Everyday Discipleship
Sermon Notes
Intro
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called Saturate, which is about learning how to live as instruments of grace. It’s about learning how to live as instruments of grace in our everyday relationships and city. So far in this series we talked about how the church isn’t a building, it’s a group of people who’ve been saved, gathered, and sent by Jesus for the transformation of the world. We also talked about how we need Jesus to transform our own lives, because there’s some things we can’t save ourselves from. But Jesus is the better savior for my life, your life, and the lives of those we’re trying to reach.
Now Jesus doesn’t just want to save you for eternal life, he also wants to walk with you in this present life. He doesn’t just want to save you for eternal life, he also wants to walk with you in everyday life. He wants to help transform you into being more loving like him. He gives all of us, including skeptics, an invitation to walk this life with him so we can grow into being more loving like him. Skeptics reject this invitation when they don’t accept Jesus as the better savior for eternal salvation, and believers neglect this invitation when they don’t seek to grow as disciples of Jesus for daily transformation. So today we’re talking about how Jesus transforms us into being more loving like him, through everyday discipleship. Let’s turn to Matthew 28 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, keep turning right, you’ll find Matthew. We’ll be in Matthew 28:16-20. The title of today’s message is Everyday Discipleship and here’s the big idea. We grow as we go...We grow as disciples, as we go to make new disciples...We grow as we go.
Context:
Here’s your context. At this point in Matthew 28 Jesus has already been crucified, buried, and risen from the dead. But most his disciples, most his followers don’t know this yet, and their hiding in a room fearing the Romans and Jews are coming to kill them next. So Jesus enters the room in his resurrected body to show them he’s alive. We’ll enter the scene from there, and as we study this text we’ll learn more about growing in everyday discipleship. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Matthew 28:16-20 states, “The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped...” When they saw Jesus, they worshiped him. It’s because they knew Jesus rising from the dead confirmed everything he ever said, did, and promised. It confirms he really can atone for our sins. It confirms he really can take us to an eternally joyful life with him. It confirms what we talked about last week which is that Jesus did it better, does it better, and will make it all better, because Jesus is the better Savior! The reason they worshipped him, the reason they no longer feared for their own lives after this event, is because they saw Jesus rise form the dead and knew it was all true. They knew he really is our Lord and Savior who came to die for our sins, and restore what sin has broken.
Again vs. 17, “When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.” If you’re a skeptic of the resurrection you need to realize some of Jesus’ strongest followers were skeptics. They didn’t have a blind irrational faith, they had an intelligent rational faith. Some doubted either because they were trying to make sense of things, or because they weren’t there to see Jesus like Doubting Thomas. So it’s true that some doubted, but it’s equally true that in the end they allworshiped. After seeing Jesus rise from the dead, they all eventually worshiped him.
But I love this part of the text because it helps to normalize our own doubts. Some Christians won’t talk about their doubts because they’re afraid people will think their faith is weak. So they’ll hide their doubts, instead of asking other believers to walk with them in their doubts. But we want to be a church that walks with you in your doubts and questions. We want to be a place where both skeptics and believers can seek truth and find joy in community, because we know what it’s like to wrestle with doubts. We sometimes wrestle with doubts just like you and the disciples. Jeff Vanderstelt states, “We’re not alone! The disciples were still in process...a process that would last their lifetimes. The same is true of us. It’s what discipleship is all about. It’s the ongoing process of submitting all of life to Jesus, and seeing him saturate your entire life and world with his presence and power. It’s a process of daily growing in your awareness of your need for him, in the everyday stuff of life.” So are you wrestling with doubt?...Are you doubting the provision of Jesus for your life?...Are you doubting his forgiveness and love for your life?...Are you doubting he cares or is even listening to your prayers?...You aren’t alone in your doubts, and your doubts don’t make you a bad Christian. It makes you a rational Christian who’s trying to make sense of the events in your life just like the disciples are doing here. Jesus was willing to walk with them in their doubts, and he’s willing to walk with you in your doubts.
Vs. 18, “Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples...” Jesus tells them to ‘go and make disciples,’ and there’s 3 things to realize here, that’ll help us better understand what an everyday disciple is.
