Discipleship (6 G's), Part 3: Goal & Group

Well, there are many things about being a dad that I love and just so many different blessings and benefits but one of them I didn't really know how much I would enjoy it until I actually had kids and was able to use it and it's that time when your kids begin to talk about something and you're able to say will back in my day was much harder. I love doing that at the dead. I didn't know I would love it that much but I love talking about how hard it was back in in my day. Like I was driving Trenton home from baseball practice. And you know, I would just call somebody I just hit the button on the phone and I say the name and it calls it and trends like all that's really cool. And I like my day going to memorize those numbers of members had to be up here trying to tell him that or even like he had a pizza party after his baseball game and we have never been to this place before so what do we do? You type it into the phone and that's the navigations going to get you there, but I can tell him back in my day. We use Thomas guide you just remember Thomas guide of Manchester large just massive map and you lay that out over the dashboard and cycling. Waldron to find out where you are and you maneuver navigating turn the map the way that you're heading in that sense. That's what we thought we did back in my day. It was much much harder to do but those apps are out there. Now. There's so many different Apple Maps Google Maps Waze a bunch of different apps that are trying to get you to the destination to shortest distance possible has read an article about that that actually they're trying to make its you know, how much speedier more efficient way to get you to where you want to go. But the fact is that because there's so many different one of these apps that it's actually creating more traffic jam in areas that aren't designed to pull traffic jams because all of these different apps are trying to route you to these different Navigation area so that it's a shorter distance because there's so many different apps competing against each other. Now these small tiny streets are all being crowded and directed because all these apps are directing them down these back roads to try to make things go faster, but they're actually holding them up. I was reading the article in here. What the the final things that the author said I thought it was insightful on top of the fact that all these apps are out for themselves will not allow this problem to be solved because these apps are designed to work together. Each app wants to be the superior app and they're not going to sit down and go. Okay, how can we solve this problem? So we're all getting the same thing. They all want that users to come to them. They wanted to be the best app. And so the fact that they're all out for themselves or really stop them from ever solving this problem and I thought about that the great face the fact that all of them are out for themselves will stop them pick up the same thing in the church. He had a group of people who came to church and they were all out for themselves then care about somebody else didn't think what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I didn't consider the call of making disciples and how you need a group of people to do that. Nothing would ever get accomplished. But think about the great things that God can do if we depend on one another and we did with the scripture said and we we were all banded together in a bond of unity with the same goal moving towards the same and how incredible that could be. That's what we want to talk about today as we're moving along and our final segment of this discipleship series what it means to have a unified gold and what it means to have a unified group better progressing towards the same ends. And when you do that together God does Jesse's incredible things, but at the beginning of this remember I started to talk about one of the reasons why we were bringing discipleship is because there are those people who will come into a group like this and they will look like externally they are part of the group in there about what the group is about. But ultimately they fall away or they have pasta side because they profess the faith, but they didn't possess it in the Bible in the New Testament constantly are showing that that amongst the people of God there can be those people who merely professed but don't possess Faith that genuinely saves and transforms and if we're going out and making disciples we need to make sure that we understand what real genuine saving faith is Once you turn if we're going down for claiming a gospel of salvation by grace through faith going to make sure we're talking about the right face and it's the face that genuinely saves when you possess that and not profess. It's the right face. The New Testament is constantly giving us and I think we see an example that in John 6 verses 6271 John chapter 6 versus 6271 follow along as I read it says when many of his disciples heard it they said this is a hard saying who can listen to it. But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this said to them do you take offense at this then what if you were to see the son of man to send him where he was before is the spirit who gives life The Flash is no help at all the words. I have spoken to you are spirit and life but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who were those who did not believe in who it was who would betray him and he said to them this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the father. Did you see that category? There's this group of people there called Disciples there amongst