What is a disciple: Church

Introduction

Over the course of the summer we have talked about what a disciples or follower is and what words and actions a follower of Jesus is expected to follow.

Week 1: First and most importantly if you want to be a disciple you must be a follower of Jesus

Week 2: Secondly, if you are going to become fully committed to following Jesus you must count the cost of choosing that life with Jesus as it may cost you everything worldly.

Week 3: Third, we talked about how followers of Jesus work together. They are not islands and when they combine their spiritual gifts, the results of that work is much greater than all the individual efforts combined.

Week 4: In the fourth week, we spoke about the two generations of Israelites - one of Egypt and one of Wilderness. God broke that generational curse that was preventing them from entering the promised land. Disciples are also meant to adapt their ways to follow Jesus through the wilderness to find their promised land.

Week 5: In the fifth week, we focused on serving others as Jesus told his followers. When we serve out of love rather than obligation we move from being servant to being a friend of Jesus.

In this final week of this summer series, we are focused on who disciples are in the church. There are three focus areas. First, disciples are the foundation or founders of the church. Second, disciples administer the church in all its activities and ministries and settings. Third, disciples grow the church by using their gifts.

Lets dive into today’s content by talking about how disciples are the foundation and founders of the church.

Foundation and Founders of Church

Jesus spoke these words to Peter. You are a rock which I will build my church upon. While some people may take these words literally as Jesus saying only Peter. Further on it Acts we see Peter organizing the group of followers to replace Judas. There needs to this group of 12 as Jesus organized them to be. This is all happening before the Holy Spirit is poured out on them. Jesus put them together as the foundation of the church that would be born at Pentecost.

But what does that mean to us today? This church was founded well before any of us were ever born. What phrase do we say all the time but sometimes miss the significance of? The people are the church, not the physical building. So in essence, look at it this way, as each generation comes into this church, they are becoming or I should say have an opportunity to become the foundation of this church.

It takes many people coming together to hold up a church. It is not a handful of people but it is a diverse group of ages that hold the church together. It is a diverse group of people who are gifted differently.

Jesus pulled a diverse group of people together and called them disciples. This diverse group of people were the foundation of the church that was started at Pentecost. Each served with their gifts and for the purpose Jesus chose them. The same is true for each of us today. We are called to be the foundation, that is the support system that the church is held together by.

Administer the Church

As mentioned earlier, while followers of Jesus are the support system for holding the church together, they are also called to administer the church together. The foundation and administering of the church go hand in hand.

Do not confuse me using the term administer as meaning telling others what to do or running the church as a manager runs a business. No when I mean administer, it means focusing on serving with the gifts you have. It means looking at the needs of the church and the needs of others and seeing how those needs might be met.

How many of you have had a great idea for something the church could do? How many times does that idea stall out because you think someone else should be organizing it or running with that idea? This is what I mean by administer though. God is giving you ideas or thoughts and perhaps these are items you need to look into. Sometimes, you discover how your gifts work by following this idea and letting God lead you down a path you might not have risked before.

Think of administering as connecting the ideas and the service needs.

Disciples grow the church

Once we start connecting the ideas and service needs, we are using our gifts for the church and the community at large. This has an affect on the community and the church. The more we start to use the gifts, the more that people are affected by those efforts. The more people are affected by those efforts the more the testimony of the church grows. The more the testimony of the church grows the more people want to come and see.

I know this has been said many times and I am sure it sounds oversimplified but I chose these passages in Acts to demonstrate this is how the church was founded. This is how the church was organized and administered by the first disciples. Look back at stories of churches you are drawn to. Look back and times in this church’s history that you are drawn to. Is it not the same way? Is it not when people were seeking and serving that they were dedicating themselves to God. Is it not when people were seeking and serving that others were drawn to come and see what God was doing in this place?

When you look at the Pentecost story, you see this all come together. You see the speaking in tongues poured out on the disciples so that this miracle drew people in to see what was happening. You see Peter gifted by preaching, testify about Jesus. You see Peter with exhortation, encourage the crowds to repent to turn to Jesus. You see later on how food programs (administer) fed the widows and orphans and drew people to the church.

I could go on and on to show how using the gifts in serving others works. I could go on today speaking to you about the many ways in which these disciples founded the work of the church. I could share many stories which we find in scripture that show how ordinary people are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do extraordinary things.

This is where our faith must come in. For several weeks now, I have asked you to seek out what you spiritual gifts may be. For weeks now, I have preached on the importance of knowing and using those gifts. On the day of Pentecost, you see how those gifts were the change agent that ushered in a new era for the disciples. These gifts ushered in the era of the church of followers of Jesus. If you have not yet figured out what your spiritual gifts are, I implore you today to seek it out. It takes no more than 15 minutes. Go to our church website asburyumctn.org.

We want to also usher in a new period for this church where the Spirit of God is pouring out gifts on His people. We want to be part of God’s kingdom here in this place serving His people out of love. We are all called to serve together for the mission of Jesus Christ in this community. Let us accept our calling and be baptized or remember your baptism vows that joined you to the church.