#1 Everyday Disciples Worship Jesus = Everyday disciples worship Jesus. Whenever someone asks what a disciple is I always start with worship. A disciple is someone who worships Jesus. We tend to skip vs 17 where it says they worshiped him, but it’s worshipping Jesus that makes somebody a disciple of Jesus. I mean everybody worships something, and you become a disciple of whatever you worship. The Greek word for disciple means a learner, pupil, follower. So technically everybody’s a disciple of something, they’re a lifetime learner of whatever they worship. If you worship money you’ll be a disciple of money, a lifetime learner of making more money. If you worship beauty you’ll be a disciple of beauty, a lifetime learner of Botox and Sephora. If you worship Jesus you’ll be a disciple of Jesus, a lifetime learner of Jesus. It all starts with worship. So everyday disciples worship Jesus, and seek to learn from Jesus in everyday life.
#2 Everyday Disciples Make Disciples As They Go = Everyday disciples will make disciples as they go. In the original Greek the phrase “go make disciples,” literally means as you go or as you’re going. Jesus is saying make disciples as you’re going about your daily life and daily routines. Instead of viewing school as a place to get an education, view it as a place to make disciples as you get an education...Instead of viewing work as a place to pay your bills, view it as a place to make disciples as you work to pay your bills...Instead of viewing your house as a place to live, view it as a place to make disciples as you live...Jesus is saying as you’re getting an education, make disciples. As you’re working, make disciples. As you’re living in your neighborhood, make disciples. As you’re parenting, make disciples. As you’re going about your daily life and daily routines, make disciples. There’s all kinds of little discipleship moments you can capitalize on daily. When your child’s discouraged, it’s an opportunity to teach them about the hope of Christ. When your coworker’s down, it’s an opportunity to pray with them in the name of Christ. When your doing yardwork and your neighbor starts talking to you, it’s an opportunity to build some bridges that can eventually lead them to Christ. You can have little discipleship moments when you’re in the car with your family, having a party with your friends, on vacation pointing out the beauties of God’s creation. Jesus says as you’re going, make disciples.
#3 Everyday Disciples View It As A Must = Everyday Disciples view their growth and other people’s growth in their relationship with Jesus not as an option, but as a must. One of our codes here at City Awakening is multiplication isn’t an option, it’s a must. We get that from vs. 19 because the phrase ‘make disciples’ is written in the imperative mood, which means it’s a command. So Jesus is saying “I command you to make disciples, as you’re going!” He isn’t like “Okay if you’re a Christian I want you to make disciples, but only if you feel like it...only if it’s convenient for your busy schedule.” He isn’t that! He isn’t saying make disciples only when it’s convenient. In fact both growing as a disciple and making disciples is rarely ever convenient, especially if you’re trying to juggle school, work, sports, family, and breaking up tantrums every day. I mean every day there’s a war in my heart to neglect growing as a disciple and growing others as disciples. Sometimes I don’t want to read my bible, pray, deal with all the pressures of trying to get to my small group on time. Sometimes my emotional tank is empty and I don’t want to take the time to disciple my children’s hearts through conflict, or check on my wife’s heart, or check on anybody else’s heart. Growing as disciples and helping others to grow as disciples is rarely ever convenient. Everyday disciples know this, sometimes stumble in this, but need to ask Jesus for endurance in living it out, especially on days we don’t feel like treating it as a must!
Again vs. 19, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Jesus says “I’m with you always,” meaning he’ll help us accomplish this. He’ll help us to grow as disciples, help us grow others as disciples, and help us make new disciples. It’s what he’s been doing for 2000 years. Jesus promised he’d help make disciples and he did. We’re living proof he did! Our church and other churches are full of disciples because of Jesus fulfilling his promises. He promises that as you go, he goes!...As you go, he goes to help us grow, and make new disciples.
Now if you’ve been a Christian a while you already know most of this. But we need to hear it again because we can very easily become complacent in living it. So instead of dismissing it ask yourself if you’re living it?...What are you doing to grow yourself as a disciple?...What are you doing to help grow others as disciples?...What are you doing to help make new disciples?... Jesus wants us to grow and make new disciples as we go. But this won’t happen if we limit our view of discipleship to 1-2 hrs a week in our Sunday gatherings and programs, instead of it being a part of our everyday lives. Jesus is teaching us to view our relationship with him, to view our growth in discipleship, as a part of our everyday lives. There’s 3 primary ways this happens.