the 12 disciples and other legitimate disciples were professing the right faith in Jesus Christ, but not Jesus goes you're calling yourself a disciple, but you don't really believe the way the Bible says genuine saving Faith Comes. You have an intellectual agreement with what's going on. You've you've tracked with what I said and so far that's working for you. But now that I'm saying something that you don't like you're leaving and you don't want to do what I'm asking you to do looking for 66 and after this many of his disciples turn back and no longer walked with him. That's what we don't want. That's what we're aiming for. I'm not just sitting down with somebody in this effort to make a disciple and just get them to merely intellectually agree with what I'm saying and then move on and think that my job is done. No real saving faith is something that you possess and it's begins to transforming that transformation happens in the realm of discipleship. I'm not going to be satisfied with somebody who will just paired off some words. They have to have that real face looking for 67 in Jesus said to the twelve then his disciples. Do you want to go away as well? Listen to Peter's great answer here Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and it come to know that you are the Holy One Of God knows you see the distinctions in those two different confessions. You have the the first group that are disciples and their disciples because they meant Aaliyah sent it to something but now that something is not agree with that they're going to turn around and they're going to walk away but the Disciples of Jesus are those who look to him. And believe him and trust him in his character and his word and know who he truly is and that's a possession that can never be taken from you. Not just into professions. We want the real possession of saving faith and your good way to think about it would be this. I told you a few weeks ago. I think in a sermon of a TV show called Flinch on Netflix, you can watch it it's entertaining and the whole point of the game if they put you through these just weird ideals and weird situations to try to get you to Flinch if you can she lose the game. So here's one of them straight up a nightmare and they pop your head up through this little thing that has this wired covering over you and it's connected to two long tubes so that they can access things can access you and then they take a piece of cheese and a stick it right in front of your nose. And then they release rats to come down to the pipe. And what you have to do is let the rats eat the cheese without you flinching. You just have to sit there and not flinch at all. It is a nightmare. So if you're afraid of rats, then I wouldn't watch the show, but that's the type of weird things that they do in that in that show, but they had this other one they were they sit a person in a chair. And on the opposite side of them. They have a washing machine suspended in mid-air from pipes and poles and I don't you don't see the behind-the-scenes but you know something like this has to happen the producer and director of the shows going to come out and going to explain the game to the person. Listen, you're sitting in this chair and this washing machine is designed to be dropped and to go right over your face. We promise you it's not going to hit you we swear on everything we've tested it. We've had it checked. This is not going to break your job is to sit in the chair and when the buttons pressed to sit there and watch that and not flinch at all. So you have two groups of people you have the one group that's going to Flinch they're there and they hear that coming from the director to hear the words the instructions. They understand it they agree with what's going on. But when the time comes for it to happen the button presses, what do they do? They start freaking out and flinching because they've intellectually agreed. I understand what you just told me, but when it comes to the rubber meets the road they're going to do everything in their power to try to save himself because they didn't really trust what was said, but you will also see a group that because they believe the character and word of the director and they know that it won't hit them all though. There might be some internal consternation there. They're able to sit there and rest peacefully as it goes right over the face. That is faith that has changed the person that they're acting on what they really believe. They trust the person so much that is told them this won't hurt them. You're in good hands. Just I promise you is that the Allstate line you're in good hands with Allstate. Trust me. You're in the right place. We've done everything you're going to be. Okay, you have to believe me. That's a difference between Saving Face and just merely professing a face. That's what the New Testament is constantly distinguishing. Isn't that what James to is all about James to is not a discussion between does Works saves you and Faith save you it's a discussion between what is real face itches. What is the type of faith that can save you? Is it a faith that when it comes in it does nothing to the person or is it a face that comes in and exercises itself through works. That's what it means to have real saving faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and that brings you in to the realm of discipleship. But to see the SATs go to Matthew chapter 11 the Matthew 11.

Brings you into the realm of discipleship when you trust someone else and you believe in them and you don't try to do it yourself to a real saving faith comes from Matthew chapter 11 sticker. Look at verses 28 and 29.

Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 and 29. Just some of the most famous verses great verses in Bible scripture looking to Jesus words here come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Can you imagine us being in the the group of people that heard that originally that in the context where they're taught what you do saves you how you act saves you. That's what that Judy is. The teaching was going to do how you earn your status your justification your forgiveness before God is to follow these burdensome command and when you do so God will then OU salvation. That is a heavy burden that no human being can ever bear and now Jesus comes and says if your bird like that come to me, you're going to find rest cuz I'm going to take that on I'm going to live the perfect life. I'm going to die the death, which was the punishment for your sin, and I'm going to rise again 3 days later to give you new life in Jesus Christ if you simply believe Rest in Me. You're trusting Jesus is worried that he's told you the right thing so that when the rubber meets the road you don't try to do anything to save yourself. You are trusting that Jesus is the one who has done that for you. But did you notice that Jesus said isn't here take my yoke upon you and use the phrase and learn from me. So again, when we talk about resting in Jesus for salvation, that doesn't mean we just live a peaceful and unaffected life for the rest of our lives. There's the discipleship process that comes because Jesus is using this word learn from me, which is the word that the Apostle Paul has used over and over again in the New Testament that I've been trying to show you. Listen that just because Paul doesn't call the Christians disciples. He's using this verb form of a disciple to show you that sell. He does Ministry Jesus is Calling the same thing when you come to me and you believe in me, you're going to learn for me. I'm going to train you to be a disciple. I hope that connections been good for you because we've been trying to say that the same way Jesus has been saying to make disciples is the same way. The New Testament Epistles has been trying to say this is how you make disciples and we're looking at the verb form over and over again and that's the same verb form that we have right here. In fact, if you want to just another reference and Paul write down. 17 Colossians 1:7 will match what Jesus says here? Colossians 1:7 Paul's talking to the church at colossae and you just giving them this great praise because they've been instructed in the grace of God. They've learned what the gospel is from epaphroditus innocence his face just as you learned it from epaphroditus and understood the grace of God in truth and that we're forlorn is the same way that Jesus has here. So Ministry and discipleship is always this process of investing learning in the people who then learn it and make it their own and then pass it on to the generation comes after them. That's what this discipleship process has always been New Testament gospels New Testament Epistles as well. Can I ask a question for a second? If Jesus is said here that I'm going to give you rest in Salvation. Then why the Journey of discipleship afterwards? I mean if you've been with us in the gospel of Mark, you know that there are hard times that comes if you read the New Testament Epistles, there are trials that will come upon you. So if you've been given this Rest In Christ, what is with the extreme arduous Journey that comes with discipleship cuz you could go to Matthew chapter 16 in Matthew 16 to give you the same thing. We've heard in Mark already, which is deny yourself take up your cross and follow me that's coming from the same Jesus that just says that you come to me. I'm going to give you rest. Why is there's this this arduous call to discipleship me. See if I can help you think through that. Put Mount Everest in your mind for a moment to think about Mount Everest. And I think if you take the the southern the route to the top there are five camps and then there's the top so think about it to people there's one person on the ground who is going to get to the Top If he's going to get a helicopter from there. One person is done that in all of history has been from the bottom of base camp and it's helicopter all the way to the top some German name. I can't pronounce but he made it to the top and he went from the bottom of the top just simply by going on the helicopter. So one person's going to do that to get to the top and then this person over here is going to actually climb Mount Everest me ask you a question when they both get to the top but say they both arrived at the same time. The guy gets the Head Start he goes he gets up there in the sky helicopters up there when they get to the top who enjoys the top more. Is it the person who got helicopter up there really did nothing. It was just kind of easy for him. Somebody lets him out there and you put up there cuz he's really going to enjoy his experience at the top as much as somebody who's gone on the entire Journey. To me. I think it would be the person who's gone off on the journey because he's really understood just how significant this mountain is and the difficulties that have come through it the fact that he's made it to the top is just going to be an incredible blessing to him and I think there's something to that in the way that Jesus after granting us this rest in the Salvation Christ calls us to go on this journey of discipleship because when we get to the end and we realize like we talked about last time that we made it to the top by his grace and his grace alone and because we were with a group of people who loved us more than they love themselves and we're all celebrating the top together. There will be a greater enjoyment a greater understanding of the