward change. Its symbolic of being reborn as a follower of Jesus. It’s believing that your old self, the self that lived for only its own desires and plans, is dying and being resurrected as Christ was resurrected.

Its saying that you are a follower of Christ and you’re proud of it.

When first-century Christians decided to be baptized it was a HUGE deal.

“When first-century Christians took this step of identifying themselves with the death and resurrection of Jesus, they were publicly declaring their allegiance to Christ. This immediately marked them for martyrdom—all of the hostility that the world felt toward Jesus would now be directed at them.”

Excerpt From: Francis Chan & Mark Beuving. “Multiply.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/multiply/id567310376?mt=11

Teach them - Teach them to obey all that the Lord commands

The Heart of a Disciple Maker

The bible is full of biblical commands. The New Testament alone has over 1000.

I know that feels overwhelming…but its really not supposed to be…so Jesus made it simple.

Love God and love others.

There is a phrase that I want you to all say with me.

“Love comes first”

This mantra is at the heart of Grace Empire and I believe at the heart of God. Discipleship isn't about a program or a book or just a list of things to follow. Study is important, and you should definitely apply the things that you learn and should teach others to do the same…but discipleship cannot start there.

Discipleship, relationship making, helping others be like Jesus really comes down to you spending time with them, loving them first and teaching them to love first.

Love them first to teach them to love first.

Paul the apostle says:

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 NLT

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

The result of a loveless ministry is a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. We have become an annoyance, irrelevant, and a distaste to others.

This is the heart of discipleship. We disciple for all the reasons listed, but the heart of it is because we want people to know that because God loved us, we are wiling to love them.

Walk the walk.