Winter Camp - Session 3

INTRODUCTION

QUESTION: What is the number 1 way to find out how to do something?

You google it.

Whenever I need to learn something, I go to Youtube.

When you own a house, Youtube is your best friend.

Instead of Youtube, we are going to use the Bible as our search engine.

And the thing we are going to look up tonight is: the word Disciple.

DISCIPLE

QUESTION: Can anyone tell me what a disciple is?

The word “disciple” is defined as “follower, or one who studies under a teacher.”

It was what Jesus’ early followers were referred to.

So think of a teacher/student.

Or coach/player.

SERIES

Our series for camp is called “How To Be a Disciple.”

We are going to learn what it takes to be considered a follower of Jesus.

SAD: Many people claim to follower of Jesus, or Disciples, but don’t live like it.

QUESTION: Has anyone here ever met a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus but lived like a non-Christian.

Maybe many of you in this room claim to be a Christian, but live as if you don’t know Him.

MAIN POINT: To be a disciple of Jesus, you have to see who Jesus is and then live out His values.

Mark 8:22-27

22 They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”

25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.

26 Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”,

27 Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

PRAYER

1. To be a Disciple you have to see who Jesus is.

QUESTION: Who in here has ever been to the eye doctor?

The worst part: it’s the device that puffs the air into your eyes.

I hate it.

Then you have to guess which is better, Number 1 or number 2.

What if I get it wrong?

Will the prescription on my glasses be bad?

The point of the eye doctor is to help you see clearly.

WHAT JESUS WANTED

In the Bible passage I just read, Jesus was tying to do this same thing.

He wanted the disciples to see Him clearly.

Not just in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense.

He asked this in verse 27, “Who do people say that I am?”

QUESTION: What if I was to ask you that question right now?

Who is Jesus?

Who you say Jesus is tells us who you are.

And pretty much everyone in America has an opinion of who Jesus is.

Some say:

He was a good man.

He was an influential teacher.

He was a myth.

He was a prophet.

Some say, like myself, that He is God.

You will only become a disciple of God if you think he worthy of following.

If you think Jesus was only a myth, he’s not worth following.

If you think he was just a good man, he’s not worth following. There are plenty of good men in the world.

However, if you say He is God, THAT is someone worth following.

To follow Jesus, you first have to see Him correctly.

Luke 6:39-40

39 He also told them a parable: “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit?

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Here ‘s the point of that passage: be careful who you choose as your teacher. You will become like your teacher.

STORY: I get irritated easily just like my dad.

Throwing the ball.

Teaching me how to pitch.

I got annoyed with his instruction.

Hit him in the leg.

In spiritual ways, my dad was a great teacher.

But when it came to get irritated, he was not a good teacher.

And I’m trying not to teach my kids about that.

A PROBLEM: Some of you are not seeing clearly when it comes to who you are following.

If you are not careful you will follow the wrong teacher down a bad path.

EXAMPLE: Some of you are choosing to learn about life from the teacher of social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media is not a bad thing in itself.

There are lot’s of benefits that come from social media.

But if you are not careful, you can learn some bad things.

Some people get the news from social media.

Learn about relationships and how to view the other gender.

Learn about sex.

Learn about what love is.

If your teacher is sinful, than you are going to live life sinfully.

I pray that you can clearly see the bad teachers who are trying to lure you in.

THE BEST TEACHER

The Bible tells us that Jesus is God.

That He performed miracles.

That He loved the helpless.

That He died on a cross for you.

That He will one day come back and make everything right.

That is a teacher worth following.

I pray that you can clearly see that Jesus is the only one worth following.

2. To be a disciple you have to see who Jesus is and live it out.

James 1:22-25

22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror.

24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.

25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

EASY TO HEAR.

One thing many Christians are good at, is hearing, but not doing.

It’s not enough to read your Bible.

It’s not enough to learn all about Jesus.

You have to do something with it.

EXAMPLE: Imagine that my wife is standing right here and she tells me about a problem that she is having with me.

In a lot of marriages listening is the most difficult thing.

Not me.

I can listen. I’m great at it.

My problem is doing something after I listen.

If my wife says, “Matt, I hate it when you don’t put your clothes away.”

Ok, I do something about it.

When she asks why I didn’t do anything about it, I say, but I listened.

It’s not enough.

This is what James is talking about.

People claim they follow Jesus but they don’t live by what He says.

They are hearers and not doers.

Many Christians are great at this.

They come to church all the time.

They listen to sermons, not just from our church, but also from other pastors.

They are part of Bible Studies where they are learning and hearing God’s Word.

But sadly…that’s as far as it goes.

They don’t do anything with it?

QUESTION: Is that you?

QUESTION: Are you a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus but you don’t live like Him?

Do you hear Alex or I preach every week but do nothing with what you have learned?

My favorite compliment I get after I preach is NOT,

“You did a great job.”

“Your stories were really funny.”

It’s “Your message today helped me see some things that I need to change in my life.”

“I’m going to do things different based on what you showed me from God’s Word.”

BEING A HEARER

I’m not saying that being a hearer is bad.

You first have to be a hearer before you can become a doer.

Remember the analogy that James used to describe this person.

He compared this person to someone who looks in the mirror, notices something, but then walks away.

23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror.

24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.

STORY: I gave a speech in middle school.

I had practiced a lot because I was really nervous.

I thought things were going pretty well, but then something weird happened.

As I spoke, the kids started laughing during my speech.

It wasn’t a funny speech so I was confused.

After finishing, I went into the bathroom and noticed something as I walked past the mirror.

I found out why they were laughing.

My zipper was unzipped.

It’s ruined me.

I checked my zipper six times before I walked out.

When I noticed the problem, guess what I did?

I zipped my zipper.

How crazy would it have been if I noticed the problem and just said, hmmm. And then walked away.

It would be madness.

This is exactly what James says a Hearer does.

In this analogy, the Mirror is God’s Word. The Bible.

Whenever you look in a mirror, the mirror shows you what you look like.

And sometimes when you see yourself, the mirror helps you notice things you need to change.

If your hair is messed up, you get your comb.

If you have food in your teeth, you get out the floss.

You don’t just notice something that needs fixed and walk away.

When you read the Bible, it’s a spiritual mirror that shows you yourself.

It’s a problem when you look in this spiritual mirror and do nothing.

This is going to sound crazy, but I’m sure you will remember it.

Some of you here today need to zip up your spiritual zipper.

There is something in your life that the Bible is clearly telling you to change.

QUESTION: Are you going to make the change, or walk away with your zipper down?

IF CHANGE IS GOING TO HAPPEN

To follow Jesus means you live like Jesus.

And the only way we are going to see change in this world, is if we live like Jesus.

Stop being only hearers of the Word and not doers.

Let me tell you why this urgent.

STATS

In the next 24 hours in the United States:

1,439 teens will attempt suicide.

15,006 teens will use drugs for the first time.

3,506 teens will run away.

2 teens will be murdered.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34.

More teens and young adults die from suicide than from heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, pneumonia, influenza, cancer, and lung disease combined.

Four out of five teens who attempt suicide give warning signs. But often, those signs are missed or ignored

THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN

This is the world you live in.

If you see Jesus clearly and follow Him, you should not be ok with these statistics.

You should want to do something about it.

You should want to live like Jesus.

We don’t have time to sit back and do nothing.

RESPONSE ACTIVITY

For 2 minutes, I want you to close your eyes and focus on this question, “Who is Jesus in my life?”

For another 2 minutes, I want you to ask, “Jesus, what do you want me to do?”

WORSHIP