the magnitude of that salvation because of the journey that you went through That's probably a good thing for us to think as we're going to we're going to try to encapsulate. What discipleship is. Let's think about it this way. We're going to learn the final two G's today. So we've had gospel and Glory which are those bookends to what discipleship is the gospel that is saved by grace through faith that have to become our primary Proclamation as we progress in our likeness to Jesus Christ and we await the glory. We cannot wait to be there the experience at that. We're going to have a we get in his present and we've gone through the Journey is going to be an incredible incredible privilege. But last time we talked about the grace of God that is necessary to empower us to cause us to endure through that long journey to the top so that when we get to the top we realized like Jesus set apart from him, we could have done nothing but now through his grace we have gone through this incredible journey and we get some more Glory at the end when we reach the top Not today, we want to talk about maintaining the right goal and having the right group of people around you because without having the right goal to get to the top you can get distracted by very many things on the journey. And if you don't have the right group, you are susceptible to a whole bunch of Temptations and I think both of these show up in the gospel of Mark chapter 8 Mark chapter 8 hope that you guys see these connections is very important. I think we're going to the gospel of Mark for specific reason. I don't tell you guys what you're turning their why we're going to Mark and we're pulling all of these Gees from the gospel of Mark and his ideas of discipleship one is because we worked our way systematically, you know to expository teaching looking at all the the passage of scripture in context. So now is a reference them. I'm not I'm not trying to pull something that you don't know. We haven't already studies in context. So if you disagree with the application just go back and see if it was anything different than what we presented in those text earlier. Cuz if you would just go to a different book of the Bible just art 21 Jesus. It was that in contacts, but we've done that in Mark already took one of the reasons why we're doing it, but secondly think about the gospel of Mark itself. We got four gospels. How do each one of them begin? Being very differently than Mark see Matthew starts with a genealogy is going to prove Jesus's line to the Messiah Luke again begins at the beginning Narrative of Jesus and his birth and then chapter 3 gets into the the whole genealogy and John has that amazing christology at the beginning talking about the word with God and the Word was God and it was all happening before the foundation of the world, but Mark doesn't have that Mark is immediately into the action over and over again. I agree with the scholars who say marks purpose in writing. This is to send it to the Christian tour in Rome to give them A discipleship document. This is what Jesus says making disciples is all about and you get that from the get-go because as soon as were introduced to John the Baptist, he tells us who Jesus is. Okay. This is the Messiah he's coming to make disciples and the damn Peter James John and Ruth are getting coal to become disciples and then he's showing his messiahship but he's teaching his disciples along the way so gospels mark is really this this Paradigm for us that if we're going to do with the Bible son has to do we can follow directly. We have it here in March at 3 vs 34 238 what's up with the goal? What is the goal of the sister of a disciple is living and calling the crowd to him verse 34 with his disciples. He said to them if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me or whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it for what does it profit a man if he would gain the whole world and forfeit his soul for what can a man give in return for his soul. Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and simple generation of him. Will the son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of the father with his holy angels. So this is talking about the call of the disciple what their aim and goal is and what it should be throughout their entire life want to ride down with me never won this way on your outline. We're going to be about the business of making disciples. We need to aim at the unified goal. We need to aim at the unified goal. We don't want to be directionless as we're moving up the mountain either make sure that we Are Climbing this mountain empowered by the grace of God to do it all for the honor and glory of God and the name of the right goal, which I think is being taught to us here. In fact, let's let's make sure we clarify this cuz we're not saying again that the Journey of discipleship you become a disciple after you've endured enough to become a disciple. That's not what we're saying. So think about it in terms of me. Let's just think about a climb of Everest. Okay. Let's just picture Jesus at base camp. This is how discipleship starts Jesus must climb Everest by himself and do it all perfectly in your place go up and down back to base camp before discipleship can never happen. That's the substitutionary life and death of Jesus. He accomplishes it and comes back down. But when Jesus comes down to that first base camp, this is what he sees. He sees a sea of dead bodies just people who are dead and can do nothing to save them. So, Four Seasons 2 1 2 3 says you are dead in your trespasses since Jesus comes and Breeze lives into these corpses at base camp now that they've been given life he calls them to be the disciples to follow him up to the top of the mountain that he has already conquered and now you understand that discipleship