#1 Life on Life Relationships = Growth in everyday discipleship, even just your growth as an individual, requires life on life relationships. It requires people speaking into your life in a more personal 1 on 1 level rather than larger gatherings like this. We all have blind spots and we need people to see what we can’t see in ourselves. We need people to ask us questions we don’t know to ask ourselves. I recently started doing this with a buddy of mine who’s a great Christian counselor. We’re meeting once a month because I want him to check my blind spots, to see what I can’t see in myself. If you don’t take care of your home it’ll fall apart. If you don’t take care of your car it’ll fall apart. If you don’t take care of your physical health it’ll fall apart. If you don’t take care of your soul, your entire life will fall apart. We need people to speak into our souls, to see what we can’t see in ourselves, especially since we’re experts in cover up. We’re experts at covering up the dirt and brokenness in our lives. But our brokenness can’t ever be restored if it’s never revealed. Jesus doesn’t just want to restore part of your life, he wants to restore all of your life. He helps do this through life on life relationships. He does this through people speaking into your blind spots and speaking the gospel into those blind spots. All of us have thick layers that need to be pulled back, that need to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. It won’t happen in large groups, small groups, or on our own. It’ll happen in life on life discipleship relationships.
#2 Life in Community = Growth in everyday discipleship happens through life on life relationships, but also through life in community with other believers. We need community with other believers otherwise we’ll replicate the person we’re doing life on life with. There’s some good things you should replicate from the person you’re doing life on life with, but there’s also some bad things you shouldn’t replicate since they have blind spots too. We need the community of believers to further expand our growth in ways life on life relationships can’t. This is one of the reasons I have our leaders and other Christian leaders preach instead of me. It’s because to build this church on Jesus instead of on a personality. It’s to make disciples of Jesus instead of making disciples of me. In Ephesians 4 and 1st Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul teaches the church is like a body made up of many parts, and each part helps contribute to our growth as disciples, and our growth in making new disciples. You’ve heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well it takes a community of believers to grow a disciple. It takes us being committed to investing in each other with our time, talents, and treasures. So as good as life on life is, we need life in community to help us grow further into the likeness of Jesus.
#3 Life on Mission = Growth in everyday discipleship happens through life on life relationships, life in community, and life on mission. In Matthew 28 Jesus commands us to live on mission, to make new disciples, and you can’t do that sitting around a bunch of Christians doing life on life and life in community. The only way to make newdisciples is to get involved in the lives of those who aren’t disciples. It’s to live out our code to love the few so we can love the many. It’s to love a few people so well they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives. A great question for life on mission is Who does Jesus want you to reach, and how does he want you to reach them?...Who does Jesus want you to reach, and how does he want you to reach them? We’ll give some examples of things you can do in the rest of this series, but my point is you can’t make new disciples sitting in church, in small groups, in a room full of Christians. You have to live on mission to fulfill the great commission. There’s too many believers who appear to be mature in faith, yet they’ve never made a single new disciple. They focus so heavily on teaching existing disciples within the church, that they neglect to focus on making new disciples outside the church. They’re only fulfilling half the great commission! They’re teaching disciples but neglecting to make new disciples, and their life example is implicitly teaching those they’re discipling to do the same. You have to live on mission to fulfill the great commission. You can’t make new disciples, if you aren’t getting involved in the lives of those who aren’t disciples.
Now there’s people in our church living as everyday disciples in all 3 areas. We have some doing life on life with people, investing deeply into people’s lives. We have some doing life in community with others, consistently meeting in small groups. We have some living on mission on golf courses, in coaching sports, in having neighbors over for dinner in their homes. We have people living as everyday disciples in all 3 areas, but nobody’s fully grown in all these areas. We all need growth to better fulfill the great commission. What area do you need the most growth?...Is it life on life, life in community, or life on mission?...What area do you need the most growth, and what steps can you take to start growing in that area, so you can grow as you go?
The Big Idea:
The big idea is we grow as we go. We grow as disciples, as we go to make new disciples. Jesus is our great teacher and disciple maker who left the comfort of heaven, to suffer discomfort for us. He came to pour himself out on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and to pour his Holy Spirit into us for the transformation of our lives. He invites all of us to walk with him for our own daily transformation, and for the transformation of the world. If you’re a skeptic accept this invitation by asking him to forgive you of your sins, and believe he died for your sins on the cross. It’ll make you a disciple of Christ and transform your entire life...If you’re a believer accept his invitation to grow as a disciple. Walk with him for daily transformation, and to help make new disciples for our city’s transformation. Accept his invitation to grow, as you go.