Sermons

← back to list

Apr 15, 2018

Discipleship

Discipleship

Speaker: Jarrod Albergaria

Series: Transformation

Category: Sunday Morning

There's no denying that times have changed. Our country is not what it used to be, and the difference isn't the result of a generational problem. It's the result of a discipleship problem. If we are to continue to see transformation in people's lives, it is vital that we learn and apply biblical discipleship in the church today.

Opening Scripture:
Matthew 4:18-22    Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

When we think about the word discipleship, we most likely think first about the disciples. In the original Greek, disciple means “to learn.”

Everyone should be being discipled by someone.
Everyone should have someone they are disciplining.

3 Truths About Discipleship:

  1. Discipleship is about following.
  2. Discipleship is about show me, not tell me.
  3. Discipleship should result in us being transformed into the image of Christ.

How discipleship works best in God’s Kingdom:

1.  “Follow Me”

a.  Discipleship today looks a lot more like meet with me than it does like follow me.

b.  Jesus was clear that being a disciple of His is more than a meeting it requires us to give of ourselves in submission and to follow Him with our lives.

Following someone requires something out of us. The disciple left their homes, jobs, and families. It will cost us our time, energy, and our lives.

Luke 9:23-24   And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

Matthew 8:18-22  Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

These were not recommendations. They were the marks of true disciples. If we are going to call ourselves disciples of Jesus we have to follow Him, and it will cost us.

2)  Discipleship is about show me, not just tell me.

a.  The disciples walked with Jesus as He began His ministry, and what they saw changed their lives.

Matthew 5:9   Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

In Matthew 9  Jesus healed a paralytic, healed a woman, raised a girl from the dead, healed 2 blind men, and cast a demon out and healed a mute man.

When someone shares their life with us we get to experience it not just hear about it.

3)  Discipleship should result in us being transformed into the image of Christ.

Matthew 10:5-8  These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”

They followed because they saw that they were transformed and were able to do the very things that Jesus did. Just as Jesus commanded.

They were commanded to:

  -  preach

  -  heal

  -  cleanse

  -  raise

  -  cast out

Your discipleship should result in you looking less like you and more like Jesus. We reflect God’s glory in everything we do.

2 Corinthians 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

We can tell the story with our lives to the younger generations so that they don’t just hear us, but that they experience Jesus through the reflection that we give.