is not turning ourselves. But because you've been granted salvation in the gospel, you are an able to come climb that mountain with him. I said to put the G in that we talked about last time that the grace of God know that when you climb Mount Everest, you can't really do it on your own oxygen and strength people who climb that supplemental oxygen is as you get further up the mountain the oxygen is less and you become very very susceptible to death. So at Basecamp what Christ has he puts this unending Supply. Of supplemental oxygen on your back with a mask that you always have access to that is the grace of God that we were talking about last time without which you would not be able to endure all the way up the mountain. It's it's a power given to you outside yourself. And so now you're able to endure as you follow Jesus up the mountain the mountain that he's already conquered because you have this supplemental oxygen which would be the grace of God that has strengthened you but let's say you're doing that with a group of people have the supplemental oxygen the strength of the grace of God even saved by the gospel. You're heading towards Glory. What is the goal of what you're trying to accomplish As you move from Camp to Camp to get to the top and Jesus says it for us right here. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. Living for the sake of Christ now becomes the goal of the disciple. So everything I do is not about me and having a tension be pulled on me and having concern be pulled on me, but now throwing everything I have on the attention and Glory of another I'm living for the sake of another person and so my actions are now not my own they have been bought with a price to quote the Apostle Paul. I'm not my own have been bought with a price. I'm going to glorify God with my body. That's the goal of discipleship that I would renounce my autonomy and I would move in the direction of Christ following him up this mountain for the sake and Glory of Christ name. That's what we want to talk about. And I think that's the point that you see here and it's very clearly laid out for Saint Mark chapter 10, just over two chapters to see this Cover two chapters to see this Mark chapter 10 is the story of the Rich Young Ruler.

So remember how the Rich Young Ruler came up the Rich Young Ruler comes up to Jesus and he wants to be let into the kingdom of God, not through repentance and faith not through dependence upon the gospel not having Christ save him but he says accept me because I've done things. This is who I am here is my status as the Rich Young Ruler. This is what I've done welcome into the kingdom because of me and what I've done in Jesus's that's not what it's about. In fact, he says it to him at the end of his 21 after he said teacher I've kept all these Commandments from I use so the important thing is except means your kingdom based on his goodness and Jesus looking at him loved him and wanted him to know if it was to get a definite said to him. You lack one thing go and sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me disheartened by the saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Did he refuse to live for the sake of Christ? He was driven by and devoted to something else the possessions that he had. This is what I'm going to make all my decisions on this is how I base. My life is how I base my worth. This is where I find my identity. It is everything about me my great possession and my status in this community and I'm not willing to renounce that for your sake. I'm going to live for my sake and my sake alone. So we walked away sad but notice with Peter and the disciples say they said Jesus said to his disciples how difficult then will it be for someone was wealth enter the kingdom of God and his disciples were amazed at the word but she's acid in children how difficult is it for the how difficult is it to enter the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God and they were exceedingly astonished and said to him then who can be saved. Jesus has with man. It's impossible but not with God With God all things are possible Peter began to say to him see watch this. We have left everything and followed you. So This Is that real genuine belief that realizes that if I'm resting in Christ and Christ alone that's a renowned scene of everything that I have in my status to Simply live for the sake of Christ and that's what Jesus says truly I say to you there is no one who is left house or brother or sister or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses in brothers and sisters and mothers and children the land with persecutions in in the age to come eternal life So it's a renunciation not simply for the pet the fact to show that we in Andover cells can just say no to the pleasures of the world. And therefore we're old Salve should know that's not why you do it. You say no to the Temptations of the world are notice building your status or your platform. So people look at you you live for the sake of Christ because you realized the worthiness of Christ at to call Paul from Philippians chapter 1. I count everything as loss because of the surpassing value of flipping 3. Sorry of knowing Christ Jesus. My Lord is for the sake of Christ that you live. So now we want to say if that's the that's the goal of what the question was for. I live for the glory of another of the same of another the sake of another is that what the New Testament Epistles teach me to flip in chapter 3

Philippians chapter 3

Philippians, we said Philippians 4:9 Paul says what you've learned from me. that verb form of disciple shows us that Paul taught in this ministry. This is the way you're going to make disciples and disciples need to look. The way that Paul Todd did Paul teach the same way as Jesus flipping chapter 1 verses 21 to 26.

