|
|
||
|
Ministries
|
Message given at Grace Church, Moloka'i 20 January 2008 THREE LEVELS OF DISCIPLESHIP Often when we speak of the disciples of Jesus the names of Peter, James, or John come to mind. Not too many people have ever heard of Andrew, even though he was one of the 12 chosen by Jesus to be closes to Him. What's also cool about Andrew is that we learn that Andrew is the one who brought his brother Simon (also called Peter) to Jesus. It makes me wonder how many of us were brought to the Lord by a family member? But when we do think about the disciples of Jesus we often give them labels and put them in a little box. Matthew was the tax collector who followed Jesus. Peter was the hot-tempered one who became a coward. James and John were the ones who had their mom do their dirty work for them and to ask Jesus if they could move to the front of the line. But in reality, all of the disciples went through 3 completely different phases of discipleship. Except for Judas. And no one wants to be like Judas. The first phase of their following Jesus was the WOW phase. They heard Jesus teach. They saw Him heal. They were with Him when He fed a crowd of thousands with a few loaves of bread and a couple of Papio. They were convinced that Jesus was a great leader, maybe even the Messiah. They knew that if they hung around Him, good things would happen. They gave up pretty good jobs to follow Him. They left home to be with Him. They thought that when Jesus was crowned as king that they would be close to the throne of power, maybe even rolling in the dough. Actually, they realized that Jesus was so awesome that they wanted to be with Him. They didn't always understand His teaching, especially when He spoke in parables and talked in riddles about dying. And they were really lost when Jesus spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. But it was good to hang out with Him and kind of fun when they saw Jesus blast self-righteous hypocrites like the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In short, the first phase of discipleship was to realize that Jesus was a pretty cool guy. They knew that God had blessed Him and they wanted to share in that blessing. That's a pretty good way to follow Jesus. It's the way that most of us follow Jesus. We know that He died for our sins. In that phase of following Jesus we're convinced that He was special and that if we hang around close enough, some of that blessing will rub off. We love some of His teachings. Other things He said, like selling everything and following Him, are a bit uncomfortable if we take them literally. We may have even given things up like hanging out in bars, having wild parties, chasing other people besides our spouses. Heck, we even go to church. As I said, that's a good way to follow Jesus. Indeed the words from 1 Corinthians 1 are true "for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind." But that type of blessing is not all that Jesus was talking about when He spoke of the Kingdom of God. When the King of the Kingdom was dragged away by the Roman guard, what did the disciples who were at that level of discipleship do? They got scared and they ALL ran away, even Peter, the bravest of them all. He turned into a spineless jellyfish when a young girl pointed out that he was with Jesus. He lied. Not once, but three times. When something bad happened, it killed all their hopes and dreams about how good the Kingdom of God would be with Jesus. This is teaching and not a critique. I have been in that place of discipleship. I lived there for years and was even ordained as that type of disciple. While I was very blessed following Jesus as a disciple, there was a lonely part of me that echoed in aloneness. I knew when I was "sacrificing for the Lord" and when I was being His "servant." I was never comfortable with calling God, "My MOTHER," but I'd re-write parts of scripture that didn't fit my thinking. I really didn't think He could possibly have known me in my mother's womb. And as for His choosing Scotty for me and bringing us together in marriage? I made that decision, not God, right? I had a good life in Jesus…except for the empty part and the nagging doubts. We wanted children and had nine miscarriages in five years. It didn't seem that He really was paying attention to the details in my life or answering my prayers. Even though I was blessed, I was missing out on the blessings of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was more than a cool guy, more than an anointed preacher who turned water into wine, and could make the blind see. Jesus was more than that because He was and is the Son of God. But the disciples hadn't realized that every promise in scripture that God made actually started with a problem. When Jesus had a life-threatening problem they were unprepared and shocked. They saw their hero stretched out, heard Him scream when the nails were slammed into the bones of His hands and His feet and from afar they watched Him suffer