Philippians 1 vs21 226 do we see the same ideas Jesus we were 21 for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. See the same thing that Jesus was saying you renounce everything for my sake. I'm the one who's worthy to be followed with Paul safe for me to live is Christ is really no verb there. It's just for me to live is Christ to Die game. Why because if I die you says I live on the flesh is fruitful labor yet, which I shall choose. I cannot tell I'm hard pressed between the two my desire to depart and to be with Christ. I want to get to the glory. That's far better than it is here. But to remain on the flesh is more necessary on your account convinced of this. I know I will remain on and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the face. So then do you may have Apple cost to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again, but it's Paul teaching the same goal is Jesus was yeah. Absolutely that you leave lose your life for the sake of Christ here for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. There's nothing else. There's nothing else that I'm living for. Nothing else that drives me nothing else that I want other than the Sea Christ. Glorified maybe another way to say it turned 1st Corinthians chapter 10. 1st Corinthians 10

vs. 31 233 1st Corinthians 10 verses 31 to 33

1st Corinthians 10 3133 6th s so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God chapter 10 is Ben a Ben Ben about the right worship. You can't worship with those who are worshipping Idols. You don't want to have fellowship with those people have fellowship with people who want to do what I'm telling you to do and the type of people you have fellowship with his are those who do everything to all to the glory of God give no offense to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God. Just as I try to please everyone and everything. I do not seeking my own Advantage so that now B becomes the the clear fight that we struggle within the Christian Life on living for the sake of Christ and not living for my own Advantage. Those are the two things that are going to be in battle here on Earth on this arduous journey of discipleship is that we X default to thinking we're the most important person but if we have the right goal for the sake of Christ now, we understand the point of the Journey of a living for Jesus and if I do it that Play the what happens I'm doing it for the money that they may be safe salvation comes when we really live out the faith that we say that we have and were able to Proclaim at a gospel the people and show them this is what salvation is all about. You get to live for Christ who has loved you. How did Paul saying Galatians 2:20 the life. I live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. You've been given this new life. You don't do it for Christ. And how did Paul learn the sticker? Look at verse 11 be imitators of me. As I am of Christ. This is the discipleship process the teacher the master the leader teachers the students student striving together to be like the Savior who saved the net definition of discipleship that was getting is sitting right here be imitators of me. Why not because Paul so rainy came up with it, but because he's looked at Christ and said all this is the Wake crisis Ministry should happen. So let's do what Christ did and follow the way. The Jesus taught his followers to fall and I think about this go back to that image of walking up Mount Everest. Here's the Temptation that we have to get so enamored with the journey, not the destination. Like if you were on a climb for Mount Everest and you were a group of unified people with the same goal. You wouldn't have a lot of trouble if somebody in the group went a little Rogan said hey guys, we got to this first base camp. Let's just stop the journey right here. Let's just really try to make this face camp the best base camp that it can be working to try to build up some new walls or try to get heaters. What should I bring him? All the things you can to make this the best place and we're going to stay right here. If we all have the same go to go. No, we didn't start this journey just to get here and to invest here we're going on this journey to get to there. So our investment should not be with just the here and now but we're looking for the den and there we want to be unified in the same purpose in having that same purpose for the sake of Christ it to be where Gloria's is what we should be doing and that's going to happen. We don't live for our sake we live for the sake of Christ. That's how God designs Humanity to be. I hope you remember that being made in the image of God. God designed you to spread His Image throughout the world so he could Glory You guys remember that a few years ago that illustration now. You sure it's been very helpful to me just to think about the way that I should live my life. Each and every day is the ID. I told you of a walking billboard was 2 weeks ago. What I told you was never a competition in the 70s between the two shoe companies Nikes and Adidas and they're trying to gain Supremacy. And what they did was because he said we got to Market we got to get our image out there. So people see it and they know us and we become the number one brand. So what happened in the podcast, I was