and die. They knew He was dead. The screams were silent when His hands were pried off the cross. And when the feet of Jesus were yanked from the rough wood of the cross and from the spikes in His feet, they saw there wasn't a twitch, wasn't a wince, there wasn't even a single gasp of breath. You can't fake death when they take you off a cross. These men and women were 100%, totally convinced that the Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger named Jesus was dead. Really, really dead. And if they believed that Jesus was a fountain of blessing, it sure looked like the fountain was dried up. And they were stuck. It was the Passover Sabbath. How could they feast and celebrate when their leader had just been killed? They couldn't even flee the executioners because they could only walk about a half a mile on the Sabbath. And in a land where bodies quickly decompose because of the heat, they couldn't even give Jesus a proper burial. It isn't easy being a phase 1 follower of Jesus when things all around you are going wrong. Still, there were some faithful ones. As soon as the sun was rising on Sunday morning, Jesus' closest lady friends and His mom started down the path to at least wrap His body and anoint it with spices. They found an empty tomb. At first, they cried out in anguish because the grave was disturbed. But instead of an abomination they saw an angel and then a few of them even saw the risen Lord. Peter and John were so astonished when they heard the news that they raced to the cave. John's Gospel tells us that he was faster than Peter, but not as brave. John stayed outside of the tomb. When Peter finally arrived gasping and sputtering he went right in. There he saw the head wrap off by itself, separated from the body wrap as if the body of Jesus had evaporated like an ice cube - leaving the grave clothes exactly as they were when His dead body was left there at sunset on Friday. I am a bit detailed in this part because contrary to some speculation, this wasn't a conspiracy to pretend Jesus was alive. These people knew dead and Jesus was dead. Their hopes of a blessed and rich discipleship were buried with the body of their dead teacher in that tomb. So, a few hours later, when they saw Jesus walking and heard Him talking, they were shocked, stunned, surprised, taken back, blown away, and catapulted into their next phase of discipleship. Suddenly, Jesus wasn't just cool. He was AWESOME. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. He had come back from the dead. The one they had been with for three years was THE ONE… THE ONLY…. THE SON OF GOD. Their legs got weak and buckled just at the thought it. They had been walking around Israel with God, clothed in the skin of a man. They couldn't even grasp what that meant. But they knew it meant something. All of that teaching by Jesus, all of that sacrifice they had been making was worth something because they had been literally walking with God. So what did they do in response to this new revelation? Where did phase 2 of discipleship take them? Did they build a cathedral? Did they preach the news on street corners? Did they go out and feed the widows and orphans? Nope. Two of them started to walk home. Peter and the boys went fishing. And we all know the story of doubting Thomas…. mister big mouth. Thomas dug out and left the group. He refused to believe until Jesus invited him to tickle Him by putting his fingers through the hole where the spike had been. And Peter…well when he finally came face to face with the risen Christ, he was sad and ashamed of bailing out as Jesus was arrested, and only focused on his own failure. Fortunately, Phase 2 of discipleship is a short season. It's when you discover that Jesus is more than you bargained for, but you still are clueless about what to do with that new knowledge. Things that were confusing before start to make sense. "AHHH. That's what Jesus meant when He said that three days after He broke down this temple it would be rebuilt! I get it. When Jesus said that He was one with the Father, He really meant ONE with HIS FATHER". In phase 2, there's awe, a sense of being overpowered by the holiness of God. The majesty and holiness of God can take your breath away and leave you on your knees. But there doesn't seem to be any direction that comes with this new awareness. Being on your knees is a great way to worship and honor God. But it's a hard way to walk. And Jesus always meant for His disciples to walk with Him. In Phase 2, you may not know exactly where to go. If you're smart, you stop and pray and wait for God's next move. Fishing, or whatever your old comfort zone activities are, still look like what you know how to do best. And there may be a bit of lingering shame or sadness even though you know how much He loves you. If you are comfortable as a follower of Jesus in either of the first 2 categories, you will do well. You will experience the presence of God in your life, you will know of His love. You will even experience His mercy. You will have some successes and some failures. The Lord will be a good part of your life. You will feel good when you pray, you will feel better when your prayers are answered and you may even end up as a pillar in the community and/or as a leader in the church. You will be blessed. One more thing. If you settle for phase 2 discipleship, you will still be in control of your life. You will get to make all the decisions, based on prayer of course. The sermon is ended….. Amen Now for an invitation… It's like going to Vegas and winning a million dollars. But when you come to the window you only decide to cash in on 500k worth of the chips. Or, as they say in the business world, you will still be leaving money on the table if you stop at phase 1 or phase 2 of discipleship. You may feel the presence of Jesus while missing the kingdom of God. Phase 3 is deep water. Phase 3 discipleship means that things will be out of your control. This type of following Jesus is when you allow God to control every aspect of your life and being. Phase three is what happens when followers of Jesus devote themselves to praying and waiting for the power of the Holy Spirit to come with funnels wide open. That level of following Jesus says "Let me have it Lord! Pour it on me and I will do anything and everything for Your glory." Phase 2 is like a hybrid car, running on electricity but able to go back to gas when you need the power. Phase three discipleship means you cannot fail because you are running on Jesus' power. It is solely by His power, all for His glory, and completely in His will. It is where His love spills and splashes everywhere we go. Phases 1 and 2 are filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control. Phase three is a wild ride with the throttle wide open, filled with passion and joy. It is thrilling. It can be scary. It means being dependant on God. And there's no turning back. You can't help but be loving because it is love that fills your tank and the love of Christ that drives your car. Bad circumstances can't take away that joy because your joy is based on Jesus and not on circumstances. In fact, as phase 3 disciples you begin to see opportunities in problems instead of giving up. Every miracle of the Old Testament and every miracle of Jesus started with a problem. So when a problem happens, these disciples pray and watch for God to act. The third phase of discipleship first came as the disciples were obediently praying and waiting in Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God was ushered in by sounds like a tornado as fingers of lightning brought the Holy Spirit to each of them present. The world has never been the same. That day was so fun that bystanders watching them thought they were all drunk early in the morning. Then Peter gave the first evidence of phase three discipleship. The coward was gone. The shame was gone. The uneducated fisherman blew away the crowd with eloquence and wisdom that he never had before. He stood in front of the crowd and told them boldly about Jesus. It wasn't just a hidden talent. The Holy Spirit brought Peter new gifts from God. And it wasn't just Peter. All of them had been filled and the power of God and rocked the world. No longer was Peter worried about his reputation or his lack of education. Everything he did for the rest of his life was to bring glory to God. None of this discounts the daily disciplines like Bible study and prayer. And quite honestly, if you were messy before you were plugged in to His power, you will still be a bit messy afterwards. That's because sometimes we don't need our funnels expanded - we need
our behavior adjusted. That's why God doesn't just use Lone Rangers.
Often we need each other for correction as well as encouragement. God
uses brothers and sisters to help fine-tune us even as phase 3 disciples.
Uh, Oh. That's a subject for a sermon and I told you that the sermon
was over. At each stage, Jesus can touch you. In each phase you can feel His touch and experience His power. But as you grow deeper, love increases as fear declines. Anxiety is replaced by joy. That is the place where the words of a phase three disciple named John come in. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 1:4). And the words of another phase three follower named James begin to make sense, "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy". (James 1:2). And even death holds no power over a follower who has discovered that way to follow Jesus. In the words of Paul, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15) I invite you this year to go deeper. Don't be satisfied with your walk with Jesus Christ as it is. Go deeper. Fall on your knees. Let God expand every phase of your discipleship. He has given us all chips to cash in. Don't leave money on the table. Experience the love and power that only comes from the Holy Spirit as we dive into deep waters with Jesus. And we can all say "AMEN" to His invitation. |
||
|
|
|||