listening to all these marketing strategies and one of them came up with we just pick athletes and we get our image on those athletes going to spread that image everywhere and we're going to be number one. So they did image saturation by putting their image on athletes who were winning gold medals and being the best in the sports. So people look at those athletes and now they associate the best with that image and they called those athletes walking Billboards, but you made it is for God. We're to be a walking billboard promoting his glory his goal his agenda and not ours and in Christ. We've been giving that power to now be able to accomplish that which we couldn't apart from that Saving Face. So God is giving us this golden opportunity in discipleship to fulfill what we're always created for Living For the Glory of another for the sake of another to live is Christ and to die is gain. I think the final question that we need to ask is can you do that alone? That's something you could accomplish by yourself is all the stuff that we've been speaking about discipleship. Is it is it possible for you to say I'm just going to kind of do my own thing. I do know, you know, those people those brainiacs whenever you would go to school. I was not one of them. I don't need to study with the group under study by myself. And I'm going to go ASA test the next day or do you need that? That's study group what you notice the way that we've defined our discipleship is students. We've always said it floral students striving to be like the Savior who saved them because I think the Bible is teaching that you cannot do this individually, and if you try to pursue it individually, you will utterly fail in that sense. That's why this number two on your outline this way final g is the group that you're with so we need to grow with a unified group. Maybe United in the unified goal with a grow with a unified group. Become so necessary for us to have the right group of people around us and God in his wisdom has made sure that that's A discipleship is going to function.

What's at the question is is that just something Pastor Elliott saying is that something that the scriptures are saying? Let's go to Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3 verse the way Jesus taught his disciples to Acton community.

Do something interesting while you're turning their Mark chapter 3. In the gospel of Mark. Did you notice that the singular verb the singular word disciple does not appear. The only time that disciple appears is when it's in the pleural disciples. The other gospels to have individual disciples being spoken to and this is what a disciple does but Mark is an incredible different animal and by itself. The only time that you see the word disciples when it's in the pleural so it's always disciples disciples disciples. So you're thinking they're in the pleural already with the way that Jesus is doing things if you remember in chapter 6 when he sends the disciples out, how does he send them out individual to go do it? No heed to buy to because he realizes that there's power and strength in the communities of Jesus's is always promoting this discipleship. In fact, I can really only think of the few times in Marc where there's just a focus on a single disciple. They're doing something dad, you know Peter rebuking Christ or Judas betraying Jesus. It's when they're acting on their own that they're really doing These Foolish things, but when they're in the community, they have a an opportunity to do what a crisis asking them to do it at the end of chapter 3. We understand why Jesus is always promoting this group mindset chapter 3 verses 31 to 35. Watch this any said his mother and brothers came and they were standing outside and they sent to him and called to him in a crowd was sitting around him and they said your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you and he answered them who are my mother and my brothers and looking around at those who sat at the table with him. He said here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of God. He is my brother and sister and mother so he began to talk about it begins to talk about discipleship and family language and it was the same thing that we saw at the end of the Rich Young Ruler. If you leave everything in this life for my namesake you're going to game hundreds of mothers hundreds of Brothers hundreds of houses hundreds of sisters. There's a community that is going to come around you because discipleship has to happen in the power of community. And if you think you could do that on your own you were going to be woefully disappointed when you come up against obstacles that you will not be able to overcome. They will be insurmountable for you if you approach them alone, but they will be possible to be accomplished if you go at them in community. now we should ask the question then is this the same thing that Paul was teaching in the New Testament Epistles and I think so again this go back to Philippians Philippians chapter 1 I love this this passage in this connection that you seemed Philippians 1. Philippians chapter 1 Take a look with me. 127 + 2850 + 1 27 + 28

Want to be set for 1 2728 only let your manner of Life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come and see you or I'm absent. I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one line. Here's the phrase striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. See that's what you have to have. If you're going to progress is the disciple people that you strive side-by-side with I can just be open and honest with you and tell you about the trials that my family's been through in the past couple of months. Just how devastating that would have been if I didn't have people around me who cared for me and you guys have been so kind of tax or to pray or the offer counseling all these different things until we get to where we are to be able to stand in God's in control of all this doesn't happen by yourself. It happens. When you have people around you who really care the weight of the Bible says so more than they care for themselves. They they care for other people and that's the way that God has designed his family to function in that sense if you've gone through a trial and Made it through, you know that to be true, you know that you didn't get up and do it by yourself. There were people around you who cared for you who helped you who supported you who loved you because that's the way discipleship happened. You are striving side by side with somebody. You guys understand? That's why there's so much call in the New Testament for Unity. Because if disunity and disruption comes in then it makes us vulnerable and susceptible to The Temptations of the devil just before the chapter 4 why Justin flipping flipping for 2? looking for 2 look up Paul says to this there's a little faction going on in the church. Looking forward to I entreat euodia and I entreat Syndicate watch this to agree in the Lord. Yes. I asked you to companion help these women who have labored. Here we go side by side with me in the gospel together with Clemente and the rest of my fellows workers. Whose names are in the Book of Life to hear the army that Paul has around him. You're my True Companion. I got command. I got all these other people who are here whose names are written in the book of life because God has saved by grace and we all have the same goal because we don't want to live for ourselves. We want to live for the glory of Christ. If there's disunity. Please help those people watch his face agree in the Lord. I'm really hoping that this week in small groups. You have an opportunity to talk about this when your questions on the back, what does it look like to agree in the Lord? Because if we have that mindset hear it protects us from what the devil wants most among us, which is disunity in disharmony. I was reflecting my day thinking like, you know, we're in here Columbus Tustin got a bulldog over here. These are the Columbus Tustin Bulldogs. That's their their mascot is a bulldog right in the middle of court house. Like we don't have a mascot as a church have a mascot. So I haven't officially chosen yet. But if we ever have a mascot, you know, what's going to be the musk ox in a musk ox is it's an extremely ugly animal. Okay, so just know we're can be represented by an extremely ugly animals a big brute of an animal but the musk ox is such a brilliant character study with what I think is the bible teach you not having Unity does reading this article on National Geographic and actually the article was focused on these Arctic wolves and the way that they hunt they try to get the week and young parts of the must Musk Oxen, which is the hardest word to say just so, you know Musk Oxen to try to separate and isolate the week in the small Musk Oxen so that they can attack them because they know that if they attack the group of oxen together, they're never going to be able to overcome it. So they do all they can to wait for a young one or a week one who can't keep up and they're going to serve. Call them in separate them and they're going to pounce an attack. That is the same thing that happens in the Church of Jesus Christ. Somebody who is maybe there. Maybe they're in a sense of Pride. I don't want being a community. Maybe they're separated themselves. That way maybe they've been hurting or just not paying attention to them and they're off to the side, but now they're vulnerable. And so what do we need to do? We need to make sure the communities there. Listen to the article talked about the strength of the community there. Does this the Musk Oxen or one of the few prey animals that can work together to form a defensive line to protect their herds Cavs and counter the Wolves attacks? Go watch it on YouTube. It's an incredible sight to just watch them circle around those who need protection and there's a big Burly Animals by themselves. They're vulnerable but together a strong Community, but I'll say this agree in the Lord be in the Lord and protect one another because if not, you're separating ourselves and you have every chance to be attacked by who of roaring lion seeking someone to devour resistant firm in your faith what 1st? Peter tells you in that? And that opportunity to glorify God in community. So what are you doing? Not only protecting one another but we're teaching one another turn the Flippin 3 watch this. What happens in this community for tax we care we love we have the same goal. And how do we pass on this teaching the same way that we seen earlier flipping 3. 17 what's your processor?